The O-acetylation patterns in the O-antigens of Hafnia alvei strains PCM 1200 and 1203, serologically closely related to PCM 1205

Serological tests revealed immunochemical similarities between the lipopolysaccharides of Hafnia alvei strains PCM 1200, 1203 and 1205. Immunoblotting and ELISA showed cross-reactions between the strains. NMR spectroscopy showed that the O-deacetylated O-specific polysaccharides isolated from lipopolysaccharides of H. alvei strains PCM 1200 and 1203 possessed the same composition and sequence as the O-deacetylated O-specific polysaccharide of H. alvei strain PCM 1205, that is a glycerol teichoic-acid-like polymer with a repeating unit of the following structure: carbohydrate structure: see text] NMR spectroscopic studies of the polysaccharides concluded that O-3 of the side chain beta-D-GlcpNAc is partially O-acetylated (50-80%) in both investigated strains. In strain PCM 1203 an additional O-acetyl group (50-80%) is linked to O-6 of the chain -->3)-alpha-D-GlcpNAc-(1--> residue. The structural features of the isolated O-specific polysaccharides were also the same as those of the O-specific polysaccharides on the bacterial cells directly observed by the HR-MAS NMR technique.