Characterization of the lipopolysaccharide O-antigen of Cronobacter turicensis HPB3287 as a polysaccharide containing a 5,7-diacetamido-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-d-glycero-d-galacto-non-2-ulosonic acid (legionaminic acid) residue Original Research Article

Cronobacter turicensis, previously known as Enterobacter sakazakii, is a Gram-negative opportunistic food-borne pathogen that has been reported as a cause of life-threatening neonatal infections. From chemical and physical analyses involving composition analysis, methylation, two-dimensional high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectrometry methods, the antigenic O-polysaccharide in the smooth-type lipopolysaccharide of C. turicensis (strain HPB 3287) was determined to be a high molecular mass polymer of a repeating pentasaccharide unit composed of d-galactose, d-glucose, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-d-galactose, and 5,7-diacetamido-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-d-glycero-d-galacto-non-2-ulosonic acid (legionaminic acid), in a molar ratio 2:1:1:1, and having the structure: