Cold temperature-induced modifications to the composition and structure of the lipopolysaccharide of Yersinia pestis Original Research Article

Following a report of variations in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) structure of Yersinia pestis at mammalian (37 °C) and flea (25 °C) temperatures, a number of changes to the LPS structure were observed when the bacterium was cultivated at a temperature of winter-hibernating rodents (6 °C). In addition to one of the known Y. pestis LPS types, LPS of a new type was isolated from Y. pestis KM218 grown at 6 °C. The core of the latter differs in: (i) replacement of terminal galactose with terminal d-glycero-d-manno-heptose; (ii) phosphorylation of terminal oct-2-ulosonic acid with phosphoethanolamine; (iii) a lower content of GlcNAc, and; (iv) the absence of glycine; lipid A differs in the lack of any 4-amino-4-deoxyarabinose and presumably partial (di)oxygenation of a fatty acid(s). The data obtained suggest that cold temperature switches on an alternative mechanism of control of the synthesis of Y. pestis LPS.