Isolation of lipopolysaccharides and the effect of Polymyxin B on the outer membrane ofCorynebacterium autotrophicum

✍ Scribed by Jürgen Wiegel; Frank Mayer

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1978
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 611 KB
• Volume: 118
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0302-8933
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00406076

✦ Synopsis

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from Corynebacterium autotrophicum were isolated and analyzed. Autotrophically grown cells contained 2--5 mg of partly purified LPS per g dry weight of lyophilized cells. Serological cross reaction with Lipid A antigen of Salmonella minnesota confirmed the presence of LPS in C. autotrophicum. Electron microscopy of negatively stained Polymyxin B-treated cells showed formation of blebs on the Outer Membrane indicating an interaction of Polymyxin B specifically with LPS. Up to now, no Gram-positive organisms are known which contain any LPS. Thus, C. autotrophicum, though giving opposite results when the Gram-staining reaction was applied by several authors, has to be classified into the group of Gram-negative bacteria.