Anionic Polymers of the Cell Wall of Streptomyces sp. VKM Ac-2534

E. M. Tul’skaya^1 #, A. S. Shashkov², S. N. Senchenkova², V. N. Akimov³, O. V. Bueva³, O. S. Stupar³ and L. I. Evtushenko³

^#Phone: (495) 939-56-01; fax: (495) 939-43-09; e-mail: em_tulskaya@mail.ru

¹Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Vorob’evy gory, Moscow, 119899, Russia;
²Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr. 47, Moscow, Russia;
³All-Russia Collection of Microorganisms, Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Received: April 2, 2006; in final form: May 2, 2006

Abstract.  The cell wall of Streptomyces sp. VKM Ac-2534, the causative agent of common scab in potato tubers, which does not synthesize thaxtomin and is phylogenetically close to phytopathogen Streptomyces setonii sp. ATCC 25497, contains two anionic carbohydrate-containing polymers. The major polymer is teichuronic acid, whose repeating unit is disaccharide → 4)-β-D-ManpNAc3NAcyA-(1 → 3)-α-D-GalpNAc-(1→, where Acy is a residue of acetic or L-glutamic acid. The polymer of such structure has been found in Gram-positive bacteria for the first time. The minor polymer is teichoic acid [1,5-poly(ribitol phosphate)], in which a part of the ribitol residues are glycosylated at C4 with β-D-Glcp and, probably, with β-D-GlcpNAc and some residues are O-acylated with Lys residues. The structures were proved by chemical and NMR spectroscopic methods. It is likely that the presence of acidic polysaccharides on the surface of the phytopathogenic streptomycete is necessary for its attachment to the host plant.

Key words:  cell wall, NMR spectroscopy, phytopathogenic streptomycetes, teichoic acid, teichuronic acid

Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry 2007, 33 (2): 251-257