Structural and serological characterization of Hafnia alvei lipopolysaccharide core region.

The structures and serological activities of core oligosaccharide of Hafnia alvei strains have been investigated. Methylation analysis, NMR spectroscopy and various specific degradation procedures were the principal methods used. It is concluded that, core hexasaccharides are identical in the lipopolysaccharides tested and are built of two glucose, three heptose and one 2-keto-3-deoxyoctulosonic acid residues. The antiserum raised against the ATCC13337 oligosaccharide core-tetanus toxoid conjugate cross-reacted strongly with all lipopolysaccharides used as antigens in ELISA test, suggesting that this core region is the common structure in the Hafnia genus.