Structural Study of O-Specific Polysaccharides ofProteus

Abstract Proteus bacteria are important human opportunistic pathogens which frequently cause urinary tract infections. According to Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology,1 this genus includes three species: P. mirabilis, P. vulgaris, and P. myxofaciens. A novel species of P. penneri has been recently proposed2,3 for strains formerly called P. vulgaris biogroup I. Proteus is an antigenically heterogeneous group of bacteria, and this is mainly associated with diverse composition and structures of O-specific polysaccharide chains of outer-membrane lipopolysaccharides (O-antigens). The Kauffman-Perch serological classification4 of P. mirabilis and P. vulgaris includes 49 O-serogroups. However, a number of S-strains remain unclassified,5 including strains of P. penneri.