A Specific Polysaccharide from Mycoplasma mycoides

Abstract

SUMMARY: Washed suspensions of Mycoplasma mycoides var. mycoides were found to contain c. 10 % by weight of carbohydrate. The only sugars detected in hydrolysates were galactose and ribose. A galactan was obtained by extraction with warm aqueous phenol. The galactan was separated from ribonucleic acid by ultracentrifugation or by treatment with an ion-exchange resin. The product was rapidly hydrolysed by acid, releasing galactose and c. 4 % of CHCl3- soluble lipid. It formed precipitates with specific antiserum and could be used to sensitize sheep erythrocytes to agglutination by the antiserum. It was not pyrogenic for rabbits and had little in common with the lipopolysaccharides of typical Gram-negative bacteria.