Klebsiella K43 capsular polysaccharide: primary structure and depolymerisation by a viral-borne endoglycanase

The capsular polysaccharide of Klebsiella K43 has been studied by glycose analysis, methylation analysis, and NMR spectroscopy, and by bacteriophage depolymerisation of thenative polysaccharide. Additional evidence for the structure of the repeating unit came from base-catalysed degradation of the methylated polysaccharide, and from NMR spectroscopic anlysis of the lithium-degraded polysaccharide and of the oligosaccharide-alditol derived from the repeating unit oligosaccharide obtained from a bacteriophage degradation. The polysaccharide was shown to have the repeating unit: ▪