Bacterial lipopolysaccharides architecture

Lipopolysaccharides form a class of macromolecules unique to Gramnegative bacteria. They are of great compositional and structural diversity, and yet, they are built up according to a common architectural principle. With few exceptions, lipopolysaccharides are biologically highly active substances. Lipopolysaccharides have been called endotoxins because of their toxic properties. Due to the antigenic properties which they confer to the surface of the bacterial cell, they are also termed O antigens. 

Naumann, D., Schultz, C., Sabisch, A., Kastowsky, M., Labischinski, H. New insights into the phase behaviour of a complex anionic amphiphile Architecture and dynamics of bacterial deep rough mutant lipopolysaccharide membranes as seen by FTIR, X-ray, and molecular modelling techniques. J Molec Struct 214 (1989) 213-246. 

Figure 1 Schematic illustration of the supramolecular architecture of the three major classes of prokaryotic cell envelopes containing crystalline bacterial cell surtece layers (S-layers). (a) Cell envelope structure of Gram-negative archaea with S-layers as the only cell wall component external to the cytoplasmic membrane, (b) Cell envelope as observed in Gram-positive archaea and bacteria. In bacteria the rigid wall component is primarily composed of peptidoglycan. In archaea other wall polymers (e.g., pseudomurein or methanochondroitin) are found, (c) Cell envelope profile of Gram-negative bacteria, composed of a thin peptidoglycan layer and an outer membrane. If present the S-layer is closely associated with the lipopolysaccharide of the outer membrane. (Modified after U.B. Sleytr, P. Messner, D. Pum, and M. Sdra. Crystalline Bacterial Cell Surface Proteins. Austin, TX R.G. Landes/Academic Press, 1996. With permission.)...

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