The priority of this study was the structural investigation of cell envelope components of the Gram-positive species Streptococcus agalactiae 0250 and S. dysgalactiae 2023, isolated from a cow´s udder and causing bovine mastitis. Bovine mastitis is an inflammatory disease of the cow’s mammary gland leading to a local and/or systemic infection, increasing the number of leukocytes and bacteria in the milk, and reducing the milk1. Mastitis is one of the most common and most costly infectious diseases for the dairy industry2.
The cell envelope of Gram-positive bacteria comprises a macromolecular assembly of surface proteins, peptidoglycan (PGN), polyanionic wall teichoic acids (WTA), lipoteichoic acids (LTA) and glycolipids3. Beside Lancefield antigen carbohydrates the streptococci can produce rhamnose-rich polysaccharides, capsular polysaccharides and exopolysaccharides4. Most of the structures are shared by all Gram-positive bacteria and are thought to represent pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) which are recognized by host cell receptors5. This study deals with the investigation of glycolipids and rhamnans of both bovine pathogens and their biological properties and significance in mastitis infection. For the structural estimation were used chemical analyses, electrospray ionization Fourier-transformed ion cyclotron mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR-MS), matrix-associated laser-desorption time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) MS and 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy.
1. Biggs, A. Mastitis in cattle. (The Crowood Press Ltd: Ramsbury, Marlborough Wiltshire, 2009).
2. Halasa, T., Huijps, K., Østerås, O. & Hogeveen, H. Economic effects of bovine mastitis and mastitis management: a review. The Veterinary Quarterly 29, 18–31 (2007).
3. Seltmann, G. & Holst, O. The Bacterial Cell Wall. (Springer Verlag: Berlin Heidelberg, 2002).
4. Whiley, R. A. & Hardie, J. M. Streptococcus. Bergey´s Manual 655–735 (2009).
5. Henneke, P. et al. Role of lipoteichoic acid in the phagocyte response to group B streptococcus. The Journal of Immunology 174, 6449–6455 (2005).
