The Relationship between the Capsular and Cell Wall Polysaccharides of Strains of Lactobacillus casei var. rhamnosus

Abstract

The polysaccharide components of an encapsulated and a non-encapsulated strain of Lactobacillus casei var. rhamnosus were compared. The main capsular component was a polysaccharide consisting of rhamnose, glucose and galactose. This polysaccharide resembles, chemically and serologicaly, one of the two polysaccharide components normally found in the cell wall of L. casei var. rhamnosus. Since the cell wall of the encapsulated strain lacks the rhamnose-containing polysaccharide it seems likely that the capsule represents polysaccharide which has failed to become attached to the cell wall mucopeptide.