Structures of the Typing Antigens of Atypical Mycobacteria: A Brief Review of Present Knowledge

Abstract

The overall structures of the typing antigens from serovars in the Mycobacterium avium-Mycobacterium intracellulare-Mycobacterium scrofulaceum complex have been elucidated. They are polar versions of the well-known C mycosides and have the general structure: The lipopeptidyl-O-(3, 4-di-O-Me-Rha) “core” is common to all serovars; however, the oligosaccharide moiety is different. Detailed analyses of the oligosaccharides from selected serovars show that they contain four sugars at most. The same internal disaccharide residue [L-rharnnopyranosyl (α 1→2) 6-deoxytalose] is present in all oligosaccharides, whereas the outer one or two sugar residues are unique and apparently provide the distinctive features required for serological specificity.