Structural determination of the lipo-chitin oligosaccharide nodulation signals produced by Rhizobium giardinii bv. giardinii H152

Abstract Rhizobium giardinii bv. giardinii is a microsymbiont of plants of the genus Phaseolus and produces extracellular signal molecules that are able to induce deformation of root hairs and nodule organogenesis. We report here the structures of seven lipochitooligosaccharide (LCO) signal molecules secreted by R. giardinii bv. giardinii H152. Six of them are pentamers of GlcNAc carrying C 16:0 , C 18:0 , C 20:0 and C 18:1 fatty acyl chains on the non-reducing terminal residue. Four are sulfated at C-6 of the reducing terminal residue and one is acetylated in the same position. Six of them are N -methylated on the non-reducing GlcN residue and all the nodulation factors are carbamoylated o…