Increased Cell Surface Hydrophobicity of A Lipopolysaccharide-defective Mutant of Bradyrhizobium japonicum

A lipopolysaccharide (LPS) defective mutant of Bradyrhizobium japonicum was characterized in terms of its cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH). By monitoring the kinetics of adhesion to hexadecane the LPS mutant was found to be far more hydrophobic than the wild type strain; the removal coefficients were 4.65 $min^{-1}$ for the mutant, as compared with only 2.40 $min^{-1}$ for the wild type. The possible role of cell surface hydrophobicity of B. japonicum in nodulation process is discussed.