Analysis of lipopolysaccharide profiles by silver staining.

<p>Silver stained LPS profiles from strains listed below the gels. LPS banding patterns vary according to serotype; CFT073:O6 (A), <i>E. coli</i> 1177:O1 (B), RS218:O18 (C). Wild-type, O antigen mutant (<i>waaL</i>) and its complemented strain (<i>waaL</i>^C) are ordered from left to right. The thick band at the bottom represents the lipid A core and is intact in all the strains. The bands stacked on top of the core represent different O antigen side chains of different lengths that disappear in the <i>waaL</i> mutant strains. Banding patterns are restored in the complemented strains and appear to be the same as the WT.