Abstract

A method for separating the outer and inner membranes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 in the absence of added ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid was devised. The method yields two outer membrane fractions which show the same protein pattern on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, but differ substantially in their relative contents of phospholipids. One of these outer membrane fractions and the inner membrane fraction are less than 4% cross-contaminated, as judged by the content of typical inner and outer membrane markers. The outer membrane contains four major protein bands with apparent molecular weights of 37,000, 35,000, 21,000 and 17,000. Vesicles reconstituted from lipopolysaccharide and phospholipids were impermeable to all saccharides included in the vesicles during vesicle formation. When the vesicles contained outer membrane proteins, they fully retained only those saccharides of greater than 9,000 molecular weight, suggesting that the exclusion limit of the outer membrane of P. aeruginosa for saccharides is substantially larger than the figure (500 to 600 daltons) obtained for certain enteric bacteria. The advantages and potential disadvantages of having an outer membrane with a higher exclusion limit for hydrophilic substances are discussed.