Provided are methods for producing polysaccharides in bacteria by expressing in a bacterium one or more coding sequences selected from the group consisting of a pglF dehydrogenase coding sequence, a wbpP UDP-N-acetyl-d-glucosamine C4 epimerase coding sequence, a wcfR aminotransferase coding sequence, and a wcfS phospho-glycosyltransferase coding sequence, a wcfQ glycosyltransferase coding sequence, a wcfO pyruvyltransferase coding sequence, a wcfP glycosyltransferase coding sequence, a wcfM UDP-galactopyranose mutase coding sequence, a wcfN glycosyltransferase coding sequence, a wza polysaccharide export protein coding sequence, a wzx fippase coding sequence, a wzy polymerase coding sequence, and a wzz coding sequence, wherein at least one of the coding sequences is heterologous to the bacterium. Also provided are expression cassettes with one or more of the disclosed coding sequences, recombinant bacteria that harbor one or more of the expression cassettes, and methods for producing immunogenic compositions using the polysaccharides produced by the recombinant bacteria.