Structural studies of the O-specific polysaccharide from the lipopolysaccharide of Mesorhizobium huakuii strain S-52, the symbiotic partner of Astragalus sinicus

A Combination of Structural, Genetic, Phenotypic and Enzymatic Analyses Reveals the Importance of a Predicted Fucosyltransferase to Protein O-Glycosylation in the Bacteroidetes

Diverse members of the Bacteroidetes phylum have general protein O-glycosylation systems that are essential for processes such as host colonization and pathogenesis. Here, we analyzed the function of a putative fucosyltransferase (FucT) family that is widely encoded in Bacteroidetes protein O-glycosylation genetic loci. We studied the FucT orthologs of three Bacteroidetes species-Tannerella forsythia, Bacteroides fragilis, and Pedobacter heparinus. To identify the linkage created by the FucT of B. fragilis, we elucidated the full structure of its nine-sugar O-glycan and found that l-fucose is linked β1,4 to glucose. Of the two fucose residues in the T. forsythia O-glycan, the fucose linked to the reducing-end galactose was shown by mutational analysis to be l-fucose. Despite the transfer of l-fucose to distinct hexose sugars in the B. fragilis and T. forsythia O-glycans, the FucT orthologs from B. fragilis, T. forsythia, and P. heparinus each cross-complement the B. fragilis ΔBF4306 and T. forsythia ΔTanf_01305 FucT mutants. In vitro enzymatic analyses showed relaxed acceptor specificity of the three enzymes, transferring l-fucose to various pNP-α-hexoses. Further, glycan structural analysis together with fucosidase assays indicated that the T. forsythia FucT links l-fucose α1,6 to galactose. Given the biological importance of fucosylated carbohydrates, these FucTs are promising candidates for synthetic glycobiology.

Characterization of O-antigen polysaccharide backbone derived from nitric oxide-inducing Mesorhizobium loti MAFF 303099 lipopolysaccharide

Mesorhizobium loti is a member of rhizobia and establishes nitrogen-fixing symbioses with several Lotus species. Recently, we reported that M. loti MAFF 303099 bacterial cells and their lipopolysaccharide (LPS) preparations are involved in the beginning of the symbiotic process by inducing transient nitric oxide (NO) production in the roots of L. japonicus. We subsequently found that both the polysaccharide (PS) part and the lipid A moiety in LPS are responsible for the NO induction. In this study, we elucidated the chemical structure of M. loti O-polysaccharide (OPS) in PS. PS was prepared by mild acid hydrolysis of M. loti LPS followed by gel filtration chromatography. OPS was subjected to hydrazine treatment to obtain deacylated PS (dPS). Chemical composition analysis, ethylation analysis, and NMR spectra revealed the chemical structure of the M. loti OPS backbone in dPS to be →2)-α-l-6dTalp-(1 → 3)-α-l-6dTalp-(1 → 2)-α-l-Rhap-(1 → 2)-α-l-6dTalp-(1 → 3)-α-l-6dTalp-(1 → 3)-α-l-Rhap-(1→.

Structural and immunochemical studies of the lipopolysaccharide from the fish pathogen, Aeromonas bestiarum strain K296, serotype O18

Chemical analyses and mass spectrometry were used to study the structure of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) isolated from Aeromonas bestiarum strain K296, serotype O18. ESI-MS revealed that the most abundant A. bestiarum LPS glycoforms have a hexa-acylated or tetra-acylated lipid A with conserved architecture of the backbone, consisting of a 1,4′-bisphosphorylated β-(1→6)-linked d-GlcN disaccharide with an AraN residue as a non-stoichiometric substituent and a core oligosaccharide composed of Kdo₁Hep₆Hex₁HexN₁P₁. 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy revealed that the O-specific polysaccharide (OPS) of A. bestiarum K296 consists of a branched tetrasaccharide repeating unit containing two 6-deoxy-l-talose (6dTalp), one Manp and one GalpNAc residues; thus, it is similar to that of the OPS of A. hydrophila AH-3 (serotype O34) in both the sugar composition and the glycosylation pattern. Moreover, 3-substituted 6dTalp was 2-O-acetylated and additional O-acetyl groups were identified at O-2 and O-4 (or O-3) positions of the terminal 6dTalp. Western blots with polyclonal rabbit sera showed that serotypes O18 and O34 share some epitopes in the LPS. The very weak reaction of the anti-O34 serum with the O-deacylated LPS of A. bestiarum K296 might have been due to the different O-acetylation pattern of the terminal 6dTalp. The latter suggestion was further confirmed by NMR.

Methylation--an uncommon modification of glycans

A methyl (Me) group on a sugar residue is a rarely reported event. Until now, this type of modification has been found in the animal kingdom only in worms and molluscs, whereas it is more frequently present in some species of bacteria, fungi, algae and plants, but not in mammals. The monosaccharides involved as well as the positions of the Me groups on the sugar vary with species. Methylation appears to play a role in some recognition events, but details are still unknown. This review summarises the current knowledge on methylation of sugars in all types of organism.

Structural analysis of the O-specific polysaccharide from the lipopolysaccharide of Aeromonas veronii bv. sobria strain K49

The O-specific polysaccharide obtained by mild-acid degradation of the lipopolysaccharide from Aeromonas veronii bv. sobria strain K49 was studied by sugar and methylation analyses along with (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy. The sequence of the sugar residues was determined using (1)H,(1)H NOESY and (1)H,(13)C HMBC experiments. The O-specific polysaccharide was found to be a high molecular mass polysaccharide composed of repeating units of the structure: →2)-β-D-Quip3NAc-(1→3)-α-L-Rhap-(1→3)-α-L-Rhap-(1→2)-α-L-Rhap-(1→3)-α-D-FucpNAc-(1→ ESI MS confirmed the pentasaccharide structure of the repeating unit, as the molecular mass peaks seen in the spectrum differed by 812.34 u, a value corresponding to the calculated molecular mass of the O-unit.