Single polysaccharide assembly protein that integrates polymerization, termination, and chain-length quality control

Klebsiella pneumoniae O-polysaccharide biosynthesis highlights the diverse organization of catalytic modules in ABC transporter-dependent glycan assembly

Klebsiella pneumoniae provides influential prototypes for lipopolysaccharide O antigen (OPS) biosynthesis in Gram-negative bacteria. Sequences of OPS-biosynthesis gene clusters in serotypes O4 and O7 suggest fundamental differences in the organization of required enzyme modules compared to other serotypes. Furthermore, some required activities were not assigned by homology shared with characterized enzymes. The goal of this study was therefore to resolve the serotype O4 and O7 pathways to expand our broader understanding of glycan polymerization and chain termination processes. The O4 and O7 antigens were produced from cloned genetic loci in recombinant Escherichia coli. Systematic in vivo and in vitro approaches were then applied to assign each enzyme in each of the pathways, defining the necessary components for polymerization and chain termination. OPS assembly is accomplished by multiprotein complexes formed by interactions between polymerase components variably distributed in single and multimodule proteins. In each complex, a terminator function is present in a protein containing a characteristic coiled-coil molecular ruler, which determines glycan chain length. In serotype O4, we discovered a CMP-α-3-deoxy-ᴅ-manno-octulosonic acid-dependent chain-terminating glycosyltransferase that is the founding member of a new glycosyltransferase family (GT137) and potentially identifies a new glycosyltransferase fold. The O7 OPS is terminated by a methylphosphate moiety, like the K. pneumoniae O3 antigen, but the methyltransferase-kinase enzyme pairs responsible for termination in these serotypes differ in sequence and predicted structures. Together, the characterization of O4 and O7 has established unique enzyme activities and provided new insight into glycan-assembly strategies that are widely distributed in bacteria.

Experience of diagnosis and treatment of hard-to-heal wounds infected with Acinetobacter baumannii: a case study

OBJECTIVE

To explore the efficacy of 0.01% hypochlorous acid (HOCl) in the treatment of hard-to-heal wounds infected by multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.

METHOD

We report a case of hard-to-heal wounds on a patient's forearms that were infected by Acinetobacter baumannii. The wounds were treated with 0.01% HOCl. We reviewed the relevant literature and discussed the definition, epidemiology and pathogenesis of hard-to-heal wounds infected by Acinetobacter baumannii. We also explored the safety and efficacy of 0.01% HOCl for the treatment of hard-to-heal wounds infected with Acinetobacter baumannii.

RESULTS

After 3-4 weeks of treatment with 0.01% HOCl, the pain and pruritus of the wounds was gradually alleviated, the infection was controlled and the granulation tissue was fresh. The ulcers also shrank and the nutritional condition of the patient improved. In the fifth week, the skin of the patient's right thigh was grafted to repair the wounds, which then healed within 18 days. During the three years of follow-up, the patient had no relapse.

CONCLUSION

In our case, the 0.01% HOCl seemed to effectively inactivate the bacterial biological biofilm. This helped to promote wound healing, and was non-toxic to the tissues. We consider low-concentration HOCl to be safe and effective for the treatment of hard-to-heal wounds infected with Acinetobacter baumannii.

Crystal structure of the lipopolysaccharide outer core galactosyltransferase WaaB involved in pathogenic bacterial invasion of host cells

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is essential for most gram-negative bacteria and plays an important role in serum resistance, pathogenesis, drug resistance, and protection from harsh environments. The outer core oligosaccharide of LPS is involved in bacterial recognition and invasion of host cells. The D-galactosyltransferase WaaB is responsible for the addition of D-galactose to the outer core oligosaccharide of LPS, which is essential for Salmonella typhimurium invasion. Here we report the first crystal structures of WaaB and WaaB in complex with UDP to resolutions of 1.8 and 1.9 Å, respectively. Mutagenesis and enzyme activity assays confirmed that residues V186, K195, I216, W243, E276, and E269 of WaaB are essential for the binding and hydrolysis of UDP-galactose. The elucidation of the catalytic mechanism of WaaB is of great importance and could potentially be used for the design of novel therapeutic reagents.

Identification of a second glycoform of the clinically prevalent O1 antigen from Klebsiella pneumoniae

Carbapenemase and extended β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates represent a major health threat, stimulating increasing interest in immunotherapeutic approaches for combating Klebsiella infections. Lipopolysaccharide O antigen polysaccharides offer viable targets for immunotherapeutic development, and several studies have described protection with O-specific antibodies in animal models of infection. O1 antigen is produced by almost half of clinical Klebsiella isolates. The O1 polysaccharide backbone structure is known, but monoclonal antibodies raised against the O1 antigen showed varying reactivity against different isolates that could not be explained by the known structure. Reinvestigation of the structure by NMR spectroscopy revealed the presence of the reported polysaccharide backbone (glycoform O1a), as well as a previously unknown O1b glycoform composed of the O1a backbone modified with a terminal pyruvate group. The activity of the responsible pyruvyltransferase (WbbZ) was confirmed by western immunoblotting and in vitro chemoenzymatic synthesis of the O1b terminus. Bioinformatic data indicate that almost all O1 isolates possess genes required to produce both glycoforms. We describe the presence of O1ab-biosynthesis genes in other bacterial species and report a functional O1 locus on a bacteriophage genome. Homologs of wbbZ are widespread in genetic loci for the assembly of unrelated glycostructures in bacteria and yeast. In K. pneumoniae, simultaneous production of both O1 glycoforms is enabled by the lack of specificity of the ABC transporter that exports the nascent glycan, and the data reported here provide mechanistic understanding of the capacity for evolution of antigenic diversity within an important class of biomolecules produced by many bacteria.

The Astounding World of Glycans from Giant Viruses

Viruses are a heterogeneous ensemble of entities, all sharing the need for a suitable host to replicate. They are extremely diverse, varying in morphology, size, nature, and complexity of their genomic content. Typically, viruses use host-encoded glycosyltransferases and glycosidases to add and remove sugar residues from their glycoproteins. Thus, the structure of the glycans on the viral proteins have, to date, typically been considered to mimick those of the host. However, the more recently discovered large and giant viruses differ from this paradigm. At least some of these viruses code for an (almost) autonomous glycosylation pathway. These viral genes include those that encode the production of activated sugars, glycosyltransferases, and other enzymes able to manipulate sugars at various levels. This review focuses on large and giant viruses that produce carbohydrate-processing enzymes. A brief description of those harboring these features at the genomic level will be discussed, followed by the achievements reached with regard to the elucidation of the glycan structures, the activity of the proteins able to manipulate sugars, and the organic synthesis of some of these virus-encoded glycans. During this progression, we will also comment on many of the challenging questions on this subject that remain to be addressed.

The retaining β-Kdo glycosyltransferase WbbB uses a double-displacement mechanism with an intermediate adduct rearrangement step

WbbB, a lipopolysaccharide O-antigen synthesis enzyme from Raoultella terrigena, contains an N-terminal glycosyltransferase domain with a highly modified architecture that adds a terminal β-Kdo (3-deoxy-D-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid) residue to the O-antigen saccharide, with retention of stereochemistry. We show, using mass spectrometry, that WbbB forms a covalent adduct between the catalytic nucleophile, Asp232, and Kdo. We also determine X-ray structures for the CMP-β-Kdo donor complex, for Kdo-adducts with D232N and D232C WbbB variants, for a synthetic disaccharide acceptor complex, and for a ternary complex with both a Kdo-adduct and the acceptor. Together, these structures show that the enzyme-linked Asp232-Kdo adduct rotates to reposition the Kdo into a second sub-site, which then transfers Kdo to the acceptor. Retaining glycosyltransferases were thought to use only the front-side S_Ni substitution mechanism; here we show that retaining glycosyltransferases can also potentially use double-displacement mechanisms, but incorporating an additional catalytic subsite requires rearrangement of the protein's architecture.

LPS O Antigen Plays a Key Role in Klebsiella pneumoniae Capsule Retention

Despite the importance of encapsulation in bacterial pathogenesis, the biochemical mechanisms and forces that underpin retention of capsule by encapsulated bacteria are poorly understood. In Gram-negative bacteria, there may be interactions between lipopolysaccharide (LPS) core and capsule polymers, between capsule polymers with retained acyl carriers and the outer membrane, and in some bacteria, between the capsule polymers and Wzi, an outer membrane protein lectin. Our transposon studies in Klebsiella pneumoniae B5055 identified additional genes that, when insertionally inactivated, resulted in reduced encapsulation. Inactivation of the gene waaL, which encodes the ligase responsible for attaching the repeated O antigen of LPS to the LPS core, resulted in a significant reduction in capsule retention, measured by atomic force microscopy. This reduction in encapsulation was associated with increased sensitivity to human serum and decreased virulence in a murine model of respiratory infection and, paradoxically, with increased biofilm formation. The capsule in the WaaL mutant was physically smaller than that of the Wzi mutant of K. pneumoniae B5055. These results suggest that interactions between surface carbohydrate polymers may enhance encapsulation, a key phenotype in bacterial virulence, and provide another target for the development of antimicrobials that may avoid resistance issues associated with growth inhibition. IMPORTANCE Bacterial capsules, typically comprised of complex sugars, enable pathogens to avoid key host responses to infection, including phagocytosis. These capsules are synthesized within the bacteria, exported through the outer envelope, and then secured to the external surface of the organism by a force or forces that are incompletely described. This study shows that in the important hospital pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae, the polysaccharide capsule is retained by interactions with other surface sugars, especially the repeated sugar molecule of the LPS molecule in Gram-negative bacteria known as "O antigen." This O antigen is joined to the LPS molecule by ligation, and loss of the enzyme responsible for ligation, a protein called WaaL, results in reduced encapsulation. Since capsules are essential to the virulence of many pathogens, WaaL might provide a target for new antimicrobial development, critical to the control of pathogens like K. pneumoniae that have become highly drug resistant.

Brucella melitensis Wzm/Wzt System: Changes in the Bacterial Envelope Lead to Improved Rev1Δwzm Vaccine Properties

The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-polysaccharide (O-PS) is the main virulence factor in Brucella. After synthesis in the cytoplasmic membrane, O-PS is exported to the periplasm by the Wzm/Wzt system, where it is assembled into a LPS. This translocation also engages a bactoprenol carrier required for further biosynthesis pathways, such as cell wall biogenesis. Targeting O-PS export by blockage holds great potential for vaccine development, but little is known about the biological implications of each Wzm/Wzt moiety. To improve this knowledge and to elucidate its potential application as a vaccine, we constructed and studied wzm/wzt single- and double-deletion mutants, using the attenuated strain Brucella melitensis Rev1 as the parental strain. This allowed us to describe the composition of Brucella peptidoglycan for the first time. We observed that these mutants lack external O-PS yet trigger changes in genetic transcription and in phenotypic properties associated with the outer membrane and cell wall. The three mutants are highly attenuated; unexpectedly, Rev1Δwzm also excels as an immunogenic and effective vaccine against B. melitensis and Brucella ovis in mice, revealing that low persistence is not at odds with efficacy. Rev1Δwzm is attenuated in BeWo trophoblasts, does not infect mouse placentas, and is safe in pregnant ewes. Overall, these attributes and the minimal serological interference induced in sheep make Rev1Δwzm a highly promising vaccine candidate.

Combined effects of glycan chain length and linkage type on the immunogenicity of glycoconjugate vaccines

The development and use of antibacterial glycoconjugate vaccines have significantly reduced the occurrence of potentially fatal childhood and adult diseases such as bacteremia, bacterial meningitis, and pneumonia. In these vaccines, the covalent linkage of bacterial glycans to carrier proteins augments the immunogenicity of saccharide antigens by triggering T cell-dependent B cell responses, leading to high-affinity antibodies and durable protection. Licensed glycoconjugate vaccines either contain long-chain bacterial polysaccharides, medium-sized oligosaccharides, or short synthetic glycans. Here, we discuss factors that affect the glycan chain length in vaccines and review the available literature discussing the impact of glycan chain length on vaccine efficacy. Furthermore, we evaluate the available clinical data on licensed glycoconjugate vaccine preparations with varying chain lengths against two bacterial pathogens, Haemophilus influenzae type b and Neisseria meningitidis group C, regarding a possible correlation of glycan chain length with their efficacy. We find that long-chain glycans cross-linked to carrier proteins and medium-sized oligosaccharides end-linked to carriers both achieve high immunogenicity and efficacy. However, end-linked glycoconjugates that contain long untethered stretches of native glycan chains may induce hyporesponsiveness by T cell-independent activation of B cells, while cross-linked medium-sized oligosaccharides may suffer from suboptimal saccharide epitope accessibility.

Chemical Biology Tools for Modulating and Visualizing Gram-Negative Bacterial Surface Polysaccharides

Bacterial cells present a wide diversity of saccharides that decorate the cell surface and help mediate interactions with the environment. Many Gram-negative cells express O-antigens, which are long sugar polymers that makeup the distal portion of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) that constitutes the surface of the outer membrane. This review highlights chemical biology tools that have been developed in recent years to facilitate the modulation of O-antigen synthesis and composition, as well as related bacterial polysaccharide pathways, and the detection of unique glycan sequences. Advances in the biochemistry and structural biology of O-antigen biosynthetic machinery are also described, which provide guidance for the design of novel chemical and biomolecular probes. Many of the tools noted here have not yet been utilized in biological systems and offer researchers the opportunity to investigate the complex sugar architecture of Gram-negative cells.

Bacterial Extracellular Polymers: A Review

Prokaryotic microbial cells especially bacteria are highly emphases for their exopolysaccharides (EPS) production. EPS are the higher molecular weight natural extracellular compounds observe at the surface of the bacterial cells. Nowadays bacterial EPS represent rapidly emerging as new and industrially important biomaterials because it having tremendous physical and chemical properties with novel functionality. Due to its industrial demand as well as research studies the different extraction processes have been discovered to remove the EPS from the microbial biofilm. The novelties of EPS are also based on the microbial habitat conditions such as higher temperature, lower temperature, acidic, alkaliphilic, saline, etc. Based on its chemical structure they can be homopolysaccharide or heteropolysaccharide. EPSs have a wide range of applications in various industries such as food, textile, pharmaceutical, heavy metal recovery, agriculture, etc. So, this review focus on the understanding of the structure, different extraction processes, biosynthesis and genetic engineering of EPS as well as their desirable biotechnological applications.

NDP-rhamnose biosynthesis and rhamnosyltransferases: building diverse glycoconjugates in nature

Rhamnose is an important 6-deoxy sugar present in many natural products, glycoproteins, and structural polysaccharides. Whilst predominantly found as the l-enantiomer, instances of d-rhamnose are also found in nature, particularly in the Pseudomonads bacteria. Interestingly, rhamnose is notably absent from humans and other animals, which poses unique opportunities for drug discovery targeted towards rhamnose utilizing enzymes from pathogenic bacteria. Whilst the biosynthesis of nucleotide-activated rhamnose (NDP-rhamnose) is well studied, the study of rhamnosyltransferases that synthesize rhamnose-containing glycoconjugates is the current focus amongst the scientific community. In this review, we describe where rhamnose has been found in nature, as well as what is known about TDP-β-l-rhamnose, UDP-β-l-rhamnose, and GDP-α-d-rhamnose biosynthesis. We then focus on examples of rhamnosyltransferases that have been characterized using both in vivo and in vitro approaches from plants and bacteria, highlighting enzymes where 3D structures have been obtained. The ongoing study of rhamnose and rhamnosyltransferases, in particular in pathogenic organisms, is important to inform future drug discovery projects and vaccine development.

Racing to build a wall: glycoconjugate assembly in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria

The last two years have seen major advances in understanding the structural basis of bacterial cell envelope glycoconjugate biosynthesis, including capsules, lipopolysaccharide, teichoic acid, cellulose, and peptidoglycan. The recent crystal and cryo-electron microscopy structures of proteins involved in the initial glycosyltransferase steps in the cytoplasm, the transport of large and small lipid-linked glycoconjugates across the inner membrane, the polymerization of glycans in the periplasm, and the export of molecules from the cell have shed light on the mechanisms by which cell envelope glycoconjugates are made. We discuss these recent advances and highlight remaining unanswered questions.

Chlorovirus PBCV-1 protein A064R has three of the transferase activities necessary to synthesize its capsid protein N-linked glycans

Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus-1 (PBCV-1) is a large double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) virus that infects the unicellular green alga Chlorella variabilis NC64A. Unlike many other viruses, PBCV-1 encodes most, if not all, of the enzymes involved in the synthesis of the glycans attached to its major capsid protein. Importantly, these glycans differ from those reported from the three domains of life in terms of structure and asparagine location in the sequon of the protein. Previous data collected from 20 PBCV-1 spontaneous mutants (or antigenic variants) suggested that the a064r gene encodes a glycosyltransferase (GT) with three domains, each with a different function. Here, we demonstrate that: domain 1 is a β-l-rhamnosyltransferase; domain 2 is an α-l-rhamnosyltransferase resembling only bacterial proteins of unknown function, and domain 3 is a methyltransferase that methylates the C-2 hydroxyl group of the terminal α-l-rhamnose (Rha) unit. We also establish that methylation of the C-3 hydroxyl group of the terminal α-l-Rha is achieved by another virus-encoded protein A061L, which requires an O-2 methylated substrate. This study, thus, identifies two of the glycosyltransferase activities involved in the synthesis of the N-glycan of the viral major capsid protein in PBCV-1 and establishes that a single protein A064R possesses the three activities needed to synthetize the 2-OMe-α-l-Rha-(1→2)-β-l-Rha fragment. Remarkably, this fragment can be attached to any xylose unit.

Lipoteichoic acid polymer length is determined by competition between free starter units

Carbohydrate polymers exhibit incredible chemical and structural diversity, yet are produced by polymerases without a template to guide length and composition. As the length of carbohydrate polymers is critical for their biological functions, understanding the mechanisms that determine polymer length is an important area of investigation. Most Gram-positive bacteria produce anionic glycopolymers called lipoteichoic acids (LTA) that are synthesized by lipoteichoic acid synthase (LtaS) on a diglucosyl-diacylglycerol (Glc₂DAG) starter unit embedded in the extracellular leaflet of the cell membrane. LtaS can use phosphatidylglycerol (PG) as an alternative starter unit, but PG-anchored LTA polymers are significantly longer, and cells that make these abnormally long polymers exhibit major defects in cell growth and division. To determine how LTA polymer length is controlled, we reconstituted Staphylococcus aureus LtaS in vitro. We show that polymer length is an intrinsic property of LtaS that is directly regulated by the identity and concentration of lipid starter units. Polymerization is processive, and the overall reaction rate is substantially faster for the preferred Glc₂DAG starter unit, yet the use of Glc₂DAG leads to shorter polymers. We propose a simple mechanism to explain this surprising result: free starter units terminate polymerization by displacing the lipid anchor of the growing polymer from its binding site on the enzyme. Because LtaS is conserved across most Gram-positive bacteria and is important for survival, this reconstituted system should be useful for characterizing inhibitors of this key cell envelope enzyme.

Identification of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa O17 and O15 O-Specific Antigen Biosynthesis Loci Reveals an ABC Transporter-Dependent Synthesis Pathway and Mechanisms of Genetic Diversity

Many bacterial cell surface glycans, such as the O antigen component of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), are produced via the so-called Wzx/Wzy- or ABC transporter-dependent pathways. O antigens are highly diverse polysaccharides that protect bacteria from their environment and engage in important host-pathogen interactions. The specific structure and composition of O antigens are the basis of classifying bacteria into O serotypes. In the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, there are currently 20 known O-specific antigen (OSA) structures. The clusters of genes responsible for 18 of these O antigens have been identified, all of which follow the Wzx/Wzy-dependent pathway and are located at a common locus. In this study, we located the two unidentified O antigen biosynthesis clusters responsible for the synthesis of the O15 and the O17 OSA structures by analyzing published whole-genome sequence data. Intriguingly, these clusters were found outside the conserved OSA biosynthesis locus and were likely acquired through multiple horizontal gene transfer events. Based on data from knockout and overexpression studies, we determined that the synthesis of these O antigens follows an ABC transporter-dependent rather than a Wzx/Wzy-dependent pathway. In addition, we collected evidence to show that the O15 and O17 polysaccharide chain lengths are regulated by molecular rulers with distinct and variable domain architectures. The findings in this report are critical for a comprehensive understanding of O antigen biosynthesis in P. aeruginosa and provide a framework for future studies.IMPORTANCE P. aeruginosa is a problematic opportunistic pathogen that causes diseases in those with compromised host defenses, such as those suffering from cystic fibrosis. This bacterium produces a number of virulence factors, including a serotype-specific O antigen. Here, we identified and characterized the gene clusters that produce the O15 and O17 O antigens and show that they utilize a pathway for synthesis that is distinct from that of the 18 other known serotypes. We also provide evidence that these clusters have acquired mutations in specific biosynthesis genes and have undergone extensive horizontal gene transfer within the P. aeruginosa population. These findings expand on our understanding of O antigen biosynthesis in Gram-negative bacteria and the mechanisms that drive O antigen diversity.

Polysaccharide length affects mycobacterial cell shape and antibiotic susceptibility

Bacteria control the length of their polysaccharides, which can control cell viability, physiology, virulence, and immune evasion. Polysaccharide chain length affects immunomodulation, but its impact on bacterial physiology and antibiotic susceptibility was unclear. We probed the consequences of truncating the mycobacterial galactan, an essential linear polysaccharide of about 30 residues. Galactan covalently bridges cell envelope layers, with the outermost cell wall linkage point occurring at residue 12. Reducing galactan chain length by approximately half compromises fitness, alters cell morphology, and increases the potency of hydrophobic antibiotics. Systematic variation of the galactan chain length revealed that it determines periplasm size. Thus, glycan chain length can directly affect cellular physiology and antibiotic activity, and mycobacterial glycans, not proteins, regulate periplasm size.

Lipopolysaccharide O-antigens-bacterial glycans made to measure

Lipopolysaccharides are critical components of bacterial outer membranes. The more conserved lipid A part of the lipopolysaccharide molecule is a major element in the permeability barrier imposed by the outer membrane and offers a pathogen-associated molecular pattern recognized by innate immune systems. In contrast, the long-chain O-antigen polysaccharide (O-PS) shows remarkable structural diversity and fulfills a range of functions, depending on bacterial lifestyles. O-PS production is vital for the success of clinically important Gram-negative pathogens. The biological properties and functions of O-PSs are mostly independent of specific structures, but the size distribution of O-PS chains is particularly important in many contexts. Despite the vast O-PS chemical diversity, most are produced in bacterial cells by two assembly strategies, and the different mechanisms employed in these pathways to regulate chain-length distribution are emerging. Here, we review our current understanding of the mechanisms involved in regulating O-PS chain-length distribution and discuss their impact on microbial cell biology.

Bioinformatics analysis of diversity in bacterial glycan chain-termination chemistry and organization of carbohydrate-binding modules linked to ABC transporters

The structures of bacterial cell surface glycans are remarkably diverse. In spite of this diversity, the general strategies used for their assembly are limited. In one of the major processes, found in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, the glycan is polymerized in the cytoplasm on a polyprenol lipid carrier and exported from the cytoplasm by an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter. The ABC transporter actively participates in determining the chain length of the glycan substrate, which impacts functional properties of the glycoconjugate products. A subset of these systems employs an additional elaborate glycan capping strategy that dictates the size distribution of the products. The hallmarks of prototypical capped glycan systems are a chain-terminating enzyme possessing a coiled-coil molecular ruler and an ABC transporter possessing a carbohydrate-binding module, which recognizes the glycan cap. To date, detailed investigations are limited to a small number of prototypes, and here, we used our current understanding of these processes for a bioinformatics census of other examples in available genome sequences. This study not only revealed additional instances of existing terminators but also predicted new chemistries as well as systems that diverge from the established prototypes. These analyses enable some new functional hypotheses and offer a roadmap for future research.

Identification of Genes Required for Glucan Exopolysaccharide Production in Lactobacillus johnsonii Suggests a Novel Biosynthesis Mechanism

Exopolysaccharides are key components of the surfaces of their bacterial producers, contributing to protection, microbial and host interactions, and even virulence. They also have significant applications in industry, and understanding their biosynthetic mechanisms may allow improved production of novel and valuable polymers. Four categories of bacterial exopolysaccharide biosynthesis have been described in detail, but novel enzymes and glycosylation mechanisms are still being described. Our findings that a putative bactoprenol glycosyltransferase and flippase are essential to homopolysaccharide biosynthesis in Lactobacillus johnsonii FI9785 indicate that there may be an alternative mechanism of glucan biosynthesis to the glucansucrase pathway. Disturbance of this synthesis leads to a slow-growth phenotype. Further elucidation of this biosynthesis may give insight into exopolysaccharide production and its impact on the bacterial cell.

Lactobacillus johnsonii FI9785 makes two capsular exopolysaccharides—a heteropolysaccharide (EPS2) encoded by the eps operon and a branched glucan homopolysaccharide (EPS1). The homopolysaccharide is synthesized in the absence of sucrose, and there are no typical glucansucrase genes in the genome. Quantitative proteomics was used to compare the wild type to a mutant where EPS production was reduced to attempt to identify proteins associated with EPS1 biosynthesis. A putative bactoprenol glycosyltransferase, FI9785_242 (242), was less abundant in the Δeps_cluster mutant strain than in the wild type. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis of isolated EPS showed that deletion of the FI9785_242 gene (242) prevented the accumulation of EPS1, without affecting EPS2 synthesis, while plasmid complementation restored EPS1 production. The deletion of 242 also produced a slow-growth phenotype, which could be rescued by complementation. 242 shows amino acid homology to bactoprenol glycosyltransferase GtrB, involved in O-antigen glycosylation, while in silico analysis of the neighboring gene 241 suggested that it encodes a putative flippase with homology to the GtrA superfamily. Deletion of 241 also prevented production of EPS1 and again caused a slow-growth phenotype, while plasmid complementation reinstated EPS1 synthesis. Both genes are highly conserved in L. johnsonii strains isolated from different environments. These results suggest that there may be a novel mechanism for homopolysaccharide synthesis in the Gram-positive L. johnsonii.

IMPORTANCE Exopolysaccharides are key components of the surfaces of their bacterial producers, contributing to protection, microbial and host interactions, and even virulence. They also have significant applications in industry, and understanding their biosynthetic mechanisms may allow improved production of novel and valuable polymers. Four categories of bacterial exopolysaccharide biosynthesis have been described in detail, but novel enzymes and glycosylation mechanisms are still being described. Our findings that a putative bactoprenol glycosyltransferase and flippase are essential to homopolysaccharide biosynthesis in Lactobacillus johnsonii FI9785 indicate that there may be an alternative mechanism of glucan biosynthesis to the glucansucrase pathway. Disturbance of this synthesis leads to a slow-growth phenotype. Further elucidation of this biosynthesis may give insight into exopolysaccharide production and its impact on the bacterial cell.

Substrate recognition by a carbohydrate-binding module in the prototypical ABC transporter for lipopolysaccharide O-antigen from Escherichia coli O9a

Escherichia coli serotype O9a provides a model for export of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-antigen polysaccharide (O-PS) via ABC transporters. In O9a biosynthesis, a chain-terminator enzyme, WbdD, caps the nonreducing end of the glycan with a methylphosphate moiety and thereby establishes chain-length distribution. A carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) in the ABC transporter recognizes terminated glycans, ensuring that only mature O-PS is exported and incorporated into LPS. Here, we addressed two questions arising from this model. Are both residues in the binary terminator necessary for termination and export? And is a terminal methylphosphate moiety sufficient for export of heterologous glycans? To answer the first question, we uncoupled WbdD kinase and methyltransferase activities. WbdD mutants revealed that although the kinase activity is solely responsible for chain-length regulation, both activities are essential for CBM recognition and export. Consistent with this observation, a saturation transfer difference NMR experiment revealed a direct interaction between the CBM and the terminal methyl group. To determine whether methylphosphate is the sole determinant of substrate recognition by the CBM, we exploited Klebsiella pneumoniae O7, whose O-PS repeat-unit structure differs from O9a, but, as shown here, offers the second confirmed example of a terminal methylphosphate serving in substrate recognition. In vitro and in vivo experiments indicated that each CBM can bind the O-PS only with the native repeat unit, revealing that methylphosphate is essential but not sufficient for substrate recognition and export. Our findings provide important new insight into the structural determinants in a prototypical quality control system for glycan assembly and export.

Klebsiella pneumoniae O1 and O2ac antigens provide prototypes for an unusual strategy for polysaccharide antigen diversification

A limited range of different structures is observed in O-antigenic polysaccharides (OPSs) from Klebsiella pneumoniae lipopolysaccharides. Among these, several are based on modifications of a conserved core element of serotype O2a OPS, which has a disaccharide repeat structure [→3)-α-d-Galp-(1→3)-β-d-Galf-(1→]. Here, we describe the enzymatic pathways for a highly unusual modification strategy involving the attachment of a second glycan repeat-unit structure to the nonreducing terminus of O2a. This occurs by the addition of the O1 [→3)-α-d-Galp-(1→3)-β-d-Galp-(1→] or O2c [→3)-β-d-GlcpNAc-(1→5)-β-d-Galf-(1→] antigens. The organization of the enzyme activities performing these modifications differs, with the enzyme WbbY possessing two glycosyltransferase catalytic sites solely responsible for O1 antigen polymerization and forming a complex with the O2a glycosyltransferase WbbM. In contrast, O2c polymerization requires glycosyltransferases WbmV and WbmW, which interact with one another but apparently not with WbbM. Using defined synthetic acceptors and site-directed mutants to assign the activities of the WbbY catalytic sites, we found that the C-terminal WbbY domain is a UDP-Galp-dependent GT-A galactosyltransferase adding β-(1→3)-linked d-Galp, whereas the WbbY N terminus includes a GT-B enzyme adding α-(1→3)-linked d-Galp These activities build the O1 antigen on a terminal Galp in the O2a domain. Using similar approaches, we identified WbmV as the UDP-GlcNAc transferase and noted that WbmW represents a UDP-Galf-dependent enzyme and that both are GT-A members. WbmVW polymerizes the O2c antigen on a terminal Galf. Our results provide mechanistic and conceptual insights into an important strategy for polysaccharide antigen diversification in bacteria.

In Vitro Characterization of a Multidomain Glycosyltransferase Using Fluorescently Tagged Synthetic Acceptors

In vitro assays using fluorescently tagged sugar residues can facilitate the characterization of glycosyltransferase function. Here we describe the use of in vitro assays to characterize the three glycosyltransferase modules of the protein designated WbbB from Klebsiella pneumoniae O12. This protein combines key activities necessary to synthesize the O antigenic polysaccharide portion of lipopolysaccharide. The specificities of the three glycosyltransferases were investigated in vitro, using purified proteins, the activated donor sugars (dTDP-Rha, UDP-GlcNAc and CMP-β-Kdo) and synthetic acceptors terminating in either α1,3-linked Rha or β1,4-linked GlcNAc. The reaction products were verified by mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance methods.

Recent insights in microbial exopolysaccharide biosynthesis and engineering strategies

The distinct biosynthesis pathways for microbial exopolysaccharide production provide different engineering strategies to tailor the chemical structures of the final polymers. This review focuses on the latest insights in the various pathways and identifies bottlenecks as well as promising targets for tailoring microbial polysaccharide production. The main engineering strategies includes the combinatorial assembly of glycosyltransferases and engineering of the Wzx and Wzy proteins for flipping of repeating units as well as polymerization. In the case of synthase based polysaccharides, the use of epimerases or engineering approaches of the synthase itself as well as overexpression of c-di-GMP levels is identified as one of the most promising strategies. For sucrase-based biosynthesis, the in vitro production by engineered sucrase enzymes or adjusted production conditions is shown as a very promising method.