Saccharomyces cerevisiae KTR4, KTR5 and KTR7 encode mannosyltransferases differentially involved in the N- and O-linked glycosylation pathways.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a model to understand basic aspects of protein glycosylation pathways. Although these metabolic routes have been thoroughly studied, there are still knowledge gaps; among them, the role of the MNT1/KRE2 gene family. This family is composed of nine members, with only six functionally characterized. The enzymes Ktr1, Ktr3, and Mnt1/Kre2 have overlapping activities in both O-linked and N-linked glycan synthesis; while Ktr2 and Yur1 participate exclusively in the elongation of the N-linked glycan outer chain. KTR6 encodes for a phosphomannosyltransferase that synthesizes the cell wall phosphomannan. Here, we aimed to establish the functional role of KTR4, KTR5 and KTR7 in the protein glycosylation pathways, by using heterologous complementation in Candida albicans null mutants lacking members of the MNT1/KRE2 gene family. The three S. cerevisiae genes restored defects in the C. albicans N-linked glycosylation pathway. KTR5 and KTR7 partially complemented a C. albicans null mutant with defects in the synthesis of O-linked glycans, and only KTR4 fully elongated the O-linked glycans like wild-type cells. Therefore, our results suggest that the three genes have a redundant activity in the S. cerevisiae N-linked glycosylation pathway, but KTR4 plays a major role in O-linked glycan synthesis.

Biochemical characterization of recombinant Candida albicans mannosyltransferases Mnt1, Mnt2 and Mnt5 reveals new functions in O- and N-mannan biosynthesis.

The cell surface of Candida albicans is enriched with highly glycosylated mannoproteins that are involved in the interaction with host tissues. N- and O-glycosylation are post-translational modifications that initiate in the endoplasmic reticulum, and finalize in the Golgi. The KRE2/MNT1 family encode a set of multifunctional mannosyltransferases that participate in O-, N- and phosphomannosylation. In order to gain insights into the substrate specificities of these enzymes, recombinant forms of Mnt1, Mnt2, and Mnt5 were expressed in Pichia pastoris and the enzyme activities characterized. Mnt1 and Mnt2 showed a high specificity for α-methylmannoside and α1,2-mannobiose as acceptor substrates. Notably, they also used Saccharomyces cerevisiaeO-mannans as acceptors and generated products with more than three mannose residues, suggesting than Mnt1 and Mnt2 could be the mannosyltransferases adding the fourth and fifth mannose residue to the O-mannans in C. albicans. Mnt5 only recognized α-methylmannoside as acceptor, suggesting that participates in the addition of the second mannose residues to the N-glycan outer chain.

Real-time investigation of mannosyltransferase function of a Xylella fastidiosa recombinant GumH protein using QCM-D.

Xylella fastidiosa is a gram-negative bacterium that causes serious diseases in economically important crops, including grapevine, coffee, and citrus fruits. X. fastidiosa colonizes the xylem vessels of the infected plants, thereby blocking water and nutrient transport. The genome sequence of X. fastidiosa has revealed an operon containing nine genes possibly involved in the synthesis of an exopolisaccharide (EPS) named fastidian gum that can be related with the pathogenicity of this bacterium. The α-1,3-mannosyltransferase (GumH) enzyme from X. fastidiosa is involved in fastidian gum production. GumH is responsible for the transfer of mannose from guanosine diphosphate mannose (GDP-man) to the cellobiose-pyrophosphate-polyprenol carrier lipid (CPP-Lip) during the assembly and biosynthesis of EPS. In this work, a method for real-time detection of recombinant GumH enzymatic activity was successfully developed using a Quartz Crystal Microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). The QCM-D transducer was strategically modified with CPP-Lip by using a solid-supported lipid bilayer that makes use of a self-assembled monolayer of 1-undecanethiol. Monitoring the real-time CPP-Lip QCM-D transducer in the presence of GDP-man and GumH enzyme shows a mass increase, indicating the transfer of mannose. The real-time QCM-D determination of mannosyltransferase function was validated by a High Performance Liquid Chromatography (LC) method developed for determination of GDP produced by enzymatic reaction. LC results confirmed the activity of recombinant GumH protein, which is the first enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of the EPS from X. fastidiosa enzymatically characterized.

Overexpression, purification, biochemical characterization, and molecular modeling of recombinant GDP-mannosyltransferase (GumH) from Xylella fastidiosa.

The GumH enzyme from Xylella fastidiosa catalyzes the transfer reaction of a mannose from GDP-mannose to the carrier lipid cellobiose-pyrophosphate-polyprenol (Glc(2)-PP-Lip), an intermediary in the reaction for the synthesis of the exopolysaccharide (EPS) fastidian gum. The gumH gene was subcloned in the pMal-c2x vector, allowing the expression of the GumH-MBP fusion protein. Various attempts were made to obtain protein with the necessary degree of purity for crystallographic studies but the yield was very low. The gumH gene was then subcloned in the pET28a vector allowing the expression of the GumH enzyme in fusion with a histidine-rich peptide. The protein was purified and characterized. The three-dimensional structure of the X. fastidiosa GumH enzyme was modeled by threading studies. The model consists of N- and C-terminal domains similar in size and topology and separated by a deep cleft, which includes the EX(7)E motif that can be involved in the catalysis of GumH.

Characterization of a gene which encodes a mannosyltransferase homolog of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis.

We screened an expression library of the yeast form of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis with a pool of human sera that was pre-adsorbed with mycelium, from patients with paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM). A sequence (PbYmnt) was obtained and characterized. A genomic clone was obtained by PCR of P. brasiliensis total DNA. The sequence contained a single open reading frame (ORF) encoding a protein of 357 amino acid residues, with a molecular mass of 39.78 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence exhibited identity to mannosyl- and glycosyltransferases from several sources. A DXD motif was present in the translated gene and this sequence is characteristic of the glycosyltransferases. Hydropathy analysis revealed a single transmembrane region near the amino terminus of the molecule that suggested a type II membrane protein. The PbYmnt was expressed preferentially in the yeast parasitic phase. The accession number of the nucleotide sequence of PbYmnt and its flanking regions is AF374353. A recombinant protein was generated in Escherichia coli. Our data suggest that PbYmnt encodes one member of a glycosyltransferase family of proteins and that our strategy was useful in the isolation of differentially expressed genes.

Identification of essential amino acids in the bacterial alpha -mannosyltransferase aceA.

The alpha-mannosyltransferase AceA from Acetobacter xylinum belongs to the CaZY family 4 of retaining glycosyltransferases. We have identified a series of either highly conserved or invariant residues that are found in all family 4 enzymes as well as other retaining glycosyltransferases. These residues included Glu-287 and Glu-295, which comprise an EX(7)E motif and have been proposed to be involved in catalysis. Alanine replacements of each conserved residue were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis. The mannosyltransferase activity of each mutant was examined by both an in vitro transferase assay using recombinant mutant AceA expressed in Escherichia coli and by an in vivo rescue assay by expressing the mutant AceA in a Xanthomonas campestris gumH(-) strain. We found that only mutants K211A and E287A lost all detectable activity both in vitro and in vivo, whereas E295A retained residual activity in the more sensitive in vivo assay. H127A and S162A each retained reduced but significant activities both in vitro and in vivo. Secondary structure predictions of AceA and subsequent comparison with the crystal structures of the T4 beta-glucosyltransferase and MurG suggest that AceA Lys-211 and Glu-295 are involved in nucleotide sugar donor binding, leaving Glu-287 of the EX(7)E as a potential catalytic residue.