Biochemical Characterization of WbkC, an N-Formyltransferase from Brucella melitensis.

ABSTRACT: It has become increasingly apparent within the last several years that unusual N-formylated sugars are often found on the O-antigens of such Gram negative pathogenic organisms as Francisella tularensis, Campylobacter jejuni, and Providencia alcalifaciens, among others. Indeed, in some species of Brucella, for example, the O-antigen contains 1,2-linked 4-formamido-4,6-dideoxy-α-d-mannosyl groups. These sugars, often referred to as N-formylperosamine, are synthesized in pathways initiating with GDP-mannose. One of the enzymes required for the production of N-formylperosamine, namely, WbkC, was first identified in 2000 and was suggested to function as an N-formyltransferase. Its biochemical activity was never experimentally verified, however. Here we describe a combined structural and functio

SUBMITTER: Riegert AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5543684 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature