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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Metabolic Glycoengineering of Sialic Acid Using N-acyl-modified Mannosamines
Published on: November 25, 2017
Structural characterization of an oligosaccharide made by Neisseria sicca
Ellen T O'Connor1, Hui Zhou, Kevin Bullock
1Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Abstract:
Neisseria sicca 4320 expresses two carbohydrate-containing components with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis mobilities that resemble those of lipooligosaccharide and lipopolysaccharide. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization--time of flight and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, we characterized a disaccharide carbohydrate repeating unit expressed by this strain. Gas chromatography identified the sugars composing the unit as rhamnose and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. Glycosidase digestion confirmed the identity of the nonreducing terminal sugar of the disaccharide and established its beta-anomeric configuration. Mass spectrometry analysis and lectin binding were used to verify the linkages within the disaccharide repeat. The results revealed that the disaccharide repeat is [-4) beta-L-rhamnose (1-3) beta-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (1-] with an N-acetyl-D-glucosamine nonreducing terminus. This work is the first structural characterization of a molecule that possesses rhamnose in the genus Neisseria.
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