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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Biolistic Transformation of a Fluorescent Tagged Gene into the Opportunistic Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans
Published on: March 19, 2015
A novel xylosylphosphotransferase activity discovered in Cryptococcus neoformans
Morgann C Reilly1, Steven B Levery2, Sherry A Castle3
1Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110.
Abstract:
Cryptococcus neoformans is a fungal pathogen that causes serious disease in immunocompromised individuals. The organism produces a distinctive polysaccharide capsule that is necessary for its virulence, a predominantly polysaccharide cell wall, and a variety of protein- and lipid-linked glycans. The glycan synthetic pathways of this pathogen are of great interest. Here we report the detection of a novel glycosylphosphotransferase activity in C. neoformans, identification of the corresponding gene, and characterization of the encoded protein. The observed activity is specific for UDP-xylose as a donor and for mannose acceptors and forms a xylose-alpha-1-phosphate-6-mannose linkage. This is the first report of a xylosylphosphotransferase activity in any system.
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