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Updated: Mar 14, 2026

Structural Biology and Analytical Chemistry Approaches for Characterizing C-Glycoside Metabolic Enzymes in Human Gut Microbiota
Published on: May 23, 2025
The glycocins: in a class of their own
Gillian E Norris1, Mark L Patchett1
1Institute of Fundamental Sciences, College of Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
Abstract:
First reported in 2011, glycocins (glycosylated bacteriocins) are bacterial toxins that constitute a subset of ribosomally synthesised and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) natural products. Three NMR structures (glycocin F, ASM1 and sublancin 168), two with helix-loop-helix Cs α/α folds, are deposited in the PDB. Each structure contains a monosaccharide β-S-linked to a cysteine side chain. Three more glycocins (thurandacin, and enterocins F4-9 and 96) have been biochemically characterised, and others predicted on the basis of bioinformatic analyses. Only glycocin F, ASM1 and enterocin F4-9 are unequivocally glycoactive. This review probes the structure-function relationships of four types of nested disulfide-bonded glycocins.
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