Probing enzymatic properties of N-glycosyltransferase isoforms from Mannheimia haemolytica

N-Glycosyltransferase (NGT) is an inverting glycosyltransferase for an unusual pathway of N-linked protein glycosylation and glycosylates polypeptides in the consensus sequon (N-(X≠P)-T/S) with hexose monosaccharides. Here, we expressed and characterized a novel N-glycosyltransferase from Mannheimia haemolytica (named MhNGT). RP-HPLC and Mass Spectrometry were used to assay and quantify glycopeptide formation by MhNGT and determine its substrate specificities. MhNGT could utilize a variety of nucleotide-activated sugar donors, including UDP-Glc, UDP-Gal and UDP-Xyl, to glycosylate the tested peptides DANYTK, GGNWTT and PAVGNCSSALR with higher efficiency than ApNGT which was comprehensive studied. The optimum temperature of MhNGT was about 30 °C and the optimum pH was 7.5-8.0 in PBS-NaOH buffer. MhNGT exhibited a different position-specific residue preference of substrate peptides from the NGT of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (ApNGT). The effective glycosylation of common short peptides by MhNGT demonstrated the enzyme's potential to alter therapeutically significant mammalian N-glycoproteins.