Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 11, 2025

Analysis of Fucosylated Human Milk Trisaccharides in Biotechnological Context Using Genetically Encoded Biosensors
Published on: April 13, 2019
Glycosyltransferases for Human Milk Oligosaccharide Synthesis: From Structural Understanding to Engineering
Guocong Luo1, Zhaolin Huang1, Jiajun Chen1
1State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China.
Abstract:
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are vital for infant health by modulating gut microbiota and immune function. Due to challenges in natural extraction of HMOs, metabolic engineering using glycosyltransferases (GTs) offers a promising alternative. This review systematically explores GTs-mediated HMO biosynthesis, covering mechanisms, structural characterization, and protein engineering. It emphasizes recent advancements in the structural characterization and protein engineering of GTs, highlighting the strategies employed in each approach. Recent advances in structural analysis of four types of GTs (α-fucosyltransferases (FucTs), β-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases (GlcNAcTs), β-galactosyltransferases (GalTs), and α-sialyltransferases (SiaTs)) have clarified their structure-function relationships, guiding optimization strategies like rational design, directed evolution, and domain truncation. Despite issues like low solubility and substrate specificity, tools like AlphaFold 3 have further guided enzyme optimization. Future efforts aim to expand GT diversity and improve microbial cell factories for scalable HMO production, meeting industrial and nutritional needs.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Oligosaccharide Assembly
Multiple sugar molecules that may or may...
Protein Glycosylation
Glycosylation occurs in...
Proteoglycans
Biosynthesis of Polysaccharides
Glucose Transporters
Facilitated diffusion-glucose transporters (GLUTs) are encoded by the solute-linked carrier (SLC) family 2, subfamily A gene family, or SLC2A. The 14 GLUT protein members are distributed into three classes:
Hydrolysis
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction in which the addition of water breaks down a polymer into its simpler monomer units. For example, peptides break into amino acids, carbohydrates into simple sugars, and DNA into nucleotides. Enzymes often facilitate these processes.
Hydrolysis Reverses Dehydration Synthesis
Complex carbohydrates can be broken down by breaking the bonds between individual sugar units. The reaction breaks a glycosidic bond as water is added to the compound. The...

