Honeybees (Apis mellifera) produce unique complex-type N-glycans bearing a Galβ1-3GalNAc (T-antigen) unit, and honeybee-specific N-glycans are linked to royal jelly glycoproteins. In this study, we identified two novel honeybee β1,3-galactosyltransferase (β1,3-GalT) genes responsible for biosynthesis of the T-antigen in insect N-glycans. The products of the two putative β1,3-GalT genes (β1,3-GalT1 and β1,3-GalT2), which were expressed in Sf21 insect cells, transferred galactose (Gal) residues to GalNAc2GlcNAc2Man3GlcNAc2-PA to form the Galβ1-3GalNAc unit, indicating that the identified genes were involved in biosynthesis of the β1-3 Gal-containing N-glycan. Therefore, using biochemistry and molecular biology techniques, we revealed a unique N-glycan biosynthesis mechanism in the cephalic region of honeybees, which has not previously been found in other animal or plant cells.
CITATION STYLE
Ichimiya, T., Maeda, M., Sakamura, S., Kanazawa, M., Nishihara, S., & Kimura, Y. (2015). Identification of β1,3-galactosyltransferases responsible for biosynthesis of insect complex-type N-glycans containing a T-antigen unit in the honeybee. Glycoconjugate Journal, 32(3–4), 141–151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10719-015-9585-7
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