Abstract
Lipooligosaccharides are glycolipids found in the cell wall of many mycobacterial species including the opportunistic pathogen Mycobacterium kansasii. The genome of M. kansasii ATCC12478 contains a cluster with genes orthologous to Mycobacterium marinum LOS biosynthesis genes. To initiate a genetic dissection of this cluster and demonstrate its role in LOS biosynthesis in M. kansasii, we chose MKAN27435, a gene encoding a putative glycosyltransferase. Using Specialized Transduction, a phage-based gene knockout tool previously used to generate null mutants in other mycobacteria, we generated a MKAN27435 null mutant. The mutant strain was found to be defective in the biosynthesis of higher LOS subspecies, viz LOS-IV, LOS-V, LOS-VI and LOS-VII. Additionally, a range of low abundance species were detected in the mutant strain and mass spectroscopic analysis indicated that these were shunt products generated from LOS-III by the addition of up to six molecules of a pentose.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e0122804 |
Journal | PLoS ONE |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 20 Apr 2015 |
Keywords
- Biosynthesis
- Mutant strains
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- Pentoses
- Transferases
- Lipids
- Chloroform
- Mass spectrometry