Aeromonas hydrophila flagella glycosylation: involvement of a lipid carrier

• Published in: PloS one 2014-02, Vol.9 (2), p.e89630-e89630
• Main Authors: Merino, Susana, Fulton, Kelly M, Twine, Susan M, Wilhelms, Markus, Molero, Raquel, Tomás, Juan M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetylgalactosamine - metabolism; Acids; Aeromonas; Aeromonas hydrophila; Aeromonas hydrophila - metabolism; Aeromonas hydrophila - ultrastructure; Amino Acid Sequence; Antigens; Bacteria; Bacteris; Bacteris patògens; Biology; Campylobacter; Campylobacter jejuni; Carbohydrate Conformation; Carbohydrate Sequence; Carrier Proteins - genetics; Carrier Proteins - metabolism; Cell motility; Enzymes; Flagella; Flagella - metabolism; Flagella - ultrastructure; Flagellin; Flagellin - metabolism; Gene Expression; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genetic regulation; Glycan; Glycosylation; Helicobacter pylori; Laboratories; Lipid Metabolism; Lipids; Lipopolysaccharides; Medicine; Mitogens; Molecular Sequence Data; Motilitat cel·lular; Motility; Mutants; Mutation; Pathogenic bacteria; Protein Processing, Post-Translational; Proteins; Regulació genètica; Sugar
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0089630

Polar flagellin proteins from Aeromonas hydrophila strain AH-3 (serotype O34) were found to be O-glycosylated with a heterogeneous glycan. Mutants unable to produce WecP or Gne enzymes showed altered motility, and the study of their polar flagellin glycosylation showed that the patterns of glycosylation differed from that observed with wild type polar flagellin. This suggested the involvement of a lipid carrier in glycosylation. A gene coding for an enzyme linking sugar to a lipid carrier was identified in strain AH-3 (WecX) and subsequent mutation abolished completely motility, flagella production by EM, and flagellin glycosylation. This is the first report of a lipid carrier involved in flagella O-glycosylation. A molecular model has been proposed. The results obtained suggested that the N-acetylhexosamines are N-acetylgalactosamines and that the heptasaccharide is completely independent of the O34-antigen lipopolysaccharide. Furthermore, by comparing the mutants with differing degrees of polar flagellin glycosylation, we established their importance in A. hydrophila flagella formation and motility.