title: Sulfotransferases and sulfatases in mycobacteria.
abstract: Analysis of the genomes of M. tuberculosis, M. leprae, M. smegmatis, and M. avium has revealed a large family of genes homologous to known sulfotransferases. Despite reports detailing a suite of sulfated glycolipids in many mycobacteria, a corresponding family of sulfotransferase genes remains uncharacterized. Here, a sequence-based analysis of newly discovered mycobacterial sulfotransferase genes, named stf1-stf10, is presented. Interestingly, two sulfotransferase genes are highly similar to mammalian sulfotransferases, increasing the list of mycobacterial eukaryotic-like protein families. The sulfotransferases join an equally complex family of mycobacterial sulfatases: a large family of sulfatase genes has been found in all of the mycobacterial genomes examined. As sulfated molecules are common mediators of cell-cell interactions, the sulfotransferases and sulfatases may be involved in regulating host-pathogen interactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Mougous
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Spencer J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Steven E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Brenner
authors.forename: Carolyn R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Bertozzi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013429:Sulfatases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D013431:Sulfates / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D015238:Sulfotransferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D013431:Sulfates; D015238:Sulfotransferases; D013429:Sulfatases