title: UDP-N-acetylglucosamine:alpha-3-D-mannoside beta-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine:alpha-6-D-mannoside beta-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase II in Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: UDP-N-acetylglucosamine:alpha-3-D-mannoside beta-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I (GnT I) and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine:alpha-6-D-mannoside beta-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase II (GnT II) are key enzymes in the synthesis of Asn-linked hybrid and complex glycans. We have cloned cDNAs from Caenorhabditis elegans for three genes homologous to mammalian GnT I (designated gly-12, gly-13 and gly-14) and one gene homologous to mammalian GnT II. All four cDNAs encode proteins which have the domain structure typical of previously cloned Golgi-type glycosyltransferases and show enzymatic activity (GnT I and GnT II, respectively) on expression in transgenic worms. We have isolated worm mutants lacking the three GnT I genes by the method of ultraviolet irradiation in the presence of trimethylpsoralen (TMP); null mutants for GnT II have not yet been obtained. The gly-12 and gly-14 mutants as well as the gly-14;gly-12 double mutant displayed wild-type phenotypes indicating that neither gly-12 nor gly-14 is necessary for worm development under standard laboratory conditions. This finding and other data indicate that the GLY-13 protein is the major functional GnT I in C. elegans. The mutation lacking the gly-13 gene is partially lethal and the few survivors display severe morphological and behavioral defects. We have shown that the observed phenotype co-segregates with the gly-13 deletion in genetic mapping experiments although a second mutation near the gly-13 gene cannot as yet be ruled out. Our data indicate that complex and hybrid N-glycans may play critical roles in the morphogenesis of C. elegans, as they have been shown to do in mice and men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural Biology and Biochemistry, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Shihao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Vernon N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Reinhold
authors.forename: Andrew M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Spence
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schachter
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007313:Insecta / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D016296:Mutagenesis; D017351:N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D010944:Plants / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D017351:N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases; C024850:alpha-1,3-mannosyl-glycoprotein beta-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I; C063313:alpha-1,6-mannosyl-glycoprotein beta-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase