Trypanosoma rangeli expresses a β-galactofuranosyl transferase.
Glycoconjugates play essential roles in cell recognition, infectivity and survival of protozoan parasites within their insect vectors and mammalian hosts. β-galactofuranose is a component of several glycoconjugates in many organisms, including a variety of trypanosomatids, but is absent in mammalian and African trypanosomes. Herein, we describe the presence of a β(1-3) galactofuranosyl transferase (GALFT), an important enzyme of the galactofuranose biosynthetic pathway, in Trypanosoma rangeli. The T. rangeli GALFT gene (TrGALFT) has an ORF of 1.2 Kb and is organized in two copies in the T. rangeli genome. Antibodies raised against an internal fragment of the transferase demonstrated a 45 kDa protein coded by TrGALFT was localized in the whole cytoplasm, mainly in the Golgi apparatus and equally expressed in epimastigotes and trypomastigotes from T. rangeli. Despite the high sequence similarity with Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp. orthologous TrGALFT showed a substitution of the metal-binding DXD motif, conserved amongst glycosyltransferases, for a DXE functionally analogous motif. Moreover, a reduced number of GALFT genes were present in T. rangeli when compared with other pathogenic kinetoplastid species.
Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC 88040-970, Brazil. patriciastoco@gmail.com
Patrícia Hermes
PH
Stoco
Cassandra
C
Aresi
Débora Denardin
DD
Lückemeyer
Maísa Michels
MM
Sperandio
Thaís Cristine Marques
TC
Sincero
Mário
M
Steindel
Luiz Claudio
LC
Miletti
Edmundo Carlos
EC
Grisard
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005700:Galactosyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014225:Triatominae; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D057509:Trypanosoma rangeli / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics
D005700:Galactosyltransferases; C571212:beta(1-3)-galactofuranosyl transferase, Trypanosoma rangeli