title: Methylthioxylose--a jewel in the mycobacterial crown?
abstract: Ten years ago an unusual sugar was discovered in a cell wall polysaccharide of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Structural elucidation revealed the presence of the first thiosugar in a bacterial polysaccharide. Synthetic studies have helped to define its relative and absolute configuration as α-D-methylthioxylofuranosyl. While its biosynthetic origins remain the subject of speculation, work has begun to define its possible biological roles.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK. w.b.turnbull@leeds.ac.uk
authors.forename: W Bruce
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Turnbull
authors.forename: Susanne A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Stalford
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D009005:Monosaccharides / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D014994:Xylose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D016207:Cytokines; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D009005:Monosaccharides; D013440:Sulfides; C050016:lipoarabinomannan; D014994:Xylose