N-Linked Glycans of Chloroviruses Sharing a Core Architecture without Precedent

Abstract

N-glycosylation is a fundamental modification of proteins and exists in the three domains of life and in some viruses, including the chloroviruses, for which a new type of core N-glycan is herein described. This N-glycan core structure, common to all chloroviruses, is a pentasaccharide with a β-glucose linked to an asparagine residue which is not located in the typical sequon N-X-T/S. The glucose is linked to a terminal xylose unit and a hyperbranched fucose, which is in turn substituted with a terminal galactose and a second xylose residue. The third position of the fucose unit is always linked to a rhamnose, which is a semiconserved element because its absolute configuration is virus-dependent. Additional decorations occur on this core N-glycan and represent a molecular signature for each chlorovirus.

Keywords: glycoproteins; glycosylations; natural products; structural biology; viruses.