CAMPYLOBACTER GLYCOSYLTRANSFERASES FOR BIOSYNTHESIS OF GANGLIOSIDES AND GANGLIOSIDE MIMICS

摘要

This invention provides prokaryotic glycosyltransferases, including abifunctional sialyltransferase that has both an .alpha.2,3- and an .alpha.2,8-activity. A .beta.1,4-GalNAc transferase and a .beta.1,3-galactosyltransferaseare also provided by the invention, as are other glycosyltransferases andenzymes involved in synthesis of lipooligosaccharide (LOS). Theglycosyltransferases can be obtained from, for example, Campylobacter species,including C. jejuni. In additional embodiments, the invention provides nucleicacids that encode the glycosyltransferases, as well as expression vectors andhost cells for expressing the glycosyltransferases.