Abstract
Campylobacter jejuni is a human pathogen and a leading cause of food poisoning in North America and Europe. The exterior surface of the bacterial cell wall is attached to a polymeric coat of sugar molecules known as the capsular polysaccharide (CPS) that helps protect the organism from the host immune response. The CPS is composed of a repeating sequence of common and unusual sugar residues. In the HS:11 serotype of C. jejuni, we identified two enzymes in the gene cluster for CPS formation that are utilized for the biosynthesis of UDP-α-N-acetyl-d-mannosaminuronic acid (UDP-ManNAcA). In the first step, UDP-α-N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) is epimerized at C2 to form UDP-α-N-acetyl-d-mannosamine (UDP-ManNAc). This product is then oxidized by a NAD(+)-dependent C6-dehydrogenase to form UDP-ManNAcA. In the HS:6 serotype (C. jejuni strain 81116), we identified three enzymes that are required for the biosynthesis of CMP-β-N-acetyl-d-neuraminic acid (CMP-Neu5Ac). In the first step, UDP-GlcNAc is epimerized at C2 and subsequently hydrolyzed to form N-acetyl-d-mannosamine (ManNAc) with the release of UDP. This product is then condensed with PEP by N-acetyl-d-neuraminate synthase to form N-acetyl-d-neuraminic acid (Neu5Ac). In the final step, CMP-N-acetyl-d-neuraminic acid synthase utilizes CTP to convert this product into CMP-Neu5Ac. A bioinformatic analysis of these five enzymes from C. jejuni serotypes HS:11 and HS:6 identified other bacterial species that can produce UDP-ManNAcA or CMP-Neu5Ac for CPS formation.