CrosstalkSulfotransferases and Sulfatases in Mycobacteria

environment is to modulate binding interactions between proteins and glycoconjugates [6, 7]. In contrast to the large number of sulfotransferases eukaryotic systems into the domain of Prokarya. Rhizo-bia are nitrogen-fixing bacteria that enter into a symbi-Berkeley, California 94720 otic relationship with a variety of legumes. The sulfotran-sferases, NodH and NoeE, catalyze the sulfation of secreted glycolipid root nodulation factors [8–10]. Ge-Analysis of the genomes of M. tuberculosis, M. leprae, M. smegmatis, and M. avium has revealed a large fam-netic studies have shown that the sulfate group is an important determinant of host specificity. Mutant strains ily of genes homologous to known sulfotransferases. Despite reports detailing a suite of sulfated glycolipids lacking the sulfotransferases involved in the biosynthe-sis of nodulation factors exhibit a host range distinct in many mycobacteria, a corresponding family of sul-fotransferase genes remains uncharacterized. Here, a from wild-type. Members of the mycobacteria genera, including the sequence-based analysis of newly discovered myco-bacterial sulfotransferase genes, named stf1-stf10, is human pathogens M. tuberculosis and M. avium, produce numerous sulfated glycolipids [11, 12]. The sul-presented. Interestingly, two sulfotransferase genes are highly similar to mammalian sulfotransferases, in-fatides, a family of sulfated glycolipids based on a common trehalose-2-sulfate core and restricted to the M. creasing the list of mycobacterial eukaryotic-like protein families. The sulfotransferases join an equally tuberculosis complex, are the best characterized. The structure of sulfolipid-1 (SL-1), the most abundant sul-complex family of mycobacterial sulfatases: a large family of sulfatase genes has been found in all of the fatide, was elucidated by Goren et al. and is given in Figure 2A [13]. Interest in these compounds stemmed mycobacterial genomes examined. As sulfated molecules are common mediators of cell-cell interactions, from early work by Middlebrook and Goren that correlated M. tuberculosis strain virulence with their abun-the sulfotransferases and sulfatases may be involved in regulating host-pathogen interactions. dance [14]. A second sulfated mycobacterial compound has been structurally characterized from M. avium. A 4-O-sulfated 6-deoxytalose residue was found in the Introduction glycopeptidolipid (GPL) of an ethambutol-resistant M. avium strain cultured from a patient with AIDS [15]. GPL Sulfated carbohydrates are widespread in nature, predominantly represented on cell surfaces and in the ex-sulfation was found upregulated after the strain had acquired drug resistance. GPL sulfation has also been tracellular space [1]. Many of these sulfated molecules have been implicated as important mediators of extra-found in Mycobacterium fortuitum, in this case at the 2-hydroxyl group of a 3,4-dimethyl …