Carbohydrate composition of the membrane glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus.

The carbohydrate composition of the membrane glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus has been determined for virus grown in four different mammalian cell lines. The glycoprotein contains mannose, galactose, N-acetylglucosamine, and neuraminic acid as the major carbohydrate components, whereas N-acetyl-galactosamine and fucose are present in lesser amounts. The glycoprotein contains approximately 9-10% carbohydrate regardless of the host cell in which it is synthesized. Small quantitative differences are evident in the composition of the component sugars of the glycoprotein when the virus is grown in different host cells, and the glycoprotein of virus grown in a mouse fibroblast line (L cells) lacks fucose. The major oligosaccharide moieties of the virus glycoprotein from all cells are approximately the same size (3000-3400 daltons). The data presented here, in conjunction with previous data, indicate that the viral glycoprotein contains two major oligosaccharide constituents regardless of the host cell in which it is synthesized.