Plant-type N-glycans containing fucose and xylose in Bryophyta (mosses) and Tracheophyta (ferns).

The presence of typical plant-type N-glycans (eg, M3FX, Gn2M3FX, and Le(a)2M3FX) in mosses, ferns, and other organisms was examined to determine which plant initially acquired glycosyltransferases to produce plant-type N-glycans during organic evolution. No M3FX-type N-glycan was detected in lichens (Cladonia humilis) or in any one of the three preland plants Enteromorpha prolifera, Ulva pertusa Kjellman, and Chara braunii Gmelin. In Bryophyta, M3FX-type N-glycan was detected at trace amounts in Anthocerotopsida (hornworts) and at certain amounts in Bryopsida (mosses), but not in Hepaticopsida (liverworts). Le(a)2M3FX was detected in some Bryopsida of relatively high M3FX content. Most Tracheophyta (ferns and higher plants) contained the three typical M3FX-type glycans as the main N-glycans in different ratios. These results suggest that organisms acquired xylosyltransferase and fucosyltransferase during the development of mosses from liverworts, and that later all plants retained both enzymes. Bryopsida have also obtained galactosyltransferase and fucosyltransferase to synthesize the Le(a) antigen.