Warren W. Wakarchuk

TL;DR: The 2 Å crystal structures of the complex of LgtC with manganese and UDP 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-galactose in the presence and absence of the acceptor sugar analog 4′-deoxylactose give valuable insights into the unique catalytic mechanism and, as the first structure of a glycosyltransferase in complex with both the donor and acceptor sugars, provide a starting point for inhibitor design.

TL;DR: Compared the lipo-oligosaccharide biosynthesis loci from 11 Campylobacter jejunistrains expressing a total of 8 different ganglioside mimics in their LOS outer cores, at least five distinct mechanisms that allow C. jejuni to vary the structure of the LOSouter core are identified.

TL;DR: Two strategies for the cloning of four genes responsible for the biosynthesis of the GT1a ganglioside mimic in the lipooligosaccharide (LOS) of a bacterial pathogen,Campylobacter jejuni OH4384, which has been associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome are applied.

TL;DR: It is proposed that Glu 78 is the nucleophile and that GLU 172 is the acid‐base catalyst in the reaction, on the basis of the work investigated.

TL;DR: 13C-NMR titrations of xylanase have revealed pKa values that are consistent with the role of Glu172 as a general base catalyst in the deglycosylation step and appears to be a consequence of both reduced electrostatic repulsion due to neutralization of GLU78 and a conformational change in the protein.