Misincorporation of Galactose by Chondroitin Synthase of Escherichia coli K4: From Traces to Synthesis of Chondbiuronan, a Novel Chondroitin-Like Polysaccharide

Chondroitin synthase KfoC is a bifunctional enzyme which polymerizes the capsular chondroitin backbone of Escherichia coli K4, composed of repeated beta 3N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc)-beta 4-glucuronic acid (GlcA) units. Sugar donors UDP-GalNAc and UDP-GlcA are the natural precursors of bacterial chondroitin synthesis. We have expressed KfoC in a recombinant strain of Escherichia coli deprived of 4-epimerase activity, thus incapable of supplying UDP-GalNAc in the bacterial cytoplasm. The strain was also co-expressing mammal galactose beta-glucuronyltransferase, providing glucuronyl-lactose from exogenously added lactose, serving as a primer of polymerization. We show by the mean of NMR analyses that in those conditions, KfoC incorporates galactose, forming a chondroitin-like polymer composed of the repeated beta 3-galactose (Gal)-beta 4-glucuronic acid units. We also show that when UDP-GlcNAc 4-epimerase KfoA, encoded by the K4-operon, was co-expressed and produced UDP-GalNAc, a small proportion of galactose was still incorporated into the growing chain of chondroitin.