Taxonomic group: bacteria / Proteobacteria
(Phylum: Proteobacteria)
Host organism: Homo sapiens
Associated disease: cystic fibrosis (CF) [ICD11:
CA25 
]
NCBI PubMed ID: 22261278Publication DOI: 10.1016/j.carres.2011.12.025Journal NLM ID: 0043535Publisher: Elsevier
Correspondence: M. Kuttel <mkuttel
cs.uct.ac.za; Michelle.Kuttel
uct.ac.za>
Institutions: Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa, Department of Computer Science, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa, Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Licio Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy
Inquilinus limosus is a multi-resistant bacterium found in the respiratory tract of patients with cystic fibrosis. This bacterium produces two unique fully pyruvylated exopolysaccharides in similar quantities: an α-(1→2)-linked mannan and a β-(1→3)-linked glucan. We employed molecular modelling methods to probe the characteristic conformations and dynamics of these polysaccharides, with corroboration from potentiometric titrations and circular dichroism experiments. Our calculations reveal different structural motifs for the mannan and glucan polysaccharides: the glucan forms primarily right-handed helices with a wide range of extensions, while the mannan forms only left-handed helices. This finding is supported by our circular dichroism experiments. Our calculations also show that the (1→3)-β-D-Glcp linkage is more dynamically flexible than the (1→2)-α-D-Manp: the glucan characteristically forms a range of wide helices with large central cavities. In contrast, the mannan forms rigid regular 'bottlebrush' helices with a minimal central cavity. The widely different character of these two polymers suggests a possible differentiation of biological roles.
molecular modelling, carbohydrates, conformation analysis, Inquilinus limosus, Lung opportunists, Bacterial exopolysaccharides
Structure type: homopolymer
Location inside paper: p.78, p.41, fig.1a
Compound class: EPS
Contained glycoepitopes: IEDB_130701,IEDB_136104,IEDB_140116,IEDB_141795,IEDB_141830,IEDB_141834,IEDB_143632,IEDB_144983,IEDB_152206,IEDB_164480,IEDB_76933,IEDB_983930,SB_136,SB_196,SB_44,SB_67,SB_72
Methods: conformation analysis, MD simulations, molecular modeling, CD
3D data: 3D data
Related record ID(s): 27227
NCBI Taxonomy refs (TaxIDs): 171674
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