Periodate oxidized CTP~oCTP! was used to investigate the importance of lysine residues in the CTP binding site of the cytidine 59-monophosphate N-acetylneuraminic acid~CMP-NeuAc! synthetase~EC 2.7.7.43! from Haemophilus ducreyi. The reaction of oCTP with the enzyme follows pseudo-first-order saturation kinetics, giving a maximum rate of inactivation of 0.6 min Ϫ1 and a K I of 6.0 mM at pH 7.1. Mass spectrometric analysis of the modified enzyme provided data that was consistent with b-elimination of triphosphate after the reaction of oCTP with the enzyme. A fully reduced enzyme-oCTP conjugate, retaining the triphosphate moiety, was obtained by inclusion of NaBH 3 CN in the reaction solution. The b-elimination product of oCTP reacted several times more rapidly with the enzyme compared to equivalent concentrations of oCTP. This compound also formed a stable reduced morpholino adduct with CMP-NeuAc synthetase when the reaction was conducted in the presence of NaBH 3 CN, and was found to be a useful lysine modifying reagent. The substrate CTP was capable of protecting the enzyme to a large degree from inactivation by oCTP and its b-elimination product. Lys19, a residue conserved in CMP-NeuAc synthetases, was identified as being labeled with the b-elimination product of oCTP.Keywords: affinity labeling; CMP-NeuAc synthetase; Haemophilus ducreyi; mass spectrometry; periodate oxidized CTP; sialic acid Sialic acids are nine carbon a-keto acid monosaccharides that have many important biological effects, particularly in cellular recognition~Schauer, 1985;Kelm et al., 1996!. Although commonly found in higher animals and present in all mammals, sialic acids have been found in relatively few microorganisms~Schauer et al., 1995!. In bacteria, sialic acid presents as the terminal residue of lipooligosaccharides~LOS! and in the form of polymeric extracellular capsules is capable of masking surface epitopes and inhibiting phagocytosis of the bacteria~Timmis et al., 1985;Parsons et al., 1988;Rest & Frangipane, 1992!. Haemophilus ducreyi is the Gram-negative bacterium that is the causative agent of the sexually transmitted disease chancroid. Chancroid is common in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Although the incidence of cases in the United States is low, outbreaks have occurred in recent years~Trees & Morse, 1995!. In addition, the incidence of the disease may be greater than previously estimated Webb et al., 1995!. The LOS of H. ducreyi has been determined to be a virulence factor~Odumeru et al., 1987;Campagnari et al., 1991;Lagergard, 1992!. Furthermore, the LOS from H. ducreyi, along with other Haemophilus and Neisseria spp., are structurally similar to the carbohydrates of some human glycolipids and glycoproteins~Campagnari et al ., 1990;Mandrell & Apicella, 1993!. It has been hypothesized that this mimicry may allow the organism to evade host immune defenses and utilize host receptors for adherence. Sialic acid has recently been identified as a major component of the LOS from many strains of H. ducreyi, yet the preci...