N-glycan chitobiose core biosynthesis by Agl24 strengthens the hypothesis of an archaeal origin of the eukaryal N-glycosylation

Abstract

Protein N-glycosylation is one of the most common posttranslational modifications found in all three domains of life. The crenarchaeal N-glycosylation begins with the synthesis of a lipid-linked chitobiose core structure, identical to that in eukaryotes. Here, we report the first identification of a thermostable archaeal beta-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase, named archaeal glycosylation enzyme 24 (Agl24), responsible for the synthesis of the N-glycan chitobiose core. Biochemical characterization confirmed the function as an inverting β-D-GlcNAc-(1→4)-α-D-GlcNAc-diphosphodolichol glycosyltransferase. Substitution of a highly conserved histidine residue, found also in the eukaryotic and bacterial homologs, demonstrated its importance for the function of Agl24. Furthermore, bioinformatics and structural modeling revealed strong similarities between Agl24 and both the eukaryotic Alg14/13 and a distant relation to the bacterial MurG, which catalyze the identical or a similar process, respectively. Our data, complemented by phylogenetic analysis of Alg13 and Alg14, revealed similar sequences in Asgardarchaeota, further supporting the hypothesis that the Alg13/14 homologs in eukaryotes have been acquired during eukaryogenesis.HighlightsFirst identification and characterization of a thermostable β-D-GlcNAc-(1→4)-α-D-GlcNAc-diphosphodolichol glycosyltransferase (GT family 28) in Archaea.A highly conserved histidine, within a GGH motif in Agl24, Alg14, and MurG, is essential for function of Agl24.Agl24-like homologs are broadly distributed among Archaea.The eukaryotic Alg13 and Alg14 are closely related to the Asgard homologs, suggesting their acquisition during eukaryogenesis.Cover Art