E-Poster with pre-recorded video presentation Lorne Infection and Immunity 2021

Evolutionary Glycomics: A Comprehensive Study of Vertebrate Host Serum/Plasma Glycome Using Orthogonal Glycomics Techniques (#296)

Abarna V. M. Murugan 1 , Tiago Oliveira 1 , Kathirvel Alagesan 1 , Yasin Mojtahedinyazdi 1 , Julien Mariethoz 2 , Catherine A Hayes 2 , Frédérique Lisacek 2 , Niclas G Karlsson 3 , Harold Nothaft 4 , Christine M Szymanski 5 , Kimberly A Finlayson 6 , Jason P van de Merwe 6 , Samantha Richardson 7 , Daniel Kolarich 1 8
  1. Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Southport, QLD, Australia
  2. Proteome Informatics Group, SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Geneva, Switzerland
  3. Department of Medical Biochemistry, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
  4. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
  5. Complex Carbohydrate Research Centre, University of Georgia, Athens, USA
  6. Australian Rivers Institute, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Southport, QLD, Australia
  7. School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  8. ARC Centre for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, Gold Coast Campus, Southport, QLD, Australia

Eukaryotic Vertebrate host glycosylation machinery has been subject to immense evolutionary pressure. Besides, being crucial for host sustenance, glyco-epitopes are also key-regulators of inter-species pathogen transmission. Significant evolutionary events such as loss of N-glycolyl neuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) or alpha Galactose (α-Gal) epitopes in species such as humans have been relevant for species development and have significantly impacted the ongoing arms race between pathogen and its host. Comprehensive knowledge on Vertebrate species-specific glycosylation is still scattered, thereby leaving a substantial gap in our understanding of their glycome evolution.

Serum/plasma N- and O-glycomes of 35 different Vertebrate species (mammals, marsupials, birds, reptiles and fish) were analysed by two orthogonal glycomics methods Porous Graphitised Carbon nano- Liquid Chromatography coupled to Electrospray Ionisation Tandem Mass Spectrometry (PGC nano-LC ESI-MS/MS) and Matrix Associated Laser Desorption Ionisation Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI TOF MS).

Vertebrate serum/plasma glycome predominantly contained complex di-, mono sialylated glycans. Core fucosylation of these N-glycans was strongly species-dependent and so were the non-reducing end modifications. Most species showed a preference for the incorporation of either N-acetyl neuraminic acid (NeuAc) or NeuGc, with exceptions such as rats that use both. Anseriformes (Goose, Duck) N-glycans carried GalNAc-GlcNAc (LacDiNAc) epitopes that, however, were absent in Galliformes (Chicken, Turkey). Reptilians (e.g. Green sea turtles) had high levels of α-Gal epitopes, and Saltwater Crocodile uniquely showed high amounts of oligomannose N-glycans in serum. This largest, vertebrate species-specific serum/plasma glycan and MS/MS spectral data is currently in the process of being made available open access through our collaboration with glycan focussed database such as Glyconnect and UniCarbDB.