CryoSeek II: Cryo-EM analysis of glycofibrils from freshwater reveals well-structured glycans coating linear tetrapeptide repeats
Abstract
Despite the recent breakthrough in structure determination and prediction of proteins, the structural investigation of carbohydrates remains a challenge. Here, we report the cryo-EM analysis of a glycofibril found in the freshwater in the Tsinghua Lotus Pond. The fibril, which we name TLP-4, is made of a linear chain of tetrapeptide repeats coated with >4 nm thick glycans. In each repeat, two glycans are O-linked to a 3,4-dihydroxyproline and another glycan attaches to the adjacent Ser or Thr. The fibril structure is entirely maintained through glycan packing. Bioinformatic analysis confirms the conservation of the TLP-4 repeats across species, suggesting the existence of a large number of glycofibrils to be discovered. Our findings not only provide valuable insights into the structural roles of glycans in bio-assemblies but also demonstrate the potential of our recently formulated research strategy of CryoSeek to find bioentities and establish prototypes for structural studies of carbohydrates.
Article Details
Journal Info
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
Authors (8)
Tongtong Wang
School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Rd, Shanghai, 200092, China
Wenze Huang
Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structures, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University
Kui Xu
Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structures, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University
Yitong Sun
Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structures, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University
Qiangfeng Cliff Zhang
Chuangye Yan
Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structures, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Zhangqiang Li
Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structures, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University
Nieng Yan