Towards glycoengineering in archaea: Replacement of Haloferax volcanii AglD with homologous glycosyltransferases from other halophilic archaea

Like eukarya and bacteria, archaea also perform N-glycosylation. However, the N-linked glycans of archaeal glycoproteins present a variety not seen elsewhere. Archaea accordingly rely on N-glycosylation pathways likely involving a broad range of species-specific enzymes. To harness the enormous applied potential of such diversity for the generation of glycoproteins bearing tailored N-linked glycans, the development of an appropriate archaeal glycoengineering platform is required. With a sequenced genome, a relatively well-defined N-glycosylation pathway, and molecular tools for gene manipulation, the haloarchaeon Haloferax volcanii (Hfx. volcanii) represents a promising candidate. Accordingly, cells lacking AglD, a glycosyltransferase involved in adding the final hexose of a pentasaccharide N-linked to the surface (S)-layer glycoprotein, were transformed to express AglD homologues from other haloarchaea. The introduction of nonnative versions of AglD led to the appearance of an S-layer glycoprotein similar to the protein from the native strain. Indeed, mass spectrometry confirmed that AglD and its homologues introduce the final hexose to the N-linked S-layer glycoprotein pentasaccharide. Heterologously expressed haloarchaeal AglD homologues contributed to N-glycosylation in Hfx. volcanii despite an apparent lack of AglD function in those haloarchaea from where the introduced homologues came. For example, although functional in Hfx. volcanii, no transcription of the Halobacterium salinarum aglD homologue, OE1482, was detected in cells of the native host grown under various conditions. Thus, at least one AglD homologue works more readily in Hfx. volcanii than in the native host. These results warrant the continued assessment of Hfx. volcanii as a glycosylation "workshop."