Partial purification of mannosylphosphorylundecaprenol synthase from Micrococcus luteus: a useful enzyme for the biosynthesis of a variety of mannosylphosphorylpolyisoprenol products

Abstract

Membrane fractions from Micrococcus luteus catalyze the transfer of mannose from GDP-mannose to mono- and dimannosyldiacylglycerol, mannosylphosphorylundecaprenol (Man-P-Undec), and a membrane-associated lipomannan. This chapter describes the detergent solubilization, partial purification, and properties of Man-P-Undec synthase. The mobility of the mannosyltransferase activity on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicates that the enzyme is a polypeptide with a molecular weight of approx 30.7 kDa. Utilizing the broad specificity of the bacterial mannosyltransferase provides a useful approach for the enzymatic synthesis of a wide variety of Man-P-polyisoprenol products.