Bacteroides fragilis makes up less than 1% of the microflora in the mammalian gut, but is the most isolated anaerobic species from intra-abdominal abscesses.1 There are two distinct polysaccharides that have been isolated for study, capsular polysaccharide A (CPSA) and capsular polysaccharide B (CPSB).1 Our focus is on the CPSB pathway, specifically the proposed dehydratase (WcgS), reductase (WcgU) and epimerase (WcgT) and the production of L-QuiNAc that makes up a sugar in the CPSB monomer. To date, reactions coupled with a similar dehydratase enzyme in the Vibrio vulnificus pathway, WbjB, have produced a product with the reductase WcgU that is a promising candidate for the precursor to the L-QuiNAc sugar. Further isolation and characterization is needed as well as coupling with the epimerase WcgT to determine if the L-QuiNAc sugar is produced. Infection and Immunity, Nov. 2000, p. 6176�6181

Characterization of the sugar modifying enzymes in the capsular polysaccharide B pathway of <i>Bacteroides fragilis</i>

247th National Meeting (2014)

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Characterization of the sugar modifying enzymes in the capsular polysaccharide B pathway of Bacteroides fragilis