Bacterial glycans are a great candidate for bacterial infection diagnostic tools and new antibiotic targets because of their distinct bacteria-selective structures and link to bacterial fitness. However, information is limited about the differences in bacterial glycan structures across different bacterial species and sub-species. This project aimed to contribute information about the glycan structures of common gut bacteria, Bacteroides vulgatus and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. Using Metabolic Oligosaccharides Engineering (MOE), we metabolically incorporated monosaccharides bearing bioorthogonal probes into bacterial glycans. Azide-containing analogs of common monosaccharides, including N-azidoacetyl glucosamine (GlcNAz) and N-azidoacetyl galactosamine (GalNAz), were used to probe glycan biosynthesis in Bacteroides species. Flow cytometry and Western blot analysis revealed robust incorporation of these analogs into bacterial glycans. Enzymatic and chemical digestion indicated that the labeled species appear to be a combination of capsular polysaccharides and glycoslyated proteins. These findings set the stage to further study glycans produced by these symbiotic bacteria, opening the door for selective diagnostics and antibiotics.

Metabolic labeling of common gut bacteria

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