Dear Glycosyltransferase buffs:
I have just finished reading the interesting mini-review by Field and
Wainwright (Glycobiology, Vol.5, pp.463-472, 1995). The authors are to be
congratulated on doing an important job for the glycosyltransferase
community. I think it is a great idea to publish and post to the GIG an
up-to-date list of the entries in the glycosyltransferase database.
However, since such reviews will be widely used and quoted, it is important
that errors be spotted and corrected. In this spirit, I am posting some
errors I picked up in this article. I hope the authors will not be
insulted by this and I apologize to them in advance. My intention is
certainly not to embarrass them in any way but rather to prevent errors
from entering the literature.
Since this is my first posting to the GIG, I would like to thank
all participants for providing an entertaining and instructive forum. It
has been fun.
Here is my list of errors:
Pg.464, 7 lines from bottom: reference should be 120, not 121.
Table I:
Sialyltransferases:
X74570, L23768: EC 2.4.99.6
X73523: EC 2.4.99.4
X76988, X76989 not X76988, X76988
X77775: This is an alpha-2,6-ST, not an alpha-2,3-ST. EC number is
incorrect and, in fact, should be left out because this is a completely
novel activity which has not yet been assigned an EC number.
X74946: This is an alpha-2,6-ST, not an alpha-2,3-ST. EC number 2.4.99.3
is correct.
L13972: EC 2.2.99.2 is clearly not correct; in fact, I dont think an EC
number can as yet be assigned to this novel enzyme at least from the
information available at this AN. EC 2.4.99.2 is a ganglioside ST which
may be the same as EC 2.4.99.4 according to the IUB book.
Fucosyltransferases:
EC 2.4.1.65 applies only to the Lewis alpha-1,3/4-Fuc-T III and should not
be applied to the other alpha-1,3-Fuc-T (IV, V, VI and VII). No EC number
has as yet been assigned to these enzymes.
S52967, S52968, L01698: These are all Fuc-T VI.
M65030, S65161, M58596, M58597: These are all Fuc-T IV.
M81485: This is Fuc-T V.
Galactosyltransferases:
M13701: EC 2.1.4.22 cannot be correct; the authors probably meant 2.4.1.22,
which is correct; however, this number refers to lactose synthetase and
probably should not be used for beta-1,4-Gal-T acting on GlcNAc; the
numbers 2.4.1.38 and 2.4.1.90 should be used.
GlcNAc-transferases:
Pg.466, 2 lines from bottom: that should be L19659; L19656 pulls out a
totally different protein (Rat serotonin receptor (5HT6) mRNA, complete
cds).
M55621, Z46381: that should be EC 2.4.1.101. A minor point is that Z46381
is shown twice, once without an EC number.
GalNAc-transferases:
M83651: This enzyme acts on GM3 and GD3 to produce GM2 and GD2.
Pg.467, last paragraph: fucose is tranferred from GDP, not UDP. Also the
statement "The latter two specificities..." is incorrect since it is
alpha-1,3 and alpha-1,4-Fuc-T that are encoded by a single polypeptide
(Fuc-T III).
Table II: EC 2.4.99.3 should be CMP-sialic acid:GalNAc-R
alpha-2,6-sialyltransferase. Further, several important enzymes were
omitted from the Table, i.e., 2.4.1.37, 2.4.1.69, 2.4.1.101 and others.
Pg.468, first line: that should be: "....other; fucosyltransferase VI
(S52967) and ...". Both the Fuc-T number and the AN are incorrect.
Reference 57: The title is the same as 56; it is incorrect. The title is:
Gene sequences suggest inactivation of alpha-1,3-galactosyltransferase in
catarrhines after the divergence of apes from monkeys. Also the year
(1991) was left out.
Best regards. Harry.
