Structural features of N-glycans of seaweed glycoproteins: Predominant occurrence of high-mannose type N-glycans in marine plants

We analyzed structural features of N-glycans linked to glycoproteins expressed in various seaweeds to identify new sources of biologically-important N-glycans or N-glycopeptides. Structural analysis of the N-glycans of glycopeptides prepared from pepsin digests of 15 species of seaweed revealed that only high-mannose type N-glycans occur in seaweed glycoproteins, and the Man₉GlcNAc₂ structure predominates in Sargassum fulvellum and Zostera marina, while no typical plant complex type N-glycans bearing β1-2 xylosyl and α1-3 fucosyl residues present in either algae or seagrass. These results indicate that seaweeds lack the activities of several of the glycosyltransferases required for the biosynthesis of the complex type N-glycans found in terrestrial plants, and that the context of N-glycan processing in seaweeds is different from that in terrestrial plant cells.