Laboratory evolution of synthetic biocatalysts for N-linked protein glycosylation

The Campylobacter jejuni protein glycosylation locus (pgl) encodes machinery for asparagine-linked (N-linked) glycosylation and serves as the archetype for bacterial N-glycosylation. This machinery has been functionally transferred into Escherichia coli, thereby enabling convenient mechanistic dissection of the N-glycosylation process in this genetically tractable host. Here, we sought to identify sequence determinants in the oligosaccharyltransferase PglB that restrict its specificity to only those glycan acceptor sites containing a negatively charged residue at the -2 position relative to asparagine. This involved creation of a genetic assay named glycoSNAP (glycosylation of secreted N-linked acceptor proteins) that facilitates high-throughput screening of glycophenotypes in E. coli. Using this assay, we isolated several C. jejuni PglB variants that were capable of glycosylating an array of noncanonical acceptor sequences including one in a eukaryotic N-glycoprotein. Collectively, these results underscore the utility of glycoSNAP for shedding light on poorly understood aspects of N-glycosylation and for engineering designer N-glycosylation biocatalysts.