About this Research Topic
The cell surface of fungi, bacteria and sea organisms is highly glycosylated. These glycans are oligo- or polysaccharide molecules that can be secreted or attached to protein or lipids forming glycoconjugates. They present extraordinary structural diversity that could explain their involvement in many fundamental cellular processes, including growth, differentiation and morphogenesis. Their primary structures are usually determined by using a combination of techniques based on chemical derivatization and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis and completed by soft ionization methods, namely electrospray ionization (ESI) or matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI). NMR spectroscopy is used in conjunction with these techniques and is the most effective up-to-date non-destructive method of structural analysis. 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy includes 2D NMR experiments, homo- and heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy such as homonuclear 1H,1H correlation spectroscopy (COSY), total correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY), heteronuclear single/multiple-quantum correlation spectroscopy (HSQC,HMQC) and nuclear or rotating-frame Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY,ROESY). The combination of these sensitive and powerful techniques has allowed us to increase our structural knowledge of a wide variety of glycans expressed by fungi, bacteria and sea organisms. In this Research Topic we focus on the structural diversity of glycans from these organisms and their biological functions.
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