Organic acceptors, glycosyl transfers

Oligosaccharides composed of N-acetyl neuraminic acid residues may serve as acceptors for glycosyl transfer.360 The system becomes fully dependent on the addition of exogenous acceptors if the micro-organisms are grown at low temperature. 

Two approaches have dominated enzyme-catalyzed saccharide synthesis glyco-syl transferase and glycosidase-catalyzed glycosidic bond formation. The first uses the normal biosynthetic machinery of living organisms. In the second, enzymes that normally catalyze transfer of an enzyme-bound glycosyl residue to water are induced to transfer it instead to a different acceptor. 

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