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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Dec 1.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Chem Biol. 2013 Apr 28;9(6):367–373. doi: 10.1038/nchembio.1249

Figure 1. N-linked glycosylation across the three domains of life.

Figure 1

The diphosphate-dependent pathway used by eukaryotes and bacteria is initiated by a phosphoglycosyl transferase, which generates a polyprenyl-PP-linked monosaccharide (Pren-PP-monosaccharide) (top). In this reaction, UMP is released as a byproduct. In contrast, the monophosphate-dependent pathway found in selected archaea begins with the action of a retaining glycosyltransferase to generate a polyprenyl-P-linked monosaccharide (Pren-P-monosaccharide) (bottom). Here, UDP is released as a byproduct. In both pathways, glycosyltransferases then complete assembly of the glycan, which is then transferred by an OTase to an acceptor protein. The sugar molecule is variable depending on the pathway and is depicted with blue shading to symbolize various carbohydrates.