Characterization of dolichol monophosphate- and dolichol diphosphate-linked saccharides in trypanosomatid flagellates.

Dolichol-P- and dolichol-P-P-linked saccharides were isolated from several trypanosomatid flagellates incubated with [U-14C]glucose. Formation of Glc-P-dolichol and Man-P-dolichol was observed in Herpetomonas muscarum and Leishmania adleri, whereas only the latter derivative was synthesized in Trypanosoma dionisii and Leptomonas samueli. The main and largest dolichol-P-P-linked oligosaccharide formed in Trypanosoma conorhini, T. dionisii, L. samueli, Herpetomonas samuelpessoai and H. muscarum appeared to be Man9GlcNAc2, whereas in Blastocrithidia culicis it was Man6GlcNAc2. In L. adleri there were two main oligosaccharides linked to dolichol-P-P, Man6GlcNAc2 and Man5GlcNAc2. The The structures of the oligosaccharides were identical with those of the intermediates in the formation of Glc3Man9GlcNAc2-P-P-dolichol in higher eucaryotes. It was concluded that similarly to Trypanosoma cruzi, Crithidia fasciculata and Leishmania mexicana, no glucosylated derivatives of dolichol-P-P were formed in the additional seven trypanosomatids studied here. The results obtained suggest that the defective step could be in some cases the formation of Glc-P-dolichol and in others, the transfer of glucose residues from the latter compound to dolichol-P-P-linked oligosaccharides.