Nucleotide sugars metabolism

In nucleotide sugar metabolism a group of biochemicals known as nucleotide sugars act as donors for sugar residues in the glycosylation reactions that produce polysaccharides.

[1] Since most glycosylation takes place in the endoplasmic reticulum and golgi apparatus, there are a large family of nucleotide sugar transporters that allow nucleotide sugars to move from the cytoplasm, where they are produced, into the organelles where they are consumed.

[3][4] Nucleotide sugar metabolism is particularly well-studied in yeast,[5] fungal pathogens,[6] and bacterial pathogens, such as E. coli and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, since these molecules are required for the synthesis of glycoconjugates on the surfaces of these organisms.

[7][8] These glycoconjugates are virulence factors and components of the fungal and bacterial cell wall.

These pathways are also studied in plants, but here the enzymes involved are less well understood.