Unusual heterogeneity in the glycosylation of the G protein of the hazelhurst strain of vesicular stomatitis virus

The asparagine-linked oligosaccharides of the G protein of the Hazelhurst subtype of the New Jersey serotype of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) have been compared with the oligosaccharides from the G protein of the well-characterized Indiana serotype of VSV, with baby hamster kidney cells in monolayer culture as the host for both viruses. [3H]Glucosamine- and [3H]mannose-labeled glycopeptides from the G protein of purified virus were analyzed by the combined techniques of endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H (ENDO-H) digestion, concanavalin A and lentil lectin affinity chromatography, and Bio-Gel P-4 chromatography. Although almost all of the Indiana G protein oligosaccharides were acidic-type structures, as expected from previous studies; the Hazelhurst G protein contained a mixture of acidic-type, hybrid-type containing sialic acid, and neutral-type (predominantly Man5-6GlcNAc2-Asn) structures. The vast majority of acidic-type oligosaccharides from both the Hazelhurst and Indiana G proteins were diantennary structures, with less than half containing fucose linked to the innermost N-acetylglucosamine. Additional analysis of the Hazelhurst G protein by ENDO-H digestion and gel electrophoresis suggested that some of the mature G polypeptides contained acidic-type structures at both glycosylation sites, whereas the remainder contained an ENDO-H-resistant, acidic-type structure at one site and an ENDO-H-sensitive, hybrid- or neutral-type structure at the other site.