Identification of a cDNA encoding a plant Lewis-type alpha1,4-fucosyltransferase

Recently, it has been found that plants, including tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), express the Lewis-a epitope, Gal1,3(Fuc1,4)GlcNAc, on some N-glycans. By searching the EST database, it was possible to identify a tomato cDNA encoding a protein, designated FucTC, of 413 amino acids with homology to plant and mammalian 1,3/4-fucosyltransferases. The cDNA was expressed in Pichia pastoris and the recombinant enzyme was found to transfer fucose from GDP-Fuc (K_m 16 M) to lacto-N-tetraose (Gal1,3GlcNAc1,3Gal1,4Glc; K_m 80 M) as well as to 1,3- and 1,4-galactosylated N-glycans. It is concluded that FucTC is responsible for the biosynthesis of Lewis-a on N-glycans in tomato.