Protocol abstract
Nature Protocols 1, - 543 - 549 (2006)
Published online: 27 June 2006 | doi:10.1038/nprot.2006.76
Subject Categories: Biochemistry and protein analysis | Genomics and proteomics | Microbiology and virology | Spectroscopy and structural analysis
A lectin microarray approach for the rapid analysis of bacterial glycans
Abstract
Rapid evaluation of microbial cell-surface carbohydrates is essential to understanding the mechanisms by which bacteria use glycans to establish pathogenic or symbiotic relationships. Microbial glycan analysis is complicated both by the vast diversity of possible carbohydrate structures and by their dynamic nature. Bacteria can rapidly alter their glycan coats by switching the genes that are involved on and off in a phase-variable manner. Currently, there is a lack of appropriate tools for studying dynamic carbohydrate alterations. Here, we present a lectin microarray protocol for the high-throughput evaluation of cell-surface microbial sugars. The binding patterns of fluorescent bacteria to these arrays provide a simple means to fingerprint bacteria based on their surface carbohydrates. In addition, this method provides a rapid, parallel evaluation of glycans from multiple bacterial samples, allowing dynamic changes in carbohydrate structures to be studied. The entire procedure takes 
12 h but the printing of the microarray can be performed in advance.
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A5300, Austin, Texas 78712-0265, USA.
- Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology and Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A5300, Austin, Texas 78712-0265, USA.
Correspondence to: Lara K Mahal2 e-mail: lmahal@cm.utexas.edu
nature-products
A-Z product listing
- 16-pad FAST frame hybridization chamber(Schleicher & Schuell)
- 16-well FAST frame(Schleicher & Schuell)
- 2-Acetamido-2-deoxy-
-D-glucopyranose(Acros Organics) - 96-well Fluotrac plate(USA Scientific)
- Bovine serum albumin(Fisher Scientific)
- D-(+)-Galactose(Acros Organics)
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