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Linkage of Carbohydrate to Protein in Ovalbumin

Abstract

IN mucoproteins and mucopolysaccharides, carbohydrate and amino-acid moieties are firmly linked by covalent bonds, the nature of which remains a subject for speculation. The participation of hexosamine is suggested by the fact that it seems invariably to be present in proteins containing firmly bound hexose1. O-glycosidic links involving the hydroxyl groups of threonine (or serine) have been proposed2; the preponderance of threonine over other amino-acids is marked in purified blood-group substances3. Combination between reducing groups of sugars and amino-groups of amino-acid residues is another possibility4,5; a glycosylamine link formed in this way could be stabilized by an Amadori rearrangement from an aldose to a ketose derivative.

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JEVONS, F. Linkage of Carbohydrate to Protein in Ovalbumin. Nature 181, 1346–1347 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/1811346a0

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