@article{mbs:/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.000739, author = "Michaels, Dina L. and Moneypenny, Craig G. and Shama, Suzanne M. and Leibowitz, Jeffrey A. and May, Meghan A. and Glass, John I. and Brown, Daniel R.", title = "Sialidase and N-acetylneuraminate catabolism in nutrition of Mycoplasma alligatoris", journal= "Microbiology", year = "2019", volume = "165", number = "6", pages = "662-667", doi = "https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.000739", url = "https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.000739", publisher = "Microbiology Society", issn = "1465-2080", type = "Journal Article", keywords = "Mycoplasma", keywords = "nutrition", keywords = "growth", keywords = "sialidase", abstract = "The contribution of N-acetylneuraminate scavenging to the nutrition of Mycoplasma alligatoris was examined. The wild-type grew substantially faster (P<0.01) than the mutant strains that were unable either to liberate (extracellular NanI− mutants) or to catabolize (NanA− mutants) N-acetylneuraminate from glycoconjugates in minimal SP-4 medium supplemented only with serum, but the growth of sialidase-negative mutants could not be restored to wild-type rate simply by adding unconjugated sialic acid to the culture medium. In 1 : 1 growth competition assays the wild-type was recovered in >99-fold excess of a sialidase-negative mutant after co-culture on pulmonary fibroblasts in serum-free RPMI 1640 medium, even with supplemental glucose. The advantage of nutrient scavenging via this mechanism in a complex glycan-rich environment may help to balance the expected selective disadvantage conferred by the pathogenic effects of mycoplasmal sialidase in an infected host.", }