Despite having provided the first example of a prokaryal glycoprotein,
little is known of the rules governing the
N-glycosylation process in Archaea. As in Eukarya and
Bacteria, archaeal N-glycosylation takes place at the
Asn residues of Asn-X-Ser/Thr sequons. Since not all sequons are
utilized, it is clear that other factors, including the context in
which a sequon exists, affect glycosylation efficiency. As yet, the
contribution to N-glycosylation made by
sequon-bordering residues and other related factors in Archaea remains
unaddressed. In the following, the surroundings of Asn residues
confirmed by experiment as modified were analyzed in an attempt to
define sequence rules and requirements for archaeal
N-glycosylation.