The eggs of amphibians are surrounded by three to eight layers of jelly coats. This extracellular matrix is mainly composed of hydrated mucin-type glycoproteins. These highly glycosylated molecules are synthesized by oviduct and play an important role in the fertilization process.Recent structural analyses have shown the strict species-specificity of the O-linked oligosaccharides which constitute 60±70% of these oviducal mucins. Consequently, these carbohydrate chains represent new phenotypic markers, and from a biological point of view, can influence parasite tropism or can be involved in species-specific interaction of gametes.The primary structure of 20 oligosaccharide-alditols, released by alkali/borohydride treatment from the mucin of Rana palustris egg jelly coats, was established by 1 H and 13 C-NMR analysis. Thirteen of these components possess new structures and the polymerization of the sequence Gal(b1±3)GalNAc(a1±4) characterizes the species-specificity of R. palustris.
The carbohydrate chains of the mucins which constitute the jelly coat surrounding the eggs of Rana temporaria were released by alkaline borohydride treatment. Neutral and acidic oligosaccharide-alditols were purified by ion-exchange chromatography and HPLC. From the structural analysis, based upon 1H and 13C-NMR spectroscopy in combination with MALDI-TOF, the following glycan units are proposed.
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