Biosynthesis of uridine diphosphate N-acetyl-L-fucosamine in a cell-free system from Salmonella arizonae O:59

The conversion of uridine diphosphate N-acetyl-D-glucosamine into uridine diphosphate N-acetyl-L-fucosamine was demonstrated with enzymes from cytoplasmic fraction of Salmonella arizonae O:59 cells in the presence of NAD+ (NADP+) and NADPH. The reaction product was identified by ion-pair, reverse-phase HPLC with the use of synthetic nucleoside diphosphate sugar standards under conditions specially developed for separation of uridine diphosphate 2-acetamido-2,6-dideoxyhexoses. L-Fucose dehydrogenase from porcine liver was shown to be applicable for determination of N-acetyl-L-fucosamine, this enzyme being used to confirm L-configuration of the amino sugar residue in the sugar nucleotide formed.