phosphatidyl-myo-inositol mannosyltransferase. This family is most closely related to the GT4 family of glycosyltransferases and named after PimA in Propionibacterium freudenreichii, which is involved in the biosynthesis of phosphatidyl-myo-inositol mannosides (PIM) which are early precursors in the biosynthesis of lipomannans (LM) and lipoarabinomannans (LAM), and catalyzes the addition of a mannosyl residue from GDP-D-mannose (GDP-Man) to the position 2 of the carrier lipid phosphatidyl-myo-inositol (PI) to generate a phosphatidyl-myo-inositol bearing an alpha-1,2-linked mannose residue (PIM1). Glycosyltransferases catalyze the transfer of sugar moieties from activated donor molecules to specific acceptor molecules, forming glycosidic bonds. The acceptor molecule can be a lipid, a protein, a heterocyclic compound, or another carbohydrate residue. This group of glycosyltransferases is most closely related to the previously defined glycosyltransferase family 1 (GT1). The members of this family may transfer UDP, ADP, GDP, or CMP linked sugars. The diverse enzymatic activities among members of this family reflect a wide range of biological functions. The protein structure available for this family has the GTB topology, one of the two protein topologies observed for nucleotide-sugar-dependent glycosyltransferases. GTB proteins have distinct N- and C- terminal domains each containing a typical Rossmann fold. The two domains have high structural homology despite minimal sequence homology. The large cleft that separates the two domains includes the catalytic center and permits a high degree of flexibility. The members of this family are found mainly in certain bacteria and archaea.
