Sialyltransferases for the Production of 6'-Sialyllactose

1 . A α-2,6-sialyltransferase for use in the production of 6′-sialyllactose, wherein said α-2,6-sialyltransferase is a lactose-accepting α-2,6-sialyltransferase which comprises an amino acid sequence that is at least to 25% identical over a stretch of at least 100 amino acids to one of the amino acid sequences as represented by SEQ ID No. 1 and SEQ ID No. 2.

2 . The α-2,6-sialyltransferases according to claim 1 , wherein the α-2,6-sialyltransferases comprises an amino acid sequence that is at least 30%, at least 35%, at least 40%, at least 45%, at least 50%, at least 55%, at least 60%, at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to one of the amino acid sequences as represented by SEQ ID No. 1 and SEQ ID No. 2 over a stretch of least 100, least 150, at least 200, at least 250 or at least 300 amino acids.

3 . The α-2,6-sialyltransferases according to claim 1 or, wherein the α-2,6-sialyltransferase comprises an amino acid sequence as represented by SEQ ID No. 1 or SEQ ID No. 2.

4 . A genetically engineered cell for the production of 6′-sialyllactose, wherein said cell has been genetically engineered to possess a lactose-accepting α-2,6-sialyltransferase which comprises an amino acid sequence that is at least to 25% identical over a stretch of at least 100 amino acids to one of the amino acid sequences as represented by SEQ ID No. 1 and SEQ ID No. 2.

5 . The genetically engineered cell according to claim 4 , wherein the cell is selected from the group consisting of prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells, preferably from the group consisting of yeast cells, bacterial cells, archaebacterial cells, algae cells, and fungal cells.

6 . The genetically engineered cell according to claim 4 or 5 , wherein the α-2,6-sialyltransferases comprises an amino acid sequence that is at least 30%, at least 35%, at least 40%, at least 45%, at least 50%, at least 55%, at least 60%, at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to one of the amino acid sequences as represented by SEQ ID No. 1 and SEQ ID No. 2 over a stretch of least 100, least 150, at least 200, at least 250 or at least 300 amino acids.

7 . The genetically engineered cell according to any one of claims 4 to 6 , wherein the α-2,6-sialyltransferase comprises an amino acid sequence as represented by SEQ ID No. 1 or SEQ ID No. 2.

8 . The genetically engineered cell according to any one of claims 4 to 7 , wherein the cell contains a nucleic acid molecule which comprises a nucleotide sequence which encodes lactose-accepting α-2,6-sialyltransferase as describe herein before. In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence is selected from the group consisting of

a) nucleotide sequences encoding a lactose accepting α-2,6-sialyltransferase which comprises an amino acid sequence that is at least 25% identical to one of the amino acid sequences as represented by SEQ ID No. 1 and SEQ ID No. 2 over a stretch of least 100 amino acids;

b) nucleotide sequences encoding a polypeptide as represented by any one of SEQ ID No's: 1 and 2;

c) nucleotide sequences as represented by SEQ ID No. 3 and SEQ ID No. 4;

d) nucleotide sequences which are complementary to any one of the nucleotide sequences set forth in a) to c); and

e) nucleotide sequences that hybridize to any one of the nucleotide sequences set forth in a) to d) under stringent conditions.

9 . A method for producing 6′-sialyllactose in a cell, the method comprises

providing a genetically engineered cell for the production of 6′-sialyllactose, wherein said cell has been genetically engineered to possess a lactose-accepting α-2,6-sialyltransferase which comprises an amino acid sequence that is at least to 25% identical over a stretch of at least 100 amino acids to one of the amino acid sequences as represented by SEQ ID No. 1 and SEQ ID No. 2;

cultivating said cell in a culture medium and under conditions permissive for the production of 6′-sialyllactose; and

optionally recovering said 6′-sialyllactose.

10 . The method according to claim 9 , wherein the culture medium contains at least one carbon source selected from the group consisting of glucose, fructose, sucrose, and glycerol.

11 . The method according to claim 9 or 10 , wherein the culture medium contains at least one compound selected from the group consisting of lactose, galactose and sialic acid.

12 . The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11 , wherein the 6′-sialyllactose is recovered from the culture medium and/or the bacterial cell.