Virus-encoded glycosyltransferases hypermodify DNA with diverse glycans

Enzymatic modification of DNA nucleobases can coordinate gene expression, nuclease protection or mutagenesis. We recently discovered a clade of phage-specific cytosine methyltransferase (MT) and 5-methylpyrimidine dioxygenase (5mYOX) enzymes that produce 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) as a precursor for enzymatic hypermodifications on viral genomes. Here, we identify phage MT- and 5mYOX- associated glycosyltransferases (GTs) that catalyze linkage of diverse sugars to 5hmC nucleobase substrates. Metavirome mining revealed thousands of new biosynthetic gene clusters containing enzymes with predicted roles in cytosine sugar hypermodification. We developed a platform for high-throughput screening of GT- containing pathways, relying on the E. coli metabolome as a substrate pool. We successfully reconstituted several pathways and isolated diverse sugar modifications appended to cytosine, including mono-, di-, or tri-saccharides comprised of hexoses, N-acetylhexosamines or heptose. These findings expand our knowledge of hypermodifications on nucleic acids and the origins of corresponding sugar-installing enzymes.