U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination

waaL O-antigen ligase [ Escherichia coli str. K-12 substr. MG1655 ]

Gene ID: 948148, updated on 19-Nov-2025
Official Symbol
waaL
Official Full Name
O-antigen ligase
Primary source
ECOCYC:EG11424
Locus tag
b3622
See related
ASAP:ABE-0011849
Gene type
protein coding
RefSeq status
REVIEWED
Organism
Escherichia coli str. K-12 substr. MG1655 (strain: K-12, substrain: MG1655)
Lineage
Bacteria; Pseudomonadati; Pseudomonadota; Gammaproteobacteria; Enterobacterales; Enterobacteriaceae; Escherichia
Also known as
ECK3612; rfaL
Summary
The lipopolysaccharide of Escherichia coli K-12 consists of two major components: the hydrophobic lipid A moiety inserted into the outer membrane and the phosphorylated core oligosaccharide . [More information is available at EcoCyc: EG11424].
NEW
Try the new Gene table
Try the new Transcript table
Sequence:
NC_000913.3 (3796948..3798207)

NC_000913.3Genomic Context describing neighboring genes Neighboring gene ADP-heptose--LPS heptosyltransferase 2 Neighboring gene ADP-heptose:LPS heptosyltransferase 1 Neighboring gene protein YibX;protein YibX-S Neighboring gene protein YibY Neighboring gene putative ADP-heptose:LPS heptosyltransferase 4 Neighboring gene lipopolysaccharide core biosynthesis protein WaaZ

Genomic Sequence:
NC_000913.3

Go to nucleotide: Graphics FASTA GenBank

Related articles in PubMed

  1. A mutant Escherichia coli that attaches peptidoglycan to lipopolysaccharide and displays cell wall on its surface. Grabowicz M, et al. Elife, 2014 Dec 31. PMID 25551294, Free PMC Article
  2. Functional analysis of the large periplasmic loop of the Escherichia coli K-12 WaaL O-antigen ligase. Pérez JM, et al. Mol Microbiol, 2008 Dec. PMID 19019161
  3. Modification of lipopolysaccharide with colanic acid (M-antigen) repeats in Escherichia coli. Meredith TC, et al. J Biol Chem, 2007 Mar 16. PMID 17227761
  4. Modulation of the surface architecture of gram-negative bacteria by the action of surface polymer:lipid A-core ligase and by determinants of polymer chain length. Whitfield C, et al. Mol Microbiol, 1997 Feb. PMID 9157235
  5. Variation in the complex carbohydrate biosynthesis loci of Acinetobacter baumannii genomes. Kenyon JJ, et al. PLoS One, 2013. PMID 23614028, Free PMC Article

See all (25) citations in PubMed

GeneRIFs: Gene References Into Functions

What's a GeneRIF?
  1. Both E. coli and P. aeruginosa WaaL proteins share similar membrane topology. P. aeruginosa WaaL shares similar functional properties with E. coli WaaL and E. coli WaaL may adopt a functional dimer conformation.
    Title: Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide O-antigen ligases share similar membrane topology and biochemical properties.
  2. A point-mutation has been found in the gene for O-antigen ligase (WaaL) in Escherichia coli that causes LPS to be modified with peptidoglycan subunits thus conferring vancomycin resistance.
    Title: A mutant Escherichia coli that attaches peptidoglycan to lipopolysaccharide and displays cell wall on its surface.
  3. The periplasmic location of a large (EL5) and small (EL4) adjacent loops in the Escherichia coli K-12 WaaL was determined.
    Title: Functional analysis of the large periplasmic loop of the Escherichia coli K-12 WaaL O-antigen ligase.
  4. In a mouse model of urinary tract infection, NU14 DeltaampG, NU14 DeltawaaL, and NU14 Deltaalr were attenuated compared to wild-type NU14 and showed reduced fitness in competition experiments.
    Title: Molecular basis of uropathogenic Escherichia coli evasion of the innate immune response in the bladder.
Submit: New GeneRIF Correction

Homology

Gene Ontology Provided by EcoCyc

Function Evidence Code Pubs
enables O-antigen ligase activity IEA
Inferred from Electronic Annotation
more info
  
enables glycosyltransferase activity IEA
Inferred from Electronic Annotation
more info
  
enables glycosyltransferase activity IMP
Inferred from Mutant Phenotype
more info
 PubMed 
enables transferase activity IEA
Inferred from Electronic Annotation
more info
  
Process Evidence Code Pubs
involved_in lipopolysaccharide biosynthetic process IEA
Inferred from Electronic Annotation
more info
  
involved_in lipopolysaccharide core region biosynthetic process IEA
Inferred from Electronic Annotation
more info
  
Component Evidence Code Pubs
located_in plasma membrane IDA
Inferred from Direct Assay
more info
 PubMed 
located_in plasma membrane IEA
Inferred from Electronic Annotation
more info
  
located_in plasma membrane ISM
Inferred from Sequence Model
more info
 PubMed 
Preferred Names
O-antigen ligase
NP_418079.1

NEW Try the new Transcript table

Genome Annotation

The following sections contain reference sequences that belong to a specific genome build. Explain

Reference assembly

Genomic

  1. NC_000913.3 Reference assembly

    Range
    3796948..3798207
    Download
    GenBank, FASTA, Sequence Viewer (Graphics)

mRNA and Protein(s)

  1. NP_418079.1 O-antigen ligase

    See identical proteins and their annotated locations for NP_418079.1

    Status: REVIEWED

    UniProtKB/TrEMBL
    A0A7H4YQL2
    Conserved Domains (1) summary
    COG3307
    Location:1 → 393
    RfaL; O-antigen ligase [Cell wall/membrane/envelope biogenesis]
Nucleotide Protein
Heading Accession and Version

Gene LinkOut

The following LinkOut resources are supplied by external providers. These providers are responsible for maintaining the links.