first sugar and an oxygen atom of a first phosphate of the diphosphate group, and a linkage between a carbon atom of the second sugar and an oxygen atom of a second phosphate of the diphosphate group, and wherein the orientation of the linkage is antiperiplanar, phosphorous-oxygen bonds linking the first phosphate to the second phosphate of the diphosphate group are in a synclinal or anticlinal orientation; and synclinal orientation, respectively, or symmetrically related orientations, and preferably the distance between the carbon atom linked to the first sugar and the carbon atom linked to the second sugar is in the range 4.9 xc3x85 to 5.3 xc3x85; or
(d) a first sugar, a diphosphate group, an ion, and a second sugar that is transferred by the glycosyltransferase to an acceptorfor the glycosyltransferase, wherein there is a bond between a carbon atom of the first sugar and an oxygen atom of a first phosphate of the diphosphate group, a linkage between a carbon atom of the second sugar and an oxygen atom of a second phosphate of the diphosphate group, and an electrostatic interaction between two or more, preferably three, free oxygen atoms of the diphosphate group and the ion, wherein the orientation of the linkage is synclinal, phosphorous-oxygen bonds linking the first phosphate to the second phosphate of the diphosphate group are in -anticlinal or antipleriplanar orientation, and synclinal orientation, respectively, or symmetrically related orientations, and preferably the distance between the carbon atom linked to the first sugar and the carbon atom linked to the second sugar