Gangliosides are the most complex class of sphingolipids found in neuronal membranes. The structural feature that distinguishes gangliosides from all other glycosphingolipids is:

• A Presence of phosphate linked to the oligosaccharide chain
• B Presence of one or more residues of sialic acid (N-acetylneuraminic acid) ✓
• C Presence of a sulfate ester on galactose
• D Presence of a covalently attached long-chain alcohol instead of sphingosine

Explanation

Gangliosides are ceramide oligosaccharides carrying one or more negatively charged sialic acid (N-acetylneuraminic acid) residues, giving them their acidic character and their designation GM1, GD, GT based on sialic acid number. Phosphorylated sugar chains define phosphoinositides, sulfate esters on galactose define sulfatides, and all sphingolipids share the sphingosine backbone, so none of these features distinguishes gangliosides.

Reference: Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry, 7th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

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