Bernard Courtois

Structure of a polysaccharide from a Rhizobium species containing 2-deoxy-β-d-arabino-hexuronic acid

The structure of the extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) produced by the Rhizobium sp. B strain isolated from atypical nodules on alfalfa has been determined using a combination of chemical and physical techniques (methylation analysis, high pH-anion exchange chromatography (HPAEC), mass spectrometry and 1-D and 2-D NMR spectroscopy). As opposed to the EPS from other strains of Rhizobium, the EPS from the sp. B strain contains D-Glc together with L-Rha and 2-deoxy-D-arabino-hexuronic acid. It is a polymer of a repeating unit having the following structure: --> 4)-beta-D-Glcp-(1 --> 4)-alpha-L-Rhap -(1 --> 3)-beta-D-Glcp-(1 --> 4)-2-deoxy-beta-D-GlcpA-(1 -->. The polysaccharide also contains 0.6 O-acetyl groups per sugar which have not been located.

Structural characterization and rheological properties of an extracellular glucuronan produced by a Rhizobium meliloti M5N1 mutant strain

The mutant strain M5N1 C.S. (NCIMB 40472) of Rhizobium meliloti M5N1 is able to produce during fermentation a partially acetylated extracellular (1-->4)-beta-D-glucuronan. At low concentration (1 g.l-1), in the presence of monovalent cations, this new glucuronate behaves as a thickening agent, whereas at higher concentration a thermoreversible gel is obtained. With such divalent cations as Ca2+, a thermally stable gel can be formed.

Polysaccharide Lyases: Recent Developments as Biotechnological Tools

Polysaccharide lyases, which are polysaccharide cleavage enzymes, act mainly on anionic polysaccharides. Produced by prokaryote and eukaryote organisms, these enzymes degrade (1,4) glycosidic bond by a beta elimination mechanism and have unsaturated oligosaccharides as major products. New polysaccharides are cleaved only by their specific polysaccharide lyases. From anionic polysaccharides controlled degradations, various biotechnological applications were investigated. This review catalogues the degradation of bacterial, plant and animal polysaccharides (neutral and anionic) by this family of carbohydrate acting enzymes.

1H NMR spectroscopic determination of poly 3-hydroxybutyrate extracted from microbial biomass

Abstract 1 H NMR analysis was performed in order to identify the nature of the poly 3-hydroxyalkanoate (PHA) accumulated by Rhizobium meliloti M5N1 and determine its concentration within the cells. Since the PHA was identified as being poly 3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), the method of quantification was previously tested on standard PHB. The use of either methanol or benzene as the internal reference showed good accuracy. The extraction of PHB was carried out using dispersions of sodium hypochlorite and chloroform. A treatment time of 1 h with a 10% concentration of hypochlorite allowed for total recovery of PHB. After extraction of different amounts of PHB, aliquots were submitted to 1 H NMR analysis. Methanol used as the internal reference gave an overvaluation of the PHB content. However, benzene met all the requirements of an internal reference due to its chemical inertia in our experimental conditions. NMR data obtained using benzene as the internal reference are in good agreement with corresponding data obtained by gas chromatographic (GC) analysis.

A (1→4)-β-D-glucuronan excreted by a mutant of the Rhizobium meliloti M5N1 strain

Abstract A mutant of the R. meliloti M5N1 strain has been selected. This strain, R. meliloti M5N1 CS (NCIMB 40472), excretes an extracellular material composed of 2-O-Ac-β-GlcpA, 3-O-Ac-β-GlcpA, 2,3-di-O-Ac-β-GlcpA and three species of β-GlcpA residues 1→4 linked. For the culture conditions used, the weight average molecular weight of the polymer varied in the range of 6 × 104 < Mw < 4 × 105. High molecular weight glucuronate forms thermoreversible gels at 5 g L−l. In the presence of divalent cation such as Ca2+ or trivalent cations such as Cr3+ or Fe3 +, cross linking of the polymer occurs. This polysaccharide is the first exocellular (1→4)-β-D-glucuronan produced by a R. meliloti strain.

Production of Arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides from Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum)

Flaxseed mucilage from Linum usitatissimum L. species was constituted by arabinoxylan (about 75%) and pectin (about 25%). A new procedure was developed to obtain only arabinoxylans which implicated treatment of the pectin fraction by enzymatic hydrolysis with pectinase. Then three processes of depolymerization were evaluated on arabinoxylans. First, a thermic hydrolysis in mild acid conditions was performed and an ultrafiltration process was used as purification method. Second, the potential of xylanases from different glycoside hydrolase families for arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides (AXOS) production was tested, and finally a radical depolymerization was conducted. Average molecular weights were determined by high pressure size exclusion chromatography coupled with multiple angle laser light scattering (MALLS), and carbohydrate compositions were determined by high pH anion exchange chromatography pulse amperometric detector (HPAEC-PAD). Both chemical and enzymatic treatments were inefficient to convert arabinoxylans from flaxseed mucilage into AXOS. Only radical depolymerization process was allowed to obtain arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides presenting different molecular weights (11.9 x 10(3) to 1.9 x 10(3) g mol(-1)) with satisfactory yields (75% to 35%).

Comparative studies of extracellular polysaccharide elaborated by Rhizobium meliloti strain M5N1 in defined medium and in non-growing cell suspensions

Rhizobium meliloti, a soil inhabiting bacterium, produces water soluble polysaccharides in RC medium and under resting-cell conditions. The polysaccharides produced by growing and non-growing bacteria have been isolated, purified and determined to contain glucose, galactose, pyruvic acid, acetic acid, and succinic acid in the approximate molar ratio of 7:1:1:3:1:1:1 with β(1 a 3), β(1 a 6), and β(1 a 6), glycosidic linkages. The rheological properties of the polysaccharides have been investigated and were shown to differ according to the origin of the polysaccharide. A major difference was observed in the intrinsic viscosities, 8000 ml/g and about 40 000 ml/g for molecules obtained from growing and non-growing bacteria respectively. The viscosities of both polysaccharides were slightly sensitive to salt and were stable over a range of pH from 1 to 11. Measurements of optical rotation versus temperature revealed a sharp transition at TM = 76°C associated with a partial irreversible decrease in viscosity.

Purification and characterization of a novel glucuronan lyase from Trichoderma sp. GL2

The filamentous fungus Trichoderma sp. GL2 produces an extracellular glucuronan lyase (GL) when grown on glucuronan as the sole carbon source. In this paper, we report the purification to electrophoretical homogeneity of this polysaccharide lyase by size exclusion chromatography and anion exchange chromatography. The purified GL, classified as an endopolyglucuronate lyase, is a monomer with an apparent molecular weight of 27xa0kDa and an isoelectric point of 6.95. Despite an inhibition of the activity when polysaccharide substrates were substituted by acetates, the enzyme was active toward glucuronans (acetylated or not) and ulvan, leading to various (4,5)-unsaturated products as oligoglucuronans (acetylated or deacetylated), highly acetylated low-molecular-weight (LMW) glucuronans, and LMW ulvans.

Rapid quantification of O-acetyl and O-methyl residues in pectin extracts

A rapid method for the determination of the degrees of methylation (DM) and acetylation (DA) of pectins was developed. The polymer substitution degree as determined after saponification at 80 degrees C with NaOD during 1H NMR analysis. Under alkaline conditions, the cleavage of O-acetyl and O-methyl linkages allows the detection and the integration of the H-4 signal from galacturonic acid residues in the newly unesterified pectins. So, after a 10-min NMR recording, sodium acetate and sodium methanolate can be easily quantified relative to the clearly identified H-4 signal in galacturonic acid residues. Protons signals from pectin neutral sugars do not interfere with H-4. During the analysis, a limited (<3%) methanol evaporation leading to a weak reduced signal from the methanolate protons was observed. The proposed method allows in few minutes an accurate simultaneous quantification of DM and DA from few mg of pectin extracts, without the need of external standards.

Production of oligoglucuronans using a monolithic enzymatic microreactor

A glucuronan lyase (EC 4.2.2.14) was immobilized on a monolithic Convective Interaction Media (CIM) disk. The immobilization yield was equal to 29% of the initial activity and 35% of the initial protein amount. Degradations of three glucuronans with various O-acetylation degrees were investigated and compared with degradations using free enzyme. The immobilized glucuronan lyase was inhibited by the O-acetylation degree like the free enzyme. (1)H NMR analyses were used to study the O-acetylation degree of oligoglucuronans and demonstrated that the average degrees of polymerization were inclusive between 4 and 13 after 24h of degradation. This first immobilization of a glucuronan lyase constitutes a new tool to produce oligoglucuronans.