Action Mechanism of Transfructosylation Catalyzed by Microbacterium laevaniformans Levansucrase

Microbacterium laevaniformans levansucrase synthesized various hetero-oligosaccharides by transferring fructosyl residue from sucrose to various saccharides as acceptors. The acceptor specificity test showed that reducing saccharides were more favorable acceptors than nonreducing saccharides. The transfructosylated product, fructosyl galactose, was produced in the presence of D-galactose as an acceptor. The chemical structure of the resulting fructosyl galactose was analyzed by yeast invertase and NMR, and identified as O-$\alpha$-D-galactosyl-(1${\to}$2)-$\beta$-D-fructofuranoside. These results indicate that the main transfructosylation activity of the enzyme is to make nonreducing transferred products via a transfer of fructosyl residue to acceptor molecules having reducing group. When nonreducing sugars, such as methyl $\alpha$-D-glucoside and methyl $\alpha$-D-galactoside, were used as an acceptor, the transfer product was also formed in spite of the reducing group blocked with methyl group. The fact that no transfer product was formed with sugar alcohols as acceptors was suggested to be due to marked conformational difference of acceptors.