Structural Characterization of Non-reducing Oligosaccharide Produced by Arthrobacter crystallopoietes N-08

A bacterial strain (Strain N-08) capable of extracellularly producing high level of non-reducing oligosaccharide (NR-OS) isolated from soil. The strain was identified phylogenetically by 16S rDNA sequence analysis and found to be very close to Arthrobacter crystallopoietes. The high production of NR-OS was observed in the basal culture medium containing maltose as a sole carbon source. The NR-OS in culture supernatant was purified by glucoamylase treatment and Dowex-1 (OH.) ion exchange chromatography and its structure was characterized. This oligosaccharide consisted of only glucose. Methylation analysis indicated that this fraction was composed mainly of non-reducing terminal glucopyranoside. Matrixassisted laser-induced/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS)/MS analyses suggested that this oligosaccharide comprised non-reducing disaccharide unit with 1,1-glucosidic linkage. When this disaccharide was analyzed by $^1H$-NMR and $^{13}C$-NMR, it gave the same signals with $\alpha$-D-glucopyranosyl-(1,1)-$\alpha$-Dglucopyranoside. These results indicated that the NR-OS produced by A. crystallopoietes N-08 was ${\alpha}1$,${\alpha}1$-trehalose. This is the first report of the trehalose which can be produced directly from maltose by A. crystallopoietes N-08.