• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 1999

Alternan known as a kind of dextran is a linear and cyclic polysaccharide which is synthesized with sucrose by alternaansucrase (EC2.4.1.140) of Leuconostoc mesenteroides. But this polysaccharide is different from dextran in its structure and other properties. For the purpose of applying alternan for the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries, we isolated an excellent alternan-porducing strain, Leu. mesenteroides CBI-110. The optimum culture conditions were studied to improve the yield, and the activity of alternansucrase was increased up to 33U/ml in the optimum culture media. The concentrations of $Mn^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$ ions were 0.01% and 0.03%, respectively, for the effective production of alternan. Finally, we obtained 25.6g/L of alternan.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.179-186
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• 1998

Dextransucrase hyper-producing Leuconostoc mesenteroides B-512FMCM and dextransucrase constitutive mutants B-742CB and B-1355C catalyzed the transfer of glucose from sucrose to other carbohydrates which were present or were added to the reaction digests. When the acceptor was a maltose, gentiobiose, lactose or raffinose, there was produced a series of oligosaccharide acceptor products or single product based on the kinds of enzymes and reaction conditions. To obtain the quantitative information about the yield and the distribution of acceptor products and dextran two experimental parameters were studied: a) the ratio of acceptor to sucrose and b) the amount of enzyme at constant carbohydrate concentration (100 mM). As the amount of enzyme increased, the synthesis of acceptor products (of maltose or gentiobiose) increased, and the formation of dextran decreased. As the ratio of acceptor to sucrose increased, the amount of dextran and the number of acceptor-products decreased and the amount of acceptor-products increased. When maltose or gentiobiose was an acceptor, the glucose from sucrose was transferred to the C-6 hydroxyl group of the nonreducing-end glucose residue of accepters to give a homologous series of isomaltosyl dextrins. In case of lactose or raffinose, there was produced only one acceptor product from B-512FMCM dextransucrase reaction. In the lactose acceptor reaction, the glucose from sucrose was transferred to the C-2 hydroxyl of the reducing end glucose residue of lactose. To get a series of oligosaccharides from lactose or raffinose acceptor reaction we used B-742CB dextransucrase or B-1355C alternansucrase with 500 mM sucrose in reaction digest.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.704-708
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• 1999

In addition to catalyzing the synthesis of glucan from sucrose as a primary reaction, glucansucrase also catalyzes the transfer of glucose from sucrose to other carbohydrates that are present or are added to the reaction digest. Using dextransucrase and altemansucrase, prepared from Leuconostoc mesenteroides B-742CBM and B-1355C, respectively, we modified the bacterial cellulose in Acetobacter xylinum ATCC10821 culture, and then produced a characteristic cellulose that is soluble and has a new structure. There were also some partially modified insoluble cellulose and oligosaccharides in the modification culture. After methylation and following acid hydrolysis of both the soluble and insoluble glucans, there were ($1{\rightarrow}4$) as well as ($1{\rightarrow}6$) and ($1{\rightarrow}3$) glycosidic linkages in the soluble glucan.