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Title: OLIGOSACCHARIDE ACCEPTOR PRODUCTS FROM MALTOSE AND SUCROSE: INCREASING COMPLEXITY WITH MOLECULAR SIZE

Author
item Cote, Gregory
item Nicholson, James
item Brimberry, Racheal

Submitted to: Great Lakes Regional American Chemical Society Symposium
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/20/2004
Publication Date: 10/20/2004
Citation: Cote, G.L., Nicholson, J.J., Brimberry, R.M. 2004. Oligosaccharide acceptor products from maltose and sucrose: increasing complexity with molecular size [abstract]. Great Lakes Regional American Chemical Society Symposium. October 17-20, 2004, Peoria, Illinois. p. 184.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Dextransucrase and alternansucrase are bacterial enzymes that transfer glucosyl units from sucrose into long-chain polymers of glucose. In the presence of suitable acceptor molecules, glucosyl transfer can also occur to the acceptor, forming glucose-oligosaccharides of varying molecular size (degree of polymerization, DP). A major difference between commercial dextransucrase and alternansucrase is that dextransucrase makes a homologous series of oligosaccharides in which the isomers differ by a single glucosyl unit, whereas alternansucrase synthesizes one DP 3 product, two DP 4 products, three DP 5 products, etc. If one considers only the linear, unbranched possibilities for alternansucrase, the number of potential products increases exponentially as a function of DP. This function is an example of a Fibonacci series. We will present data showing that certain isomers of DP>3 are more likely to be formed than others and discuss the structures of some of the higher DP oligosaccharides.