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Title: TRANSFORMATION OF ALTERNAN-PRODUCING STRAINS OF LEUCONOSTOC MESENTEROIDES

Author
item Leathers, Timothy
item Wyckoff, Herbert

Submitted to: Society of Industrial Microbiology Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/4/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Rare isolates of Leuconostoc mesenteroides produce the unique glucan "alternan." Alternan's backbone structure, featuring alternating alpha-(1-6) and alpha-(1-3) glucose linkages, endows the polysaccharide with physical properties resembling those of certain commercially valuable bulking agents or extenders. The few naturally occurring strains of Leuconostoc mesenteroides that produce alternan also produce the more conventional polymer dextran as a major contaminant. Derivative strains showing enhanced alternan production have been isolated by classical mutagenesis techniques, but molecular approaches to further strain improvements have been stymied by a lack of appropriate tools. We have developed conditions for the introduction, by electroporation, of gram positive shuttle vectors into alternan-producing strains and their derivatives. Transformation frequencies of up to 3.5 x 10**4 per ug DNA were obtained.