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The thermophilic bacterium Bacillus thermoantarcticus produces two exocellular polysaccharides (EPS 1 and EPS 2), which can be obtained from the supernatant of liquid cultures by cold-ethanol precipitation, in yields as high as 400 mg liter ؊1. The EPS fraction was produced with all substrates tested, although a higher yield was obtained with mannose as the carbon and energy source. The EPS content was proportional to the total biomass. On a weight basis, EPS 1 and EPS 2 represented about 27 and 71%, respectively, of the total carbohydrate fraction. EPS 1 is a sulfate heteropolysaccharide containing mannose and glucose in a relative molar proportion of 1.0 and 0.7, respectively. EPS 2 is a sulfate homopolysaccharide containing mannose as the major component. The absolute configurations of hexoses were shown to be D for both EPSs. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectra confirmed the presence of ␣-D-mannose and ␤-D-glucose in EPS 1 and only ␣-D-mannose in EPS 2. In addition, 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance analysis and chemical analysis indicated the presence of pyruvic acid in EPS 2.

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