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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.

Mediterranean monk seals (MMS) are among the most endangered marine mammals on Earth. We screened mitochondrial variability (control region [CR1] and mitogenomes) of the species through a 180‐yr timeframe and extended by 20% (n = 205) the number of samples from a previous investigation, including historical specimens from 1833 to 1975. Although we detected two new, rare CR1 haplotypes, genetic diversity remained extremely low. Fully resolved haplotype median network and rarefaction analysis both suggested low probability for further unscreened haplotypes. There was no clear phylogeographic structure across the 12 marine subdivisions covered by the species’ range. Haplotypes previously considered diagnostic of the extant North Atlantic and eastern Mediterranean populations had their distributions extended into the western Mediterranean and the North Atlantic, respectively, by both historical and recent samples. Our study suggests that MMS have been genetically depauperate since at least the mid‐19th century, and that the massive 1997 die‐off in Western Sahara (North Atlantic) could have caused local haplotype extinctions. Our results support the hypothesis of past metapopulation dynamics across the species range, where the current segregation into geographically distant and genetically depauperate breeding populations (i.e., North Atlantic and eastern Mediterranean Sea) derives from the combined effects of historical extinctions, genetic drift on small breeding groups, and persistently low levels of genetic diversity.

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Enzymatic synthesis of different fl-D-glycosides was obtained using as biocatalyst immobilized cells, crude homogenate, and homogeneous native and recombinat p-glycosidase activity of the thermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus. In particular our investigation was concerned with the selectivity in the glycosylation of hydroxybenzyl alcohols, salicin, 1,2-propanediol, and more complex polyols as well as the use of immobilized cells for the synthesis of hexyl-f3-D-glucoside. The aromatic glucosides obtained by enzyme-catalyzed transglucosylation were used for kinetic studies of purified Sulfolobus solfataricus enzyme in the hydrolysis reaction.