Curdlan: A bacterial gel-forming β-1, 3-glucan

Harada, Tokuya; Misaki, Akira; Saitô, Hiroshi

doi:10.1016/0003-9861(68)90330-5

Cited by 275 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…For instance, the cell walls of grasses contain a relatively large amount of β-1,3-1,4-glucan (Carpita, 1996). Higher plants and bacteria are known to produce linear β-1,3-glucans called 'callose' and 'curdlan', respectively (Currier 1957, Harada et al, 1968. Moreover, β-1,3-glucan is a major component of fungal cell walls.…”

Section: K Sakamoto and H Toyoharamentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparative study of cellulase and hemicellulase activities of brackish water clam Corbicula japonica with those of other marine Veneroida bivalves

Sakamoto

Toyohara

2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYCorbicula japonica is a typical brackish water bivalve species belonging to the order Veneroida, and it is the most important inland fishery resource in Japan. Corbicula japonica has been suggested to assimilate organic matter from terrestrial plants, unlike Ruditapes philippinarum and Mactra veneriformis, which selectively assimilate organic matter of marine origin. This led us to hypothesize that C. japonica, despite being a suspension feeder, could assimilate cellulosic materials derived from terrestrial plants. In the present study, we measured cellulase and hemicellulase activities in the crystalline styles of C. japonica and other commercially important Veneroida bivalve species in Japan: Ruditapes philippinarum, Meretrix lamarckii and Meretrix lusoria. Corbicula japonica demonstrated notably higher cellulase, xylanase and β-mannanase activities than the other marine bivalves, suggesting that this species possesses a far greater biochemical capacity to break down the structural polysaccharides of plant cell walls than the other species. In contrast, the β-1,3-glucanase and pectinase activities of C. japonica were similar to or even lower than those of the others. This is possibly due to the presence of these polysaccharides in the cell walls of diatoms, a principal food of most marine bivalves. Although direct evidence is lacking, the high cellulase, xylanase and β-mannanase activities of C. japonica may result from adaptation to an upstream estuarine environment where phytoplankton and diatoms are scarce, but plant-derived substances are abundant.

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Section: K Sakamoto and H Toyoharamentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparative study of cellulase and hemicellulase activities of brackish water clam Corbicula japonica with those of other marine Veneroida bivalves

Sakamoto

Toyohara

2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…The conformation of scleroglucan is also widely accepted as a rod-like triple helix [21,22]. However, in view of the TM-AFM images, Figure 2, and keeping in mind the repeating units of both biopolymers, it can be concluded that the strands of (1→3)(1→2)-β-D-Glucan are more stiff than those of scleroglucan.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Supramolecular Structure and Renaturation of a (1→3)-β-d-Glucan Compared with Curdlan and Scleroglucan

Puertas

Dueñas

Marieta

2014

Fibers

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A (1→3)-β-D-Glucan produced by Lactobacillus suebicus CUPV221 strain was investigated by tapping mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM), to compare its supramolecular structure and conformation with two commercial polysaccharides: curdlan and scleroglucan. It was found that the β-D-Glucan was a (1→3)(1→2)-β-D-Glucan and at room temperature formed three-dimensional networks by entanglements between strands, as does scleroglucan. However, (1→3)(1→2)-β-D-Glucan strands seemed to be more stiff than those of scleroglucan. It was also observed that curdlan samples deposited from 5 mM NaOH aqueous solution showed supermolecular assemblies, recognized in the literature as micelles, which are controlled by hydrophobic hydration. The (1→3)(1→2)-β-D-Glucan in alkaline aqueous solutions produced different supramolecular structures depending on pH, and at 0.4 M NaOH (pH 13.16), denaturation took place. After neutralizing the alkaline solution with HCl, the formation of short linear, circular, and hairpin structures was observed.

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“…Preparation of Curdlan (Insoluble ␤-1,3-Glucan) Beads and Curdlan Binding Assay-Curdlan has a nature to form gel by neutralization of its alkaline solution (26). The curdlan beads were prepared as follows: 60 ml of 3% (w/v) curdlan in 0.1 N NaOH solution was dropped at a flow rate of 60 ml/h into 240 ml of 1-butyl alcohol containing 0.5% (w/v) Tween 20 with vigorous stirring to disperse the curdlan solution.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%