A glycosulphatase present in the soluble fraction of disrupted Pseudomonas carrageenovora has been purified 500-fold by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-200 and ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B. By dodecylsulphate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the enzyme is practically homogeneous and has a molecular weight of 55 000. Conditions of optimal sodium chloride concentration and pH at 25 "C were 0.25-0.50 mol dm-3 and pH 7.0 respectively. The purified enzyme was inhibited by inorganic phosphate.Preparation is described of neocarrabiose 4-0-[35S]sulphate and neocarratetraose 4-0-[35S]-sulphate from labelled Chondrus crispus. The purified glycosulphatase is active against both these substrates although only one of the two sulphate esters in the tetrasaccharide is hydrolysed. Analysis of the reaction products was by gel filtration, electrophoresis and I3C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The results are consistent with the products of desulphation being respectively neocarrabiose and neocarratetraose 4-0-monosulphate with the sulphate ester proximal to the reducing end [ 3,6-anhydro-a-~-galactopyranosyl-(Sulphatases have been detected ubiquitously in organisms [l -31 pertinent examples being bacteria [4,5] and algae [6,7]. In the degradation of chondroitin sulphate by Proteus vulgaris [4] only disaccharide oligomers are susceptible to the relevant sulphatases. This contrasts with the algal sulphatases [6,7], which release sulphate at the polymer level from galactose 6-0-sulphate residues with concomitant formation of the 3,6-anhydro derivative.In the initial description of a glycosulphatase from Pseudomonas carrageenovora by Weigl and Yaphe [5], the partially purified enzyme was tested with several sugar sulphates. We consider this enzyme to be potentially applicable in the study of carrageenan fragments, and present a satisfactory purification method.Preparation of neocarratetraose 4-0-[35S]sulphate and neocarratetraose 4-0-[35S]sulphate of high radiochemical purity allowed the development of a practical assay similar to that described for choline sulphatase [8]. These oligosaccharides were isolated after x-carrageenase digestion of [35S]carrageenan extracted from Chondrus crispus cultured in the presence of inorganic [35S]sulphate.