Abstract
Certain isolates of the bacterium Leuconostoc mesenteroides, such as strain NRRL B-1355, have been found to produce alternan, a polysaccharide with unique properties of potentially high commercial value. However, all of these isolates also produce significant amounts of the polysaccharide dextran, which would be costly to separate from alternan on a commercial basis. We developed a rapid screening method for the isolation of L. mesenteroides mutants that produce elevated proportions of alternan to dextran. With this technique, a set of mutants of strain NRRL B-1355 was isolated, including strain NRRL B-21138, which produced a high proportion of alternan to dextran and showed complete genetic stability after more than 60 generations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Alsop RM (1983) Industrial production of dextrans. In: Bushell ME (ed) Progress in industrial microbiology, vol. 18. London: Elsevier, pp 1–44
Cerning J (1990) Exocellular polysaccharides produced by lactic acid bacteria. FEMS Microbiol Rev 87:113–130
Cote GL (1992) Low-viscosity α-d-glucan fractions derived from sucrose which are resistant to enzymatic digestion. Carbohydr Polym 19:249–252
Cote GL, Robyt JF (1982) Isolation and partial characterization of an extracellular glucansucrase from Leuconostoc mesenteroides NRRL B-1355 that synthesizes an alternating (1 → 6), (1 → 3)-α-d-glucan. Carbohydr Res 101:57–74
Jeanes A, Haynes WC, Wilham CA, Rankin JC, Melvin EH, Austin MJ, Cluskey JE, Fisher BE, Tsuchiya HM, Rist CE (1954) Characterization and classification of dextrans from ninety-six strains of bacteria. J Am Chem Soc 76:5041–5052
Kim D, Robyt JF (1994) Production and selection of mutants of Leuconostoc mesenteroides constitutive for glucansucrases. Enzyme Microb Technol 16:659–664
Leathers TD (1986) Color variants of Aureobasidium pullulans overproduce xylanase with extremely high specific activity. Appl Environ Microbiol 52:1026–1030
Lopez-Munguia A, Pelenc V, Remaud M, Biton J, Michel JM, Lang C, Paul F, Monsan P (1993) Production and purification of alternansucrase, a glucosyltransferase from Leuconostoc mesenteroides NRRL B-1355, for the synthesis of oligoalternans. Enzyme Microb Technol 15:77–85
Misaki A, Torii M, Sawai T, Goldstein IJ (1980) Structure of the dextran of Leuconostoc mesenteroides B-1355. Carbohydr Res 84:273–285
Seymour FR, Knapp RD (1980) Unusual dextrans: 13. Structural analysis of dextrans from strains of Leuconostoc and related genera, that contain 3-O-α-d-glucosylated α-d-glucopyranosyl residues at the branch points, or in consecutive linear position. Carbohydr Res 81:105–129
Slodki ME, England RE, Plattner RD, Dick Jr WE (1986) Methylation analyses of NRRL dextrans by capillary gas-liquid chromatography. Carbohydr Res 156:199–206
Smith MR, Zahnley J, Goodman N (1994) Glucosyltransferase mutants of Leuconostoc mesenteroides NRRL B-1355. Appl Environ Microbiol 60:2723–2731
Wilham CA, Alexander BH, Jeanes A (1955) Heterogeneity in dextran preparations. Arch Biochem Biophys 59:61–75
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Leathers, T.D., Hayman, G.T. & Cote, G.L. Rapid screening of Leuconostoc mesenteroides mutants for elevated proportions of alternan to dextran. Current Microbiology 31, 19–22 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00294628
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00294628