Exopolymers from curdlan production: incorporation of glucose-related sugars by <i>Agrobacterium</i> sp. strain ATCC 31749

Three different exopolymers were purified from cultures of Agrobacterium sp. strain ATCC 31749 grown in a mineral salts medium containing 2% glucose at 30 °C for 5 days under aerobic culture conditions. These exopolymers were curdlan (extracellular, homo-β-(1-3)-glucan, water insoluble at neutral pH), a water-soluble noncurdlan-type exopolymer A (WSNCE-A), and a water-soluble noncurdlan-type exopolymer B (WSNCE-B). Curdlan, WSNCE-A, and WSNCE-B composed by weight 61, 27, and 12%, respectively, of the exopolymer produced from glucose. Compositions of all polymers were confirmed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The WSNCE-A is composed of glucose and galactose with lower contents of rhamnose. The WSNCE-B consists of glucose and mannose. To biosynthesize modified biopolymers, glucose-related sugars including 3-O-methyl-D-glucose, 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucose, and 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose (N-acetylglucosamine) were fed separately as the sole carbon source. Using 3-O-methyl-D-glucose, 8 – 12 mol% of the curdlan repeats were 3-O-methyl-D-glucose based on GC and 1 H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. N-Acetylglucosamine was incorporated into WSNCE-A at 10 mol% based on the GC–MS but was not found in curdlan or WSNCE-B.Key words: Agrobacterium sp., curdlan, exopolymer, 3-O-methyl-D-glucose, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose.