Glucan morphology

Crystal Structure. Curdlan powder was the source of (l->- 3)- 6 -D-glucan uTed in our study since it is commercially available and has been demonstrated to be a linear chain constituted almost exclusively of (l->3)-3-D-glucose residues. The polysaccharide was obtaineci from Takeda Chemicals Company in Japan and its morphology has been previously described.(, 1J ) It is received as a spray-dried powder which is very poorly crystalline. 

Other glucans encountered in fungi are e 1 sinan(64) from Els i noe leucospi1 a which is constituted of maltotriose units linked by (1 -3)-a linkages. It is water soluble and gels at concentrations greater than 2%. No x-ray diffraction study or morphological information is available at this time. 

Steele C, Rapaka RR, Metz A et al. Ihe beta-glucan receptor dectin-1 recognizes specific morphologies of Aspergillus fumigatus. PLoS Pathogens 2005 l e42. 

Callose is a morphologically distinctive polysaccharide that occurs in granular form deposited around sieve plates and on the side of sieve-tube pores. Callose is a 3-1,3-linked D-glucan with no detectable branching (Aspinall, 1980). In higher plants, callose is deposited as a response to wounding or infection by microorganisms (Bacic et al., 1988). 

Metzler-Zebeli BU, Nzle MGG, Mosenthin R, Zijlstra RT. Oat p-glucan and dietary caldum and phosphorus differentially modify intestinal expression of proinflammatory cytokines and monocarboxylate transporter 1 and cecal morphology in weaned pigs. / Nutr. 2012 142 668-674. 

The importance to achieve detailed structural characterization of in vitro products is illustrated by the application of the methods listed in Table 8-2 to the analysis of in vitro (1 3)-P-D-glucans synthesized under various conditions. For instance, it has been shown that for a given plant species the morphology and the stucture of the in vitro products are affected by the nature of the detergent used to extract the membrane-bound synthases (Lai Kee Him et al. 2001). Also, for a given detergent, enzymes from different plant species do not necessarily synthesize products that have the same morphology and structure (Lai Kee Him et al. 2001 Colombani et al. 2004). From these observations, it seems important... 

Pelosi L., Imai X, Chanzy H., Heux L., Buhler E., and Bulone V. 2003. Structural and morphological diversity of (l->3)-P-D-glucans synthesized in vitro by enzymes from Saprolegnia monolca. Comparison with a corresponding in vitro product from blackberry (Rubus fruticosus). Biochemistry 42 6264-6274. 

Chitin (poly-A-acetyl-D-glucosamine, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-1,4-P-D-glucan) is one of the three most abundant polysaccharides (along with starch and cellulose) and is extracted from shells of crustaceans and cell walls of fungi. Chitosan is produced by deacetylation of chitin and can be spun into fibres, cast into films, or precipitated in a variety of micro-morphologies. Major applications are in biomaterials, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, metal ion sequestration, agriculture and the food industry. ... 

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