Glucose reducing sugars

Lactose on hydrolysis gives glucose and an isomeric monosaccharide galactose, which may be given the symbol Ga-r. The lactose molecule may be represented as Ga-r-G-r, and it has therefore also a free potential aldehyde group and is a reducing sugar like maltose. 

Figure 1. Effect of 1% (w/v) pectin (pect), 1% galactose (gal), and of the simultaneous presence of 2% glucose (glu) on the production of extracellular polygalacturonase activity. Two-stages cultures were prepared as described under methods. Polygalacturonase was assayed in the culture filtrate as reducing sugar-releasing activity using sodium polypectate as a substrate.

PG activity was assayed from cells grown in a medium containing 1% glucose in one-litre self-induced anaerobic fermentation for 5 days by increase of reducing sugars. Enzyme activity increased from pH 3.0 to pH 5.0 (citrate buffer) and decreased drastically above 5.0 (phosphate buffer), but activity was not affected differentially by the two buffers used (data not shown). PG activity increased almost linearly from 20°C to 40°C but above this optimum, activity was lost rapidly and the enzyme was completely inactivated at 60°C and 70°C after 10 and 6 min, respectively (data not shown). No PL, PGL or PME were detected. 

Reducing sugars can be detected by reaction with phenylhydrazine to yield a hydrazone product, except the result of the reaction is not what one might imagine giving the structure of aldoses and ketoses. Glucose, for example, can react with phenylhydrazine to yield the anticipated... 

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