New perspectives for Lactobacilli exopolysaccharides

Lactobacilli have the ability to produce different kinds of exopolysaccharides (EPS) exhibiting a wide diversity of structures. EPS are classified, according to their composition into homopolysaccharides and heteropolysaccharides. One of their most described applications is their utilization as texturing agents naturally synthesized in the fermented food products. Nowadays, in regard to demand of modern consumers focusing towards safe and healthy food without additives, new perspectives of development appear for these biopolymers. The GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) and probiotic status of some lactobacilli give to them more preference for consumable EPS production. The main drawbacks limiting their industrial expansion are their low yields of production and the validation of their healthy allegations. Moreover, the texturing role of these exopolysaccharides, notably in dairy products, is actually a controversial issue. This review focuses on the novel ways of EPS production employing Lactobacillus spp. and their potential as nutraceuticals.     

乳酸菌胞外多糖产生菌的 筛选与初步研究

目的从牧区传统乳制品中分离获得胞外多糖产量较高的菌株,并对胞外多糖的结构和功效进行初步研究,以期能为将来生产乳酸菌胞外多糖的可行性提供数据和依据。方法通过涂布平板法从内蒙古传统发酵乳制品中分离乳酸菌,并测定胞外多糖产出量,从中筛选胞外多糖高产菌株,通过生理生化试验和16S rRNA测序鉴定菌株。采用紫外光谱法和高效液相色谱法对胞外多糖的结构进行初步分析。通过测定胞外多糖的吸湿能力和保湿能力初步评价其吸湿保湿性能。结果共分离出90株菌株,筛选出1株胞外多糖高产菌株,并鉴定出该菌株为嗜热链球菌。通过分析得出该菌株产生的胞外多糖主要由4种单糖组成,分别为甘露糖、葡萄糖、半乳糖和阿拉伯糖,其摩尔比为0.25∶3.10∶3.70∶0.10,分子量范围为1.897×10~6～7.257×10~6 Da。通过保湿性能的测定,初步确定该嗜热链球菌产生的胞外多糖有良好的保湿性。结论本实验筛选出的胞外多糖高产菌株嗜热链球菌属于益生菌,有广泛的应用价值。     

Utilization of the cyanobacteria Anabaena sp. ATCC 33047 in CO2 removal processes

In this paper the utilization of the cyanobacteria Anabaena sp. in carbon dioxide removal processes is evaluated. For this, continuous cultures of this strain were performed at different dilution rates; alternatives for the recovery of the organic matter produced being also studied. A maximum CO₂ fixation rate of 1.45 g CO₂ L⁻¹ day⁻¹ was measured experimentally, but it can be increased up to 3.0 g CO₂ L⁻¹ day⁻¹ outdoors. The CO₂ is mainly transformed into exopolysaccharides, biomass representing one third of the total organic matter produced. Organic matter can be recovered by sedimentation with efficiencies higher than 90%, the velocity of sedimentation being 2 · 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹. The major compounds were carbohydrates and proteins with productivities of 0.70 and 0.12 g L⁻¹ day⁻¹, respectively. The behaviour of the cultures of Anabaena sp. has been modelized, also the characteristics parameters requested to design separation units being reported. Finally, to valorizate the organic matter as biofertilizers and biofuels is proposed.     

Biosurfactants,bioemulsifiers and exopolysaccharides from marine microorganisms

Marine biosphere offers wealthy flora and fauna, which represents a vast natural resource of imperative functional commercial grade products. Among the various bioactive compounds, biosurfactant (BS)/bioemulsifiers (BE) are attracting major interest and attention due to their structural and functional diversity. The versatile properties of surface active molecules find numerous applications in various industries. Marine microorganisms such as Acinetobacter, Arthrobacter, Pseudomonas, Halomonas, Myroides, Corynebacteria, Bacillus, Alteromonas sp. have been studied for production of BS/BE and exopolysaccharides (EPS). Due to the enormity of marine biosphere, most of the marine microbial world remains unexplored. The discovery of potent BS/BE producing marine microorganism would enhance the use of environmental biodegradable surface active molecule and hopefully reduce total dependence or number of new application oriented towards the chemical synthetic surfactant industry. Our present review gives comprehensive information on BS/BE which has been reported to be produced by marine microorganisms and their possible potential future applications.     

Spent growth medium of Pantoea agglomerans primes wheat suspension cells for augmented accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and enhanced peroxidase activity upon elicitation

Induced disease resistance in plants is based on multiple mechanisms, including cell “priming”, i.e. an enhancement of the capacity to mobilize cellular defense responses upon pathogen attack. Potent inducers of priming are, for example, salicylic acid, synthetic compounds such as a benzothiadiazole, and certain rhizosphere bacteria. While priming is well characterized for a number of dicot plants, only few cases of priming are documented in monocots. Here, we report that the spent growth medium of the Gram negative bacterium Pantoea agglomerans is capable of priming wheat cells (Triticum aestivum L. cv Prelude-Sr5) for elicitor-induced defense responses. Pre-incubation of suspension-cultured wheat cells with growth medium of P. agglomerans led to a strong enhancement of an oxidative burst that has been induced by chitin or chitosan and to an increase in extracellular peroxidase activity. Moreover, exopolysaccharides (EPS) were isolated from the spent growth medium and demonstrated to be sufficient for the induction of H₂O₂ priming. The EPS-induced priming was shown to be time- and concentration-dependent. We conclude that EPS are the or one of several priming-active component(s) in the spent growth medium of P. agglomerans. The present work is the first report of priming in a monocot plant by a specific component of bacterial origin. A comparison with known chemical inducers of resistance revealed that a benzothiadiazole was able to enhance the oxidative burst similar to the spent growth medium or the EPS of P. agglomerans, while salicylic acid was not.     

Exocellular pyruvate-containing galactoglucan ofAchromobacter spp.

Exopolysaccharides of a number of slime-producingAchromobacter strains, isolated from activated sludge, were prepared and analysed. They consist ofD-glucose,D-galactose, pyruvic acid and O-acetyl in the approximate molar ratio of 1:1:1:1/2. The polysaccharides were shown by methylation and partial hydrolysis to consist of unbranched chains of alternately arrangedD-glucose andD-galactose residues, exclusively linked by -1,3-linkages, and with pyruvate substituents linked by acetal bonds at positions 0–4 and 0–6 of theD-galactose residues. The significance of the exopolysaccharides in relation to some relevant properties of activated sludge organisms is discussed.     

NMR spectroscopic analysis of exopolysaccharides produced by Leuconostoc citreum and Weissella confusa

Dextrans are the main exopolysaccharides produced by Leuconostoc species. Other dextran-producing lactic acid bacteria include Streptococci, Lactobacilli, and Weissella species. Commercial production and structural analysis has focused mainly on dextrans from Leuconostoc species, particularly on Leuconostoc mesenteroides strains. In this study, we used NMR spectroscopy techniques to analyze the structures of dextrans produced by Leuconostoc citreum E497 and Weissella confusa E392. The dextrans were compared to that of L. mesenteroides B512F produced under the same conditions. Generally, W. confusa E392 showed better growth and produced more EPS than did L. citreum E497 and L. mesenteroides B512F. Both L. citreum E497 and W. confusa E392 produced a class 1 dextran. Dextran from L. citreum E497 contained about 11% alpha-(1-->2) and about 3.5% alpha-(1-->3)-linked branches whereas dextran from W. confusa E392 was linear with only a few (2.7%) alpha-(1-->3)-linked branches. Dextran from W. confusa E392 was found to be more linear than that of L. mesenteroides B512F, which, according to the present study, contained about 4.1% alpha-(1-->3)-linked branches. Functionality, whether physiological or technological, depends on the structure of the polysaccharide. Dextran from L. citreum E497 may be useful as a source of prebiotic gluco-oligosaccharides with alpha-(1-->2)-linked branches, whereas W. confusa E392 could be a suitable alternative to widely used L. mesenteroides B512F in the production of linear dextran.     

Exploiting the Functionality of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Ice Cream

In this study, the fermented milk of three ropy (NCFB 2483, CRNZ 737, and LB18) and one non-ropy strains (LH30) of lactic acid bacteria were each added to aged ice cream mixes prepared with and without commercial stabilizers. Ice cream mixes with NCFB 2483 and LB18 (without stabilizers) achieved significantly higher overrun than the sample with non-ropy culture (with stabilizers). Evaluation of meltdown resistance and firmness of the ice cream indicated that samples with NCFB 2483 and LB18 ferment (without stabilizers) were comparable to ice cream with non-ropy culture (with stabilizers). Results of the particle size D[4,3] of the ice cream melt showed that the main mechanism for fat destabilization was not partial coalescence but fat aggregation due to the interactions of milk proteins and/or polysaccharides at the interface of fat globules. There was generally no significant difference in partial coalescence of the fat globules in all samples except LB18 (with stabilizers) where partial coalescence appeared to be significantly lower. The viscoelastic properties of ropy milk appeared to influence the functional properties of ice cream.     

Characterisation of Paenibacillus jamilae strains that produce exopolysaccharide during growth on and detoxification of olive mill wastewaters

A total of 10 bacterial strains were isolated from a compost of corn treated with olive mill wastewaters (OMW) and selected by their capacity to synthesize exopolysaccharides (EPS). Morphological, physiological, biochemical and nutritional tests were used for a phenotypic study. A numerical analysis showed that all strains were 90% similar to each other. A DNA–DNA hybridization assay confirmed that all the strains belonged to Paenibacillus jamilae species. All the characterized strains were able to produce EPS growing on OMW batch cultures. The strain which was able to produce the highest EPS yield was chosen to perform an assay for testing its putative detoxifying activity, and it showed to reduce more than half the toxic capacity of the OMW. The results presented in this study, indicated the possible perspectives for using these bacterial strains to produce EPS and contribute to the bioremediation of the waste waters that are produced in the olive oil elaboration process.     

RegM is required for optimal fructosyltransferase and glucosyltransferase gene expression in Streptococcus mutans

Glucosyltransferases (Gtfs) and fructosyltransferase (Ftf), and the exopolysaccharides they produce, facilitate bacterial adherence and biofilm formation, and enhance the virulence of Streptococcus mutans. In this study, we used continuous chemostat cultures and reporter gene fusions to study the expression of ftf and gtfBC in response to carbohydrate availability and pH, and to asses the role of a protein similar to catabolite control protein A (CcpA), RegM, in regulation of these genes. Expression of ftf was efficient at pH 7.0 and 6.0, but was repressed at pH 5.0 under glucose-excess conditions. At pH 7.0, ftf expression was 5-fold lower under glucose-limiting conditions than in cells growing with an excess of glucose. Expression of gtfBC was also sensitive, albeit to a lesser extent, to pH and glucose availability. Inactivation of regM resulted in decreases of as much as 10-fold in both ftf and gtfBC expression, depending on growth conditions. These findings reinforce the importance of pH and carbohydrate availability for expression of two primary virulence attributes of S. mutans and reveal a critical role for RegM in regulation of expression of both gtfBC and ftf.