The Potential Biotechnological Applications of the Exopolysaccharide Produced by the Halophilic Bacterium Halomonas almeriensis

Molecules

Inmaculada Llamas¹  Hakima Amjres¹  Juan Antonio Mata¹  Emilia Quesada¹ 

[1] Microbial Exopolysaccharide Research Group, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Campus Universitario de Cartuja, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

关键词: extremophiles;    halophilic bacteria;    Halomonas almeriensis;    exopolysaccharide;    sulphates;    heavy-metal chelation;    emulsifying activity;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules17067103

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

We have studied the extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) produced by the type strain, M8^T, of the halophilic bacterium Halomonas almeriensis, to ascertain whether it might have any biotechnological applications. All the cultural parameters tested influenced both bacterial growth and polysaccharide production. EPS production was mainly growth-associated and under optimum environmental and nutritional conditions M8^T excreted about 1.7 g of EPS per litre of culture medium (about 0.4 g of EPS per gram of dry cell weight). Analysis by anion-exchange chromatography and high-performance size-exclusion chromatography indicated that the exopolysaccharide was composed of two fractions, one of 6.3 × 10⁶ and another of 1.5 × 10⁴ Daltons. The monosaccharide composition of the high-molecular-weight fraction was mannose (72% w/w), glucose (27.5% w/w) and rhamnose (0.5% w/w). The low-molecular-weight fraction contained mannose (70% w/w) and glucose (30% w/w). The EPS has a substantial protein fraction (1.1% w/w) and was capable of emulsifying several hydrophobic substrates, a capacity presumably related to its protein content. The EPS produced solutions of low viscosity with pseudoplastic behaviour. It also had a high capacity for binding some cations. It contained considerable quantities of sulphates (1.4% w/w), an unusual feature in bacterial polysaccharides. All these characteristics render it potentially useful as a biological agent, bio-detoxifier and emulsifier.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.