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Structural characterization of the linear isomalto/malto oligomer products obtained by in vitro incubation of malto-oligomers with the recombinant GTFB glucanotransferase enzyme from Lactobacillus reuteri 121.

2 December 2011 - Glycobiology 22: 517-528.
Authors: J.M. Dobruchowska, G. Gerwig, H. Leemhuis, S. Kralj, P. Grijpstra, L. Dijkhuizen, J.P. Kamerling

Abstract

Recently, a novel glucansucrase (GS)-like gene (gtfB) was isolated from the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus reuteri 121 and expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified recombinant GTFB enzyme was characterized and turned out to be inactive with sucrose, the natural GS substrate. Instead, GTFB acted on malto-oligosaccharides (MOSs), thereby yielding elongated gluco-oligomers/polymers containing besides (α1 → 4) also (α1 → 6) glycosidic linkages, and it was classified as a 4,6-α-glucanotransferase. To gain more insight into its reaction specificity, incubations of the GTFB enzyme with a series of MOSs and their corresponding alditols [degree of polymerization, DP2(-ol)–DP7(-ol)] were carried out, and (purified) products were structurally analyzed with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and one-/two-dimensional 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. With each of the tested malto-oligomers, the GTFB enzyme yielded series of novel linear isomalto-/malto-oligomers, in the case of DP7 up to DP >35.

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