Enzymic Hydrolysis of Colanic Acid

Abstract

The isolation of of oligosaccharides produced by the action of phage‐inducee enzymes on the bacterial exopolysaccharide colanic acid is reported. The products from colanic acid produced by different strains of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium were hexasaccharides which differed in their acyl substituents. All contained fucose, glucose, galactose and glucuronic acid in the molar ratio 2:1:2:1. They appeared to have the same carbohydrate structure as that postulated for the repeating unit of colanic acid. All the hexasaccharides contained acetate. Pyruvate was also found in most preparations. The phage‐induced enzymes only converted 30–35% of the polymer to oligosaccharides. They also hydrolysed de‐acetylated polysaccharide but were inactive against carboxyl‐reduced material and against a number of other bacterial exopolysaccharides. Copyright © 1971, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved