Structural analysis of an acidic polysaccharide secreted by Xanthobacter sp. (ATCC 53272)

The structure of an acidic polysaccharide secreted by a Xanthobacter sp. has been investigated by glycosyl-residue and glycosyl-linkage composition analyses, and the characterization of oligoglycosyl fragments of the polysaccharide has been carried out by chemical analyses, 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy, fast-atom bombardment mass spectrometry, and electron-impact mass spectrometry. The polysaccharide, which contains O-acetyl groups (approximately 5%) that have not been located, has the tetraglycosyl repeating unit 1 and belongs to a group of structurally related polysaccharides synthesized by both Alcaligenes and Pseudomonas species.