Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Automated Modular High Throughput Exopolysaccharide Screening Platform Coupled with Highly Sensitive Carbohydrate Fingerprint Analysis
Published on: April 11, 2016
The size and shape of three water-soluble, non-ionic polysaccharides produced by lactic acid bacteria: A comparative
Marianne Øksnes Dalheim1, Nina Bjørk Arnfinnsdottir2, Göran Widmalm3
1NOBIPOL, Department of Biotechnology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway.
Abstract:
Three water-soluble, non-ionic extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) obtained from lactic acid bacteria (S. thermophilus THS, L. helveticus K16 and S. thermophilus ST1) were subjected to a comparative study by means of multidetector size-exclusion chromatography, providing distributions and averages of molar masses, radii of gyration and intrinsic viscosities. All polysaccharides displayed random coil character. Further analysis of the data reveals differences in chain stiffness and extension that could be well correlated to structural features. The calculated persistence lengths ranged from 5 to 10nm and fall within the range typical for many single-stranded bacterial or plant polysaccharides. The ST1 polysaccharide had the highest molar mass but the lowest persistence length, which is attributed to the presence of the flexible (1→6)-linkage in the main chain.
Related Concept Videos
Production of Organic Acids
Formation of Lipopolysaccharides
Microbes in the Production of Fermented Foods
Proteoglycans
Microbial Morphologies
Microbes in Food Production

