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Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Pyrosequencing for Microbial Identification and Characterization
Published on: August 22, 2013
Microbial hexuronate catabolism in biotechnology
Joosu Kuivanen1, Alessandra Biz2, Peter Richard3
1VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, PO box 1000, 02044 VTT, Espoo, Finland.
Abstract:
The most abundant hexuronate in plant biomass is D-galacturonate. D-Galacturonate is the main constituent of pectin. Pectin-rich biomass is abundantly available as sugar beet pulp or citrus processing waste and is currently mainly used as cattle feed. Other naturally occurring hexuronates are D-glucuronate, L-guluronate, D-mannuronate and L-iduronate. D-Glucuronate is a constituent of the plant cell wall polysaccharide glucuronoxylan and of the algal polysaccharide ulvan. Ulvan also contains L-iduronate. L-Guluronate and D-mannuronate are the monomers of alginate. These raw materials have the potential to be used as raw material in biotechnology-based production of fuels or chemicals. In this communication, we will review the microbial pathways related to these hexuronates and their potential use in biotechnology.
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