Purification and properties of glycogen isolated from a blue-green alga, Nostoc muscorum

Alpha granules were isolated from a blue-green alga, Nostoc muscorum, in large quantities and high purity by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Sodium deoxycholate was used to eliminate membrane contamination. Isolated alpha granules from this species have average dimension of 31 nm in width and 65 nm in length. Each alpha granule consists of two equal parts. Attempts to dissociate the intact granule under mild conditions into relatively large subunits did not succeed. Analytical centrifugation of the alpha granules yields a sedimentation coefficient of 265S (S(20, w)). Chemical analysis reveals that alpha granules contain highly branched polyglucosyl units with short external chain lengths.