[Extracellular polysaccharides of saprotrophic mycobacteria and patterns of their formation]

Exocellular polysaccharides were synthesized by ten strains of 7 saprotrophic mycobacterial species in parallel with their growth. The cultures grew and produced polysaccharides more rapidly in a medium with glucose than in a medium with n-hexadecane. The polymers are homogeneous acid heteroglycans of the regular structure. All of them contain glucose and some of them contain hexuronic acid. Galactose, fucose, mannose, ramnose and pyruvic acid are found in some of the polysaccharides. The exoglycans of two mycobacterial species contain mannolactylic acid. Beta-glycosidic linkages prevail in most of the polysaccharides.