Influence of growth status on composition of extra-cellular polysaccharides from two Chlamydomonas species

The extracellular polysaccharides released by Chlamydomonas augustae at the beginning of growth contain mainly arabinose, glucose and galactose. Methylation analysis revealed that the major fraction of these extracellular polysaccharides can be described as a highly branched polymer composed of (1, 3, 4)-linked glucose and terminal arabinose and galactose units. The chemical composition of these extracellular polysaccharides varies during growth and in the stationary phase of growth glucose and glucuronic acid are the main components. The major fraction of the extracellular polysaccharides can be then described as a linear polymer composed of (1, 4)-linked glucose and (1, 4)-linked glucuronic acid. In sharp contrast, the extracellular polysaccharides from C. corrosa are independent of growth status and contain arabinose and galactose as major sugars. Methylation analysis indicated a highly branched polysaccharide composed of arabinose as unique branch point units and of terminal galactose residues.