Structure of stewartan, the capsular exopolysaccharide from the corn pathogen Erwinia stewartii

Stewartan, the acidic exopolysaccharide of Erwinia stewartii, was purified from agar grown cells. To facilitate its structural analysis, chemical and enzymatic depolymerizations were carried out using hydrofluoric acid and E. amylovora phage phi-Ea1h, respectively. Structural characterization of the resulting oligosaccharides was performed by a combination of mass spectrometric and one- and two-dimensional (1D/2D) NMR spectroscopic techniques. A branched repeating unit with seven monosaccharide residues, all in their pyranose forms, was found: [Table: see text]