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International audienc

Matrix polysaccharide from the brown algae Sargassum turbinarioides collected in the coastal waters of Nosy Be (Madagascar) in the Indian Ocean was isolated and its structure was studied by 1 H-NMR spectroscopy, FT-IR, SEC-MALLS and HPAEC. An alginate with a molecular weight of 5.528×10 5 g mol −1 was identified as sole polysaccharide. Values of the M/G ratio, F GG , F MM and F GM (or F GM ) blocks were measured at respectively 0.94, 0.39, 0.36 and 0.25 and compared with those of alginates from other Sargassum species. This sodium alginate appeared similar to some of the other Sargassum alginates with M/G<1, high values of homopolymeric blocks (η<1) and significant polyguluronic block content.

Publications and patents relative to newly observed functions of beta-(1,3)-D-glucans have notably increased in the last few years with the exploitation of their biological activities. The term beta-(1,3)-D-glucans includes a very large number of polysaccharides from bacterial, fungal and vegetable sources. Their structures have a common backbone of beta-(1,3) linked glucopyranosyl residues but the polysaccharidic chain can be beta-(1,6) branched with glucose or integrate some beta-(1,4) linked glucopyranosyl residues in the main chain. Except for the curdlan, a bacterial linear beta-(1,3)-D-glucans, and for the scleroglucan produced by Sclerotium rolfsii, the main drawback limiting the development of these polysaccharides is the lack of efficient processes for their extraction and purification and their cost. However new applications in agronomy, foods, cosmetic and therapeutic could in a next future accentuate the effort of research for their development. So this review focuses on these beta-(1,3)-D-glucans with the objective to detail the strategies employed for their extraction and the relation structure-functions identified when they induce biological activities.

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Membrane fluidity in whole cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae W303-1A was estimated from fluorescence polarization measurements using the membrane probe, 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene, over a wide range of temperatures (6-35 degrees C) and at seven levels of osmotic pressure between 1.38 MPa and 133.1 MPa. An increase in phase transition temperatures was observed with increasing osmotic pressure. At 1.38 MPa, a phase transition temperature of 12 +/- 2 degrees C was observed, which increased to 17 +/- 4 degrees C at 43.7 MPa, 21+/- 7 degrees C at 61.8 MPa, and 24 +/- 9 degrees C at an osmotic pressure of 133.1 MPa. From these results we infer that, with increases in osmotic pressure, the change in phospholipid conformation occurs over a larger temperature range. These results allow the representation of membrane fluidity as a function of temperature and osmotic pressure. Osmotic shocks were applied at two levels of osmotic pressure and at nine temperatures, in order to relate membrane conformation to cell viability.

Biopolymers, such as exopolysaccharides are widely exploited by industry as hydrocolloids (gelling, thickening agents) and biological agents (anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, antioxidant, etc.). In this study, 166 marine microalgae and cyanobacteria species have been screened in order to identify strains producing original exopolysaccharides. This screening allowed the highlighting of 45 positive strains. In a second time, the monosaccharide compositions from 20 EPS of them were determined by GC/MS and HPAEC-PAD. The results led to a discovery of 8 new genera of microalgae producing EPS, including polymers with a very original composition like richness in GlcA. Finally, a phylogenic tree has been contructed in order to assess the link between the phylogeny of microalgae and the global composition of their exopolymers, based on data obtained in this study and from the literature.