Cellodextrin

Cellodextrins are glucose polymers of varying length (two or more glucose monomers) resulting from cellulolysis, the breakdown of cellulose.

Classification

A cellodextrin is classified by its degree of polymerization (DP) which indicates the number of linked glucose monomers it contains. Each glucose monomer is linked via a beta-1,4 glycosidic bond. The most common cellodextrins are listed below:[1]

  • cellobiose (DP=2) (sometimes not included in cellodextrin classification)
  • cellotriose (DP=3)
  • cellotetraose (DP=4)
  • cellopentaose (DP=5)
  • cellohexaose (DP=6)

Function

Cellodextrins are created through the cleavage of cellulose in most anaerobic bacteria by the cellulosome (an amalgamation of cellulolytic enzymes on the outside of a cell). An endoglucanase first cuts the crystalline cellulose in an amorphous zone and exoglucanases subsequently cleave these large insoluble chunks of cellulose into smaller, soluble cellodextrins which can be used by the cell.

Many cellulolytic bacteria use cellodextrins as their primary source of energy. The energy is obtained through the phosphorolytic cleavage of glycosidic bonds as well as the anaerobic glycolysis of the glucose monomers.[2] Transport of cellodextrins across the cell membrane is usually an active process, requiring ATP.

gollark: I think they voted to not have one, but I don't know how that's actually meant to work.
gollark: Less awful than hard brexit I mean.
gollark: We could at least get a less-awful solution, but the MPs said no, so yaaaay.
gollark: There is basically no chance of Brexit working out in a way that more than 10% of people actually want.
gollark: Somehow taking the GPU out of my computer and putting it back in fixed it. I also found out about my horrific dust buildup.

See also

References
  1. "Cellodextrin Glycoproducts for life sciences - Engineering and production". www.elicityl-oligotech.com.
  2. Zhu, Yongtao; Li, Huihui; Zhou, Hong; Chen, Guanjun; Liu, Weifeng (August 1, 2010). "Cellulose and cellodextrin utilization by the cellulolytic bacterium Cytophaga hutchisonii". Bioresource Technology. 101 (16): 6432–6437. doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2010.03.041. PMID 20362433.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.