Chemical Characterzation of an Extracellular Polysaccharide Produced by a Bacterium Klebsiella sp. Isolated from River water

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Klebsiella sp. isolated from water of the Sumida River produced an extracellularpolysaccharide “BS-1”. The BS-1 was prepared by an addition of ethanol to the culture broth containing 3% lactose. It was further purified for chemical analyses. Itshomogeneity was confirmed by both ultracentrifugal and electrophoretic analyses. Color reactions, thin layer chromatography, gas-liquid chromatography, and elementary analysis indicated that the BS-1 was an acidic heteropolysaccaharide composedof galac-tose and glucuronic acid in the molar ratio of 4:1. The order of its molecular weight was estimated to be more than 10⁶ by gel permeation chromatography. Pyruvic acid and acetyl group were not found as structural components. By the comparison of these results with those of the reported polysaccharides produced bysome known strains of Klebsiella, the BS-1 was considered to be a newheteropolysaccha-ride.