The Current Study of Cyclo-tetrasaccharide Focused on the Synthesizing System from Starch

Abstract

There are many oligosaccharides synthesized enzymatically. However, these are very few kinds of nonreducing glucooligosaccharides synthesized from starch. Examples of such oligosaccharides are trehalose and cyclodextrins. Cyclotetrasaccharide (CTS; cyclo {→6)-α-D-glcp-(1→3)-α-D-glcp-(1→6)-α-D-glcp-(1→3)-α-D-glcp-(1→}), is also one of the nonreducing glucooligosaccharides. A synthesizing system of this cyclic oligosaccharide from starch was recently found in Bacillus globisporus C11. CTS-synthesizing mechanism controlled by two enzymes and the sequence of the genes encording them were reported in succession. These studies indicate that there is a good possibility of industrial production of CTS and a gene cluster related to the synthesis and transport of CTS is present in microorganisms. This review summarizes the current study of CTS by focusing on the CTS-synthesizing system from starch.