title: Sulfated fucans from echinoderms have a regular tetrasaccharide repeating unit defined by specific patterns of sulfation at the 0-2 and 0-4 positions.
abstract: Sulfated fucans from echinoderms (sea cucumber and sea urchin) have a linear backbone of 1-->3-linked alpha-L-fucopyranose with some sulfate substitution at the 2- and 4-positions. NMR spectroscopy indicates that both polysaccharides have a tetrasaccharide repeat unit in which the separate residues differ only in the extent and position of their sulfate substitution. The sea urchin fucan has the structure, [formula: see text] This type of regular structure has not previously been described, and is in contrast with the random arrangement of substituents on the similar 1-->3-linked alpha-L-fucopyranose backbone of the fucoidans from brown algae.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mulloy
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Mourão
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002236:Carbohydrate Conformation; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D002848:Chromatography, DEAE-Cellulose; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008745:Methylation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000737:chemistry*; D000459:Phaeophyceae / Q000737:chemistry; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012616:Sea Cucumbers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000737:chemistry*; D013463:Sulfuric Acid Esters
chemical_list: D009844:Oligosaccharides; D011134:Polysaccharides; D013463:Sulfuric Acid Esters; C007789:fucoidan