title: Comparative studies of the polysaccharides from species of the genus Ramalina-lichenized fungi-of three distinct habitats.
abstract: Several structurally different glucans (alpha- and beta-) and galactomannans were characterized as components of four species of the genus Ramalina, namely R. dendriscoides, R. fraxinea, R. gracilis and R. peruviana. Freeze-thawing treatment of hot aqueous extracts furnished as precipitates (PW) linear alpha-D-glucans of the nigeran type, with regularly distributed (1-->3)- and (1-->4)-linkages in a 1:1 ratio. The supernatants (SW) contained alpha-D-glucans with (1-->3)- and (1-->4)-linkages in a molar ratio of 3:1. The lichen residues were then extracted with 2% aq. KOH, and the resulting extracts submitted to the freeze-thawing treatment, giving rise to precipitates (PK2) of a mixture of alpha-glucan (nigeran) and beta-glucan, which were suspended in aqueous 0.5% NaOH at 50 degrees C, dissolving preferentially the beta-glucan. These were linear with (1-->3)-linkages (laminaran). The mother liquor of the KOH extractions (2% and 10% aq. KOH) was treated with Fehling's solution to give precipitates (galactomannans). The galactomannans are related, having (1-->6)-linked alpha-D-mannopyranosyl main chains, substituted at O-4 and in a small proportion at O-2,4 by beta-D-galactopyranosyl units. Despite the different habitats of these lichenized fungi, all species studied in this investigation have a similar pool of polysaccharides.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioqui;mica, Universidade Federal do Paraná, CP 19.046, CEP 81.531-990, PR, Curitiba, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lucimara M C
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Cordeiro
authors.forename: Elfriede
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stocker-Wörgötter
authors.forename: Philip A J
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Gorin
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iacomini
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification; D005591:Chemical Fractionation / Q000379:methods; D004777:Environment; D005690:Galactose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005936:Glucans / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008011:Lichens / Q000737:chemistry*; D008351:Mannans / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008745:Methylation; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D005936:Glucans; D008351:Mannans; D005690:Galactose