title: New advances in exopolysaccharides production of Streptococcus thermophilus.
abstract: Streptococcus thermophilus is the most important thermophilic dairy starter, and is widely used in the dairy industry. Streptococcus thermophilus exopolysaccharides received wide attention over recent decades, because they can improve the properties of the dairy product and confer beneficial health effects. The understanding of the regulatory and biosynthetic mechanisms of EPS will improve the EPS biosynthesis, increase the productivity of EPSs, and develop EPSs with desirable properties. The structure of EPSs is the focus of this study. Revealing the structure-function relationship can lead to increase the knowledge base and from there to increased research of EPS. The EPS yield is a key limiting factor in the research and utilization of EPS. In the present review, biosynthetic pathways and genetics of S. thermophilus EPSs were described and reviewed. At the same time, functional properties and applications of EPS, and strategies for enhancement of EPS production are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, People's Republic of China. yhcui@hit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yanhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Mengyuan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin, 150010, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways; D005285:Fermentation; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D048249:Streptococcus thermophilus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; C098632:exopolysaccharide, Streptococcus
keywords: Biosynthesis; Diversity; Exopolysaccharides; Function; Streptococcus thermophilus