Four glucansucrase producing Leuconostoc species Leuconostoc mesenteroides B-512F and B-640, Leuconostoc citreum B-742 and Leuconostoc dextranicum B-1146 were characterized for their antibiotic resistance, carbon source utilization, plasmid profiles and glucan synthesizing activities. All the four species were resistant to the antibiotics cotrimazine, norfloxacin and vancomycin. All four species were sensitive to amoxycillin, bacitracin, carbenicillin, cephalothin, cephatoxamine, chloramphenicol, clindamycin, linomycin, oxytetracyclin and tetracyclin. All the four species utilized glucose, fructose, mannose, melibiose, sucrose and trehalose and did not show any activity towards arabinose, lactose and mannitol. The Leuconostoc strain B-640 was unique in fermenting rhamnose.
The Leuconostoc species B-640 and B-1146 possessed plasmids and both showed sucrose hydrolyzing activity by displaying the polysaccharide formation patterns in native polyacrylamide gels. These data will enable in finding similar glucansucrase producing Leuconostoc species which can prove better species used for industrial applications.
glucansucrase, glucan, antibiotic, plasmid, Leuconostoc, carbohydrate
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