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Appl. Environ. Microbiol., Apr 1996, 1208-1213, Vol 62, No. 4
Copyright © 1996, American Society for Microbiology

Effect of Metal Cations on the Viscosity of a Pectin-Like Capsular Polysaccharide from the Cyanobacterium Microcystis flos-aquae C3-40

DL Parker, BR Schram, JL Plude and RE Moore
Department of Biology and Microbiology and Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901

The properties of purified capsular polysaccharide from the cyanobacterium Microcystis flos-aquae C3-40 were examined by capillary viscometry. Capsule suspensions exhibited similar viscosities between pH 6 and 10 but were more viscous at pH <=4 than at pH 6 to 11. At pH 7, a biphasic effect of metal ion concentration on capsule viscosity was observed: (i) capsule viscosity increased with increasing metal ion concentration until a maximal viscosity occurred at a specific concentration that was a reproducible characteristic of each metal ion, and (ii) the viscosity decreased with further addition of that ion. Because the latter part of the biphasic curve was complicated by additional factors (especially the precipitation or gelation of capsule by divalent metal ions), the effects of various metal chlorides were compared for the former phase in which capsule viscosity increased in the presence of metal ions. Equivalent increases in capsule viscosity were observed with micromolar concentrations of divalent metal ions but only with 10 to 20 times greater concentrations of Na(sup+). The relative abilities of various metal salts to increase capsule viscosity were as follows: CdCl(inf2), Pb(NO(inf3))(inf2), FeCl(inf2) > MnCl(inf2) > CuCl(inf2), CaCl(inf2) >> NaCl. This pattern of metal efficacy resembles known cation influences on the structural integrity of capsule in naturally occurring and cultured M. flos-aquae colonies. The data are the first direct demonstration of an interaction between metal ions and purified M. flos-aquae capsule, which has previously been proposed to play a role in the environmental cycling of certain multivalent metals, especially manganese. The M. flos-aquae capsule and the plant polysaccharide pectin have similar sugar compositions but differ in their relative responses to various metals, suggesting that capsular polysaccharide could be a preferable alternative to pectin for certain biotechnological applications.

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