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Chrysolaminarin



Chrysolaminarin is a linear polymer of β(1→3) linked glucose units[1][2]. It used to be known as leucosin. Chrysolaminarin is arguably one of the most common biopolymers in the world with cellulose being the other.

Function

Chrysolaminarin is a storage polysaccharide typically found in photosynthetic heterokonts. It is used as a carbohydrate food reserve by phytoplankton such as Bacillariophyta (similar to the use of laminarin by brown algae) [3].

Chrysolaminarin is stored inside the cells of these organisms dissolved in water and encapsuled in vacuoles whose refractive index increases with chrysolaminarin content. In addition, heterokont algae use oil as a storage compound. Besides energy reserve, oil helps the algae to control their buoyancy [4].

References

  1. ^ Basic definition of chrysolaminarin, Susquehanna University
  2. ^ Beattie et al. "Studies on the metabolism of the Chrysophyceae." Biochem J. (1961) 79:531-7
  3. ^ Biological use of chrysolaminarin, California State University, Stanislaus
  4. ^ Putz (2004). "Valuable products from biotechnology of microalgae". Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. PMID 15300417.
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Chrysolaminarin". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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