

FOLLOWUS
1.Key Lab of Breeding Biotechnology & Sustainable Aquaculture, Shandong Province Key Lab of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China
2.Lab for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China
3.University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
dlduan@qdio.ac.cn
Received:26 May 2025,
Online First:19 January 2026,
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MENG Xue,LI Shuang,ZHANG Jie,et al.Biochemical characterization of mannuronan C5-epimerase from ,Saccharina ,japonica[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,
MENG Xue,LI Shuang,ZHANG Jie,et al.Biochemical characterization of mannuronan C5-epimerase from ,Saccharina ,japonica[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, DOI:.
Alginate is a polysaccharide predominantly synthesized by brown algae and bacteria. It is a linear polymer composed of β-D-mannuronic acid (M) and its C5 reverse isomer α-L-guluronic acid (G). Currently
there is a significant demand for high-G-content alginate in the market. Mannuronan C5-epimerase (MC5E) is one important enzyme in the alginate synthesis as it catalyzes epimerization of β-D-mannuronic acid (M) to α-L-guluronic acid (G) at the polyM polymer level. We screened and isolated one high expression
MC5E
sequence from the
Saccharina
japonica
genome database and demonstrated that
SjMC5E1
could epimerize and increase the content of G residues in alginate. Additionally
we detected the mannuronan C5-epimerase activity of
SjMC5E1
was optimal at 37 °C in the temperature range of 15–50 °C
the
F
G
was 0.30 and the M/G ratio of alginate was the lowest at 2.32. The biochemical characterization of
SjMC5E1
provides valuable insights into its role in alginate biosynthesis
particularly in the conversion of M to G. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the enzymatic mechanisms underlying alginate synthesis and may support future efforts to optimize alginate production. However
further studies are needed to fully explore the potential of
SjMC5E1
in tailoring alginates with specific properties for industrial or biomedical applications.
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