RESUMEN
An original bioreactor process for production of oligoglucuronans was developed using the Sinorhizobium meliloti M5N1CS strain that produces glucuronan. This anionic homopolysaccharide was composed of beta-D-(1,4)-glucopyranosyluronic residues variably O-acetylated at C-3 and/or C-2 positions according to culture conditions. It was depolymerized during its biosynthesis by addition of a fungal glucuronan lyase activity in broths. After purification by tangential ultrafiltration and low-pressure liquid chromatography, (1)H NMR and ESI-Q/TOF-MS characterized the poly- and oligoglucuronic acid fractions. This enzymatic bioreactor strategy authorized the production in gram quantity of an unsaturated and no acetylated oligoglucuronan with a degree of polymerization of 3.