Chrysolaminarin
Names
Other names
Chrysolaminaran; Leucosin
Identifiers
ChemSpider
Properties
variable
Molar mass
variable
Melting point
273 °C (523 °F; 546 K)[ 1]
Soluble
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their
standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Chemical compound
Chrysolaminarin is a linear polymer of β(1→3) and β(1→6) linked glucose units in a ratio of 11:1.[ 1] [ 2]
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]
Chrysolaminarin is also the major storage polysaccharide of most haptophyte algae.[ 5] [ 6]
References
^ a b Beattie; Hirst, EL; Percival, E; et al. (1961). "Studies on the metabolism of the Chrysophyceae. Comparative structural investigations on leucosin (chrysolaminarin) separated from diatoms and laminarin from the brown algae" . Biochem. J . 79 (3): 531– 537. doi :10.1042/bj0790531 . PMC 1205682 PMID 13688276 . ^ Basic definition of chrysolaminarin Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine , Susquehanna University^ Biological use of chrysolaminarin Archived 1998-05-02 at archive.today , California State University, Stanislaus^ Pulz; Gross (2004). "Valuable products from biotechnology of microalgae". Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology . 65 (6): 635– 48. doi :10.1007/s00253-004-1647-x . PMID 15300417 . S2CID 42079864 . ^ Tsuji, Yoshinori; Yoshida, Masaki (2017). "Biology of Haptophytes: Complicated Cellular Processes Driving the Global Carbon Cycle". Advances in Botanical Research . Vol. 84. Elsevier. p. 219–261. doi :10.1016/bs.abr.2017.07.002 . ISBN 978-0-12-802651-9 ^ Penot, Mathias; Dacks, Joel B.; Read, Betsy; Dorrell, Richard G. (2022-12-31). "Genomic and meta-genomic insights into the functions, diversity and global distribution of haptophyte algae" . Applied Phycology . 3 (1): 340– 359. doi :10.1080/26388081.2022.2103732 ISSN 2638-8081 .
