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Detection and Quantification of Capsular Exopolysaccharides from Streptococcus thermophilus Using Lectin Probes

G. Robitaille^*,1, S. Moineau^,,, D. St-Gelais^*, C. Vadeboncoeur^, and M. Britten^*

^* Food Research and Development Centre (FRDC), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada, J2S 8E3
Département de biochimie et de microbiologie, Faculté des sciences et de génie,
Groupe de recherche en écologie buccale (GREB), Faculté de médecine dentaire, and
Félix d’Hérelle Reference Centre for Bacterial Viruses, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada, G1K 7P4

¹ Corresponding author: robitaillegi{at}agr.gc.ca

The aim of this work was to use fluorescently labeled lectins to develop a convenient and reliable method to determine the relative abundance of capsular polysaccharides (CPS) at the surface of Streptococcus thermophilus MR-1C cells. Fluorescein isothiocyanate–labeled peanut agglutinin isolated from Arachis hypogaea was found to interact specifically with the CPS of Strep. thermophilus MR-1C. This labeled lectin was then used as an effective probe to detect and quantify CPS. A fluorescence-based lectin-binding assay was successfully applied to follow the accumulation of CPS during the growth of Strep. thermophilus MR-1C in milk and in M17 broth supplemented with lactose. Our results showed that in both media, CPS production by Strep. thermophilus MR-1C began during the exponential phase of growth and continued for several hours after the culture reached the stationary growth phase.

Key Words: lactic acid bacteria • exopolysaccharide • capsule • cheese

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. Robitaille, S. Moineau, D. St-Gelais, C. Vadeboncoeur, and M. Britten Galactose Metabolism and Capsule Formation in a Recombinant Strain of Streptococcus thermophilus with a Galactose-Fermenting Phenotype J Dairy Sci, September 1, 2007; 90(9): 4051 - 4057. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]