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Glycosidic bonds of the form discussed above are known as O-glycosidic bonds, in reference to the glycosidic oxygen that links the glycoside to the aglycone or reducing end sugar. In analogy, one also considers S-glycosidic bonds (which form thioglycosides ), where the oxygen of the glycosidic bond is replaced with a sulfur atom.
A glucan is a polysaccharide derived from D-glucose, [1] linked by glycosidic bonds. Glucans are noted in two forms: alpha glucans and beta glucans. Many beta-glucans are medically important. They represent a drug target for antifungal medications of the echinocandin class.
Alpha-glucan is also commonly found in bacteria, yeasts, plants, and insects. Whereas the main pathway of α-glucan synthesis is via glycosidic bonds of glucose monomers, α-glucan can be comparably synthesized via the maltosyl transferase GlgE and branching enzyme GlgB. [2] This alternative pathway is common in many bacteria, which use GlgB ...
Although technically β-glucans are chains of D-glucose polysaccharides linked by β-type glycosidic bonds, by convention not all β-D-glucose polysaccharides are categorized as β-glucans. [4] Cellulose is not conventionally considered a β-glucan, as it is insoluble and does not exhibit the same physicochemical properties as other cereal or ...
The glycosidic bond can be formed between any hydroxy group on the component monosaccharide. So, even if both component sugars are the same (e.g., glucose), different bond combinations (regiochemistry) and stereochemistry (alpha-or beta-) result in disaccharides that are diastereoisomers with different chemical and physical properties ...
There are also numerous enzymes that can form and break glycosidic bonds. The most important cleavage enzymes are the glycoside hydrolases, and the most important synthetic enzymes in nature are glycosyltransferases. Genetically altered enzymes termed glycosynthases have been developed that can form glycosidic bonds in excellent yield ...
They can be digested by breaking the alpha-linkages (glycosidic bonds). Both humans and other animals have amylases so that they can digest starches. Potato, rice, wheat, and maize are major sources of starch in the human diet. The formations of starches are the ways that plants store glucose. [14]
Homopolysaccharides are polysaccharides composed of a single type of sugar monomer. For example, cellulose is an unbranched homopolysaccharide made up of glucose monomers connected via beta-glycosidic linkages; glycogen is a branched form, where the glucose monomers are joined by alpha-glycosidic linkages.