'Alginates: Biology and Applications' provides an overview of the state of art of alginate material properties, genetics and the molecular mechanisms underlying alginate biosynthesis as well as applications of tailor-made alginates in medicine, food and biotechnology.

Topics treated are: material properties of alginates, alginate production: precursor biosynthesis, polymerization and secretion, bacterial system for alginate uptake and degradation, enzymatic alginate modification, alginate gene regulation, role of alginate in bacterial biofilms, microbial production of alginates: physiology and process aspects, alginate-based blends and nano/microbeads, applications of alginates in food, alginate and its comonomer mannuronic acid: medical relevance as drugs.

1;Preface;6 1.1;References;7 2;Contents;8 3;Material Properties of Alginates;10 3.1;1 Sources and Applications;11 3.2;2 Chemical Structure and Sequence;12 3.2.1;2.1 Chemical Composition;13 3.2.2;2.2 Comonomer Sequence;14 3.2.3;2.3 Natural Substituents;19 3.2.4;2.4 Alginate as a Polyelectrolyte;21 3.2.5;2.5 Conformational Properties of the Alginate Chain;24 3.3;3 Molecular Weight and Stability ;26 3.3.1;3.1 Molecular Weight and Molecular Weight Distribution of Native Alginates;26 3.3.2;3.2 Chain Degradation;27 3.3.3;3.3 Chemical Modifications of Alginate;29 3.4;4 Alginate Solutions ;30 3.4.1;4.1 Thermodynamic Properties;30 3.4.2;4.2 Nonequilibrium Properties;32 3.5;5 Ion-Binding Properties;35 3.6;6 Alginate Gels;39 3.6.1;6.1 Gel Formation Properties;39 3.6.2;6.2 Hydrogel Stability;44 3.6.3;6.3 Mechanical Properties;46 3.6.4;6.4 Diffusion Properties;54 3.7;References;55 4;Alginate Production: Precursor Biosynthesis, Polymerization and Secretion;63 4.1;1 Introduction;64 4.2;2 Alginate Precursor Biosynthesis;65 4.2.1;2.1 Alginate Biosynthesis Genes;66 4.2.2;2.2 GDP-Mannuronic Acid Biosynthesis;67 4.3;3 Alginate Polymerization and Secretion;69 4.3.1;3.1 Alginate Polymerization;69 4.3.2;3.2 Alginate Export;73 4.4;4 Conclusion and Future Perspectives;75 4.5;References;75 5;Bacterial System for Alginate Uptake and Degradation;80 5.1;1 Introduction;81 5.2;2 Alginate-Assimilating Bacterium;82 5.2.1;2.1 Pit Formation on the Cell Surface;82 5.2.2;2.2 Genome Sequence;84 5.3;3 Alginate Uptake;84 5.3.1;3.1 Cell Surface Receptors;86 5.3.2;3.2 Outer-Membrane Transporters;87 5.3.3;3.3 Periplasmic Binding Proteins;88 5.3.4;3.4 Inner-Membrane ABC Importer;90 5.4;4 Alginate Degradation;91 5.4.1;4.1 Endotype Alginate Lyases;91 5.4.2;4.2 Exotype Alginate Lyases;93 5.5;5 Concluding Remarks and Future Perspectives;94 5.5.1;5.1 Superchannel as Alginate Uptake System;94 5.5.2;5.2 Molecular Transplantation of Superchannel;95 5.5.3;5.3 Application of the Alginate Degradation System;97 5.6;References;98 6;Enzymatic Alginate Modification;102 6.1;1 Introduction;103 6.2;2 Mannuronan C-5-Epimerases;105 6.2.1;2.1 Early Studies on the Secreted Mannuronan C-5-Epimerase from A. vinelandii;105 6.2.2;2.2 Cloning and Characterization of the Mannuronan C-5-Epimerases from A. vinelandii;107 6.2.3;2.3 Cloning and Characterization of the Bacterial Periplasmic Mannuronan C- 5- Epimerases;109 6.2.4;2.4 Mannuronan C-5-Epimerases from Algae;110 6.2.5;2.5 Structure of the Mannuronan C-5-Epimerases;110 6.2.6;2.6 Mode of Action of the Secreted Mannuronan C- 5- Epimerases;111 6.2.7;2.7 Enzyme Specificity; Epimerization of Nonnatural Uronans and Poly( guluronic acid);113 6.2.8;2.8 In Vitro Epimerization with AlgE Epimerases;114 6.3;3 Alginate Lyases;115 6.3.1;3.1 Alginate Lyases as Tools To Determine Alginate Structure;115 6.3.2;3.2 An Alginate Lyase Is Needed To Remove Aberrantly Localized Alginate;115 6.4;4 Alginate Acetylation;116 6.5;5 Use of Alginate-Modifying Enzymes for Biotechnological Purposes;116 6.6;References;117 7;Alginate Gene Regulation;123 7.1;1 Introduction;124 7.2;2 Hierarchical Regulation of the Alginate Operon;124 7.3;3 AlgR, a Two-Component Regulator;125 7.4;4 AlgB, an NtrC-Family Two-Component Regulator;127 7.5;5 AmrZ, an Arc-Like DNA-Binding Protein;128 7.6;6 Ancillary Regulators of the algD Operon;129 7.7;7 Alternative Sigma Factor, s 22;129 7.8;8 Role of s 22 -MucAB and Regulated Proteolysisin a Cell Wall Stress Response;131 7.9;9 Conclusions;134 7.10;References;134 8;Role of Alginate in Bacterial Biofilms;140 8.1;1 Introduction;141 8.2;2 Bacterial Exopolysaccharides;141 8.3;3 Alginate Structure and Properties;142 8.4;4 Regulation of Alginate Biosynthesis;143 8.5;5 Role of Alginate in Biofilm Formation;145 8.6;6 Alginate Creates a Hydrated Biofilm Microenvironment;146 8.7;7 Alginate Production in the CF Lung;148 8.8;8 Alginate Protects Cells from Antimicrobial Agents;149 8.9;9 Alginate in Phytopathogenic Interactions;150 8.10;10 Concluding Remarks and Fut