For the first time, scientists have successfully produced sugar-based biologic molecules utilizing bacteria, without the need for animal products. The paper, published in Nature Communications on March 2, describes the production of a common designer polysaccharide, chondroitin sulfate (CS).
Sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are linear polysaccharides consisting of repeating disaccharide units composed of N-acetylhexosamine and uronic acid. They are ubiquitously distributed on the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix. GAGs play a role in a variety of cellular functions including cell to cell and cell to matrix adhesion, cell proliferation, cell division, morphogenesis, and the regulation of signaling molecules… Continue reading.