A unique glyceryl diglycoside identified in the thermophilic, radiation-resistant bacterium Rubrobacter xylanophilus.

The solute pool of the actinobacterium Rubrobacter xylanophilus has been investigated as a function of the growth temperature and concentration of NaCl in the medium (Empadinhas et al. Extremophiles 11: 667-673, 2007). Changing the carbon source from glucose to maltose in a minimal growth medium led to the accumulation of an unknown organic compound whose structure was investigated by NMR and confirmed by chemical synthesis in the present study as: (2R)-2-(1-O-α-D-mannopyranosyl)-3-(1-O-α-D-glucopyranosyl)-D-glycerate (MGlyG).