Characterization of the LP28 strain-specific exopolysaccharide biosynthetic gene cluster found in the whole circular genome of .

We have previously isolated a lactic acid bacterium (LAB), LP28, from the longan fruit . Since the plant-derived LAB strain produces an extracellular polysaccharide (EPS), in this study, we analyzed the chemical structure and the biosynthesizing genes for the EPS. The EPS, which was purified from the LP28 culture broth, was classified into acidic and neutral EPSs with a molecular mass of about 50 kDa and 40 kDa, respectively.