COMPARISON BETWEEN THE SULFATED POLYSACCHARIDES FROM LARVAL AND ADULTASCIDIANS

Previously we reported the occurrence of novel sulfated polysaccharide s in the tunic of adult ascidians (Mourao and Perlin [1987], Eur. J. B iochem., 166:431-436; Pavao et al. [1989a], J. Biol. Chem., 264:9972-9 979). In the present study we compare the polysaccharides from larval and adult ascidians. They differ markedly in electrophoretic mobility and chemical composition. Thus, larvae of ascidians contain a complex sulfated polysaccharide composed of D-glucose, L-fucose, and L-galacto se, whereas the adult tunics have a single sulfated L-galactan. This r esult may reflect changes in the metabolic pathways involved in the bi osynthesis of these sulfated polysaccharides after metamorphosis of th e ascidian. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.