A strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens isolated from soil was cultivate
d under various conditions in shake flasks to study exopolysaccharides
(EPS) production. NMR analysis revealed that the EPS obtained was a s
uccinoglycan-like polymer. Optimal yields of EPS were obtained using s
ucrose and lysine as the carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. Su
pplementation of the medium with various chemicals resulted in a more
or less marked effect on the polymer yield and properties: in particul
ar, high phosphate levels and non-ionic surfactants led to the product
ion of polymers of different molecular sizes in yields up to 13.7 g/l.
Oxygen availability also affected the polymer yield and quality. The
chemical structure was substantially unaffected by the various ferment
ation conditions tested. A fermentation carried out in a laboratory-sc
ale fermenter yielded 9.6 g/l succinoglycan from 15 g/l sucrose in the
basic medium without further supplements.