Acidic polysaccharides of the ascidian Styela plicata. Biosynthetic studies on the sulfated L-galactans of the tunic, and preliminary characterization of a dermatan sulfate-like polymer in body tissues.

Histochemical and chemical analyses reveal important differences between tunic and body of the ascidian Styela plicata. The body contains hydroxyproline, nucleic acid and hexuronic acid. Analyses of the hexuronic acid-containing molecules indicates the presence of dermatan sulfate and heparan sulfate. The tunic, on the other hand, contains no hydroxyproline and small amounts of nucleic acid and hexuronic acid. Large amounts of sulfated polysaccharides, identified by agarose gel electrophoresis, are also present in the tunic. In vitro, incorporation of 35S-sulfate and 14C-glucose and 35S-sulfate pulse-chase experiments show that sulfate and glucose are incorporated into the sulfated polysaccharides of the tunic. The radioactivity is associated mainly with the region of the tunic containing the epidermal cells; however, a small amount of radioactivity is also detected in other regions of the tunic, suggesting that the sulfated polysaccharides are synthesized mainly by the epidermal cells and, to a small extent, by other cell types present in the tunic. Conversion of D-glucose to L-galactose, previously observed in the tunic of Styela plicata (Biochemistry 30, 3458-3464, 1990) is more intense in the region of the tunic containing the epidermal cells.