Structure and Function of Stony Coral Intraskeletal Polysaccharides.

Polysaccharides represent a main weight fraction of the intraskeletal organic matrix of corals, but their structure, as well as their function in the calcification process, has been poorly investigated. This communication shows by a combination of techniques (nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared, and monosaccharide composition) that their key component is a 1→3 ß-d glucuronic acid polymer and evidences its influence in vitro in the calcification process.