Levan, a type of β (2→6)-linked fructan, is a promising biopolymer with distinct properties and extensive applications in the fields of food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, etc. However, the commercial availability of levan is still limited due to the relatively high production costs. Here, a new Paenibacillus sp. strain FP01 was isolated and identified as an efficient fructan producer with high yield (around 89.5 g/L fructan was obtained under 180 g/L sucrose) and conversation rate (49.7%). The fructan named Plev was structurally characterized as a linear levan-type fructan with a molecular mass of 3.11 × 10⁶ Da. Aqueous solutions of Plev exhibited a non-Newtonian behavior at concentrations 3–5%. Heating and chilling had no obvious effects on apparent viscosities of Plev solutions. Plev also had good rheological stabilities toward pH (3–11) and metal salts (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺). Microbiome and metabolome analysis showed that Plev intervention increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria and elevated the levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in feces of mice. Taken together, Plev could be considered a potential thickener and prebiotic supplement in food industry.

Key points

• Paenibacillus sp. strain FP01 was identified as a high-efficient levan producer.

• The levan Plev from FP01 exhibited good rheological properties and stabilities.

• The in vivo prebiotic activities of linear levan were revealed.

Levan是一种与β（2→6）连接的果聚糖，是一种很有前途的生物聚合物，具有独特的性能，在食品，药品，化妆品等领域具有广泛的应用。然而，由于Levan的商业应用，其有效性仍然受到限制。生产成本比较高。在这里，一个新的Paenibacillus sp。菌株FP01被分离出来，被鉴定为高效的果聚糖生产商，产量高（在180 g / L蔗糖下获得了约89.5 g / L的果聚糖）和转化率（49.7％）。名为Plev的果聚糖在结构上被表征为分子量为3.11×10 ⁶的线性levan型果聚糖 大。在浓度为3％到5％的情况下，Plev水溶液表现出非牛顿行为。加热和冷却对Plev溶液的表观粘度没有明显影响。Plev对pH（3-11）和金属盐（Na ⁺，K ⁺，Ca 2 ⁺，Mg ²⁺）也具有良好的流变稳定性。微生物组和代谢组学分析表明，Plev干预可增加小鼠粪便中有益细菌的数量，并提高短链脂肪酸（SCFA）的水平。综上所述，Plev可以被认为是食品工业中潜在的增稠剂和益生元补充剂。

关键点

•Paenibacillus sp.。菌株FP01被确定为高效Levan生产者。

•FP01的levan Plev具有良好的流变性和稳定性。

•揭示了线性左​​旋体内的益生元活性。