Abstract

Starch is chemically a relatively simple particle consisting of two homo-biopolymers, amylopectin and amylose, with only α-1,4 and α-1,6 linked glucosyl units. Starch is a natural storage carbohydrate in plants and algae and is an essential source for nutrition, animal feeding, as well as raw material for the industry. Despite increasing knowledge in the last decades, detailed structural information and understanding of its turn-over are largely lacking. Most data were generated using bulk experiments, what obviously now come to limitations for a deeper insight in starch metabolism. Here we focus on some unavoidable questions arising from existing data, related to starch biosynthesis, degradation, and structure, where these limitations strongly emerge.

Keywords: Starch; Starch structure; Starch metabolism; Starch biosynthesis; Starch breakdown