The Book of Fructans

Dr. Wim Van den Ende received his PhD degree in Agronomical Engineering in 1996 and currently he is working as a Professor at the Biology Department of KU Leuven University (Leuven, Belgium). He is the Principal Investigator of the Sugar Metabolism group within the Lab of Molecular Plant Biology. Ongoing research topics are fructan metabolism in plants and microbes, sweet immunity concepts including fructan priming and prebiotic effects for plant protection, role of carbohydrates during plant stress responses and plant development, and structure-function research on carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes from plants and microbes. Recently, Dr. Wim Van den Ende focuses on plant-microbial interactions, providing sustainable alternatives for the widespread use of pesticides for plant protection. He published 200 peer-reviewed research papers and reviews. Dr. Ebru Toksoy Öner received her PhD degree in Chemical Engineering in 2000 and currently she is working as a Professor at the Bioengineering Department of Marmara University (Istanbul, Turkey). She is the Principal Investigator of the Industrial Biotechnology and Systems Biology (IBSB) research group. Dr. Toksoy Öner’s current research in IBSB focuses on biomaterials, functional foods and systems microbiology. Ongoing research topics are functional biosurfaces, laser-based technologies, extremophiles, fructans, levan polysaccharide, strain improvement for exopolysaccharide production, production of biopolymers form extremophiles, and optimization of fermentation processes to design high-yield production lines. Dr. Toksoy Öner has been the coordinator of several national and international projects and partner in COST Actions. She is the Member of European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB), American Nano Society (ANS), American Chemical Society (ACS), International Society for Extremophiles (ISE), Turkish Biotechnology Society and author of book chapters, reviews and over 100 peer-reviewed research articles.

Section 1: The Fundamentals 1. Fructans: The Terminology 2. Chemical and Structural-Functional Features of Fructans 3. Macromolecular Properties of Fructans 4. Fructan enzymes in microbes and plants: structure, function and product formation 5. Evolutionary Aspects of the Fructan Syndrome 6. Fructans: Physiology and Development 7. The Role of Fructans in Stress Responses 8. Relation of plants with other kingdoms: the unique role of fructans 9. Traditional Fermented Foods: Introducing "the Fructan Link"

Section 2: Applications 10. Agrochemical Applications of Fructans 11. Fructan Production Processes 12. The Fructan Industry 13. Health benefits of inulin- and agavin-type fructans in food: impact on microbiota, immune and gut barrier function 14. Pre-clinical and Clinical Fructan Studies 15. Levan as a Functional Polymer for Biomedical Applications 16. Fructans in Personal Care Products

Section 3: Society 17. Antiviral effects of Fructans 18. Fructan Accumulators in a Changing World Climate: Chances for New Functional Plants 19. Fructans for Life: Conclusions and Perspectives