Properties of the statistical polymer as applied to amylopectin and glycogen

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Abstract
It is shoen that all everage exterior and interior branch lengths of A‐R‐B2 type condensation polymers are equal in length. Because of this, each configuration in the less random statistical model V is an average of all similarly constructed configurations found in the more variable statistical model. Consequently, certain structural properties of the statistical polymer can be examined by using all the configurations of a given x‐mer from the less random model V. The statistical model and partially “debranched” statistical model were used to represent glycogen and amylopectin, respectively. These polymers were theoretically degraded by “phosphorylase” and “amylo1,6‐glucosidase.” Rabbit muscle glycogen behaves as a statistically formed polymer. On the other hand, rabbit liver glycogen behaves as if a large amount of 1,3‐linkages were present in its structure and/or behaves as lif it had been debranched by an enzyme such as the R‐enzyme. When compared to corn amylopectin, wheat amylopectin behaves as if more of its inteerior branches had been removed. Myrbäck and Sillén's statistical model and Bourne and Peat's pseudo‐amylose mechanism are discussed.