Carbohydrate-active enzymes: Sequences, shapes, contortions and cells

Abstract

The enzyme-catalysed degradation of oligo and polysaccharides is of considerable interest in many fields ranging from the fundamental - understanding the intrinsic chemical beauty - through to the applied, including diverse practical applications in medicine and biotechnology. Carbohydrates are the most stereochemically-complex biopolymer, and myriad different natural polysaccharides have led to evolution of multifaceted enzyme consortia for their degradation. The glycosidic bonds that link sugar monomers are among the most chemically-stable, yet enzymatically-labile, bonds in the biosphere. That glycoside hydrolases can achieve a rate enhancement (kcat/kuncat) >1017-fold provides testament ..