Structural highlights
Function
GUX_CELFI Hydrolyzes both cellulose and xylan. Has also weak endoglucanase activity. The biological conversion of cellulose to glucose generally requires three types of hydrolytic enzymes: (1) Endoglucanases which cut internal beta-1,4-glucosidic bonds; (2) Exocellobiohydrolases that cut the dissaccharide cellobiose from the non-reducing end of the cellulose polymer chain; (3) Beta-1,4-glucosidases which hydrolyze the cellobiose and other short cello-oligosaccharides to glucose.
Evolutionary Conservation
Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
beta-1,4-Glycanases, principally cellulases and xylanases, are responsible for the hydrolysis of plant biomass. The bifunctional beta-1,4-xylanase/glucanase Cex from the bacterium Cellulomonas fimi, one of a large family of cellulases/xylanases, depolymerizes oligosaccharides and releases a disaccharide unit from the substrate nonreducing end. Hydrolysis occurs with net retention of the anomeric configuration of the sugar through a double-displacement mechanism involving a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate. The active site nucleophile, Glu233, has been unambiguously identified by trapping of such an intermediate [Tull et al. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 15621-15625] and the acid/base catalyst, Glu127, by detailed kinetic analysis of mutants [MacLeod et al. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 6371-6376]. However, little is known about the enzyme's overall folding and its active site architecture. We report here the high-resolution crystal structure of the catalytic domain of Cex. The atomic structure refinement results in a model that includes 2400 protein atoms and 45 water molecules, with an R-factor of 0.217 for data extending to 1.8-A resolution. The protein forms an eight-parallel-stranded alpha/beta-barrel, which is a novel folding pattern for a microbial beta-glycanase. The active site, inferred from the location of Glu233, Glu127, and other conserved residues, is an open cleft on the carboxy-terminal end of the alpha/beta-barrel. An extensive hydrogen-bonding network stabilizes the ionization states of the key residues; in particular, the Asp235-His205-Glu233 hydrogen-bonding network may play a role in modulating the ionization state of Glu233 and in controlling local charge balance during the reaction.
Crystal structure of the catalytic domain of the beta-1,4-glycanase cex from Cellulomonas fimi.,White A, Withers SG, Gilkes NR, Rose DR Biochemistry. 1994 Oct 25;33(42):12546-52. PMID:7918478[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ White A, Withers SG, Gilkes NR, Rose DR. Crystal structure of the catalytic domain of the beta-1,4-glycanase cex from Cellulomonas fimi. Biochemistry. 1994 Oct 25;33(42):12546-52. PMID:7918478
