Carbohydrate Active Enzymes

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Recent advances in biochemistry and biotechnology have enabled significant progress in basic research on carbohydrate-active enzymes and advances in their effective application. The mechanism of catalytic reaction of carbohydrate-active enzymes is not fully understood, though, as they often show unusual substrate specificity and modes of action. This comprehensive collection summarises some of the most important research in the field of carbohydrate-active enzymes, focusing on the enzymatic reaction mechanism, structure-function relationship and role in the living organismThe book is based on papers presented in the 2008 Agricultural Biotechnology Symposium Carbohydrate-active enzymes: structure, function and applications held on September 26th-27th 2008 in Seoul National University, Korea. This symposium was organized by the Center for Agricultural Biomaterials, Seoul National University, Korea, which has organized symposia on agricultural biotechnology annually since 1990. Many important results on new types of carbohydrate-active enzymes and their applications have been reported at these meetings. Papers in Part one of this collection focus on structure-function relationships of carbohydrate-active enzymes. Papers in Part two discuss functions and applications of carbohydrate-active enzymes, such as enzymes for grain processing and glycosidases and their mutants as useful tools for glycoside synthesis.With its distinguished editor and international team of contributors, Carbohydrate-active enzymes: structure, function and applications is an essential reference for research scientists, post-graduate students and those in the food industry with an interest in enzymes.Summarises some of the most important research in the field of carbohydrate-active enzymesCovers topics ranging from enzyme classification and structural elucidation to applications of enzymes in food processing and other industries

Bol Partner

Carbohydrate-active enzymes are responsible for both biosynthesis and the breakdown of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates. They are involved in many metabolic pathways; in the biosynthesis and degradation of various biomolecules, such as bacterial exopolysaccharides, starch, cellulose and lignin; and in the glycosylation of proteins and lipids. Carbohydrate-active enzymes are classified into glycoside hydrolases, glycosyltransferases, polysaccharide lyases, carbohydrate esterases, and enzymes with auxiliary activities (CAZy database, ). Glycosyltransferases synthesize a huge variety of complex carbohydrates with different degrees of polymerization, moieties and branching. On the other hand, complex carbohydrate breakdown is carried out by glycoside hydrolases, polysaccharide lyases and carbohydrate esterases. Their interesting reactions have attracted the attention of researchers across scientific fields, ranging from basic research to biotechnology. Interest in carbohydrate-active enzymes is due not only to their ability to build and degrade biopolymers-which is highly relevant in biotechnology-but also because they are involved in bacterial biofilm formation, and in glycosylation of proteins and lipids, with important health implications. This book gathers new research results and reviews to broaden our understanding of carbohydrate-active enzymes, their mutants and their reaction products at the molecular level.