Structure of a feruloyl esterase from Aspergillus niger

The crystallographic structure of feruloyl esterase from Aspergillus niger has been determined to a resolution of 1.5 A by molecular replacement. The protein has an alpha/beta-hydrolase structure with a Ser-His-Asp catalytic triad; the overall fold of the protein is very similar to that of the fungal lipases. The structure of the enzyme-product complex was determined to a resolution of 1.08 A and reveals dual conformations for the serine and histidine residues at the active site.