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Related Experiment Videos

Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains possess functional cellulases.

Annabelle Varrot1, Sabine Leydier, Gavin Pell

  • 1York Structural Biology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of York, York, Y010 5YW, United Kingdom.

The Journal of Biological Chemistry
|April 13, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Mycobacterium tuberculosis possesses a functional cellulase, an enzyme typically involved in plant cell wall breakdown. This finding suggests potential links to the bacterium's ancestral soil origins or an unconsidered environmental niche.

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Structural Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) genomes contain genes for proteins with unknown functions in host survival.
  • Some of these proteins are associated with plant cell wall degradation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the presence and function of a cellulase enzyme in M. tuberculosis H37Rv.
  • To elucidate the structural characteristics of this enzyme and its substrate interaction.

Main Methods:

  • X-ray crystallography was used to determine the enzyme's structure at high resolution (1.9 to 1.1Å).
  • Ligand complex forms were analyzed to understand substrate binding and catalytic mechanisms.

Main Results:

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  • M. tuberculosis H37Rv was confirmed to possess a functional cellulase with endoglucanase activity.
  • The enzyme's crystal structure revealed a conserved substrate-binding cleft with unusual substrate distortion at the catalytic center.
  • A potential membrane-associated crystalline polysaccharide-binding protein was identified.

    • Conclusions:

    • The identified cellulase activity suggests a role beyond the mammalian host environment.
    • These findings may indicate the ancestral soil origin of Mycobacterium or point to a novel environmental niche.
    • Further research into this enzyme and associated proteins could reveal new insights into M. tuberculosis biology.