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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Defining Substrate Specificities for Lipase and Phospholipase Candidates

Defining Substrate Specificities for Lipase and Phospholipase Candidates

Published on: November 23, 2016

Substrate-shielding and hydrolytic reaction in hydrolases.

Yusuke Kanematsu¹, Ryotaro Koike, Takayuki Amemiya

¹Department of Complex Systems Science, Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.

|January 25, 2013

Summary

Hydrolase enzymes shield substrates differently based on their reaction mechanism. Double displacement and exo hydrolases show more substrate shielding compared to single displacement and endo hydrolases, impacting function.

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Expression, Purification, Crystallization, and Enzyme Assays of Fumarylacetoacetate Hydrolase Domain-Containing Proteins

Expression, Purification, Crystallization, and Enzyme Assays of Fumarylacetoacetate Hydrolase Domain-Containing Proteins

Published on: June 20, 2019

Area of Science:

Enzymology
Structural Biology
Biochemistry

Background:

Transferase enzymes shield substrates from water via large structural changes.
Hydrolase enzymes typically expose substrates to water with minimal structural changes.
Some hydrolases, however, deeply bury their substrates within the protein structure.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between substrate-shielding and enzymatic functions in hydrolases.
To examine the extent of substrate accessibility within 70 representative hydrolase structures.

Main Methods:

Analysis of 70 representative hydrolase structures.
Quantification of relative accessible surface areas of substrates within the enzyme active sites.

Main Results:

Hydrolases employing a double displacement reaction mechanism bury substrates more deeply than those using single displacement.
Exo hydrolases exhibit significantly greater substrate shielding from water compared to endo hydrolases.

Conclusions:

Substrate-shielding in hydrolases is linked to the specific chemical reaction mechanism.
The degree of substrate shielding correlates with the enzyme's substrate specificity.