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FUNIN - a fungal glycoside hydrolases 32 enzyme database for developing optimized inulinases
Lucas Sousa Palmeira1, Gabriel Quintanilha-Peixoto2, Andréa Miura da Costa3
1Programa Interunidades de Pós-Graduação em Bioinformática, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Laboratório de Bioinformática e Química Computacional, Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia, Jequié, Brazil.
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
|June 8, 2025
Summary
A new database, FUNIN, catalogs fungal glycoside hydrolase family 32 (GH32) enzymes for inulin hydrolysis. This resource supports optimizing enzymes for bioethanol production from plants like Agave.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology and Biochemistry
- Enzymology
- Bioinformatics
Background:
- Inulin hydrolysis by fungal glycoside hydrolase family 32 (GH32) enzymes is vital for bioethanol production.
- A lack of centralized resources for fungal GH32 enzymes hinders research and development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop FUNIN, a comprehensive database of fungal GH32 enzymes involved in inulin hydrolysis.
- To facilitate the analysis and retrieval of data on these enzymes for bioethanol applications.
Main Methods:
- FUNIN was built as a cloud-based, non-relational database using MongoDB on AWS.
- An automated ELT pipeline integrated data from UniProt and InterPro, utilizing tools like CLEAN and ProtParam.
- Enzyme sequences, taxonomy, physicochemical properties, and conserved domains (PF00251-PF08244) were cataloged.
Main Results:
- The database currently contains 3420 fungal GH32 enzymes, predominantly from Ascomycota (91.2%), with significant representation from Fusarium, Aspergillus, and Penicillium.
- Exo-inulinases (43.9%), endo-inulinases (33.4%), and invertases (21.6%) are the major enzyme types.
- Analysis revealed conserved domains, acidic pI values, moderate hydrophobicity, and structural conservation in exo-inulinases.
Conclusions:
- FUNIN provides a valuable, publicly accessible resource for fungal GH32 enzymes relevant to inulin hydrolysis.
- The database supports the discovery and design of enzyme cocktails for enhanced bioethanol production from Agave and similar feedstocks.
- Automated monthly updates ensure the database remains current with the latest data.
