Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Plant lysozymes

J J Beintema1, A C Terwisscha van Scheltinga

  • 1Department of Biochemistry, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Nijenborgh, The Netherlands.

EXS
|January 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary

Plant lysozymes possess chitinase activity, but the reverse is not always true. Some plant chitinases with lysozyme activity exhibit unique structural and functional properties, including a specific pH optimum.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Multiple isomorphous replacement on merohedral twins: structure determination of deacetoxycephalosporin C synthase.

Acta crystallographica. Section D, Biological crystallography·2001
Same author

Secretory ribonucleases in the primitive ruminant chevrotain (Tragulus javanicus).

European journal of biochemistry·2001
Same author

Enzymic and structural studies on Drosophila alcohol dehydrogenase and other short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases.

Journal of molecular evolution·2001
Same author

Ruminant brain ribonucleases: expression and evolution.

Biochimica et biophysica acta·2001
Same author

Localization and analysis of nonpolar regions in onconase.

Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS·2000
Same author

Enzyme kinetics of hevamine, a chitinase from the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis.

FEBS letters·2000

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Structural Biology
  • Enzymology

Background:

  • Plant lysozymes are enzymes with both lysozyme and chitinase activities.
  • Enzymes exhibiting lysozyme activity are found across diverse, structurally distinct chitinase families.
  • The relationship between lysozyme and chitinase activity in many plant chitinases remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the structural and functional characteristics of plant lysozymes.
  • To investigate the enzymatic properties and structural features of plant chitinases with lysozyme activity.
  • To present the X-ray structure of a specific plant lysozyme/chitinase.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of plant lysozyme and chitinase functions.
  • Biochemical characterization of plant lysozymes, including pH optima and ionic strength effects.
  • X-ray crystallography to determine the three-dimensional structure of hevamine (a rubber tree lysozyme/chitinase).

Main Results:

  • Plant lysozymes with chitinase activity are typically basic enzymes with high isoionic points.
  • Lysozyme activity shows a sharp pH optimum around 4.5-5.0, while chitinase activity spans a broader pH range.
  • The X-ray structure of hevamine reveals an alpha/beta barrel fold unique among chitinases and lysozymes, with a potential catalytic glutamic acid residue.

Conclusions:

  • Plant lysozymes exhibit distinct biochemical properties and structural features compared to other chitinases.
  • Hevamine represents a novel structural class (family 18/h-type) of plant lysozyme/chitinase.
  • Other plant lysozymes are homologous to family 19 chitinases, sharing structural similarities with animal and phage lysozymes.

Related Experiment Videos