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

Microbial hydrolysis of polysaccharides

R A Warren1

  • 1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

Annual Review of Microbiology
|January 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary

Microbial enzyme systems efficiently break down complex carbohydrates like starch and plant cell walls. Gene cloning reveals these systems are intricate, involving modular enzymes and multiple components for effective polysaccharide degradation.

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

The relationship between repeated measurements of HbA<sub>1c</sub> and risk of coronary events among the common haptoglobin phenotype groups: the Action for Health in Diabetes (Look AHEAD) study.

Cardiovascular diabetology·2024
Same author

Quantification of Trichoderma afroharzianum, Trichoderma harzianum and Trichoderma gamsii inoculants in soil, the wheat rhizosphere and in planta suppression of the crown rot pathogen Fusarium pseudograminearum.

Journal of applied microbiology·2020
Same author

Postnatal development of excitatory postsynaptic currents in nucleus accumbens medium spiny neurons.

Neuroscience·2008
Same author

Do cellulose binding domains increase substrate accessibility?

Applied biochemistry and biotechnology·2002
Same author

beta-1,3-Glucan binding by a thermostable carbohydrate-binding module from Thermotoga maritima.

Biochemistry·2001
Same author

Experimental gonococcal urethritis and reinfection with homologous gonococci in male volunteers.

Sexually transmitted diseases·2001

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Microbiology
  • Enzymology

Background:

  • Microorganisms possess enzyme systems for degrading polysaccharides such as starch, chitin, and plant cell wall components.
  • Characterizing individual enzymes within these complex systems is challenging due to the presence of multiple enzymes working together.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the complexity of microbial enzyme systems involved in polysaccharide degradation.
  • To investigate the structure and composition of these enzyme systems and their encoding genes.

Main Methods:

  • Gene cloning and sequencing to isolate and study genes encoding polysaccharide-degrading enzymes.
  • Bioinformatic analysis to group enzymes into families based on amino acid sequences.
  • Comparative analysis of enzyme systems across different substrates (starch, chitin, plant cell walls).

Main Results:

  • Over 400 genes encoding polysaccharide-degrading enzymes have been cloned and sequenced.
  • Enzymes were classified into more than 50 families based on sequence similarity.
  • Enzyme systems are complex, featuring modular enzymes with catalytic and substrate-binding domains, and can comprise 2-20+ enzymes.
  • Plant cell wall degrading systems are generally more complex than those for starch or chitin.

Conclusions:

  • Microbial enzyme systems for polysaccharide hydrolysis are highly complex, both in terms of individual enzyme structure and the number of components.
  • Gene cloning provides a powerful approach to dissecting these complex systems.
  • Despite microbial diversity, similar enzyme families are often employed for degrading the same polysaccharide, suggesting conserved functional strategies.

Related Experiment Videos