[Specificity of fungal alpha-glucosidases]

Studies of substrate and cosubstrate specificities of mould alpha-glucosidases suggest that the binding site of the active center of mould alpha-glucosidase consits of two subsites--glucone and aglucone ones. The glucone site is capable to bind glucose and mannose, whereas the aglucone one- some compounds whose affinity for the enzyme may be expressed as follows: glucose greater than galactose greater than paranitrophenol greater than or equal to glycerol greater than ethanol approximately equal to methanol. Upon interaction of enzyme with alpha-D-glucoside the formation of a productive enzyme-substrate complex occurs when the glucosyl residue located at the non-reducible end of the substrate molecule occupies the glucone subsite and aglucone of the substrate occupies the aglucone subsite of the enzyme. After removal of the first product from the aglucone subsite the substrate is bound at this subsite. It is assumed that under cosubstrate excess it is capable to bind at the aglucone subsite prior to the removal of the first product and the formation of the substituted form enzyme--glycosyl. Under these conditions the cosubstrate removes the substrate from the aglucone subsite resulting in a formation of a non-productive tertiary complex enzyme--substrate--cosubstrate. The anomeric configuration of glucose produced under the action of alpha-glucosidase on maltose and starch was determined using a kinetic method.