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Advances in molecular engineering of carbohydrate‐binding modules
Author(s) -
Armenta Silvia,
MorenoMendieta Silvia,
SánchezCuapio Zaira,
Sánchez Sergio,
RodríguezSanoja Romina
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
proteins: structure, function, and bioinformatics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.699
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1097-0134
pISSN - 0887-3585
DOI - 10.1002/prot.25327
Subject(s) - computational biology , computer science , chemistry , biology
Carbohydrate‐binding modules (CBMs) are non‐catalytic domains that are generally appended to carbohydrate‐active enzymes. CBMs have a broadly conserved structure that allows recognition of a notable variety of carbohydrates, in both their soluble and insoluble forms, as well as in their alpha and beta conformations and with different types of bonds or substitutions. This versatility suggests a high functional plasticity that is not yet clearly understood, in spite of the important number of studies relating protein structure and function. Several studies have explored the flexibility of these systems by changing or improving their specificity toward substrates of interest. In this review, we examine the molecular strategies used to identify CBMs with novel or improved characteristics. The impact of the spatial arrangement of the functional amino acids of CBMs is discussed in terms of unexpected new functions that are not related to the original biological roles of the enzymes. Proteins 2017; 85:1602–1617. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.