Advances in the understanding and exploitation of carbohydrate-active enzymes

Rajneesh K Bains; Seyed Amirhossein Nasseri; Jacob F Wardman; Stephen G Withers

doi:10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.102457

Advances in the understanding and exploitation of carbohydrate-active enzymes

Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2024 Apr 23:80:102457. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.102457. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Rajneesh K Bains¹, Seyed Amirhossein Nasseri¹, Jacob F Wardman², Stephen G Withers³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
² Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
³ Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Electronic address: withers@chem.ubc.ca.

PMID: 38657391
DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.102457

Abstract

Carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) are responsible for the biosynthesis, modification and degradation of all glycans in Nature. Advances in genomic and metagenomic methodologies, in conjunction with lower cost gene synthesis, have provided access to a steady stream of new CAZymes with both well-established and novel mechanisms. At the same time, increasing access to cryo-EM has resulted in exciting new structures, particularly of transmembrane glycosyltransferases of various sorts. This improved understanding has resulted in widespread progress in applications of CAZymes across diverse fields, including therapeutics, organ transplantation, foods, and biofuels. Herein, we highlight a few of the many important advances that have recently been made in the understanding and applications of CAZymes.

Keywords: Activity-based probes; Carbohydrate-active enzymes; Chemoenzymatic synthesis; Enzyme mechanisms; Glycans; Glycobiology; Glycoside hydrolases; Glycosyltransferases; Immunotherapy; Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases; Microbiome.

Publication types

Review