Glycosyl Hydrolases

Glycosyl Hydrolases: Modular Structure, Physiological Roles, Gene Amplification and Evolution

from Alan Radford writing in Neurospora: Genomics and Molecular Biology:

The ascomycete fungus Neurospora crassa has a profusion of glycosyl hydrolase genes encoding a wide range of physiological roles. Domain structure of glycosyl hydrolases is considered in the context of domain shuffling within and between families. Mechanisms of action of glycosyl hydrolases are illustrated. The conservation of sequence and structure of the cellulose-binding domain is examined in detail, as is the sequence and structural basis of endo- and exo-cellulases. The individual N. crassa enzymes are classified by predicted function, family, clade (superfamily) and fold. Gene amplification is analysed in N. crassa and ascomycete relatives, and the most highly amplified families are examined for evidence of the evolutionary timing of gene amplification events.

Further reading: Neurospora: Genomics and Molecular Biology