title: Chitosanases from Family 46 of Glycoside Hydrolases: From Proteins to Phenotypes.
abstract: Chitosanases, enzymes that catalyze the endo-hydrolysis of glycolytic links in chitosan, are the subject of numerous studies as biotechnological tools to generate low molecular weight chitosan (LMWC) or chitosan oligosaccharides (CHOS) from native, high molecular weight chitosan. Glycoside hydrolases belonging to family GH46 are among the best-studied chitosanases, with four crystallography-derived structures available and more than forty enzymes studied at the biochemical level. They were also subjected to numerous site-directed mutagenesis studies, unraveling the molecular mechanisms of hydrolysis. This review is focused on the taxonomic distribution of GH46 proteins, their multi-modular character, the structure-function relationships and their biological functions in the host organisms.
authors.affiliation: Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500, boul. de l'Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada. Pascal.Viens@USherbrooke.ca.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Viens
authors.affiliation: Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500, boul. de l'Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada. marie-eve.lacombe@videotron.ca.
authors.forename: Marie-Ève
authors.initials: MÈ
authors.lastname: Lacombe-Harvey
authors.affiliation: Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500, boul. de l'Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada. Ryszard.Brzezinski@USherbrooke.ca.
authors.forename: Ryszard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brzezinski
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D003461:Crystallography; D006026:Glycoside Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D006868:Hydrolysis; D008970:Molecular Weight; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000737:chemistry*; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D009844:Oligosaccharides; D048271:Chitosan; D006026:Glycoside Hydrolases; C019868:chitosanase
keywords: Bacillus; Microbacterium; Streptomyces; chitosan; chitosanase; chlorovirus; glycoside hydrolase; hydrolysis; polysaccharide