The structure of a family GH25 lysozyme from Aspergillus fumigatus

摘要

Lysins are important biomolecules which cleave the bacterial cell-wall polymer peptidoglycan. They are finding increasing commercial and medical application. In order to gain an insight into the mechanism by which these enzymes operate, the X-ray structure of a CAZy family GH25 ‘lysozyme’ from Aspergillus fumigatus was determined. This is the first fungal structure from the family and reveals a modified α/β-barrel-like fold in which an eight-stranded β-barrel is flanked by three α-helices. The active site lies toward the bottom of a negatively charged pocket and its layout has much in common with other solved members of the GH25 and related GH families. A conserved active-site DXE motif may be implicated in catalysis, lending further weight to the argument that this glycoside hydrolase family operates via a ‘substrate-assisted’ catalytic mechanism.