Structure and Function of BcpE2, the Most Promiscuous GH3-Family Glucose Scavenging Beta-Glucosidase
Benoit Deflandre, Cédric Jadot, Sören Planckaert, Noémie Thiébaut, Nudzejma Stulanovic, R. Herman, Bart Devreese, Frédéric Kerff, Sébastien Rigali
Abstract
Plant decaying biomass is the most abundant provider of carbon sources for soil-dwelling microorganisms. To optimally evolve in such environmental niches, microorganisms possess an arsenal of hydrolytic enzymatic complexes to feed on the various types of polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, and monosaccharides. In this work, structural, enzymatic, and expression studies revealed the existence of a "swiss-army knife" enzyme, BcpE2, that was able to retrieve the glucose moiety of a multitude of plant-derived substrates that vary in size, structure, and origin. This enzyme would provide the microorganisms with a tool that would allow them to find nutrients from any type of plant-derived material.