Acceptor Specificity and Transfer Efficiency of a β-Glycosidase from the China White Jade Snail

Mollusc N-glycosylation: Structures, Functions and Perspectives

Molluscs display a sophisticated N-glycan pattern on their proteins, which is, in terms of involved structural features, even more diverse than that of vertebrates. This review summarises the current knowledge of mollusc N-glycan structures, with a focus on the functional aspects of the corresponding glycoproteins. Furthermore, the potential of mollusc-derived biomolecules for medical applications is addressed, emphasising the importance of mollusc research.

Uncommon Glycosidases for the Enzymatic Preparation of Glycosides

Most of the reports in literature dedicated to the use of glycosyl hydrolases for the preparation of glycosides are about gluco- (α- and β-form) and galacto-sidase (β-form), reflecting the high-availability of both anomers of glucosides and of β-galactosides and their wide-ranging applications. Hence, the idea of this review was to analyze the literature focusing on hardly-mentioned natural and engineered glycosyl hydrolases. Their performances in the synthetic mode and natural hydrolytic potential are examined. Both the choice of articles and their discussion are from a biomolecular and a biotechnological perspective of the biocatalytic process, shedding light on new applicative ideas and on the assortment of biomolecular diversity. The hope is to elicit new interest for the development of biocatalysis and to gather attention of biocatalyst practitioners for glycosynthesis.

Angling for uniqueness in enzymatic preparation of glycosides

In the early days of biocatalysis, limitations of an enzyme modeled the enzymatic applications; nowadays the enzyme can be engineered to be suitable for the process requirements. This is a general bird's-eye view and as such cannot be specific for articulated situations found in different classes of enzymes or for selected enzymatic processes. As far as the enzymatic preparation of glycosides is concerned, recent scientific literature is awash with examples of uniqueness related to the features of the biocatalyst (yield, substrate specificity, regioselectivity, and resistance to a particular reaction condition). The invention of glycosynthases is just one of the aspects that has thrust forward the research in this field. Protein engineering, metagenomics and reaction engineering have led to the discovery of an expanding number of novel enzymes and to the setting up of new bio-based processes for the preparation of glycosides. In this review, new examples from the last decade are compiled with attention both to cases in which naturally present, as well as genetically inserted, characteristics of the catalysts make them attractive for biocatalysis.