Covalent Glycosyl-enzyme Intermediate Research Articles

Mechanism of substrate hydrolysis by the human nucleotide pool sanitiser DNPH1

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors are used in the clinic to treat BRCA-deficient breast, ovarian and prostate cancers. As their efficacy is potentiated by loss of the nucleotide salvage factor DNPH1 there is considerable interest in the development of highly specific small molecule DNPH1 inhibitors. Here, we present X-ray crystal structures of dimeric DNPH1 bound to its substrate hydroxymethyl deoxyuridine monophosphate (hmdUMP). Direct interaction with the hydroxymethyl group is important for substrate positioning, while conserved residues surrounding the base facilitate target discrimination. Glycosidic bond cleavage is driven by a conserved catalytic triad and proceeds via a two-step mechanism involving formation and subsequent disruption of a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate. Mutation of a previously uncharacterised yet conserved glutamate traps the intermediate in the active site, demonstrating its role in the hydrolytic step. These observations define the enzyme’s catalytic site and mechanism of hydrolysis, and provide important insights for inhibitor discovery.

Modulating the Nucleophile of a Glycoside Hydrolase through Site-Specific Incorporation of Fluoroglutamic Acids.

Understanding the detailed mechanisms of enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of the glycosidic bond is fundamentally important, not only to the design of tailored cost-efficient, stable and specific catalysts but also to the development of specific glycosidase inhibitors as therapeutics. Retaining glycosidases employ two key carboxylic acid residues, typically glutamic acids, in a double-displacement mechanism involving a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate. One Glu functions as a nucleophile while the other acts as a general acid/base. A significant part of enzymatic proficiency is attributed to a "perfect match" of the electrostatics provided by these key residues, a hypothesis that has been remarkably difficult to prove in model systems or in enzymes themselves. We experimentally probe this synergy by preparing synthetic variants of a model glycosidase Bacillus circulans β-xylanase (Bcx) with the nucleophile Glu78 substituted by 4-fluoro or 4,4-difluoroglutamic acid to progressively reduce nucleophilicity. These Bcx variants were semisynthesized by preparation of optically pure fluoroglutamic acid building blocks, incorporation into synthetic peptides, and ligation onto a truncated circular permutant of Bcx. By measuring the effect of altered electrostatics in the active site on enzyme kinetic constants, we show that lowering the nucleophile p Ka by two units shits the pH-dependent activity by one pH unit. Linear free energy correlations using substrates of varying leaving group ability indicate that by reducing nucleophilic catalysis the concerted mechanism of the enzyme is disrupted and shifted toward a dissociative pathway. Our study represents the first example of site-specific introduction of fluorinated glutamic acids into any protein. Furthermore, it provides unique insights into the synergy of nucleophilic and acid/base catalysis within an enzyme active site.

Mechanistic Pathway on Human α-Glucosidase Maltase-Glucoamylase Unveiled by QM/MM Calculations.

The excessive consumption of starch in human diets is associated with highly prevalent chronic metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. α-Glucosidase enzymes contribute to the digestion of starch into glucose and are thus attractive therapeutic targets for diabetes. Given that the active sites of the various families of α-glucosidases have different sizes and structural features, atomistic descriptions of the catalytic mechanisms of these enzymes can support the development of potent and selective new inhibitors. Maltase-glucoamylase (MGAM), in particular, has a N-terminal catalytic domain (NtMGAM) that has shown high inhibitor selectivity. We provide here the first theoretical study of the human NtMGAM catalytic domain, employing a hybrid QM/MM approach with the ONIOM method to disclose the full atomistic details of the reactions promoted by this domain. We observed that the catalytic activity follows the classical Koshland double-displacement mechanistic pathway that uses general acid and base catalysts. A covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate was formed and hydrolyzed in the first and second mechanistic steps, respectively, through oxocarbenium ion-like transition state structures. The overall reaction is of dissociative type. Both transition state geometries differ from those known to occur in other glycosidases. The activation free energy for the glycosylation rate-limiting step agrees with the experimental barrier of 15.8 kcal·mol-1. Both individual mechanistic steps of the reaction are exoergonic. These structural results may serve as the basis for the design of transition state analogue inhibitors that specifically target the intestinal NtMGAM catalytic domain, thus delaying the production of glucose in diabetic and obese patients.

Structural and mechanistic analysis of a β-glycoside phosphorylase identified by screening a metagenomic library

Glycoside phosphorylases have considerable potential as catalysts for the assembly of useful glycans for products ranging from functional foods and prebiotics to novel materials. However, the substrate diversity of currently identified phosphorylases is relatively small, limiting their practical applications. To address this limitation, we developed a high-throughput screening approach using the activated substrate 2,4-dinitrophenyl β-d-glucoside (DNPGlc) and inorganic phosphate for identifying glycoside phosphorylase activity and used it to screen a large insert metagenomic library. The initial screen, based on release of 2,4-dinitrophenyl from DNPGlc in the presence of phosphate, identified the gene bglP, encoding a retaining β-glycoside phosphorylase from the CAZy GH3 family. Kinetic and mechanistic analysis of the gene product, BglP, confirmed a double displacement ping-pong mechanism involving a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate. X-ray crystallographic analysis provided insights into the phosphate-binding mode and identified a key glutamine residue in the active site important for substrate recognition. Substituting this glutamine for a serine swapped the substrate specificity from glucoside to N-acetylglucosaminide. In summary, we present a high-throughput screening approach for identifying β-glycoside phosphorylases, which was robust, simple to implement, and useful in identifying active clones within a metagenomics library. Implementation of this screen enabled discovery of a new glycoside phosphorylase class and has paved the way to devising simple ways in which enzyme specificity can be encoded and swapped, which has implications for biotechnological applications.

Interaction of di-N-acetylchitobiosyl moranoline with a family GH19 chitinase from moss, Bryum coronatum.

Tri-N-acetylchitotriosyl moranoline, (GlcNAc)3-M, was previously shown to strongly inhibit lysozyme (Ogata M, Umemoto N, Ohnuma T, Numata T, Suzuki A, Usui T, Fukamizo T. 2013. A novel transition-state analogue for lysozyme, 4-O-β-tri-Nacetylchitotriosyl moranoline, provided evidence supporting the covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate. J Biol Chem. 288:6072-6082). The findings prompted us to examine the interaction of di-N-acetylchitobiosyl moranoline, (GlcNAc)2-M, with a family GH19 chitinase from moss, Bryum coronatum (BcChi19A). Thermal unfolding experiments using BcChi19A and the catalytic acid-deficient mutant (BcChi19A-E61A) revealed that the transition temperature (Tm) was elevated by 4.3 and 5.8°C, respectively, upon the addition of (GlcNAc)2-M, while the chitin dimer, (GlcNAc)2, elevated Tm only by 1.0 and 1.4°C, respectively. By means of isothermal titration calorimetry, binding free energy changes for the interactions of (GlcNAc)3 and (GlcNAc)2-M with BcChi19A-E61A were determined to be -5.2 and -6.6 kcal/mol, respectively, while (GlcNAc)2 was found to interact with BcChi19A-E61A with markedly lower affinity. nuclear magnetic resonance titration experiments using (15)N-labeled BcChi19A and BcChi19A-E61A revealed that both (GlcNAc)2 and (GlcNAc)2-M interact with the region surrounding the catalytic center of the enzyme and that the interaction of (GlcNAc)2-M is markedly stronger than that of (GlcNAc)2 for both enzymes. However, (GlcNAc)2-M was found to moderately inhibit the hydrolytic reaction of chitin oligosaccharides catalyzed by BcChi19A (IC50 = 130-620 μM). A molecular dynamics simulation of BcChi19A in complex with (GlcNAc)2-M revealed that the complex is quite stable and the binding mode does not significantly change during the simulation. The moranoline moiety of (GlcNAc)2-M did not fit into the catalytic cleft (subsite -1) but was rather in contact with subsite +1. This situation may result in the moderate inhibition toward the BcChi19A-catalyzed hydrolysis.

Substrate-Assisted and Nucleophilically Assisted Catalysis in Bovine α1,3-Galactosyltransferase. Mechanistic Implications for Retaining Glycosyltransferases

Glycosyltransferases (GTs) are responsible for the biosynthesis of glycans, the most abundant organic molecules in nature. Their biological relevance makes necessary the knowledge of their catalytic mechanism, which in the case of retaining GTs is still a matter of debate. After the initial proposal of a double-displacement mechanism with formation of a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate (CGE), new experimental and computational data are pointing out to a front-side attack as a plausible alternative. The question is then why family GT6 members, like bovine α1,3-galactosyltransferase (α1,3-GalT), have a nucleophilic residue (Glu317) situated close to the anomeric carbon. To answer this and other questions, QM(DFT)/MM calculations on the entire α1,3-GalT:substrates system (and for the E317A/E317Q mutants) have been carried out. We describe a substrate-assisted mechanism for retaining GTs consisting of the stabilization of the developing negative charge on the β-phosphate by the hydrogen of the attacking hydroxyl group of the acceptor molecule. This interaction is impaired in the α1,3-GalT reactants, which explains why Glu317 is required to nucleophilically assist initial catalysis by "pushing" leaving-group departure. The presence of Glu317 opens the door to the possibility of a double-displacement mechanism in GT6 family. Our results suggest that in α1,3-GalT the substrate-assisted catalysis would be necessary in both mechanisms (for which we predict similar reaction rates), because the nucleophilic strength of Glu317 is reduced by the interactions it makes to ensure proper acceptor binding. Interestingly, the same effect would be found in the absence of the acceptor when Glu317 interacts with water molecules, which could explain the difficulties for isolating the CGE experimentally, and could be a strategy to avoid undesired hydrolysis of the donor substrate.

Mechanism-based Labeling Defines the Free Energy Change for Formation of the Covalent Glycosyl-enzyme Intermediate in a Xyloglucan endo-Transglycosylase

Xyloglucan endo-transglycosylases (XETs) are key enzymes involved in the restructuring of plant cell walls during morphogenesis. As members of glycoside hydrolase family 16 (GH16), XETs are predicted to employ the canonical retaining mechanism of glycosyl transfer involving a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate. Here, we report the accumulation and direct observation of such intermediates of PttXET16-34 from hybrid aspen by electrospray mass spectrometry in combination with synthetic "blocked" substrates, which function as glycosyl donors but are incapable of acting as glycosyl acceptors. Thus, GalGXXXGGG and GalGXXXGXXXG react with the wild-type enzyme to yield relatively stable, kinetically competent, covalent GalG-enzyme and GalGXXXG-enzyme complexes, respectively (Gal=Galbeta(1-->4), G=Glcbeta(1-->4), and X=Xylalpha(1-->6)Glcbeta(1-->4)). Quantitation of ratios of protein and saccharide species at pseudo-equilibrium allowed us to estimate the free energy change (DeltaG(0)) for the formation of the covalent GalGXXXG-enzyme as 6.3-8.5 kJ/mol (1.5-2.0 kcal/mol). The data indicate that the free energy of the beta(1-->4) glucosidic bond in xyloglucans is preserved in the glycosyl-enzyme intermediate and harnessed for religation of the polysaccharide in vivo.

Active-site Mapping of a Populus Xyloglucan endo-Transglycosylase with a Library of Xylogluco-oligosaccharides

Restructuring the network of xyloglucan (XG) and cellulose during plant cell wall morphogenesis involves the action of xyloglucan endo-transglycosylases (XETs). They cleave the XG chains and transfer the enzyme-bound XG fragment to another XG molecule, thus allowing transient loosening of the cell wall and also incorporation of nascent XG during expansion. The substrate specificity of a XET from Populus (PttXET16-34) has been analyzed by mapping the enzyme binding site with a library of xylogluco-oligosaccharides as donor substrates using a labeled heptasaccharide as acceptor. The extended binding cleft of the enzyme is composed of four negative and three positive subsites (with the catalytic residues between subsites -1 and +1). Donor binding is dominated by the higher affinity of the XXXG moiety (G=Glcbeta(1-->4) and X=Xylalpha(1-->6)Glcbeta(1-->4)) of the substrate for positive subsites, whereas negative subsites have a more relaxed specificity, able to bind (and transfer to the acceptor) a cello-oligosaccharyl moiety of hybrid substrates such as GGGGXXXG. Subsite mapping with k(cat)/K(m) values for the donor substrates showed that a GG-unit on negative and -XXG on positive subsites are the minimal requirements for activity. Subsites -2 and -3 (for backbone Glc residues) and +2' (for Xyl substitution at Glc in subsite +2) have the largest contribution to transition state stabilization. GalGXXXGXXXG (Gal=Galbeta(1-->4)) is the best donor substrate with a "blocked" nonreducing end that prevents polymerization reactions and yields a single transglycosylation product. Its kinetics have unambiguously established that the enzyme operates by a ping-pong mechanism with competitive inhibition by the acceptor.

On the reaction pathways and determination of transition-state structures for retaining α-galactosyltransferases

The catalytic mechanism of retaining glycosyltransferases is not yet completely understood, but one possible mechanism, by analogy with retaining glycosidases, is a double-displacement mechanism via a covalent glycosyl–enzyme intermediate (CGE). We have investigated various reaction pathways for this mechanism using non-empirical quantum mechanical methods. Because a double-displacement mechanism presumes a reaction happening in two steps, we have used predefined reaction coordinates to calculate the potential energy surface describing each step of the mechanism. By investigating several potential candidates to act as a catalytic base, this study attempts to shed some light on the unclear mechanism of the second step of the reaction. All intermediates and transition states on the reaction pathways were characterized using basis sets up to the DFT/B3LYP/6-311++G**//DFT/B3LYP/6-31G* level. Reaction pathways and structural changes were compared with the results previously obtained for inverting glycosyltransferases. The outcome of this study indicates, that among the reaction models investigated, the energetically favorable one is also the most plausible given the existing experimental data. This model requires the presence of only one catalytic acid in the active site with the UDP functioning as a general base in the second step of the reaction. This mechanism is in agreement with both kinetic data in the literature and the description of X-ray structures of retaining glycosyltransferases solved up to today.

Mechanistic studies of a retaining alpha-galactosyltransferase from Neisseria meningitidis.

Lipopolysaccharyl alpha-galactosyltransferase from Neisseria meningitidis catalyzes the transfer of a galactosyl moiety from the activated donor UDP-Gal to glycoconjugates to yield an elongated saccharide product with net retention of anomeric configuration relative to the donor substrate. Through kinetic analyses in which the concentrations of both substrates are independently varied and through inhibition studies with dead-end analogues of both substrates and with the oligosaccharide product, we have demonstrated that this enzyme follows an ordered bi-bi kinetic mechanism. Various aspects of the chemical mechanism including the possible formation of a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate were also probed using an assortment of strategies. While the results of these investigations were unable to clearly delineate the chemical mechanism of this enzyme, they provide important insights into the catalytic machinery surrounding the events involved in catalysis.

Trapping covalent intermediates on β-glycosidases

The mechanism-based inactivation and subsequent identification of the nucleophilic residue using mass spectrometry have been successfully applied and used to identify the active-site nucleophile in numerous beta-glycosidases, as illustrated using C. fimi exoglycanase. Evidence for a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate has come from X-ray crystallographic analysis of trapped complexes, the first being that of the trapped fluoroglycosyl-enzyme intermediate of Cex. The crystal structure of the trapped fluorocellobiosyl-enzyme complex for Cex has provided useful insights into catalysis and the roles of specific residues at the active site. In addition, information about the conformation of the natural sugar in the covalently bound state and the interactions at the active site was obtained using a mutant form of Cex.

2-Hydroxy-6-keto-nona-2,4-diene 1,9-dioic acid 5,6-hydrolase: Evidence from 18O isotope exchange for gem-diol intermediate

The mechanism-based inactivation and subsequent identification of the nucleophilic residue using mass spectrometry have been successfully applied and used to identify the active-site nucleophile in numerous β-glycosidases, as illustrated using C. fimi exoglycanase. Evidence for a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate has come from X-ray crystallographic analysis of trapped complexes, the first being that of the trapped fluoroglycosyl-enzyme intermediate of Cex. The crystal structure of the trapped fluorocellobiosyl-enzyme complex for Cex has provided useful insights into catalysis and the roles of specific residues at the active site. In addition, information about the conformation of the natural sugar in the covalently bound state and the interactions at the active site was obtained using a mutant form of Cex.

Homopolysaccharides from lactic acid bacteria

Abstract In addition to heteropolysaccharides of complex structure, lactic bacteria produce a variety of homopolysaccharides containing only either d -fructose or d -glucose. These fructans and glucans have a common feature in being synthesized by extracellular transglycosylases (glycansucrases) using sucrose as glycosyl donor. The energy of the osidic bond of sucrose enables the efficient transfer of a d -fructosyl or d -glucosyl residue via the formation of a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate. In addition to the synthesis of high molecular weight homopolysaccharides, glycansucrases generally catalyse the synthesis of low molecular weight oligosaccharides or glycoconjugates when efficient acceptors, like maltose, are added to the reaction medium. While the enzymatic synthesis of fructans (levan and inulin) is poorly documented at the molecular level, the field of Streptococcus and Leuconostoc glucansucrases (glucosyltransferases and dextransucrases) has been well studied, both at the mechanistic and gene structure levels. The nutritional applications of the corresponding polysaccharides and oligosaccharides account for this increasing interest.

Analysis of the dynamic properties of Bacillus circulans xylanase upon formation of a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate.

NMR spectroscopy was used to search for mechanistically significant differences in the local mobility of the main-chain amides of Bacillus circulans xylanase (BCX) in its native and catalytically competent covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate states. 15N T1, T2, and 15N[1H] NOE values were measured for approximately 120 out of 178 peptide groups in both the apo form of the protein and in BCX covalently modified at position Glu78 with a mechanism-based 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-xylobioside inactivator. Employing the model-free formalism of Lipari and Szabo, the measured relaxation parameters were used to calculate a global correlation time (tau(m)) for the protein in each form (9.2 +/- 0.2 ns for apo-BCX; 9.8 +/- 0.3 ns for the modified protein), as well as individual order parameters for the main-chain NH bond vectors. Average values of the order parameters for the protein in the apo and complexed forms were S2 = 0.86 +/- 0.04 and S2 = 0.91 +/- 0.04, respectively. No correlation is observed between these order parameters and the secondary structure, solvent accessibility, or hydrogen bonding patterns of amides in either form of the protein. These results demonstrate that the backbone of BCX is well ordered in both states and that formation of the glycosyl-enzyme intermediate leads to little change, in any, in the dynamic properties of BCX on the time scales sampled by 15N-NMR relaxation measurements.

Catalysis and specificity in enzymatic glycoside hydrolysis: a 2,5 B conformation for the glycosyl-enzyme intermediate revealed by the structure of the Bacillus agaradhaerens family 11 xylanase

The enzymatic hydrolysis of glycosides involves the formation and subsequent breakdown of a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate via oxocarbenium-ion-like transition states. The covalent intermediate may be trapped on-enzyme using 2-fluoro-substituted glycosides, which provide details of the intermediate conformation and noncovalent interactions between enzyme and oligosaccharide. Xylanases are important in industrial applications - in the pulp and paper industry, pretreating wood with xylanases decreases the amount of chlorine-containing chemicals used. Xylanases are structurally similar to cellulases but differ in their specificity for xylose-based, versus glucose-based, substrates. The structure of the family 11 xylanase, Xyl11, from Bacillus agaradhaerens has been solved using X-ray crystallography in both native and xylobiosyl-enzyme intermediate forms at 1.78 A and 2.0 A resolution, respectively. The covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate has been trapped using a 2-fluoro-2-deoxy substrate with a good leaving group. Unlike covalent intermediate structures for glycoside hydrolases from other families, the covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate in family 11 adopts an unusual 2,5B conformation. The 2,5B conformation found for the alpha-linked xylobiosyl-enzyme intermediate of Xyl11, unlike the 4C1 chair conformation observed for other systems, is consistent with the stereochemical constraints required of the oxocarbenium-ion-like transition state. Comparison of the Xyl11 covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate with the equivalent structure for the related family 12 endoglucanase, CelB, from Streptomyces lividans reveals the likely determinants for substrate specificity in this clan of glycoside hydrolases.

Crystal structure of the family 7 endoglucanase I (Cel7B) from Humicola insolens at 2.2 A resolution and identification of the catalytic nucleophile by trapping of the covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate.

Cellulose is the major polysaccharide component of the plant cell wall and the most abundant naturally produced macromolecule on Earth. The enzymic degradation of cellulose, by cellulases, is therefore of great environmental and commercial significance. Cellulases are found in 12 of the glycoside hydrolase families classified according to their amino acid sequence similarities. Endoglucanase I (Cel7B), from the soft-rot fungus Humicola insolens, is a family 7 enzyme. The structure of the native form of Cel7B from H. insolens at 2.2 A resolution has been solved by molecular replacement using the known Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase I [Divne, Ståhlberg, Reinikainen, Ruohonen, Pettersson, Knowles, Teeri and Jones (1994) Science 265, 524-528] structure as the search model. Cel7B catalyses hydrolysis of the beta-1,4 glycosidic linkages in cellulose with net retention of anomeric configuration. The catalytic nucleophile at the active site of Cel7B has been identified as Glu-197 by trapping of a 2-deoxy-2-fluorocellotriosyl enzyme intermediate and identification of the labelled peptide in peptic digests by tandem MS. Site-directed mutagenesis of both Glu-197 and the prospective catalytic acid, Glu-202, results in inactive enzyme, confirming the critical role of these groups for catalysis.

Mechanistic Consequences of Mutation of Active Site Carboxylates in a Retaining β-1,4-Glycanase from Cellulomonas fimi

The exoglucanase/xylanase Cex from Cellulomonas fimi is a retaining glycosidase which functions via a two-step mechanism involving the formation and hydrolysis of a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate. The roles of three conserved active site carboxylic acids in this enzyme have been probed by detailed kinetic analysis of mutants modified at these three positions. Elimination of the catalytic nucleophile (E233A) results in an essentially inactive enzyme, consistent with the important role of this residue. However addition of small anions such as azide or formate restores activity, but as an inverting enzyme since the product formed under these conditions is the alpha-glycosyl azide. Shortening of the catalytic nucleophile (E233D) reduces the rates of both formation and hydrolysis of the glycosyl-enzyme intermediate some 3000-4000-fold. Elimination of the acid/base catalyst (E127A) yields a mutant for which the deglycosylation step is slowed some 200-300-fold as a consequence of removal of general base catalysis, but with little effect on the transition state structure at the anomeric center. Effects on the glycosylation step due to removal of the acid catalyst depend on the aglycon leaving group ability, with minimal effects on substrates requiring no general acid catalysis but large (> 10(5)-fold) effects on substrates with poor leaving groups. The Brønsted beta 1g value for hydrolysis of aryl cellobiosides was much larger (beta 1g approximately -1) for the mutant than for the wild-type enzyme (beta 1g = -0.3), consistent with removal of protonic assistance. The pH-dependence was also significantly perturbed. Mutation of a third conserved active site carboxylic acid (E123A) resulted in rate reductions of up to 1500-fold on poorer substrates, which could be largely restored by addition of azide, but without the formation of glycosyl azide products. These results suggest a simple strategy for the identification of the key active site nucleophile and acid/base catalyst residues in glycosidases without resort to active site labeling.

Crystal structure of the catalytic domain of the beta-1,4-glycanase cex from Cellulomonas fimi.

beta-1,4-Glycanases, principally cellulases and xylanases, are responsible for the hydrolysis of plant biomass. The bifunctional beta-1,4-xylanase/glucanase Cex from the bacterium Cellulomonas fimi, one of a large family of cellulases/xylanases, depolymerizes oligosaccharides and releases a disaccharide unit from the substrate nonreducing end. Hydrolysis occurs with net retention of the anomeric configuration of the sugar through a double-displacement mechanism involving a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate. The active site nucleophile, Glu233, has been unambiguously identified by trapping of such an intermediate [Tull et al. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 15621-15625] and the acid/base catalyst, Glu127, by detailed kinetic analysis of mutants [MacLeod et al. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 6371-6376]. However, little is known about the enzyme's overall folding and its active site architecture. We report here the high-resolution crystal structure of the catalytic domain of Cex. The atomic structure refinement results in a model that includes 2400 protein atoms and 45 water molecules, with an R-factor of 0.217 for data extending to 1.8-A resolution. The protein forms an eight-parallel-stranded alpha/beta-barrel, which is a novel folding pattern for a microbial beta-glycanase. The active site, inferred from the location of Glu233, Glu127, and other conserved residues, is an open cleft on the carboxy-terminal end of the alpha/beta-barrel. An extensive hydrogen-bonding network stabilizes the ionization states of the key residues; in particular, the Asp235-His205-Glu233 hydrogen-bonding network may play a role in modulating the ionization state of Glu233 and in controlling local charge balance during the reaction.