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Glucoamylases: structural and biotechnological aspects

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Abstract

Glucoamylases, one of the main types of enzymes involved in starch hydrolysis, are exo-acting enzymes that release consecutive glucose units from the non-reducing ends of starch molecules. Glucoamylases are microbial enzymes, present in bacteria, archaea, and fungi but not in plants and animals. Structurally, they are classified in family 15 of glycoside hydrolases and characterised by the invariable presence of a catalytic domain with (α/α)6-fold, often bound to a non-catalytic domain of diverse origin and function. Fungal glucoamylases are biotechnologically very important as they are used industrially in large amounts and have been extensively studied during the past 30 years. Prokaryotic glucoamylases are of biotechnological relevance for being generally thermophilic enzymes, active at elevated temperatures.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación grant BIO2007-6708-C04-02.

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  1. Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Av. Agustín Escardino 7, 46980, Paterna, Valencia, Spain

    Julia Marín-Navarro & Julio Polaina

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  1. Julia Marín-Navarro
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  2. Julio Polaina
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Correspondence to Julio Polaina.

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Marín-Navarro, J., Polaina, J. Glucoamylases: structural and biotechnological aspects. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 89, 1267–1273 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-010-3034-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-010-3034-0

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