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Microbial α-L-arabinofuranosidases: diversity, properties, and biotechnological applications

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Abstract

Arabinoxylans (AXs) are hemicellulosic polysaccharides consisting of a linear backbone of β-1,4-linked xylose residues branched by high content of α-L-arabinofuranosyl (Araf) residues along with other side-chain substituents, and are abundantly found in various agricultural crops especially cereals. The efficient bioconversion of AXs into monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and/or other chemicals depends on the synergism of main-chain enzymes and de-branching enzymes. Exo-α-L-arabinofuranosidases (ABFs) catalyze the hydrolysis of terminal non-reducing α-1,2-, α-1,3- or α-1,5- linked α-L-Araf residues from arabinose-substituted polysaccharides or oligosaccharides. ABFs are critically de-branching enzymes in bioconversion of agricultural biomass, and have received special attention due to their application potentials in biotechnological industries. In recent years, the researches on microbial ABFs have developed quickly in the aspects of the gene mining, properties of novel members, catalytic mechanisms, methodologies, and application technologies. In this review, we systematically summarize the latest advances in microbial ABFs, and discuss the future perspectives of the enzyme research.

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All the data generated or analyzed during this review are available in the references cited within this article.

Abbreviations

ABF(s):

exo-α-L-arabinofuranosidase(s)

Araf :

α-L-arabinofuranosyl

AX(s):

Arabinoxylan(s)

AXH(s):

AX-α-L-arabinofuranohydrolase(s)

AXOS:

Arabinoxylooligosaccharides

CAZymes:

Carbohydrate-active enzymes

CBM(s):

Carbohydrate binding module(s)

RAX:

Rye arabinoxylan

WAX:

Wheat arabinoxylan

Xylp :

β-D-xylopyranosyl

XOS:

Xylooligosaccharides

NSP:

Non-starch polysaccharides

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Franz J. St John from the Forest Products Laboratory, USDA Forest Service, for his help in preparing the manuscript.

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The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Authors

Contributions

LL: Conceptualization, Literature research, Data analysis, Writing-original draft, Writing-review & editing. QL: Data analysis, Visualization. JW: Literature research. SD: Supervision, Writing-review & editing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Liangkun Long.

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Long, L., Lin, Q., Wang, J. et al. Microbial α-L-arabinofuranosidases: diversity, properties, and biotechnological applications. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 40, 84 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-023-03882-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-023-03882-z

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