Glycosidases – A Mechanistic Overview

Carbohydrates are the most abundant and structurally diverse class of biological compounds in nature. However, our current understanding regarding the relationship between carbohydrate structure and its biological function is still far from what is known regarding proteins and nucleic acids. Initially, carbohydrates were only recognized as structural and energy storage molecules (e.g. cellulose, chitin and glycogen), but recent developments in the field have shown that carbohydrates are also involved in numerous biological events, such as cancer, inflammations, pathogen infections, cell-to-cell communication, etc. In addition, carbohydrate-processing enzymes have become the choice in many industrial applications due to their stereo-selectivity and efficiency1.