The mature form of chitinase Al from
Bacillus circulars WL-12 (one of the family 18 glycosyl hydrolases) comprises an N-terminal catalytic domain, two fibronectin type III domains and a C-terminal chitin-binding domain. In the efforts for crystallizing each domain, combined domains and the intact mature form, we have obtained crystals of the catalytic domain which diffract to a truly atomic resolution (1.13Å). The catalytic domain consists of an (α/β)
8-TIM-barrel. Two small β-domains attached on top of the TIM-barrel provide a deep cleft for substrate binding. Crystals of an inactivated (through Glu204Gln mutation) catalytic domain complexed with a heptameric
N-acetyl glucosamme (7NAG (
NI,
NII,
NIII,
NIV,
NV,
NVI,
NVII-hepta-acetyl-chitoheptaose which is a β-1, 4-linked oligosaccharide of
N-acetylglucosamine with a polymerization degree of seven.), which is a true substrate) diffracted up to 1.5Å resolution. The bound 7NAG substrate showed a marked kink between the sugar units at positions -1 and +1. The proximity of Glu204 to the scissile site strongly supports the hitherto conceived notion that Glu204 plays a role of catalytic acid in the so-called“substrate-assisted catalysis”mechanism which is distinct from the general acidbase mechanism long accepted for lysozyme and related glycosyl hydrolases.
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