Structural and mechanistic studies of inverting glycosidases

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Sugars are everywhere in nature. They coat the surface of living cells, provide nutrition and energy to organisms, and are primary components of wood and other organic species, among many other roles. Sugars and their polymers, carbohydrates or polysaccharides, have been the focus of applications in deriving fuel from organic sources, in processes such as paper production, and in medical applications such as diabetes and cancer. These processes generally depend on the ability to degrade polysaccharides into individual sugars efficiently. Sugar processing is carried out by enzymes called glycoside hydrolases (GH) or glycosidases, which break the bonds that hold sugars together in their polymer chains.