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Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, June 2008, p. 301-316, Vol. 72, No. 2
1092-2172/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/MMBR.00038-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Structural Biology of Pectin Degradation by Enterobacteriaceae

D. Wade Abbott and Alisdair B. Boraston*

Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3055 STN CSC, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 3P6, Canada

Pectin is a structural polysaccharide that is integral for the stability of plant cell walls. During soft rot infection, secreted virulence factors from pectinolytic bacteria such as Erwinia spp. degrade pectin, resulting in characteristic plant cell necrosis and tissue maceration. Catabolism of pectin and its breakdown products by pectinolytic bacteria occurs within distinct cellular environments. This process initiates outside the cell, continues within the periplasmic space, and culminates in the cytoplasm. Although pectin utilization is well understood at the genetic and biochemical levels, an inclusive structural description of pectinases and pectin binding proteins by both extracellular and periplasmic enzymes has been lacking, especially following the recent characterization of several periplasmic components and protein-oligogalacturonide complexes. Here we provide a comprehensive analysis of the protein folds and mechanisms of pectate lyases, polygalacturonases, and carbohydrate esterases and the binding specificities of two periplasmic pectic binding proteins from Enterobacteriaceae. This review provides a structural understanding of the molecular determinants of pectin utilization and the mechanisms driving catabolite selectivity and flow through the pathway.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3055 STN CSC, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 3P6, Canada. Phone: (250) 472-4168. Fax: (250) 721-8855. E-mail: boraston{at}uvic.ca

Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, June 2008, p. 301-316, Vol. 72, No. 2
1092-2172/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/MMBR.00038-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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