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Pectin lyase

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EC number
  
4.2.2.10

IntEnz
  
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ExPASy
  
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CAS number
  
9033-35-6

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BRENDA entry

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KEGG entry

In enzymology, a pectin lyase also known as pectolyase is a naturally occurring pectinase a type of enzyme that degrades pectin. It is produced commercially for the food industry from fungi and used to destroy residual fruit starch, known as pectin, in wine and cider. In plant cell culture, it is used in combination with the enzyme cellulase to generate protoplasts by degrading the plant cell walls.

Contents

Pectin lyase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction

Eliminative cleavage of (1->4)-alpha-D-galacturonan methyl ester to give oligosaccharides with 4-deoxy-6-O-methyl-alpha-D-galact-4-enuronosyl groups at their non-reducing ends

This enzyme belongs to the family of lyases, specifically those carbon-oxygen lyases acting on polysaccharides.

Nomenclature

The systematic name of this enzyme class is (1->4)-6-O-methyl-alpha-D-galacturonan lyase. Other names in common use include:

Structural studies

As of late 2007, 3 structures have been solved for this class of enzymes, with PDB accession codes 1IDJ, 1IDK, and 1QCX.

Biotechnology applications

Pectin lyases are the only known pectinases capable of degrading highly esterified pectins (like those found in fruits) into small molecules via β-elimination mechanism without producing methanol (which is toxic), in contrast with the combination of PG and PE, which are normally found in commercial products. In addition, the presence of undesirable enzymatic activity in commercial pectinases may be detrimental to aroma because they are responsible for producing unpleasant volatile off flavour. There are many reports of fruit juice clarification by pectin lyases.

The alkaline pectinase is inappropriate for use in the food industry due to the acidic pH of fruit juices. However, they have a very high demand in the textile industries. They are used for retting of plant fibers such as ramie, sunn hemp, jute, flax and hemp. The first report on retting of sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) by pectin lyase produced by Aspergillus flavus MTCC 7589 was published in 2008 but this aspect of pectin lyases needs to be extensively investigated further.

References

Pectin lyase Wikipedia