Abstract
A novel glycosphingolipid-degrading enzyme was found in culture supernatants of Rhodococcus species G-74-2. It is capable of cleaving the linkage between the oligosaccharides and ceramides of various acidic and neutral glycosphingolipids, resulting in the production of intact oligosaccharides and ceramides. This enzyme is specific for cleaving the linkage between an oligosaccharide and ceramide and thus is tentatively designated as an endo-type glycosylceramidase—that is, endoglycosylceramidase or endoglycoceramidase for short. With endoglycoceramidase, it is possible to obtain simultaneously intact ceramides and intact oligosaccharides from virtually all kinds of glycosphingolipids, except for cerebrosides. Based on the specificity of endoglycoceramidase, currently devising new methods for structural determinations of glycosphingolipids have been developed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 488-496 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Methods in enzymology |
| Volume | 179 |
| Issue number | C |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 1 1989 |
| Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology