Glycobiology Lab, Ghent University

Ghent University, Belgium GLYCOBIOLOGY LAB

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  The Laboratory of Glycobiology focuses on enzymology and structure/function studies of carbohydrate active enzymes: proteins that degrade, modify or create glycosidic bonds (glycoside hydrolases, glycosyltransferases, carbohydrate esterases) or that contain functional domains (such as carbohydrate-binding modules). The research group can rely on more than 40 years of acquired experience, mainly in the characterisation and mechanistic study of glycoside hydrolases, an important group of enzymes of which many are of medical and industrial relevance. Different research disciplines (enzymology, in-house organic and chemo-enzymatic synthesis of carbohydrate ligands and chromogenic substrates, affinity chromatography, analysis of 3D-structures, molecular docking studies, etc.) are combined in order to achieve the main goal: understanding the details of reaction mechanisms.
  Through collaborations with numerous international laboratories, pioneering research has been performed - and is still ongoing - concerning fungal and bacterial enzyme systems involved in the degradation of biomass. Important insights have been gained in the performance and mechanisms of cellulases and hemicellulases (e.g. xylanases, mannanases, etc.) from different origin. Members of this group of enzymes are already used in important biotechnological applications (pulp and paper, baking, textiles, detergent and animal feeding industry), and have a high potential for applications in the production of bio-ethanol from cellulose-rich stocks and/or waste.
  One of the enzyme systems studied in this laboratory is that from the fungus Trichoderma reesei (renamed as Hypocrea jecorina), a very efficient producer of plantmass-degrading enzymes and regarded as the model organism to which other biomass-degrading organisms are compared.
  The laboratory is involved in contract research with industrial partners to study biomass-degrading enzymes as well as other industrially important ferments. Contact:
Laboratory of Glycobiology
Department of Biochemistry, Physiology and Microbiology
Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35 - 6th floor
B-9000 Gent (Belgium)
Tel: (+32) 9-264-5270; Fax: (+32) 9-264-5332

	Prof. Dr. Em. Marc Claeyssens studied Chemistry at Ghent University where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1967 under promotion of Prof. Dr. Clement De Bruyne. He did a postdoctoral stay at University College London (1970) and became assistant, group leader and professor at the Biochemistry Department (Faculty of Sciences). Several sabbatical stays include: Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1979), University of British Columbia Vancouver (1989), CERMAV-CNRS Grenoble (1991). Although Emeritus since October 2005, he remains actively involved with his group. E-mail: marc.claeyssens@ugent.be
	Dr. Kathleen Piens studied Organic Chemistry at Ghent University within the group of Prof. Dr. Pierre De Clercq and then moved to the lab of Prof. Dr. Marc Claeyssens where she obtained her Ph.D. in 2001. She then went for a 3-year postdoctoral stay at the group of Prof. Dr. Tuula Teeri, Department of Wood Biotechnology, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden. Her main interests are enzymology studies of carbohydrate-active enzymes. Presently she holds a Doctor-Assistant position, leading the lab. E-mail: kathleen.piens@ugent.be
	Dr. Wim Nerinckx studied Synthetic Organic Chemistry at the group of Prof. Dr. Maurits Vandewalle and obtained his Ph.D. at Ghent University in 1995. He is since then a collaborator at the research group of Prof. Dr. Marc Claeyssens, synthesising various substrates and ligands for glycoside hydrolases, scanning these enzyme's active sites by means of in silico docking experiments, and investigating common aspects of their reaction mechanism. E-mail: wim.nerinckx@ugent.be (webmaster)
	Dr. Patricia Ntarima obtained her Ph.D. at Ghent University in 2000 under supervision of Prof. Dr. Marc Claeyssens, and is an experienced activity-measurementalist for glycoside hydrolases. E-mail: patricia.ntarima@ugent.be
	Linda De Keyster is our handy technical assistant. E-mail: linda.dekeyster@ugent.be
	Dr. Tom Desmet studied Medicine and Biochemistry at Ghent University, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 2005 under supervision of Prof. Dr. Marc Claeyssens. His main interests are the specificity and mechanism of glycoside hydrolases. Tom has recently moved to the Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology and Biocatalysis but he stays in close contact with our group. E-mail: t.desmet@ugent.be

A selection of recent publications:
- W. Nerinckx, T. Desmet and M. Claeyssens: "Itineraries of enzymatically and non-enzymatically catalyzed substitutions at O-glycopyranosidic bonds." Arkivoc (2006) 13, 90-116. (PDF of article)
- C. Mulakala, W. Nerinckx and P.J. Reilly: "Docking studies on glycoside hydrolase Family 47 endoplasmatic reticulum alpha-(1,2)-mannosidase I to elucidate the pathway to the substrate transition state." Carbohydrate Research (2006) 341, 2233-2245.
- A.M. Kallas, K. Piens, S.E. Denman, H. Henriksson, J. Faldt, P. Johansson, H. Brumer and T.T. Teeri: "Enzymatic properties of native and deglycosylated hybrid aspen (Populus tremula x tremuloides) xyloglucan endotransglycosylase 16A expressed in Pichia pastoris." Biochemical Journal (2005) 390, 105-113.
- W. Nerinckx, T. Desmet, K. Piens and M. Claeyssens: "An elaboration on the syn-anti proton donor concept of glycoside hydrolases: electrostatic stabilisation of the transition state as a general strategy." FEBS Letters (2005) 579(2), 302-312.
- W. Nerinckx, T. Desmet and M. Claeyssens: "On the mechanism of glycoside hydrolysis by the family GH-90 phage P22 tailspike protein." Internet Electronic Journal of Molecular Design (2005) 4, 82-93.
- I. Stals, K. Sandra, S. Geysens, R. Contreras, J. Van Beeumen and M. Claeyssens: "Factors influencing glycosylation of Trichoderma reesei cellulases. I: Postsecretorial changes of the O- and N-glycosylation pattern of Cel7A." Glycobiology (2004) 14(8), 713-724.
- I. Stals, K. Sandra, B. Devreese, J. Van Beeumen and M. Claeyssens: "Factors influencing glycosylation of Trichoderma reesei cellulases. II: N-glycosylation of Cel7A core protein isolated from different strains." Glycobiology (2004) 14(8), 725-737.
- W. Nerinckx, T. Desmet and M. Claeyssens: "A hydrophobic platform as a mechanistically relevant transition state stabilising factor appears to be present in the active centre of all glycoside hydrolases." FEBS Letters (2003) 538(1-3), 1-7.
- T. Desmet, W. Nerinckx, I. Stals, N. Callewaert, R. Contreras and M. Claeyssens, "Novel tools for the study of class I alpha-mannosidases: a chromogenic substrate and a substrate-analog inhibitor." Analytical Biochemistry (2002) 307(2), 361-367.
- P. Ntarima, W. Nerinckx, K. Klarskov, B. Devreese, M.K. Bhat, J. Van Beeumen and M. Claeyssens: "Epoxyalkyl glycosides of D-xylose and xylo-oligosaccharides are active-site markers of xylanases from glycoside hydrolase family 11, not from family 10." Biochemical Journal. (2000) 347, 865-873.

Last update: September 2006.

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