Hen egg white lysozyme is a common example in textbooks discussing enzyme mechanism. But now scientists from the University of Bristol, UK, have used molecular dynamics simulations to show that the traditional mechanism is wrong. 'The textbooks need to be rewritten,' says researcher Adrian Mulholland, who led the team behind the work.rnLysozymes break down polysaccharides in bacterial cell walls, and so play a role in defence against pathogens. The textbook mechanism of hen eggwhite lysozyme proceeds through an intermediate in which a sugar ring on the substrate interacts ionically with the enzyme. In the revised mechanism the bond is covalent.
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