Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India.
Environ Microbiol. 2022 Jun;24(6):2657-2668. doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.15774. Epub 2021 Oct 16.
The carboxylesterases (EC 3.1.1.x) are widely distributed and form an important yet diverse group of hydrolases catalysing the ester bond cleavage in a variety of substrates. Besides acting on plant cell wall components like cutin, tannin and feruloyl esters, they are often the first line of defence to metabolize drugs, xenobiotics, pesticides, insecticides and plastic. But for the promiscuity of some carboxylesterases and cutinases, very few enzymes act exclusively on aromatic carboxylic acid esters. Infrequent occurrence of aromatic carboxylesterases suggests that aromatic carboxylesters are inherently more difficult to hydrolyse than the regular carboxylesters because of both steric and polar effects. Naturally occurring aromatic carboxylesters were rare before the anthropogenic activity augmented their environmental presence and diversity. An appraisal of the literature shows that the hydrolysis of aromatic carboxylic esters is a uniquely difficult endeavour and hence deserves special attention. Enzymes to hydrolyse such esters are evolving rapidly in nature. Very few such enzymes are known and they often display much lower catalytic efficiencies. Obviously, the esters of aromatic carboxylic acids, including polyethylene terephthalate waste, pose an environmental challenge. In this review, we highlight the uniqueness of aromatic carboxylesters and then underscore the importance of relevant carboxylesterases.
羧酸酯酶（EC 3.1.1.x）广泛分布，是一类重要且多样的水解酶，能够催化多种底物中酯键的断裂。除了作用于植物细胞壁成分，如角质、单宁和阿魏酰酯外，它们通常是代谢药物、外源性化学物质、杀虫剂、杀真菌剂和塑料的第一道防线。但是由于一些羧酸酯酶和角质酶的混杂性，很少有酶专门作用于芳香羧酸酯。芳香羧酸酯酶的罕见出现表明，由于空间和极性效应，芳香羧酸酯比普通羧酸酯更难水解。在人为活动增加其环境存在和多样性之前，天然存在的芳香羧酸酯是罕见的。文献评估表明，芳香羧酸酯的水解是一项极具挑战性的工作，因此值得特别关注。自然界中用于水解此类酯的酶正在迅速进化。目前已知的此类酶很少，而且它们的催化效率通常低得多。显然，包括聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯废物在内的芳香羧酸酯对环境构成了挑战。在这篇综述中，我们强调了芳香羧酸酯的独特性，然后强调了相关羧酸酯酶的重要性。
