Bacterial cellulases

Many bacteria can degrade cellulose. The cellulase systems they produce usually comprise a number of distinct enzymes, which can have specific activities comparable to those of cellulolytic fungi. The cellulase systems of certain bacteria may be found as discrete multienzyme aggregates. More than 60 enzymes have been characterized at the protein level and more than 40 bacterial cellulase genes have been cloned. A number of bacterial cellulases contain distinct catalytic and cellulose-binding domains. Surprisingly, some of them are glyco-proteins.