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AmylaseLecture PDF
AmylaseLecture PDF
I. Briefly touch on malting and mashing
II. Molecular properties of starch
III. Properties of ‐amylase and ‐amylase
IV. Sugar transport in yeast
V. A few loose ends and a summary
Malting and Mashing
adapted from The Biotechnology
of Malting and Brewing, J. S. Hough,
Cambridge University Press
During malting, the barley is allowed to germinate for a brief
period of time; this process induces the scutellum and the
aleurone layer to secrete various hydrolytic enzymes
During mashing, the malted barley is milled and mixed with
warm water; the hydrolytic enzymes, especially ‐ and ‐amylase,
continue to break down the starchy endosperm
Molecular Properties of Starch
The two forms of starch (amylose and amylopectin) are
polymers of glucose
Molecular Properties of Starch Cont’d
The cyclic (pyranose) forms are the result of an intramolecular
reaction that forms a hemiacetal
Because the nucleophilic attack of the C5 hydroxyl on the
aldehyde carbon (C1, also called the anomeric carbon) can occur
from above or below the plane of this group, there are two
possible cyclic forms that result: the ‐ and ‐forms
Molecular Properties of Starch Cont’d
The anomeric (aldehyde) carbon can be oxidized further to a
a carboxylate and in the process bring about the reduction of
Cu2+ to Cu+, which forms a red precipitate; this reaction is the
basis for a qualitative test for the presence of a “reducing” sugar
Molecular Properties of Starch Cont’d
When glucose molecules are joined in condensation
(or dehydration) reactions, we refer to the glucose molecules
that have been incorporated into the polymer as glucose
residues
Below is an example of two glucose molecules condensing to
form an (14) linkage; the resulting disaccharide is maltose,
which you will hear more about during this segment
Molecular Properties of Starch Cont’d
Amylose is essentially a linear polymer of glucose residues
connected by (14) linkages; the number of glucose residues
in an amylose polymer is often in the thousands
Molecular Properties of Starch Cont’d
Amylopectin is a polymer of glucose residues connected
predominantly by (14) linkages, but also with (16) branch
points; the branch points occur every 24 – 30 residues, and the
molecular weight of amylopectin can be up to 100 million
Properties of ‐Amylase and ‐Amylase
‐Amylase and ‐amylase are the predominant hydrolytic
enzymes that break down the starchy endosperm in barley seeds;
both enzymes have a pH optimum of ~5 and relatively high
temperature optimums: 70 C and 60 C, respetively (hence the warm
water during mashing)
‐Amylase is a monomeric enzyme with a MW of 45,000; it
requires Ca2+ ions for activity, and it randomly catalyzes the
hydrolysis of (14) glycosidic linkages, but not near branch
points or at the nonreducing ends of amylose or amylopectin
‐Amylase is a monomeric enzyme with a MW of 60,000; two
active‐site glutamates are thought to participate as general acid‐
base catalytic residues; it catalyzes the hydrolysis of (14)
glycosidic linkages near the nonreducing ends of amylose and
amylopectin such that maltose molecules are released
Properties of ‐Amylase and ‐Amylase – Cont’d
Properties of ‐Amylase and ‐Amylase – Cont’d
‐Amylase; PDB: 1HT6 ‐Amylase; PDB: 2XFR
Calcium ions
You can view and explore these and other
structures using the program UCSF Chimera: Catalytic glutamates
https://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/chimera/; PDB
stands for Protein Data Bank
A Comparison with Glycogen Breakdown in Humans
Our storage form of glucose is called glycogen; it is similar to
amylopectin, but the (16) branch points occur more frequently
(every 8 – 12 residues)
The enzyme glycogen phosphorylase catalyzes the phosphorolysis
of (14) linkages from the nonreducing ends of glycogen as
indicated below:
(Glycogen)n + HPO42- (Glycogen)n-1 + Glucose-1-phosphate
glycogen
phosphorylase
This reaction saves an ATP because glucose 1‐phosphate can be
converted into glucose 6‐phosphate (see discussion of glycolysis),
but why would this reaction not be helpful to the yeast that are
relying on sugar from the starchy endosperm of the barley seed?
Sugar Transport in Yeast
A Few Loose Ends and a Summary
There are other hydrolytic enzymes, including a number of
proteases, that are important in the brewing process, but we focused
on the major ones: ‐amylase and ‐amylase
‐Amylase randomly catalyzes the cleavage of (14) glycosidic
linkages, but not near branch points or at the nonreducing ends of
amylose or amylopectin
‐Amylase catalyzes the hydrolysis of (14) glycosidic linkages
near the nonreducing ends of amylose and amylopectin; this action
releases maltose molecules from the nonreducing ends
mashing is done at a temperature and pH that are close to the
optimum levels for these two enzymes, and it is through the
combined action of these two enzymes that much of the
carbohydrate in the starchy endosperm is made available to yeast
If You Are Curious…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewing
“The Biotechnology of Malting and Brewing” by J. S. Hough,
Oxford University Press, 1994
“The Complete Joy of Homebrewing” 3rd Ed. by Charlie
Papazian, Harper‐Collins, New York, 2003
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HauYECAEQ8I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HELfOooc38o