The temperature and pH repertoire of the transglutaminase family is expanding

Transglutaminases (TGs) play important roles in the food industry, pharmacology, and biotechnology, but as protein cross‐linkers, their complexes are stable, resistant, immunogenic, and potentially pathogenic. Many TGs have been characterized, but they operate in narrow temperature and pH range limi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:FEBS Open Bio
Main Authors: Aaron Lerner, Ajay Ramesh, Torsten Matthias
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020
Subjects:
pH
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/2211-5463.12839
https://doaj.org/article/9216e9dac7814df8ba5c2aa369407f30
Description
Summary:Transglutaminases (TGs) play important roles in the food industry, pharmacology, and biotechnology, but as protein cross‐linkers, their complexes are stable, resistant, immunogenic, and potentially pathogenic. Many TGs have been characterized, but they operate in narrow temperature and pH range limits. In a research article in this issue, Clemens Furnes and colleagues describe a novel cold‐adapted TG from Atlantic cod, which expands the operating boundaries to a lower temperature and a wider pH. In this accompanying commentary, we discuss how this TG opens new applications in cold environments and can be deactivated by heating. New sources of TGs should be explored in hot environments like hot springs, in order to increase the temperature and widen the pH ranges for human and industrial benefits.