The relationship between β-amylase and the degradation of starch temporarily stored in rice leaf blades.

Starch is stored temporarily in the leaves during the day but degraded during the night. In this study, we investigated the relationship between diurnal changes in starch content in rice leaf blades and the mRNA levels of β-amylase genes. In addition to the known plastid-type β-amylases OsBAM2 and OsBAM3, OsBAM4, and OsBAM5 were also identified as plastid targeted proteins.

Novel β-1,4-Mannanase Belonging to a New Glycoside Hydrolase Family in Aspergillus nidulans.

Many filamentous fungi produce β-mannan-degrading β-1,4-mannanases that belong to the glycoside hydrolase 5 (GH5) and GH26 families. Here we identified a novel β-1,4-mannanase (Man134A) that belongs to a new glycoside hydrolase (GH) family (GH134) in Aspergillus nidulans. Blast analysis of the amino acid sequence using the NCBI protein database revealed that this enzyme had no similarity to any sequences and no putative conserved domains.