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Bacterial Enzymes
Submitted by: danr November 02, 2022

Bacterial Enzymes Tables

General enzymes

Shorthand Full name Significance
ArgDiHyd Arginine dihydrogenase More correctly known as arginine deaminase, or L-arginine iminohydrolase, hydrolyses L-arginine to NH3 and L-citrulline. Present in many bacterial taxa.
CarbAnh Carbonic anhydrase A zinc metalloenzyme that interconverts bicarbonate with CO2 and water.
Catalase Catalase Decomposes hydrogen peroxide to water and O2. Mainly found in bacteria exposed to air (aerobes, facultative anaerobes) but also by many strict anaerobes.
Coag Coagulase Converts fibrinogen to fibrin, usually associated with pathogenic Staphylococci.
DNase DNA-ase An endonuclease that cleaves both single- and double-stranded DNA. Common in Aeromonas, Staphylococcus and Vibrio genera,  and seen in Clostridium and other taxa also.
Fibrin Fibrinolysis Related to coagulation and generally associated with Streptococcus virulence.
GGT γ-(gamma)-Glutamyl transferase Also known as γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, it can be a virulence factor in H. pylori, a glutathione degrader in E. coli, and a poly-γ-glutamic acid degrader in Gram + bacteria (Saini2021a).
GluD Glutamate decarboxylase Bacteria that produce GAD can decarboxylate glutamate and produce γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA).
G6PDH+6P Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase & 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase Enzymes involved in the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway.
HSNuc Heat stable nuclease The thermonuclease test involves detection of the enzyme produced by Staphylococcus aureus, though at least 3 other Staphylococcus gut bacteria produce this enzyme as well.
Haemaggl Haemagglutinin (HA) Tests the ability of an organism to agglutinate erythrocytes; test for neurotoxins from Clostridium botulinum.
Hyal Hyaluronidase An enzyme that breaks down hyaluronate and is a virulence factor for some Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Peptostreptococcus, Cutibacterium, Streptomyces and Clostridium species.
LysD Lysine decarboxylase Decarboxylates lysine to cadaverine, and is induced by many bacteria in response to acid stress.
OrnD Ornithine decarboxylase Decarboxylates ornithine to putrescine.
Oxidase Oxidase An enzyme that facilitates the reduction of O2 to water or H2O2. Indicates a bacterium uses oxygen as an electron acceptor.
Urease Urease Catalyses the conversion of urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide. Can indicate pathogenicity.

 

Carbohydrate cleaving

Shorthand Full name Significance
Catalase Catalase Decomposes hydrogen peroxide to water and O2. Mainly found in bacteria exposed to air (aerobes, facultative anaerobes) but also by many strict anaerobes.
Oxidase Oxidase An enzyme that facilitates the reduction of O2 to water or H2O2. Indicates a bacterium uses oxygen as an electron acceptor.
Urease Urease Catalyses the conversion of urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide. Can indicate pathogenicity.
Arab α-Arabinosidase Also called α-arabinofuranosidase, it cleaves terminal (exo) arabinose units from carbohydrates
Fuco α-Fucosidase Cleaves α-1,2-fucose monosaccharides from more complex carbohydrates. May indicate mucin digestion. Produced by a wide variety of gut microbes, but particularly members of the Bacteroidetes (Wu2021).
α-Gal α-Galactosidase An exoglycosidase that targets galactooligosaccharides such as raffinose, melibiose, stachyose and branched polysaccharides like galactomannans and galacto-glucomannans by catalysing the hydrolysis of α-1,6 linked terminal galactose residues (Bhatia2020).
β-Gal β-Galactosidase Removes terminal non-reducing β-galactose residues from β-galactosides, such as lactose and some glycoproteins.
α-Glc α-Glucosidase An exoenzyme that cleaves α-1,4-glycosidic linkages, yielding glucose. Most widespread gut colonisers produce this enzyme.
β-Glc β-Glucosidase An exoenzyme that hydrolyses β-1,4-glycosidic bonds, producing glucose. Cellulose and cellubiose are examples of sugars that can be utilised by this enzyme. Bactoides and related genera, as well as many widespread gut Firmicutes are known to produce it.
β-Glu β-Glucuronidase Removes glucuronidated monosaccharide residues from compounds excreted from the liver. This may release toxic compounds which are deleterious to human health (Dashnyam2018). Found in a handful of widespread gut microbes, such as Escherichia coli, Phocaeicola dorei, Phocaeicola vulgatus, and Ruminococcus gnavus.
α-Man α-Mannosidase An enzyme that cleaves terminal α-mannose sugar units from mannose-containing glycans, such as during the degradation of fungal and mammalian N-glycans (Ladeveze2016).
β-Man β-Mannosidase An enzyme that cleaves β-mannose sugar units from mannose-containing glycans, such as mannans (Ladeveze2016).
Xyl Xylanosidase Xylanolytic bacteria are a subset gut microbes, particularly those in the Bacteroidetes phylum, such as Bacteroides cellulosilyticus, Bacteroides ovatus and Bacteroides xylanisolvens.

 

Esterases

Shorthand Full name Significance
Catalase Catalase Decomposes hydrogen peroxide to water and O2. Mainly found in bacteria exposed to air (aerobes, facultative anaerobes) but also by many strict anaerobes.
Oxidase Oxidase An enzyme that facilitates the reduction of O2 to water or H2O2. Indicates a bacterium uses oxygen as an electron acceptor.
Urease Urease Catalyses the conversion of urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide. Can indicate pathogenicity.
AciP Acid phosphatase Hydrolyses phosphate esters in an acidic environment. These enzymes lack strong substrate specificity, so can cleave a wide range of substrates.
AlkP Alkaline phosphatase Bacterial alkaline phosphatase (BAP) removes 3'- and 5'-phosphate esters from DNA and RNA.
Est(C4) C-4 Esterase This enzyme preferentially hydrolyses butyrate esters and tributyrin triglycerides. Observed in many taxa, including Staphylococcus, Bacteroides and some Bifidobacterium species.
EstLip(C8) C-8 Esterase Lipase An enzyme capable of preferentially hydrolysing caprylate esters and tricaprylin. Important in Staphylococcus species, Corynebacterium species and numerous other taxa.
Lecithinase Lecithinase These phospholipases generally acts on lecithin (egg yolk assay), and are often produced by pathogenic bacteria, such as Bacillus cereus, Cutibacterium acnes, and Clostridium perfringens.
Lipase Unspecified Lipase Probably refers to C14 lipase.
Lip(C14) C-14 Lipase Hydrolyses C14 esters and triglycerides (myristate) preferentially. Appears to be present in only a small number of minor colonisers of the gut.
LeuEst Leukocyte esterase Urine test for infections. Positive for many Listeria species.
PhosAmid Phosphoramidase An enzyme that cleaves phosphamide P-N bonds. Converts N-phosphocreatine to creatine.

 

Proteases

Shorthand Full name Significance
Catalase Catalase Decomposes hydrogen peroxide to water and O2. Mainly found in bacteria exposed to air (aerobes, facultative anaerobes) but also by many strict anaerobes.
Oxidase Oxidase An enzyme that facilitates the reduction of O2 to water or H2O2. Indicates a bacterium uses oxygen as an electron acceptor.
Urease Urease Catalyses the conversion of urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide. Can indicate pathogenicity.
D-AlaP D-Alanine peptidase Presence indicated by cleavage of the artificial substrate D-alanyl-p-nitroanilide (D-Ala-pNA). Likely involved in the remodelling of the peptidoglycan cell wall (Cheggour2000). Active in many Listeria species.
Chymo Chymotrypsin An S1 family serine peptidase (Rawlings2014) produced by gut microbes such as Dysgonomonas gadei, Porphyromonas somerae and several Streptococcus sp.
GlyAP Glycyl aminopeptidase A terminal glycine-specific peptidase which is detected when it hydrolyses glycyl-2-naphthylamide. Part of the AN-Ident system, gut microbes Prevotella oralis, Prevotella bivia and Prevotella disiens possess the enzyme (Shah2010Bergeys).
LeuAP Leucine aminopeptidase LAP is a metalloenzyme (M17 family), and is involved in regular turnover of intracellular proteins. It cleaves the N-terminal amino acids from various peptides. Many gut Streptococcus species possess this enzyme.
LysAP Lysine aminopeptidase Detected when L-lysine-p-nitroanilide is hydrolysed, this metalloenzyme hydrolyses a broad range of N-terminal peptides. It is present in a number of important gut colonisers, such as Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Lacticaseibacillus casei. It is also characteristically positive for many Listeria species.
Tryps Trypsin An S1 family serine peptidase (Rawlings2014) produced by gut microbes such as Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus gallinarum and Staphylococcus xylosus (Pilon2017).
ValAP Valine aminopeptidase Synonymous with valine arylimidase (Bergey reports it as valine aminopeptidase, but the enzyme hydrolyses valyl-2-naphthylamide, so should be an arylamidase) (Holt2010Bergey, Kristiansen1984).

 

Amidases

Shorthand Full name Significance
Catalase Catalase Decomposes hydrogen peroxide to water and O2. Mainly found in bacteria exposed to air (aerobes, facultative anaerobes) but also by many strict anaerobes.
Oxidase Oxidase An enzyme that facilitates the reduction of O2 to water or H2O2. Indicates a bacterium uses oxygen as an electron acceptor.
Urease Urease Catalyses the conversion of urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide. Can indicate pathogenicity.
AlaA Alanine arylamidase Predominantly produced by gut Bacteroidete species, and Bacteroides in particular (Bacteroides fragilis, Bacteroides stercoris, Phocaeicola vulgatus, etc.) but also Escherichia coli and Streptococcus parasanguinis.
APPrA Alanyl-phenylalanyl-proline arylamidase Present in important gut microbes, such as Bacteroides xylanisolvens, Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Streptococcus parasanguinis, as well as many Streptococcus sp. and other taxa.
ArgA Arginine arylamidase A common enzyme produced by important gut bacteria, including Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Phocaeicola dorei, Acidaminococcus intestini and Prevotella copri.
AspA Aspartate arylamidase Very rarely produced by gut microbes, with the notable exception of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum.
CtnA Cysteine arylamidase Produced by important bacteria including Lactobacillus gasseri and some strains of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum, while it is also seen is less common species such as Sellimonas intestinalis and Slackia piriformis.
GGA Glutamyl-glutamic acid arylamidase Observed in widespread commensals from the Bacteroidete group, including Alistipes finegoldii, numerous high profile Bacteroides and Phocaeicola dorei.
GlyA Glycine arylamidase Produced by important bacteria, such as Bacteroides caccae, Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Escherichia coli and Phocaeicola vulgatus.
GcTpA Glycyl-tryptophan arylamidase Rarely observed in common gut commensals. Minor colonisers, such as Gemella haemolysans and some Streptococcus species, are an exception.
HisA Histidine arylamidase Produced by important bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Parabacteroides distasonis and Phocaeicola dorei.
LeuA Leucine arylamidase Produced by a number of important bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis and Escherichia coli, among others.
LGA Leucyl-glycine arylamidase Observed in important Bacteroidetes, such as Bacteroides uniformis, Bacteroides caccae and Odoribacter splanchnicus, as well as widespread colonisers, such as Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis and Fusicatenibacter saccharivorans.
PheA Phenylalanine arylamidase Observed in important Bacteroidetes, such as Parabacteroides distasonis and Phocaeicola dorei, as well as some strains of Bacteroides caccae. Seen in a few Bifidobacterium species also.
ProA Proline arylamidase Infrequently observed amidase, but still produced by a small number of very important commensals, including Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum, Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Ruminococcus torques.
PyrGA Pyroglutamic acid arylamidase Rarely produced amidase, but does come from some common Firmicutes, such as Acidaminococcus intestini and Ruminococcus torques.
PyrrA Pyrrolidine arylamidase Produced by a number of important species, including Enterococcus faecalis, Lactobacillus gasseri, Finegoldia magna and Veillonella parvula.
SerA Serine arylamidase Infrequently produced amidase. Important commensals, like Parabacteroides distasonis and Phocaeicola dorei, as well as some strains of Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Bacteroides caccae.
TyrA Tyrosine arylamidase Infrequently produced amidase. Important commensals, like Parabacteroides distasonis and Phocaeicola dorei, as well as some strains of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum and Bacteroides caccae.
ValA Valine arylamidase Rarely produced amidase, but does come from some common Streptococcus species, such as Streptococcus mitis and Streptococcus salivarius.

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