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cellulase

A hydrolytic enzyme found in bacteria and some seedlings that attacks alternate β(l-4) linkages in *cellulose, degrading it to the disaccharide cellobiose. Cellulase is one of the very few enzymes capable of attacking the β(l-4) glycosidic bond; cellulose is not degraded by other glycolytic enzymes such as amylase. Cellulase, produced by bacteria living in the gut of ruminant animals, enables such animals to derive nutrients from the fibrous component of their diet.

 
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