The carbohydrate-active enzymes database (CAZy) in 2013

TLDR

CAZy is an online, continuously updated database that classifies carbohydrate‑active enzymes by sequence, linking specificity and 3D structure, and its stable nomenclature and expanding family scheme support genome and metagenome analysis. This article reviews the changes in CAZy over the past five years and introduces a new display of resolution and carbohydrate ligands in crystallographic complexes of CAZymes. The database is regularly curated with functional and structural data from literature, and the new display incorporates crystallographic resolution and ligand information into the existing classification framework.

Abstract

The Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes database (CAZy; http://www.cazy.org) provides online and continuously updated access to a sequence-based family classification linking the sequence to the specificity and 3D structure of the enzymes that assemble, modify and breakdown oligo- and polysaccharides. Functional and 3D structural information is added and curated on a regular basis based on the available literature. In addition to the use of the database by enzymologists seeking curated information on CAZymes, the dissemination of a stable nomenclature for these enzymes is probably a major contribution of CAZy. The past few years have seen the expansion of the CAZy classification scheme to new families, the development of subfamilies in several families and the power of CAZy for the analysis of genomes and metagenomes. This article outlines the changes that have occurred in CAZy during the past 5 years and presents our novel effort to display the resolution and the carbohydrate ligands in crystallographic complexes of CAZymes.