Studies of the mechanism of the cyclisation reaction catalysed by the wildtype and a truncated alpha-cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase from Klebsiella pneumoniae strain M 5 al, and the beta-cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase from Bacillus circulans strain 8.

The actions of the wildtype and a truncated alpha-cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase from Klebsiella pneumoniae strain M 5 al on malto-oligosaccharides showed no significant differences, and there was marked dependence of the kinetic parameters on the chain lengths of the substrate. The action of the beta-cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase from Bacillus circulans was less dependent on the chain length of the substrate, but Vmax of the initial cyclisation with the longer malto-oligosaccharides was only 28% of that determined for the enzyme of K. pneumoniae. The rate parameters suggested that the active site of each enzyme spans nine glucosyl residues, and that the catalytic sites are situated between subsites three and four for the K. pneumoniae enzymes and between subsites two and three for the B. circulans enzyme. The molecular binding affinities and the affinities of the 9th subsite were calculated from the rate parameters. The primary and tertiary structures of alpha-amylases and cyclodextrin glycosyltransferases are compared in the context of the reaction mechanism of the latter enzymes.