Evidence for catalysis other than acidic in β-galactosidase-catalysed hydrolyses
Abstract
Although acid-catalysed hydrolyses of t-butyl, 1,1-diethylpropyl, and diphenylmethyl β-D-galactopyranosides proceed by partial alkyl–oxygen fission, no products derivable from this process are detectable in the hydrolysis of these substrates catalysed by the wild-type β-galactosidase of Escherichia coli.