Lysozyme as a transferase.

Our first investigations of the action of lysozyme on tetrasaccharides isolated from chitin showed that lysozyme, like many other known glycosides, is a transferase. Under certain conditions (oligosaccharide concentration 1 to 2% , the enzyme concentration 0*5 %) the synthetic process may yield an insoluble chitin-like product. Judging by the increase of the Morgan-Elson reaction, lysozyme digests the tetrasaccharide intensively (figure 44). The trisaccharide reacts after a short induction period. Chitobiose reacts with more difficulty, and the induction period is several hours. Addition of the tetrasaccharide increases the reaction rate con­ siderably, just as in the case of certain glycosidases, e.g. chitobiose is a much worse acceptor of transglycosidic residues than the tetrasaccharide (figure 45).