Abstract text: Title
Reverse Prediction of Carbohydrate Esterase Plant Cell Wall Polysaccharide Targets

Authors
Kristian Barrett, Jesper Holck, Anne S. Meyer

Affiliation
Department of Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (DTU Bioengineering)
Technical University of Denmark

Abstract
Esterases play essential roles in modifying and deconstructing plant cell wall polysaccharides by removing acetyl, methyl and other ester linkages. However, many microbial esterase subgroups remain poorly characterized, limiting our understanding of how microbial communities target esterified cell wall structures. We present a genomics based framework that identifies conserved motif groups and co-occurring carbohydrate-active enzymes within polysaccharide associated gene clusters across Bacteroidota genomes. By linking these motif groups to enzyme families with experimentally validated substrate preferences, we infer likely targets for uncharacterized esterases and map these predictions onto pectin, hemicellulose and mannan rich polysaccharides.

Our results reveal consistent genomic signatures that associate specific esterase motif groups with particular ester decorations in the plant cell wall. These predictions provide insights into how microbial enzyme systems initiate or support deconstruction of esterified polysaccharides and offer a scalable strategy for improving functional annotation of diverse esterase families relevant to plant cell wall biology.