Cutinase catalyzes the hydrolysis of water-soluble esters and long-chain triglycerides and belongs to the family of serine hydrolases. The enzyme is thought to represent an evolutionary link between the esterase and lipase families and has potential applications in a wide range of industrial hydrolytic processes, for which an understanding of the molecular basis of its substrate specificity is critical. Glomerella cingulata cutinase has been cloned and the protein has been overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified and subsequently crystallized in a wide range of different crystal forms in the presence and absence of inhibitors. The best crystals are those of the apo cutinase, which diffract to beyond 1.6 A resolution and belong to space group P4(1)2(1)2 or P4(3)2(1)2. Crystals of cutinase with the inhibitors PETFP or E600 belong to space groups P2(1)2(1)2(1) and P2(1), respectively, and diffract to approximately 2.5 A resolution. All of the crystals are suitable for structural studies, which are currently ongoing.
