中文摘要：

半纤维素是一类丰富可再生而又亟待开发利用的生物质资源,将半纤维素降解为糖类进而生产木糖醇及其它化学品是利用生物质资源的关键一步。乙酰木聚糖酯酶是降解半纤维素的一个重要酶,它能够水解乙酰化木聚糖中的木糖残基上的2位和3位的O乙酰基,在工业、农业及食品业具有广阔的应用前景。综述了乙酰木聚糖酯酶的分类、酶学性质、催化机制、基因克隆和协同酶解等方面的研究进展,同时对该研究进行了展望。

英文摘要：

Hemicellulose is an abundant and renewable plant biomass yet untapped utilization. The bioconversion of hemicellulose to sugars is essential in the production of xylitol and other chemicals. Acetyl xylan esterase is the key enzyme in hydrolyzing hemicellulose,which can deacetylate on the O-2 and O-3 positions of xylopyranosyl residue. It has broad application prospect in agriculture and industry. The recent research progresses on catalysis mechanism,structure,characterization,gene cloning and synergetic hydrolysis of acetyl xylan esterase were addressed.