Selective pressure on an interfacial enzyme: Functional roles of a highly conserved asparagine residue in a cellulase

• Enzymatic degradation of biomass occurs in a solid-liquid interface. • An asparagine residue is highly conserved in a loop of the fungal cellulase Cel7A. • A site saturation library of this Asn was characterized biochemically. • This residue was essential for extraction of the ligand from the cellulose surface. • Selection for ligand extraction may be pertinent to other interfacial...