Question

Would you expect lysozyme to hydrolyze cellulose? Why or why not?

Short answer

Lysozyme is not anticipated to break down cellulose. Lysozyme is unable to hydrolyze the glycosidic bond in cellulose.

Step-by-step solution

Definition of "Lysozyme"

An enzyme called lysozyme is present in body fluids including saliva, milk, and tears.

Step 2: Expectation of lysozyme to hydrolyze cellulose

An enzyme called lysozyme breaks the glycosidic C-O link between N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid. A polysaccharide called cellulose is made up of glucose residues joined together by $\left(\beta \text{1}\to \text{4}\right)$glycosidic linkages.

The lysozyme, as can be seen, hydrolyzes the links, but it only binds to substrates that include N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid. This leads us to the conclusion that cellulose's glycosidic bond cannot be hydrolyzed by lysozyme.

Hence, lysozyme is not expected to hydrolyze cellulose.