Family 9 carbohydrate-binding modules (CBM9) play a role in the microbial degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose (materials found in plants). The domain has previously been called cellulose-binding domain. The polysaccharide binding sites of CBMs with available 3D structure have been found to be either flat surfaces with interactions formed by predominantly aromatic residues (tryptophan and tyrosine), or extended shallow grooves. CBM9 domains found in this uncharacterized heterogeneous subfamily are often located at the C-terminus of longer proteins and may co-occur with various other functional domains such as glycosyl hydrolases. The CBM9 module in these architectures may be involved in binding to carbohydrates.
Jiyao W et al.(2023). "The conserved domain database in 2023.",