Transglutaminases (TGs) play important roles in the food industry, pharmacology, and biotechnology, but as protein cross-linkers, their complexes are stable, resistant, immunogenic, and potentially pathogenic. Many TGs have been characterized, but they operate in narrow temperature and pH range limits. In a research article in this issue, Clemens Furnes and colleagues describe a novel cold-adapted TG from Atlantic cod, which expands the operating boundaries to a lower temperature and a wider pH. In this accompanying commentary, we discuss how this TG opens new applications in cold environments and can be deactivated by heating. New sources of TGs should be explored in hot environments like hot springs, in order to increase the temperature and widen the pH ranges for human and industrial benefits.
Keywords: food processing; microbial transglutaminase; pH; temperature; tissue transglutaminase; transglutaminase.
© 2020 The Authors. Published by FEBS Press and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.