What is "exoglucanase"

n. (context enzyme English) any glucanase / cellulase that is active outside of the organism that produced it

Exoglucanase is a type of enzyme of interest for its capability of converting cellulose to useful chemicals, particularly cellulosic ethanol.

The main technological impediment to widespread utilization of cellulose for fuels is still the lack of low-cost technologies to convert cellulose. One solution is the use of organisms that are capable of performing this conversion. Development of such organisms, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae which is capable of secreting high levels of cellobiohydrolases, is already underway. Cellobiohydrolases are exoglucanases derived from fungi .