Expansins have the remarkable ability to loosen plant cell walls and cellulose material without showing catalytic activity and therefore have potential applications in biomass degradation. To support the study of sequence-structure-function relationships and the search for novel expansins, the Expansin Engineering Database (ExED, https://exed.biocatnet.de) collected sequence and structure data on expansins from Bacteria, Fungi, and Viridiplantae, and expansin-like homologues such as carbohydrate binding modules, glycoside hydrolases, loosenins, swollenins, cerato-platanins, and EXPNs. Based on global sequence alignment and protein sequence network analysis, the sequences are highly diverse. However, many similarities were found between the expansin domains. Newly created profile hidden Markov models of the two expansin domains enable standard numbering schemes, comprehensive conservation analyses, and genome annotation. Conserved key amino acids in the expansin domains were identified, a refined classification of expansins and carbohydrate binding modules was proposed, and new sequence motifs facilitate the search of novel candidate genes and the engineering of expansins.
