Citation | Harry Gilbert is a world leader in the field of carbohydrate biochemistry. His ground-breaking work, over many decades, has unveiled the mechanisms of how enzymes degrade complex polysaccharides and how this action is tailored by accessory binding modules. Gilbert's pioneering discovery, dissection and exploitation of these modules has led to many applications in industry and plant science. Gilbert has further shown how complex enzymatic nanomachines are assembled and used by anaerobic organisms to digest plant matter, with major relevance for the biofuel industry. His recent work, on how the human gut bacteria digest complex plant matter, is of major importance to human health showing how complex plant and fungal polysaccharides are crucial to the maintenance of a healthy intestine. |