melA is a member of the glycosyl hydrolase 4 family. melA catalyze the hydrolysis of saccharides containing o-1，6，-galactoside bonds. melA catalyze the same reaction in E.coli， human and yeast but is found in different cellular sections: The E.coli melA is a cytoplasmic protein and the human and yeast melA are secretory proteins. Thus， even though the active enzyme from all three species has almost an equal molecular weight， structural resemblances， as well as dissimilarities， are probable.
