This family consists of several fungal alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase B proteins. L-Arabinose is a constituent of plant-cell-wall poly-saccharides. It is found in a polymeric form in L-arabinan, in which the backbone is formed by 1,5-a- linked l-arabinose residues that can be branched via 1,2-a- and 1,3-a-linked l-arabinofuranose side chains. AbfB hydrolyses 1,5-a, 1,3-a and 1,2-a linkages in both oligosaccharides and polysaccharides, which contain terminal non-reducing l-arabinofuranoses in side chains [1].

1: The abfB gene encoding the major alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase of Aspergillus nidulans: nucleotide sequence, regulation and construction of a disrupted strain. Gielkens M, Gonzalez-Candelas L, Sanchez-Torres P, van de Vondervoort P, de Graaff L, Visser J, Ramon D; Microbiology 1999;145:735-741. PMID:10217508