Recombinant glycoside hydrolase family 43 member beta-D-xylosidase XylBH43 from Bacillus halodurans C-125 was expressed in Escherichia coli with C-terminal His-tag. Compared to structurally homologous beta-xylosidase SXA, another GH43 member and the most active xylosidase known to date, the k(cat) value for xylobiose hydrolysis was 2-fold lower, xylotriose and xylotetraose k(cat) values were similar, and binding affinities for inhibitors xylose and glucose were 10-fold lower and 1.5-fold higher, respectively. Mutant SXA-W145G had previously been shown to exhibit reduced monosaccharide binding. Characterization of the corresponding mutant XylBH43-W147G shows a similar 2.6-fold Ki(D-xylose) increase. In addition, the Trp mutant displayed lowered substrate inhibition for both natural and artificial substrates, while K-m of substrates increased and thermal stability at 50 degrees C decreased similar to 100-fold. The superior xylooligosaccharide k(cat) values for XylBH43 make this enzyme valuable both as a saccharification enzyme, and as a source of genetic diversity in on-going protein engineering efforts targeted at optimizing GH43 enzymes for biomass saccharification. Published by Elsevier Ltd.