The mechanisms involved in the enzymatic degradation of cellulose are of great ecological and commercial importance. The breakdown of cellulose by fungal species is performed by a consortium of free enzymes, known as cellobiohydrolases and endoglucanases, which are found in many of the 57 glycosyl hydrolase families. The structure of the endoglucanase I (EG I), found in glycosyl hydrolase family 7, from the thermophilic fungus Fusarium oxysporum has been solved at 2.3 Å resolution. In addition to the native enzyme, structures have also been determined with both the affinity label, 3,4epoxybutyl-D-cellobioside, and the reaction product cellobiose. The affinity label is covalently bound, as expected, to the catalytic nucleophile, Glu197, with clear evidence for binding of both the R and S stereoisomers. Cellobiose is found bound to the-2 and-1 subsites of the enzyme. In marked contrast to the structure of EG I with a nonhydrolyzable thiosaccharide analog, which spanned the-2,-1, and