Effect of chitosan and other polyions on chitin deacetylase in Rhizopus stolonifer

Abstract

The effect of different concentrations of chitosan and other polyions on chitin deacetylase in Rhizopus stolonifer was investigated. Crude protein extracts were analyzed for chitin deacetylase after native and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Under native conditions, extracts from Rhizopus grown in the absence of chitosan exhibited one major and one minor acidic chitin deacetylase band, while extracts from Rhizopus grown in the presence of chitosan and two additional bands most clearly detected with treatment at 0.75 and 1.5 mg/ml. After SDS-PAGE, two major chitin deacetylase bands (at 40 and 110 kDa) and one very faint band (33 kDa) were present in Rhizopus extracts. In the chitosan-grown Rhizopus, the same bands appeared but were more intense and an additional band near 80 kDa was observed. The mycelial extracts of Rhizopus grown on potato dextrose broth amended with different polyions or d-glucosamine were also analyzed for chitin deacetylase. Chitosan, N,O-car☐ymethylchitosan and polyethylenimine increased the levels of chitin deacetylases in Rhizopus, but d-glucosamine or polygalacturonate did not.