Salt-tolerant chitin and chitosan modifying enzymes from Talaromyces stipitatus, a mangrove endophyte

Abstract

In this paper, we show that a Talaromyces stipitatus isolated as an endophyte from the root of the mangrove tree Avicennia marina, produces salt-tolerant chitinase and chitosanases. The endophyte is halotolerant and produces these chitin modifying enzymes even in the presence of a high concentration of NaCl in the growth medium. The chitosanases produced could act on chitosans of low, medium and high degrees of acetylation. The presence of NaCl influenced the production of isoforms of chitinase and chitosanase by the endophyte. The chitinase activity was not altered much by NaCl concentration.