Studies on the chitinase system in bean and other seeds

Abstract

1. 1. Seeds of plants, beloging to one family in the monocotyledons and to ten in the woody and herbaceous dicotyledons, possess chitinase and acetylglucosaminidase activity. Then highest activity of chitinase was found in bean, wheat and cabbage, and of acetylglucosaminidase in bean, cabbage, almond and waratah. 2. 2. After ammonium sulphate precipitation, the bean enzymes were fractionated on a column of DEAE cellulose to yield two fractions of chitinase and one fraction of acetylglucosaminidase which had some chitinase activity. 3. 3. The modes of action of the two chitinases (which are free of acetylglucosaminidase) on chitin oligosaccharides differ slightly but in general the action is random. 4. 4. The significance of plant chitinase and acetylglucosaminidase is dissussed.