Abstract
Chitin is an abundant biopolymer composed of units of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine linked by β-1,4 glycosidic bonds. Chitin is the main component of the shells of mollusks, the cell wall of fungi and yeast and of the exoskeleton of crustaceans and insects. The degradation of chitin is catalyzed by chitinases that occur in a wide range of organisms. Among them, the chitinases from microorganisms are extremely important for the degradation and recycling of the carbon and nitrogen trapped in the large amount of insoluble chitin in nature. Streptomyces sp. TH-11 was isolated from the sediment of the Tou-Chien River, Taiwan. The chitinolytic enzyme activities were detected using a rapid in-gel detection method from the cell-free preparation of the culture medium of TH-11. The chitinolytic enzyme activity during prolonged liquid culturing was also analyzed by direct measurement of the chitin consumption. Decomposition of the exoskeleton of shrimps was demonstrated using electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy.
Highlights
Chitin is a linear polysaccharide made of β-1,4 linked N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc)
TH-11 was cultured with degradation media containing 0.1% (w/v) chitin powder (Wako Pure Chem., Japan) with vigor agitation at 30 °C
Specific chitinolytic activity (U/mg total protein) in the medium produced by Streptomyces sp
Summary
Chitin is a linear polysaccharide made of β-1,4 linked N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc). Chitin is insoluble in water and exists with different degree of acetylation, different molecular sizes (up to several MDa), and can associate with other organic and inorganic compounds. It occurs mainly as a structural component in the cell walls of fungi and yeast and the exoskeletons of insects and crustaceans. Chitinases have been purified from various Streptomyces strains, but detailed studies on the enzymes that degrade chitin form exoskeletons or fungal walls are, scarce. Since chitin is abundant in the natural habitat of TH-11, the chitinolytic activities of this strain were analyzed using chitin powder, glycol chitosan and raw shrimp shells in the present study
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