• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.31-37
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• 2010

Chitinases (EC 3.2.1.14) hydrolyze the ${\beta}$-1,4-linkages in chitin, the second most abundant polymer of N-acetyl-${\beta}$-D-glucosamine which is a structural component of protective biological matrices such as fungal cell walls and insect exoskeletons. The glycosyl hydrolases 18 family including chitinases is an ancient gene family widely expressed in archea, prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Since earthworms live in the soil with a lot of microbial activities and fungi are supposed to be a major component of the diet of earthworm, it has been reported that there would be appropriate immune system to protect themselves from microorganisms attacks. In this study, the novel chitinase, EaChi, from the midgut of earthworm, Eisenia andrei, were identified and characterized. To obtain full-length cDNA sequence of chitinase, RT-PCR and RACE-PCR analyses were carried out by using the previously identified EST sequence amongst cDNA library established from the midgut of E. andrei. EaChi, a partial chitinase gene, was composed of 927 nucleotides encoding 309 amino acids. By the multiple sequence alignments of amino acids with other different species, it was revealed that EaCHI is a member of glycosyl hydrolases 18 family, which has two highly conserved domains, substrate binding and catalytic domain.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.341-347
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• 1999

Insects use chitinolytic enzyme to digest chitin in the exoskelton during the molting process. We have isolated and sequenced a chitinase-encoding cDNA from the silkworm, Bombyx mandarina, compared its sequenced with genes encoding chitinolytic enzymes from other sources. The insert DNA in the clone is 2,675 nucleotides long with an open reading frame of 1,695 uncletides that encodes a protein of 565 amino acids with a molecuar weight of 63.4 kDa. The 3' -untranslated region of 889 nucleotides is AT-rich and contains two putative polyadenylation signals. The N-terminal sequence of the encoded protein contains numerous hydrophobic residues characteristic of a leader peptide. The amino acid alignment revealed that the endo-$\beta$-N-acetylglucosaminidase had 83% and 97% homology with M. sexta and B. mori, respectively. The deduced amino acid had two highly conserved region at the amino acid residues 97-111 and 139-148 that were related to the existing chitinase.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.129-135
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• 1992

A chitinase gene of Serratia marcescens ATCC 27117 was cloned and expressed in Escherichiu di. A genomic library of S, marcescens was constructed with pUC 19 and screened using the swollen chitin agar plate for chitinolytic clones. A positive clone showing chitinclearance contains a recombinant pCHI 89, composed of 8.9 Kb chromosomal DNA fragment and pUC 19. Plasmid pCHI 89 produced 58 KD chitinase in E. coli, which was coincided with one of five extracellular chitinases produced by S. nzarccscens. Restriction endonuclease cleavage sites of the 8.9 Kb insert DNA fragment were mapped. E. coli JM109 harboring pCHI 89 inhibits the growth of a plant pathogenic fungus, Fusarium oxysporum.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.318-328
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• 2017

Chitinase-producing Paenibacillus elgii strain HOA73 has been used to control plant diseases. However, the antimicrobial activity of its extracellular chitinase has not been fully elucidated. The major extracellular chitinase gene (PeChi68) from strain HOA73 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli in this study. This gene had an open reading frame of 2,028 bp, encoding a protein of 675 amino acid residues containing a secretion signal peptide, a chitin-binding domain, two fibronectin type III domains, and a catalytic hydrolase domain. The chitinase (PeChi68) purified from recombinant E. coli exhibited a molecular mass of approximately 68 kDa on SDS-PAGE. Biochemical analysis indicated that optimum temperature for the actitvity of purified chitinase was $50^{\circ}C$. However, it was inactivated with time when it was incubated at $40^{\circ}C$ and $50^{\circ}C$. Its optimum activity was found at pH 7, although its activity was stable when incubated between pH 3 and pH 11. Heavy metals inhibited this chitinase. This purified chitinase completely inhibited spore germination of two Cladosporium isolates and partially inhibited germination of Botrytis cinerea spores. However, it had no effect on the spores of a Colletotricum isolate. These results indicate that the extracellular chitinase produced by P. elgii HOA73 might have function in limiting spore germination of certain fungal pathogens.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.560-567
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• 1998

We have found that Thermoactinomyces vulgaris KFB-Cl00 produces a chitinase. The optimum temperature and pH of the enzyme activity were $55^{\circ}C$ and 6.5. The enzyme was stable after heat treatment at $80^{\circ}C$ for 30 min and stable in acidic and basic conditions (PH 6.0~11.0). The thermostable endo-chitinase from Thermoactinomyces vulgaris KFB-C100 was cloned into the plasmid pBR322 by using E. coli DH5$\alpha$ as a host strain. The positive clone carrying a recombinant plasmid (PKCHI23) with a 4.1-kb fragment containing the chitinase gene was found. The recombinant plasmid was analyzed to determine the essential region for chitinase activity and obtained a 2.3-kb fragment, which was sub cloned into pTrc99A using the PstI and SalI sites to construct pTrc99A/pKCHI23-3. The resulting plasmid exerted high chitinase activity upon transformation of E. coli XL1-Blue cells. Chitinase was overproduced 14 times more in the clone cells than in the wild-type cells and the enzyme was purified to homogeneity. The purified enzyme showed the similar properties as the native chitinase from T. vulgaris in terms of molecular weight and substrate specificity. The catalytic action of the cloned enzyme was an endo type, producing chitobiose as a major reaction product.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.30 no.B
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• pp.69-74
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• 2010

Chitinolytic activity was enhanced by coexpression of endo-chitinase gene (chiA) and chitobiosidase gene (chiB) from Serratia marcescens KFRI314 using constitutive expression vector, pHCEIA, in E. coli. Coexpression vector was constructed by inserting ribosome binding site (RBS) into junction between two chitinase genes. SDS-PAGE analyses showed that two chitinase were constitutively expressed while E. coli clones expressing two chitinases simultaneously increased halo size on colloidal chitin plate. Furthermore, the chitinolytic activities were much enhanced in coexpressed clones when degradation patterns of substrate analogues such as 4-MU-(NAG), $4-MU-(NAG)_2$,$4-MU-(NAG)_3$ were used. Consequently, the combined use of endochitinase and chitobiosidase greatly increased overall chitinolytic activities on recombinant E. coli clones.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.293-297
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• 2012

Of the 169 strains of microorganisms stored in Polar and Alpine Microbial Collection of Korea Polar Research Institute, 27 strains were selected for their chitinase activity on ZoBell plates supplemented with 0.4% colloidal chitin. Among them, PAMC 21693 strain have shown the highest chitinolytic enzyme activity toward pNP-$(GlcNAc)_1$ at low temperature and the highest growth rate at $4^{\circ}C$. We cloned a full-length chitinase gene of 2,857 bp which contains an open reading frame of 2,169 bp encoding 872-amino acid polypeptide. Recombinant chitinase protein was expressed in E. coli and its molecular weight was confirmed 96 kDa. In this paper, we suggest the potential use of cold-active chitinase from polar microorganisms in the field of biotechnology.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.30 no.B
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• pp.61-68
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• 2010

Three chitinase genes (chiA, chiB, and chiC) were cloned into E. coli by PCR amplification from Serratia marcescens KFRI314. The sizes of cloned chitinase genes were 1692 bp, 1500 bp, and 1443 bp which correspond to 563, 499, and 480 amino acids, respectively. Recombinant chitinases were overexpressed using pHCEIA expression vector and purified to homogenity. The molecular weights of chitinases were about 60kDa, 50 kDa, 52 kDa, respectively. Optimum pHs were around pH 5~6 and optimum temperatures were $45{\sim}50^{\circ}C$ while 90% of enzyme activities were stable up to $50^{\circ}C$. The specific activities of ChiA, ChiB, and ChiC were 233.1, 278.8, $111.3{\mu}mol\;(min)^{-1}\;mg^{-1}$ against colloidal chitin. From experiments using TLC and fluorescent substrate analogues, it was demonstrated that ChiA was endo-chitinase while ChiB and ChiC were chitobiosidase.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.77-84
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• 2003

Chitinase was purified from an antagonistic bacterium Bacillus sp. 7079 by ammonium sulfate precipitation, QAE-Sephadex anion exchange chromatography, Sephadex G-100 gel filtration, and SP-Sephadex cation exchange chromatography. The molecula. weight of purified chitinase (PC-1) was approximately 66.5 kDa on SDS-PACE. PC-1 exhibited optimum pH and temperature of pH 7.5 and $45^{\circ}C$, respectively. More than $80\%$ of PC-1 was stable at pH 5.0 to 9.0, and more than $90\%$ at $40^{\circ}C$. $Fe^2+\;and\;Ca^2+$ inhibited the chitinase activity about $20\%$, and EDTA and p-CMB by about $30\%$, whereas $Ag^+$ inhibited the activity up to $65\%$. The $K_m$ value of PC-1 was 1.215 mg/ml with colloidal chitin as a substrate. We also investigated the effect of PC-1 treated chitin (PCTC) on the pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression in macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. The expression of IL-$1{\alpha}$ and IL-$1{\beta}$ mRNA gene was investigated using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). IL-$1{\alpha}$ and IL-$1{\beta}$ mRNA were induced by the treatment of PCTC and chitin only in RAW 264.7 cells. These expressions were induced as early as 2 h and sustained up to 24 h in RAW 264.7 cells. IL-$1{\alpha}$ and IL-$1{\beta}$ mRNA were more strongly expressed by the treatment of PCTC than chitin treatment alone in RAW 264.7 cells.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.95-99
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• 1995

We have previously established a system for plant regeneration through somatic embryogenesis and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Korean ginseng. In this study to produce a fungus-resistant plant, we introduced a bean chitinase gene into ginseng using the transformation system. A binary vector pChi/748 was constructed by introducing the bean basic chitinase gene into EcoRI site of pGA748 which carries the CaMV 35S promoter governing the introduced gene and neomycin phosphotransferase II(NPT-II)gene as a positive selection marker. Cotyledonary explants were cocultured with A. tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harboring the binary vertor pChi/748 for 48 h, and transferred to MS medium supplemented with l mg/L2,4-D,0.1mg/L kinetin, 100 mg/L kanamycin, and 500mg/L carbenicillin. Kanamycin-resistant calli were formed on the cut surface of cotyledonary explants after one month of culture, and subsequently they gave rise to somatic embryos. Upon transfer onto medium containing 1 mg/L each of BA and GA$_3$, most of them converted to plantlets after 5 weeks of culture. The genomic DNA of eight kanamycin-resistant regenerants was subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using two specific 21-mer oligonucleotides derived from the chitinase gene. PCR-Southern blot analysis confirmed that the chitinase gene was incorporated into six out of the eight regenerants..