• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.102-107
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• 1999

Several ingredients of kimchi including chinese cabbage, garlic, leek, big green onion, and small green onion were assayed for their chitinase activities. Kimchi with various leek contents (4, 8, 12%) were fermented at 15$^{\circ}C$ for 9 days and the chitinase (EC 3.2.1.14) activity and textural properties were determined. The chitinase activity of the ingredients was in the order of garlic>leek>small green onion>chinese cabbage>big green onion. During fermentation, the chitinase activity of kimchi juice appeared more prominent than that of kimchr tissue, however, it was decreased in all kimchi samples among which the control sample showed a remarkable drop. The activity of chitinase in kimchi tissue increased until 3rd or 5th day of fermentation and then decreased. The puncture force of all kimchi samples decreased and those of leek-added kimchi were higher than those of control. The above results suggested that the addition of leek for kimchi preparation could contribute to the improvement of textural qualities of kimchi due to chitinase activities of leek during fermentation.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.65-71
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• 2010

Two chitinase producing strains CHI2 and CHI4 were isolated from soybean rhizosphere soil. Both the strains belonged to Lysobacter enzymogenes as indicated by 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Though strain CHI2 and CHI4 produced extracellular chitinase, they differ in their chitinolytic activity. CHI4 produced approximately three times the higher amounts of enzyme than that of CHI2 under specified conditions. CHI2 produced $535.67U\;l^{-1}$ of chitinase after 48 h incubation with a specific activity of $3.91U\;mg^{-1}$ of protein while strain CHI4 produced $1584.13U\;l^{-1}$ of chitinase with a specific activity of $10.88U\;mg^{-1}$ protein. SDS-PAGE analysis indicated that the molecular weight of chitinase enzyme was approximately 45 kDa. A faint band with a molecular weight of 55 kDa reveals the possibility for the presence of another kind of chitin binding protein. Mutant library was developed by exposing the isolates to gamma rays at their $LD_{99}$ value (0.23 kGy). Totally, 11 mutants of CHI2 and CHI4 are reported to have enhanced chitinase activity. Several leaky mutant clones with decreased enzyme activity and a defective mutant (CHI2-M16) with complete loss of chitinase activity were also identified. CHI4-M18, CHI4-M8 and CHI4-M29 showed 78.8, 41.5, and 31.9% increased chitinase activity over wild type CHI4.

• BMB Reports
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.185-189
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• 2003

Chitinase (EC 3.2.1.14) was isolated from the culture filtrate of Streptomyces sp. M-20 and purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-cellulose ion-exchange chromatography, and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration. No exochitinase activity was found in the culture filtrate. The molecular mass of the purified chitinase was 20 kDa, estimated by a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and was confirmed by activity staining with Calcofluor White M2R. Chitinase was optimally active at pH of 5.0 and at $30^{\circ}C$. The enzyme was stable from pH 4 to 8, and up to $40^{\circ}C$. Among the metals and inhibitors that were tested, the $Hg^+$, $Hg^{2+}$, and p-chloromercuribenzoic acid completely inhibited the enzyme activity. The chitinase activity was high on colloidal chitin, chitotriose, and chitooligosaccharide. The purified chitinase showed antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea, and lysozyme activity against the cell wall of Botrytis cinerea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.604-612
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• 2011

Beauveria bassiana SFB-205 supernatant can effectively control cotton aphid populations, which is closely associated with its chitinase activity. The present work extends to optimizing a culture medium to produce more efficacious supernatant in flask conditions, followed by scale-up in 7 L, 300 L and 1.2 KL fermentors with the parameter of chitinase. In flask conditions, a combination of soluble starch and yeast extract produced the greatest amount of chitinase (5.1 units/ml) and its supernatant had the highest aphicidal activity. An optimal quantitative combination of the two substrates, estimated by a response surface method, enabled the supernatant to have 15.7 units/ml of chitinase activity and 3.7 ml/l of median lethal concentration ($LC_{50}$) of toxicity against cotton aphid adults in laboratory conditions. In the scale-up conditions, overall supernatant had 25-28 units/ml of chitinase activity. Decrease in pH and limitation of dissolved oxygen (DO) during cultures were significantly related to the yield of chitinase. These results suggest that the substrate-dependent chitinase production can be background information for optimizing a culture medium, and pH and DO are critical factors in maximizing the production in scale-up conditions.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.179-183
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• 1981

An extracellular chitinase was purified from the culture fluid of Streptomyces sp. 115-5, and its inhibition mechanism by end product was studied. The activity of chitinase was suppressed by the reducing sugar as the reaction proceeded, and the activity was inhibited by the addition of D-glucose. Besides D-glucose, the rate of chitin hydrolysis was inhibited by D-glucuronic acid, D-sorbitol and D-xylose in the reaction system of the enzyme. it was found that the hydroxyl groups at the C-2, C-3 and C-4 position of D-glucose molecule play an important role in the inhibition of the chitinase activity. D-glucose was found to inhibit the enzyme activity by mixed type of competitive and non-competitive mode.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.277-283
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• 1994

An antimicrobial chitinase was purified from grapefruit extract and its properties were characterized. The chitinase was purified with a single step chromatography on regenerated chitin affinity gel column. The molecular weight of the purified chitinase was 29 kDa. The grapefruit extract contained the chitinase protein more than 50% of its total soluble proteins measured by coomassie stained protein bands. When the purified chitinase was incubated with polymers of N-acetylglucosamine (NAG), such as mycelia of Fusarium oxysproum and swollen chitin, they were degraded to oligosaccharides, and the oligosaccharides were then further hydrolyzed by the same enzyme to monomer and dimer of NAG. This result suggests that the chitinase contained both endo- and exo- chitinase activities. The chitinase was stable to heat and pH treatment; its activity was not diminished by the heat treatment upto 7$0^{\circ}C$ for 1 hr, and it showed a pH stability in the range of pH 4.0 to 12.0.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.191-195
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• 1992

In order to elucidate the plant-microorganism relationship, we purified an ethylene-inducible, basic 30 KD endochitinase from bean leaves and studied its antifungal activity by a hyphal extension-inhibition assay. The purified chitinase was effective in the inhibition of hyphal growth of Aspergillus fumigatus, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, while microbial chitinases of Serratia marcescens and Streptomyces griceus, egg white lysozyme and papya protease didn't affect hyphal growth of the fungi. The chitinase degraded the cell walls of Micrococcus lysodeikticus, suggesting the lysozyme activity of the chitinase. We discussed the implication of the bifunctional chitinase/lysozyme activities of the protein with hydrolysis of chitin in the rapidly extending hyphae of the fungi.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 1993

Chitinase was induced in rice cell suspension culture with treatment of chitooligosaccharides mixture. Among eleven isozymes found in 10% polysacrylamide gel electropherogram, four isozymes were identified as induced enzymes. Acidic chitinase fraction separated in DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, includes three induced chitinase, while basic fraction contains only one induced isozyme. Treatment of chitooligosaccharides mixture enhanced the contents in both protein and chitinase activity in cell suspension culture media, but increase in chitinase activity was much higher than in protein.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.68-72
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• 1992

To investigate the characteristics of active sites of the chitinase isolated from AWOrnonus sulmonicidu YA7-625, effects of various chemicals un the enzyme activity were analyzed. $Hg^{2+}, Mn^[2+} \;and \; Cu^{2+}$ ' ions inhibited the activity of chitinase, while $Ca^{2+} , Zn^[2+} , Co^[2+} \; and\; Mg^[2+}$ ions at 1 mM stimulated enzyme activity. The chitinase was not inhibited by sulfhydryl ;gents, phenylglyoxal, and hydroxylamine, but was inhibited by iodine and N-bromosuccinimide. The $pK_{ps2} and pK_{ps2}$, values of chitinase were 4.04 a d 10.10, respectively. These results suggested that the chitinase from A~ronmzus salmonici& YA7-625 contains histidine, tyrosine. and tryptophan at the active center.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.344-351
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• 2009

A biocontrol bacterium Bacillus licheniformis N1 grown in nutrient broth showed no chitinolytic activity, while its genome contains a gene which encodes a chitinase. The gene for chitinase from B. licheniformis N1 was amplified by PCR and the deduced amino acid sequence analysis revealed that the chitinase exhibited over 95% identity with chitinases from other B. licheniformis strains. Escherichia coli cells carrying the recombinant plasmid displayed chitinase activity as revealed by the formation of a clear zone on chitin containing media, indicating that the gene could be expressed in E. coli cells. Chitinase gene expression in B. licheniformis N1 was not detected by RT-PCR analysis. The protein was over-expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein. The protein could also be produced in B. subtilis 168 strain carrying the chitinase gene of N1 strain. The crude protein extract from E. coli BL21 carrying GST fusion protein or culture supernatant of B. subtilis carrying the chitinase gene exhibited enzyme activity by hydrolyzing chitin analogs, 4-methylumbelliferyl-$\beta$-D-N,N'-diacetylchitobioside and 4-methylumbelliferyl-$\beta$-D-N,N',N"-triacetylchitotrioside. These results indicated that even though the chitinase gene is not expressed in the N1 strain, the coding region is functional and encodes an active chitinase enzyme. Furthermore, B. subtilis 168 transformants expressing the chitinase gene exhibited antifungal activity against Fulvia fulva by suppressing spore germination. Our results suggest that the proper engineering of the expression of the indigenous chitinase gene, which will lead to its expression in the biocontrol strain B. licheniformis N1, may further enhance its biocontrol activity.