• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.105-111
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• 1999

In order to produce functional chitin oligosaccharides, a chitinolytic bacterium was newly screened from the viscera of Korean bony fishes, and identified as Bacillus sp. LJ-25. For the production of chitinolytic enzymes, $1.0\%$ nutrient broth and $0.3\%$ colloidal chitin were used as nitrogen and carbon source, respectively. The optimal temperature, initial pH and concentration of NaCl for the enzyme production by Bacillus sp. LJ-25 were $30^{\circ}C$ 6.5-7.0 and $1.0\%$, respectively. The enzyme activity of Bacillus sp. LJ-25 increased until the incubation time of 168 hr, followed by a decrease in activity.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 1995

One hundred and thirty bacterial isolates with high chitinolytic activity on chitin agar media were isolated and identified. Most of the isolates were Aeromonas hydrophila (110 isolates), and the others were Serratia marcescens (11 isolates), Aeromonas caviae (3 isolates), Chromobacterium violaceum strain C-61 (2 isolates), Chromobacterium violaceum strain C-72 (1 isolate) and unknown species (3 isolates). Among them, C. violaceum strain C-61 had highest chitinolytic activity and fungal growth inhibition on PDA. This bacterium also inhibited the growth of Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotinia scelrotiorum, Phytophthora capsici and Pythium ultimum, but it didn't inhibit the growth of Fusarium oxysprum and Fusarium solani. C. violaceum strain C-61 suppressed damping-off of eggplant caused by R. solani. Populations of the chitinolytic bacteria such as Aeromonas hydrophila, Serratia marcescens, Aeromonas caviae, Chromobacterium violaceum strain C-61 and Chromobacterium violaceum strain C-72 introduced into R. solani-infested soil were continuously decreased until 20 days after treatment, but their populations except A. caviae were not changed significantly and maintained over 5$\times$104 CFU per g of soil thereafter.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2003

A chitinolytic enzyme-producing bacterium was isolated from sea water on the coast of Busan. The bacterium was identified as Aeromonas sp. based on its morphological, cultural and biochemical characteristics and designated Aeromonas sp. J-5003. The strain produced two chitinoloytic enzymes: chitinase and chitobiase. The optimum culture conditions of the strain for production of chitinoloytic enzymes were investigated. For the production of chitinase, the major components of medium were colloidal chitin $0.5\%$, glucose $0.2\%$, yeast extract $0.25\%$ and peptone $0.25\%$ while for the production of chitobiase, they were colloidal chitin $0.5\%$, galactose and tryptone $0.2\%$. The optimum cultural temperature and initial pH for the production of chitinase and chitobiase were $30^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.0, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.865-871
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• 2002

A bacterium having strong chitinolytic activity on $0.2\%$ colloidal chitin-containing agar medium was isolated from coastal soil in Korea. Based on the nucleotide sequence of conserved segment of a 165 rRNA gene, the bacterium was identified as Paenibacillus illinoisensis KJA-424. The population of P. illinoisensis KJA-424 and chitinase activity significantly increased for the first 2 days of incubation. On SDS-PACE analysis with $0.01\%$ glycol chitin, three protein bands (63, 54, and 38 kDa) with chitinolytic activity were detected tooted. The effect of P illinoisensis KJA-424 on the egg hatch of root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) was investigated. After 7 days of incubation with the chitinase-producing P. illinoisensis KJA-424, none of the eggs hatched, whereas a $39.8\%$ egg hatching rate was observed in the water control. Inverted and scanning electron microscopic observations demonstrated that P. illinoisensis KJA-424 deformed and destroyed the eggshell of M. incognita. In conclusion, chitinase-produced by p. illinoisensis KJA-424 caused the lysis of M. incognita eggshell and resulted in the inhibition of egg hatching in vitro.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.82-88
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• 2005

Bacillus cereus 28-9 is a chitinolytic bacterium isolated from lily plant in Taiwan. This bacterium exhibited biocontrol potential on Botrytis leaf blight of lily as demonstrated by a detached leaf assay and dual culture assay. At least two chitinases (ChiCW and ChiCH) were excreted by B. cereus 28-9. The ChiCW-encoding gene was cloned and moderately expressed in Escherichia coli DH5$\alpha$. Near homogenous ChiCW was obtained from the periplasmic fraction of E. coli cells harboring chiCW by a purification procedure. An in vitro assay showed that the purified ChiCW had inhibitory activity on conidial germination of Botrytis elliptica, a major fungal pathogen of lily leaf blight.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.470-478
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• 2016

A bacterium producing a large amount of chitinolytic enzyme was isolated from the intestinal tract of earthworm. The isolate was identified as Bacillus licheniformis by 16S ribosomal RNA analysis and designated as B. licheniformis GA9. The enzyme was purified by 40-60% ammonium sulfate precipitation, diethyl-aminoethyl groups exchange chromatography, and gel filtration chromatography. The molecular weight was estimated to be 52.1 kDa and the N-terminal amino acid sequence was D-S-G-K-N-G-K-I-I-R-Y-YP-I-R. The optimum activity of the purified chitinolytic enzyme was shown at pH 5.0 and $40^{\circ}C$, and the enzyme was stable in the ranges of $20-50^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.0-6.0. Enzyme activity was increased by $Co^{2+}$, while it was inhibited by $Cu^{2+}$ and $Fe^{2+}$. But it was recovered by chelating metals with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. The $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ values of the purified enzyme were 4.02 mg/ml and 0.52 mg/min, respectively. The chitinolytic enzyme characterized in this study has potential applications in areas such as biotechnology, biomedicine, agriculture, and nutrition.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.696-703
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• 1996

The bacterium Serratia marcescens QM Bl466 produces selectively large amount of chitinolytic enzymes(about 1mg/L medium). Enzymatic hydrolysis of chitin to N-acelyl-${\beta}$-D-glucosamine(NAG) is performed by a system consisting of two hydrolases : chitinase and chilobiase. Objectives of this study included optimization of a microbial host by using chitin particles for chitinase/chitobiase production and secretion and also development of batch fermentation system for high cell density cultivalion of S. marcescens QM B1466. Also, the influence of chitin source and carboxymethyl(CM) chitin on chitinase/chitobiase production and NAG production was investigated. When carboxymethyl chitin was substituted for colloidal and practical grade chitin, the chitinase activity was increased about 7∼10U/mL. In this case, the ratio of chitinase/chitobiase was 30.03U/3.44U(9:1). The highest amounts of NAG(3.0g/L) was obtained.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.222-226
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• 2015

The chitinase-producing bacterial strain C-1 is one of the key chitinase-producing biocontrol agents used for effective bioformulations for biological control. These bioformulations are mixed cultures of various chitinolytic bacteria. However, the precise identification, biocontrol activity, and the underlying mechanisms of the strain C-1 have not been investigated so far. Therefore, we evaluated in planta biocontrol efficacies of C-1 and determined the draft genome sequence of the strain in this study. The bacterial C-1 strain was identified as a novel Serratia sp. by a phylogenic analysis of its 16S rRNA sequence. The Serratia sp. C-1 bacterial cultures showed strong in planta biocontrol efficacies against some major phytopathogenic fungal diseases. The draft genome sequence of Serratia sp. C-1 indicated that the C-1 strain is a novel strain harboring a subset of genes that may be involved in its biocontrol activities.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.275-282
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• 2005

A chitinolytic bacterium, Chromobacterium sp. strain C-61, was found strongly antagonistic to Rhizoctonia solani, a causal agent of damping-off of eggplant. In this study, the biocontrol activity and enzymatic characteristics of strain C-61 were compared with its four Tn5 insertion mutants (C61-A, -B, -C, and -D) that had lower chitinolytic ability. The chitinase activity of a 2-day old culture was about $76\%,\;49\%\;and\;6\%$ level in C61-A, C61-B and in C61-C, respectively, compared with that of strain C-61. The $\beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase$(Nahase) activity was little detected in strain C-61 but increased largely in C-61A, C61-B and C61-C. Activities of chitinase and Nahase appeared to be negatively correlated in these strains. Another mutant, C-61D, produced no detectable extracellular chitinase and Nahase. The in vitro and in vivo biocontrol activities of strain C-61 and its mutants were closely related to their ability to produce chitinase but not Nahase. No significant differences in population densities between strain C-61 and its mutants were observed in soil around eggplant roots. The results of SDS-PAGE and isoelectrofocusing showed that a major chitinase of strain C-61 is 54-kDa with pI of approximately 8.5. This study provides evidence that the biocontrol activity of Chromobacterium sp. strain C-61 against Rhizoctonia solani depends on the ability to produce chitinase with molecular weight of 54-kDa and pI of 8.5.

• 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.