• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.474-480
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• 2007

Fusarium wilt of cucumbers was effectively controlled by Escherichia coli expressing an endochitinase gene (chiA), and the rate was as effective (60.0%) as the wild-type strain S. proteamaculans 3095 (55.0%) where the gene was cloned. However, live cells of soil inoculated E. coli host harboring the chiA gene did not proliferate but declined 100-fold from $10^8$ CFU during the first week and showed less than 10 cells after day 14, suggesting that E. coli was able to express and produce the chitinase enzyme to the soil even as the population was gradually decreasing. Because the majority of the strains was alive for only a short period of time and the Fusarium-affected seedlings showed symptoms of wilting within 7-10 days, it seems that the pathogen control was decided early after the introduction of the biocontrol agent, eliminating the survival of the antagonist. These results indicated that soil inoculated E. coli could sufficiently express and produce the recombinant protein to control the pathogen, and root or soil colonization of the antagonist might not be a significant factor in determining the efficacy of biological control.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.378-383
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• 2020

The objective of this research was introduction of chit42 to tuber mustard plants through Agrobacteriummediated transformation against white mold caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. The binary plasmid pGisPEC1 was used in this study. Polymerase chain reaction analysis detected the transgene in 27 transformants with a transformation efficiency of 6.9%. Southern blot test was used to assess the copy number of transgene in tuber mustard plants. One, two, two, and two chit42-related bands were observed in the transformed lines TMB4, TMB7, TMB12, and TMB18, respectively. Enzymatic tests showed a significant increase in the activity of endochitinase in protein isolated from leaf tissues of chit42 transgenic 75-day tuber mustard lines. The pathogenicity of three pathogen isolates was tested on the leaves of transformed plans. The results of current study showed that expression of the gene chit42 in tuber mustard plants markedly reduced infection radius on the leaves 7 days after inoculation with the fungus.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.144-151
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• 1999

Chitinase activities from Shumard oak tissues were determined to study changes in chitinase activities related to water stress. The enzyme extracted in sodium acetate buffer (0.1M, pH 4.5) was assayed by a colorimetric method. In addition, the fungal hyphae of Hypoxylon atropunctatum in xylem tissues of oak were observed through scanning electron microscopy. The enzyme in oak tissues was mainly endochitinase, and optimum pH for enzyme activity was 5. Specific chitinase activities from both of stems held under high relative humidity (ranges of 0.63-1.11 pKatal/$\mu\textrm{g}$ of protein) and stems held under low relative humidity (ranges of 0.41-0.99 pKatal/$\mu\textrm{g}$ of protein) were significantly increased following fungal inoculation with H. atropunctatum. However, there was no significant difference in chitinase activities between tissues held under high and low humidities, which might be due to fungal chitinase. Scanning electron microscopy showed holes in fungal hyphae in the xylem tissues of stems held under high humidity but not in the stems held under ow humidity, suggesting that hyphae might be hydrolyzed by plant hydolases such as chitinase.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.310-315
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• 2001

The uneven distribution of acidic and basic chitinases in different parts of rice seed, and also the characterization of hull-specific chitinases, are reported here. After extraction of chitinases from polished rice, bran, and rice hulls, the chitinases were separated into acidic and basic fractions, according to their behavior on an anion exchanger column. Both fractions from different parts of rice seed showed characteristic activity bands on SDS-PAGE that contained 0.01% glycol chitin. The basic chitinases from rice hulls were further purified using chitin affinity chromatography. The chitinase, specific to rice hulls (RHBC), was 88-fold purified with a 1.3% yield. RHBC has an apparent molecular weight of 22.2 kDa on SDS-PAGE. The optimal pH and temperature were 4.0 and $35^{\circ}C$, respectively. With [$^3H$]chitin as a substrate, RHBC has $V_{max}$ of 13.51 mg/mg protein/hr and $K_m$ of 1.36 mg/ml. This enzyme was an endochitinase devoid of ${\beta}$-1,3-glucanase, lysozyme, and chitosanase activities.

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.11
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• pp.726-731
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• 2010

We report the tissue-specific distribution of chitinolytic activity in Korean ginseng root and characterize two 31-kDa chitinolytic enzymes. These two enzymes (SBF1 and SBF2) were purified 70- and 81-fold with yields of 0.75 and 1.25%, respectively, and exhibited optimal pH and temperature ranges of 5.0-5.5 and 40-$50^{\circ}C$. With [$^3H$]-chitin as a substrate, $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ values of SBF1 were 4.6 mM and 220 mmol/mg-protein/h, respectively, while those of SBF2 were 7.14 mM and 287 mmol/mg-protein/h. The purified enzymes showed markedly less activity with p-nitrophenyl-N-acetylglucosaminide and fluorescent 4-methylumbelliferyl glycosides of D-N-acetylglucosamine oligomers than with [$^3H$]-chitin. End-product inhibition of both enzymes demonstrated that both are endochitinases with different N-acetylglucosaminidase activity. Furthermore, the $NH_2$-terminal sequence of SBF1 showed a high degree of homology with other plant chitinases whereas the $NH_2$-terminal amino acid of SBF2 was blocked.

• Mycobiology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.244-253
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• 2022

Trichoderma fungi have been intensively studied for mycoparasitism, and the latter is closely related to their cell-wall degrading enzymes including chitinase. Here, we studied marine-derived Trichoderma spp., isolated from distinct sources and locations, for chitinolytic and antifungal activity. Based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses, two strains designated GJ-Sp1 and TOP-Co8 (isolated from a marine sponge and a marine alga, respectively) were identified as Trichoderma bissettii. This species has recently been identified as a closely related species to Trichoderma longibrachiatum. The extracellular crude enzymes of GJ-Sp1 and TOP-Co8 showed activities of chitobiosidase and b-N-acetylglucosaminidase (exochitinase) and chitotriosidase (endochitinase). The optimum chitinolytic activity of the crude enzymes was observed at 50 ℃, pH 5.0, 0-0.5% NaCl concentrations, and the activities were stable at temperatures ranging from 10 to 40 ℃ for 2 h. Moreover, the crude enzymes showed inhibitory activity against hyphal growth of two filamentous fungi Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the chitinolytic and antifungal activity of T. bissettii.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.422-430
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• 2007

Clonostachys rosea (syn. Gliocladium roseum) is a well-known biocontrol agent and widely distributed around the world. In this study, an endochitinase gene Crchi1 was isolated from the mycoparasitic fungus C. rosea using the DNA walking strategy. The Crchi1 ORF is 1,746 bp long and interrupted by three introns. The cloned gene Crchi1 encodes 426 amino acid residues and shares a high degree of similarity with other chitinases from entomopathogenic and mycoparasitic fungi. Several putative binding sites for transcriptional regulation of Crchi1 in response to carbon (5'-SYGGRG-3') and nitrogen (5'-GATA-3') were identified in the upstream of Crchi1. Expression of Crchi1 gene in different carbon sources was analyzed using real-time PCR (RT-PCR). We found that the Crchi1 expression was suppressed by glucose but strongly stimulated by chitin or solubilized components of the cell wall from Rhizoctonia solani. Phylogenetic analysis of chitinases from entomopathogenic and mycoparasitic fungi suggests that these chitinases have probably evolved from a common ancestor.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.309-312
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• 2013

Fungal cell walls consist of various glucans and chitin. Fungi produce chitinases for their growth and development. The inky cap, Coprinellus congregatus, produces at least two different chitinases during its life cycle. Chitinase 1 (chi1) is expresses throughout its life cycle while chitinase 2 (chi2) is expressed at the mushroom autolysing phase. The cloned cDNA of chi1 is successfully expressed as a fusion protein with c-myc in Pichia pastoris, and purified by the affinity chromatography. The optimum pH and temperature of Chi1 was pH 8.0 and $35^{\circ}C$, respectively when 4-nitrophenyl N,N',N"-triacetyl-${\beta}$-D-chitotrioside was used as the substrate. The $K_m$ value and $V_{max}$ for the substrate was 0.780 mM and 0.10 OD $min^{-1}unit^{-1}$, respectively. The addition of purified Chi1 resulted in total growth inhibition against several plant pathogenic fungi such as Alternaria alternata, Fusarium graminearum and Trichoderma harzianum at the concentration of 60 ${\mu}g/ml$.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 1994

A basic inducible protein, ICG, containing chitinase and ${\beta}-1,3-glucanase$ activity concomittantly was purified from cell suspension culture media of rice after the treatment of chitooligosaccharides. The isolated ICG enzyme gave a single band on native and SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and its molecular weight was estimated to be 52.53 kd. The optimal temperature and optimal pH of both enzyme activities in ICG were $60^{\circ}C$, pH 6.0 for chitinase activity and $37^{\circ}C$, pH 4.0 for ${\beta}-1,3-glucanase$ activity. $K_M$ and $V_{max}$ values for chitinase were 0.474 mM. 2.997 nM/min., and those for ${\beta}-1,3-glucanase$ were 1.004 mM 0.739 nM/min. respectively. TLC analysis of the chitooligosaccharide hydrolysates with ICG enzyme indicated that ICG acts as endochitinase.