• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.252-258
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• 2015

This is the first study reporting the evaluation of transgenic lines of tomato harboring rice chitinase (RCG3) gene for resistance to two important fungal pathogens Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Fol) causing fusarium wilt and Alternaria solani causing early blight (EB). In this study, three transgenic lines TL1, TL2 and TL3 of tomato Solanum lycopersicum Mill. cv. Riogrande genetically engineered with rice chitinase (RCG 3) gene and their R1 progeny was tested for resistance to Fol by root dip method and A. solani by detached leaf assay. All the R0 transgenic lines were highly resistant to these fungal pathogens compared to nontransgenic control plants. The pattern of segregation of three independent transformant for Fol and A. solani was also studied. Mendelian segregation was observed in transgenic lines 2 and 3 while it was not observed in transgenic line 1. It was concluded that introduction of chitinase gene in susceptible cultivar of tomato not only enhanced the resistance but was stably inherited in transgenic lines 2 and 3.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.134-140
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• 1994

An antagonistic bacterium Pseudomonas stutzeri YPL-1 liberated extracellular chitinase and $\beta$-1,3-glucanase which are key enzymes in the decomposition of fungal hyphal walls. The lytic enzymes caused abnormal swelling and retreating at the hyphal tips of plant pathogenic fungus Fusarium solani in a dual culture. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the hyphal degradation of F. solani in the regions interacting with P. stutzeri YPL-1. The production of chitinase and properties of a crude preparation of the enzyme from P. stutzeri YPL-1 were investigated. Peak of the chitinase activity was detected after 4 hr of cultivation. The enzyme had optimum temperature and pH of 50$^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.3, respectively. The enzyme was stable in the pH range of 3.5 to 6.0 up to 50$^{\circ}C$. The enzyme was significantly inhibited by metal compounds such as $HgCl_2$, but was stimulated by $CoCl_2$. P. stutzeri YPL-1 produced high levels of the enzyme after 84 hr of incubation. Among the tested carbon sources, chitin was the most effective for the enzyme production, at the concentration level of 3%. As a source of nitrogen, peptone was the best for the enzyme production, at the concentration level of 4%. The maximum amount of enzyme was produced by cultivating the bacterium at a medium of initial pH 6.8.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.258-264
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• 1995

Production and some properties of chitinolytic enzymes were investigated by 80% ammonium sulfate precipitates (crude enzymes) from culture supernatant of antagonistic bacteria, Chromobacterium violaceum strain C-61 and strain C-72, Aeromonas hydrophila, Aeromonas caviae, and Serratia marcescens. The maximum production of chitinase was obtained from the 3-day culture at 28$^{\circ}C$ in C. violaceum stains, the 6-day culture in S. marcescens, and the 2-day culture in A. hydrophila and A. caviae. In the optimum culture periods, chitinase activity of C. violaceum strains C-61 was 1.5, 5.5, 12.0 and 11.3 times higher than those of strain C-72, S. marcescens, A. hydrophila and A. caviae, respectively. However, N,N'-diacetylchitobiase activity was 3.2 times higher in S. marcescens than in C. violaceum strain C-61, and that of Aeromonas spp.was very low. On gels containing glycol chitin, chitinase of C. violaceum strains showed four isoforms of 54-, 52-, 50- and 37-kDa, whereas there were four isoforms of 58-, 52-, 48- and 38-kDa in S. arcescens, three isoforms of 70-, 58- and 54-kDa in A. hydrophila and six isoforms of 90-, 79-, 71-, 63-, 58- and 38-kDa in A. caviae. The chitinase of C. violaceum strain C-61 was most active at pH 7.0 and at 5$0^{\circ}C$ and was stable in ranges of pH 5.0~10.0 for 2 hours and of 0~5$0^{\circ}C$ for 30 min.

• BMB Reports
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.541-546
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• 1999

When we compared the chitinase activity of various plant sources using colorimetric or active gel-staining assay methods, the specific activity of pumpkin leaves was the highest among the samples we analyzed. The highly active chitinase from pumpkin leaves (designated PL-ChtIII) was purified to homogeneity using affinity chitin gel and HPLC Mono-Q anion-exchange cloumn chromatographies. In contrast to other members of the class III chitinase family, PL-ChtIII showed a strong binding affinity to the regenerated chitin gel column. The apparent molecular weight of PL-ChtIII was estimated to be 29 kDa on SDS-PAGE gel, while its optimum pH and temperature were shown to be pH 6.0 and $60^{\circ}C$, respectively. Analyzing the reaction products of PL-ChtIII with swollen chitin as substrate, the dimer and tetramer of N-acetylglucosamine were produced as major products in the first hour of the enzymatic reaction along with a small amount of monomers and trimers. As the reaction time increased, dimeric N-acetylglucosamine became the predominant form of reaction product.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.71-77
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• 1998

The strain of Serratia marcescens QM B1466 produces selectively large amount of chitinolytic enzymes (about 1mg/L medium). Enzymatic hydrolysis of chitin to N-acetyl-${\beta}$-D-glucosamine (NAG) was performed with a system consisting of two hydrolases (chitinase and chitobiase) produced by optimization of a microbial host consuming chitin particles. For the development of Large-scale biological process for the production of NAG from chitinaceous waste, the selection and optimization of a microbial host, particle size of crab/shrimp chitin sources and initial induction time using chitin as a sole carbon source on chitinase/chitobiase production and NAG production were examined. Crab-shell chitin(1.5%) treated by dilute acid and , ball-milled with a normal diameter less than 250m gave the highest chitinase activity over a 7 days culture. Crude chitinase/ chitobiase solution obtained in a 10 L fed-batch fermentation showed a maximum activities of 23.6 U/mL and 5.1 U/mL, respectively with a feeding time of 3 hrs, near pH 8.5 at 30$^{\circ}C$.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.567-573
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• 1996

Chitinase (EC 3.2.1.14) from culture fluid of Bacillus licheniformis KFB-C14 was purified 66-folds to homogenity in overall yield of 21% by ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Toyopearl, Butyl-Toyopearl and TSK-Gel HW-55F column chromatography. The enzyme protein had a molecular weight of about 86,000 and was composed of one subunit. The enzyme was significantly stable not only at high temperature but also on treatment with organic solvents and protein denaturants such as SDS, urea and guanidine-HC1. The optimum temperature and pH for reaction was 60$\circ $C and 6.0, respectively. The enzyme activity was inhibited by only Mn$^{2+}$ ion, but not inhibited by EDTA, N- ethylmaleimide and pCMB. The enzyme had high activity with colloidal chitin (V$_{max}$: 421) and commercial chitin (V$_{max}$: 480), but not with typical substrates of exo type chitinase. The thermostable chitinase had an useful reactivity for producing functional chitooligosaccharide, showing the production of (GlcNAc)$_{1}, (GlcNAc)$_{3}$, and (GlcNAc)$_{2}$ as major product.

• 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.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.6-12
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• 1993

Among 294 Actinomycetes isolated from soil, a strain that had appeared to produce the highest level of chitinase selected for further studies. The selected strain was identified as a Streptomyces lydicus based on the data obtained from the morphological, biochemical and cultural experiments. The cultural conditions for the enzyme production were also examined, and the results obtained were as follows: the maximal enzyme production was attained when the cells were cultured at $30^{\circ}C$ for 6 days in the medium supplemented with 2% of colloidal chitin. The optimum initial pH of the medium was observed to be 8. It was also found that the most effective carbon and nitrogen sources were soluble starch and ammonium oxalate, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.371-380
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• 2019

Termites are pests that cause serious economic and cultural damage by digesting wood cellulose. Termites are arthropods and have an epidermis surrounded by a chitin layer. To maintain a healthy epidermis, termites have chitinase (${\beta}$-1,4-poly-N-acetyl glucosamidinase, EC 3.2.1.14), an enzyme that hydrolyzes the ${\beta}$-1,4 bond of chitin. In this study, the amino acid sequence of the gene, which is presumed to be termite chitinolytic enzyme (NCBI accession no. KC477099), was obtained from a transcriptomic analysis of Reticulitermes speratus KMT001 in Bukhan Mountain, Korea. An NCBI protein BLAST search confirmed that the protein is a glycoside hydrolase family 18 (GH18). The highest homology value found was 47%, with a chitinase from Araneus ventricosus. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the KC477099 protein has the same origins as those of arthropods but has a very low similarity with other arthropod chitinases, resulting in separation at an early stage of evolution. The KC477099 protein contains two conserved motifs, which encode the general enzymatic characteristics of the GH18 group. The amino acid sequences $Asp^{156}-Trp^{157}-Glu^{158}$, which play an important role in the enzymatic activity of the GH18 group, were also present. This study suggests that the termite KC477099 protein is a new type of chitinase, which is evolutionarily distant from other insect chitinases.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.51-57
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• 2009

To investigate expression patterns of chitinase, ${\beta}$-1,3-glucanase and peroxidase involved in biological control of phytopathogens, three oil seed rapes (Capitol, Pollen and Saturnin) were used. Activities of the enzymes in old leaves were $9.7{\sim}11.8$ unit/mg protein in chitinase, $11.1{\sim}17.3$ unit/mg protein in ${\beta}$-1,3-glucanase and $0.6{\sim}1.7$ unit/mg protein in peroxidase. Activities of the enzymes in roots were $39.2{\sim}49.0$ unit/mg protein in chitinase, $49.9{\sim}62.0$ unit/mg protein in ${\beta}$-1,3-glucanase and $2.4{\sim}3.8$ unit/mg protein in peroxidase. Chitinase and ${\beta}$-1,3-glucanase activity were the highest level in Saturnin leaves and in Capitol roots while activities of those were the lowest level in Capitol leaves. Also, chitinase and ${\beta}$-1,3-glucanase and peroxidase activity were the lowest level in Saturnin roots. Active bands of chitinase isoform in leaves (73, 51, 40, 34, and 29 kDa) and in roots (100, 57 34, and 29 kDa) tissues showed in the SDS-PAGE gel. Active bands of ${\beta}$-1,3-glucanase isoform in leaves and roots (75 and 55 kDa) tissues showed on the SDS-PAGE gel. Active staining of peroxidase showed the strongest level in leaves and roots of Pollen. Active bands of peroxidase isoform in leaves (122, 114, and 93 kDa) and in roots (135, 122, 114, and 93 kDa) tissues showed on the Native-PAGE gel. These results indicated that establishment of expression pattern of enzymes in rape tissues could play as an important role with respect to resistance of plant pathogens in rape.