Chitinase production by newly isolated Serratia marcescens B4A was optimized following Taguchi’sarray methods. Twenty-three bacterial isolates were screened from shrimp culture ponds in the South ofIran. A chitinase-producing bacterium was isolated based on it’s ability to utilize chitin as the sole carbonsource. The isolate designated as B4A, was identified as Serratia marces...

BACKGROUND Chitinases are prevalent in life and are found in species including archaea, bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals. They break down chitin, which is the second most abundant carbohydrate in nature after cellulose. Hence, they are important for maintaining a balance between carbon and nitrogen trapped as insoluble chitin in biomass. Chitinases are classified into two families, 18 and 1...

Allosamidin is a strong inhibitor of family 18 chitinases. We preyiously reported the presence of allosamidin-sensitiye and -insensitive chitillases (chitinase S a"d IS) in the culture filtrate of the altosamidinproducing strain, Streptomyces sp. AJ9463. In this study, we cloned and sequenced the genes encoding the two chitinases, which clarified that chitinase S and IS belong to the family 18 ...

Allosamidin is a strong inhibitor of family 18 chitinases. We previously reported the presence of allosamidin-sensitive and -insensitive chitinases (chitinase S and IS) in the culture filtrate of the allosamidin-producing strain, Streptomyces sp. AJ9463. In this study, we cloned and sequenced the genes encoding the two chitinases, which clarified that chitinase S and IS belong to the family 18 ...

Entomopathogenic fungi, such as Metarhizium anisopliae, are able to control various insect pests. These fungi attack the integument of the host using an enzymatic complex. Among the enzymes found in this complex, chitinase is an important component. However, the relation between the chitinase production and the virulence from different M. anisopliae strains has not been analyzed. In this manusc...

BACKGROUND We previously demonstrated that chronic pulmonary infection with Cryptococcus neoformans results in enhanced allergic inflammation and airway hyperreactivity in a rat model. Because the cell wall of C. neoformans consists of chitin, and since acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) has recently been implicated as a novel mediator of asthma, we sought to determine whether such infection i...

Chitin is an important renewable biomass of immense commercial interest. The processing of this biopolymer into value-added products in an environmentally-friendly manner necessitates its conversion into N-acetyl glucosamine (NAG), a reaction mediated by the enzyme chitinase. Here we report on the ability of the soil microbe Pseudomonas fluorescens to secrete copious amounts of chitinase in the...

Chitinases have the ability of chitin digestion that constitutes a main compound of the cell wall in many of the phytopathogens such as fungi. In the following investigation, a novel chitinase with antifungal activity was characterized from a native Serratia marcescens B4A. Partially purified enzyme had an apparent molecular mass of 54 kDa. It indicated an optimum activity in pH 5 at 45°C. Enzy...

Chitin is an essential structural polysaccharide in fungi that is required for cell shape and morphogenesis. One model for wall synthesis at the growing cell surface suggests that the compliance that is necessary for turgor-driven expansion of the cell wall involves a delicate balance of wall synthesis and lysis. Accordingly, de novo chitin synthesis may involve coordinated regulation of member...

BACKGROUND It has long been known that the polycarbohydrates on the neoplastic cell surface are different from those on normal cells; differences which allow one to attack tumor cells selectively. Although the exact differences between tumor cells and normal cells are still not clearly known, research into these differences is ongoing for anticancer drug development. MATERIALS AND METHODS The...