title: The primary structure of a fungal chitin deacetylase reveals the function for two bacterial gene products.
abstract: Chitin deacetylase (EC 3.5.1.41) hydrolyzes the N-acetamido groups of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues in chitin. A cDNA to the Mucor rouxii mRNA encoding chitin deacetylase was isolated, characterized, and sequenced. Protein sequence comparisons revealed significant similarities of the fungal chitin deacetylase to rhizobial nodB proteins and to an uncharacterized protein encoded by a Bacillus stearothermophilus open reading frame. These data suggest the functional homology of these evolutionarily distant proteins. NodB is a chitooligosaccharide deacetylase essential for the biosynthesis of the bacterial nodulation signals, termed Nod factors. The observed similarity of chitin deacetylase to the B. stearothermophilus gene product suggests that this gene encodes a polysaccharide deacetylase.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Crete, Greece.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kafetzopoulos
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Thireos
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Vournakis
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bouriotis
mesh_terms: D000581:Amidohydrolases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D015723:Gene Library; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D001411:Geobacillus stearothermophilus / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009089:Mucor / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D012231:Rhizobium / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; C073606:nodB protein, Bacteria; D000581:Amidohydrolases; C019866:chitin deacetylase