title: Bioconversion of shellfish chitin wastes for the production of Bacillus subtilis W-118 chitinase.
abstract: Bacillus subtilis W-118, a strain that produces antifungal materials, excreted a chitinase when cultured in a medium containing shrimp- and crab-shell powder as the major carbon source. This chitinase, purified by sequential chromatography, had a molecular mass of 20,600 Da and a pI of 6. The optimum pH, optimum temperature, and pH stability of the chitinase were pH 6, 37 degrees C, and pH 5-7, respectively. The unique characteristics of the purified chitinase include low molecular mass and acidic pI. In the investigation of the inhibitory activity, it was found that the growth of Fusarium oxysporum was 100% inhibited after incubation for 1 day with sterilized W-118 chitinase solution (5.6 units/mL). The chitinase hydrolyzates of chitin with low degrees of polymerization (DP 1-6) were analyzed by HPLC. Longer reaction times led to the generation of chitin oligosaccharides with lower DP. The chitin oligosaccharides were examined for their inhibitory effects on F. oxysporum and human leukemia cell lines.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Life Sciences, Tamkang University, Tamsui 251, Taiwan. sabulo@mail.tku.edu.tw
authors.forename: San-Lang
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Tzu-Yin
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yue-Horng
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Yen
authors.forename: Hui-Fen
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Yu-Jen
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000201:enzymology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D002455:Cell Division; D002688:Chitinases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D003445:Crustacea; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D020014:K562 Cells; D007700:Kinetics; D014866:Waste Products
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D014866:Waste Products; D002688:Chitinases