title: In vitro antifungal activity and mechanism of action of chitinase against four plant pathogenic fungi.
abstract: To determine why chitinase has different antifungal activity on different pathogenic fungi in vitro, we purified recombinant rice chitinase from Pichia pastoris and investigated its antifungal activity against four fungi - Rhizopus stolonifer (Ehrenb. et Fr.) Vuill, Botrytis squamosa Walker, Pythium aphanidermatum (eds.) Fitzp, and Aspergillus niger van Tiegh. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to analyze the surface microstructure and proportion of chitin in the cell wall of the four fungi, respectively. The results showed that the chitinase exhibited different antifungal activities against the four fungi, which was directly correlated to the surface microstructure and the proportion of chitin in the fungal cell wall. It will help understanding the antifungal mechanism of the recombinant chitinase and further determining its application scope on crop protection and post-harvest storage of fruits and vegetables.
authors: The Key Laboratory for Bioactive Material of Ministry of Education, Institute for Molecular Biology, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin, P.R. China.
authors: Ruixiang
authors: R
authors: Yan
authors: Jianhua
authors: J
authors: Hou
authors: Dongfeng
authors: D
authors: Ding
authors: Wenqqiang
authors: W
authors: Guan
authors: Cuiyan
authors: C
authors: Wang
authors: Zhiqiang
authors: Z
authors: Wu
authors: Minggang
authors: M
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002688:Chitinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005658:Fungi / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D012275:Oryza / Q000201:enzymology; D010843:Pichia / Q000235:genetics; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D002688:Chitinases