Chitinase

About: Chitinase is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 4690 publications have been published within this topic receiving 161786 citations. The topic is also known as: 1,4-beta-poly-N-acetylglucosaminidase & poly-beta-glucosaminidase.

Effect of chitin, chitosan, and cellulose as diet supplements on the growth of cultured fish

Abstract: This study was conducted to examine the effect of supplementing chitin, chitosan, and cellulose in the diet on the growth of red sea bream, Japanese eel, and yellowtail. The growth rate of all fishes fed with the 10% chitin supplemented diet recorded the highest value indicating diet super-iority. The feed efficiency in the red sea bream and Japanese eel which were fed with the 10 chitin supplemented diet also recorded the highest values. All fishes fed with the chitosan sup-plemented diet had the lowest growth rates and feed efficiencies indicating that the inclusion of 10% chitosan in the diet must have inhibited the processes involved with the digestion, absorption, and assimilation of the basal diet. The growth rates and feed efficiencies of red sea bream and yellowtail fed with the 10% cellulose supplemented diet were slightly higher than the values recorded for the control diet. Chitinase, chitosanase, and cellulase activity in the stomach of the three types of fishes which were fed with the aforesaid diet were measured and only chitinase activity was detected. The level of chitinase activity in the stomach of these three fishes were in proportion to the rate of growth when fed with the chitin supplemented diet. These results suggested that in fishes which possess high activity of chitinase in their digestive gland, chitin is digested and utilized.

Characterization, induction by wounding and salicylic acid, and activity against Botrytis cinerea of chitinases and β-1,3-glucanases of ripening grape berries

Abstract: In order to better understand the defense strategy of grape berries (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot noir) as they mature, the activities of the defense-related proteins, chitinase (CHV, EC 3.2.1.14) and β-1,3-glucanase (laminarinase, EC 3.2.1.39) were first estimated in berries at different maturation stages. Chitinase levels rose proportionally to the berry reducing sugar content, an indicator of the berry ripening degree, up to values 10 times higher than the ones seen in resting grapevine leaves. This rise in activity was due to the accumulation of two isoforms, CHV 5 and CHV 11. One more chitinase isoform, CHV 12, appeared in senescent berries. Conversely, no glucanase activity could be detected in berries at any maturation stage. Accumulation of chitinases and β-1,3-glucanases could be stimulated by wounding the berry peduncle. Adding salicylic acid to the wounded berries only potentiated the wounding effect on the berry chitinase activity. The most active chitinase isoform, CHV 5. was purified to homogeneity. It represented about 40% of the total extractable protein content of a ripe berry. Its molecular mass was estimated to be 31 kDa. The peptide sequencing of four of its tryptic fragments revealed strong homologies to several class IV chitinases. Finally, it was shown to inhibit the germination of conidia of Botrytis cinerea by 50% at a concentration of 7.5 μg ml -1 .