Cloning and expression of an antifungal chitinase gene of a novel Bacillus subtilis isolate from Taiwan potato field

Microbial chitinases and their relevance in various industries

Chitin, the second most abundant biopolymer on earth after cellulose, is composed of β-1,4-N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) units. It is widely distributed in nature, especially as a structural polysaccharide in the cell walls of fungi, the exoskeletons of crustaceans, insects, and nematodes. However, the principal commercial source of chitin is the shells of marine or freshwater invertebrates. Microbial chitinases are largely responsible for chitin breakdown in nature, and they play an important role in the ecosystem's carbon and nitrogen balance. Several microbial chitinases have been characterized and are gaining prominence for their applications in various sectors. The current review focuses on chitinases of microbial origin, their diversity, and their characteristics. The applications of chitinases in several industries such as agriculture, food, the environment, and pharmaceutical sectors are also highlighted.

Biochemical purification and characterization of a truncated acidic, thermostable chitinase from marine fungus for N-acetylglucosamine production

N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) is widely used in nutritional supplement and is generally produced from chitin using chitinases. While most GlcNAc is produced from colloidal chitin, it is essential that chitinases be acidic enzymes. Herein, we characterized an acidic, highly salinity tolerance and thermostable chitinase AfChiJ, identified from the marine fungus Aspergillus fumigatus df673. Using AlphaFold2 structural prediction, a truncated Δ30AfChiJ was heterologously expressed in E. coli and successfully purified. It was also found that it is active in colloidal chitin, with an optimal temperature of 45°C, an optimal pH of 4.0, and an optimal salt concentration of 3% NaCl. Below 45°C, it was sound over a wide pH range of 2.0–6.0 and maintained high activity (≥97.96%) in 1–7% NaCl. A notable increase in chitinase activity was observed of Δ30AfChiJ by the addition of Mg²⁺, Ba²⁺, urea, and chloroform. AfChiJ first decomposed colloidal chitin to generate mainly N-acetyl chitobioase, which was successively converted to its monomer GlcNAc. This indicated that AfChiJ is a bifunctional enzyme, composed of chitobiosidase and β-N-acetylglucosaminidase. Our result suggested that AfChiJ likely has the potential to convert chitin-containing biomass into high-value added GlcNAc.

Roads to Construct and Re-build Plant Microbiota Community

Plant microbiota has influenced plant growth and physiology significantly. Plant and plant-associated microbes have flexible interactions that respond to changes in environmental conditions. These interactions can be adjusted to suit the requirements of the microbial community or the host physiology. In addition, it can be modified to suit microbiota structure or fixed by the host condition. However, no technology is realized yet to control mechanically manipulated plant microbiota structure. Here, we review step-by-step plant-associated microbial partnership from plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria to the microbiota structural modulation. Glutamic acid enriched the population of Streptomyces, a specific taxon in anthosphere microbiota community. Additionally, the population density of the microbes in the rhizosphere was also a positive response to glutamic acid treatment. Although many types of research are conducted on the structural revealing of plant microbiota, these concepts need to be further understood as to how the plant microbiota clusters are controlled or modulated at the community level. This review suggests that the intrinsic level of glutamic acid in planta is associated with the microbiota composition that the external supply of the biostimulant can modulate.

Cloning, expression and characterization of a chitinase from Paenibacillus chitinolyticus strain UMBR 0002

Background

Chitinases are enzymes which degrade β-1,4-glycosidid linkages in chitin. The enzymatic degradation of shellfish waste (containing chitin) to chitooligosaccharides is used in industrial applications to generate high-value-added products from such waste. However, chitinases are currently produced with low efficiency and poor tolerance, limiting the industrial utility. Therefore, identifying chitinases with higher enzymatic activity and tolerance is of great importance.

Methods

Primers were designed using the genomic database of Paenibacillus chitinolyticus NBRC 15660. An exochitinase (CHI) was cloned into the recombinant plasmid pET-22b (+) to form pET-22b (+)-CHI, which was transformed into Escherichia coli TOP10 to construct a genomic library. Transformation was confirmed by colony-polymerase chain reaction and electrophoresis. The target sequence was verified by sequencing. Recombinant pET-22b (+)-CHI was transformed into E. coli Rosetta-gami B (DE3) for expression of chitinase. Recombinant protein was purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography and enzymatic analysis was carried out.

Results

The exochitinase CHI from P. chitinolyticus strain UMBR 0002 was successfully cloned and heterologously expressed in E. coli Rosetta-gami B (DE3). Purification yielded a 13.36-fold enrichment and recovery yield of 72.20%. The purified enzyme had a specific activity of 750.64 mU mg^-1. The optimum pH and temperature for degradation of colloidal chitin were 5.0 and 45 °C, respectively. The enzyme showed high stability, retaining >70% activity at pH 4.0-10.0 and 25-45 °C (maximum of 90 min). The activity of CHI strongly increased with the addition of Ca²⁺, Mn²⁺, Tween 80 and urea. Conversely, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, acetic acid, isoamyl alcohol, sodium dodecyl sulfate and β-mercaptoethanol significantly inhibited enzyme activity. The oligosaccharides produced by CHI from colloidal chitin exhibited a degree of polymerization, forming N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and (GlcNAc)₂ as products.

Conclusions

This is the first report of the cloning, heterologous expression and purification of a chitinase from P. chitinolyticus strain UMBR 0002. The results highlight CHI as a good candidate enzyme for green degradation of chitinous waste.

Mining and characterization of two novel chitinases from Hirsutella sinensis using an efficient transcriptome-mining approach

Two novel family 18 chitinases, chiA and chiH, were identified and cloned from the transcriptome of H. sinensis based on the transcriptome sequence data. The recombinant chitinases were overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21, subsequently purified and functionally characterized. The optimal temperature and pH for chiA were 55 °C and 5.0, respectively, and those for chiH were 50 °C and 5.0, respectively. The highest enzyme activities of 11.5 U/mg and 8.1 U/mg were obtained for chiA and chiH, respectively, when colloidal chitin was used as the substrate with Ba²⁺. chiA exhibited higher V_max of 1.94 μmol/μg/h and k_cat of 1.443 S^-1 than those of chiH with V_max of 1.63 μmol/μg/h and k_cat of 1.175 S^-1, and both were efficient towards colloidal chitin compared with other typical family 18 chitinases. Substrate specificity and gene expression analyses indicated that chiA and chiH preferred substrates containing N-acetyl groups, such as colloidal chitin and glycol chitin, while no activity was detected toward laminarin, cellobiose, carboxymethyl cellulose and starch. The work presented here would aid in the understanding and performance of future studies on the infection mechanism of H. sinensis.

Postharvest application of a novel chitinase cloned from Metschnikowia fructicola and overexpressed in Pichia pastoris to control brown rot of peaches

Metschnikowia fructicola strain AP47 is a yeast antagonist against postharvest pathogens of fruits. The yeast was able to produce chitinase enzymes in the presence of pathogen cell wall. A novel chitinase gene MfChi (GenBank accession number HQ113461) was amplified from the genomic DNA of Metschnikowia fructicola AP47. Sequence analysis showed lack of introns, an open reading frame (ORF) of 1098 bp encoding a 365 amino acid protein with a calculated molecular weight of 40.9 kDa and a predicted pI of 5.27. MfChi was highly induced in Metschnikowia fructicola after interaction with Monilinia fructicola cell wall, suggesting a primary role of MfChi chitinase in the antagonistic activity of the yeast. The MfChi gene overexpressed in the heterologous expression system of Pichia pastoris KM71 and the recombinant chitinase showed high endochitinase activity towards 4-Nitrophenyl β-d-N,N',N″-triacetylchitotriose substrate. The antifungal activity of the recombinant chitinase was investigated against Monilinia fructicola and Monilinia laxa in vitro and on peaches. The chitinase significantly controlled the spore germination and the germ tube length of the tested pathogens in PDB medium and the mycelium diameter in PDA. The enzyme, when applied on peaches cv. Redhaven, successfully reduced brown rot severity. This work shows that the chitinase MfChi could be developed as a postharvest treatment with antimicrobial activity for fruit undergoing a short shelf life, and confirms that P. pastoris KM71 is a suitable microorganism for cost-effective large-scale production of recombinant chitinases.

Draft Genome Sequence of Bacillus thuringiensis Strain BrMgv02-JM63, a Chitinolytic Bacterium Isolated from Oil-Contaminated Mangrove Soil in Brazil

Here, we report the draft genome sequence and the automatic annotation of Bacillus thuringiensis strain BrMgv02-JM63. This genome comprises a set of genes involved in the metabolism of chitin and N-acetylglucosamine utilization, thus suggesting the possible role of this strain in the cycling of organic matter in mangrove soils.

Characterization of a chitinase (Chit62) from Serratia marcescens B4A and its efficacy as a bioshield against plant fungal pathogens

Chitinases have been suggested to be involved in pathogen-antagonist interaction during biological control progress of plant pathogenic fungi. Here, a recombinant bacterial chitinase originally from Serratia marcescens B4A was produced, purified, and assayed biochemically to ascertain the activity and determine the kinetics parameters. Active enzyme was used to determine its biocontrol features against fungal phytopathogens. The results demonstrated that the optimum pH and temperature for the enzyme activity were 6.0 and 55 °C, respectively. The K(m) and V(max) values were 3.30 mg ml(-1) and 0.92 units, respectively. The recombinant chitinase was demonstrated to be highly active in controlling fungal pathogens.

Characterization of a chitinase with antifungal activity from a native Serratia marcescens B4A

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. Enzyme was stable in 55°C for 20 min and at a pH range of 3-9 for 90 min at 25°C. When the temperature was raised to 60°C, it might affect the structure of enzymes lead to reduction of chitinase activity. Moreover, the Km and Vmax values for chitin were 8.3 mg/ml and 2.4 mmol/min, respectively. Additionally, the effect of some cations and chemical compounds were found to stimulate the chitinase activity. In addition, Iodoacetamide and Idoacetic acid did not inhibit enzyme activity, indicating that cysteine residues are not part of the catalytic site of chitinase. Finally, chitinase activity was further monitored by scanning electronic microscopy data in which progressive changes in chitin porosity appeared upon treatment with chitinase. This enzyme exhibited antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solani, Bipolaris sp, Alternaria raphani, Alternaria brassicicola, revealing a potential application for the industry with potentially exploitable significance. Fungal chitin shows some special features, in particular with respect to chemical structure. Difference in chitinolytic ability must result from the subsite structure in the enzyme binding cleft. This implies that why the enzyme didn't have significant antifungal activity against other Fungi.

Overexpression and characterization of thermostable chitinase from Bacillus atrophaeus SC081 in Escherichia coli

The chitinase-producing strain SC081 was isolated from Korean traditional soy sauce and identified as Bacillus atrophaeus based on a phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence and a phenotypic analysis. A gene encoding chitinase from B. atrophaeus SC081 was cloned in Escherichia coli and was named SCChi-1 (GQ360078). The SCChi-1 nucleotide sequences were composed of 1788 base pairs and 596 amino acids, which were 92.6, 89.6, 89.3, and 78.9% identical to those of Bacillus subtilis (ABG57262), Bacillus pumilus (ABI15082), Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (ABO15008), and Bacillus licheniformis (ACF40833), respectively. A recombinant SCChi-1 containing a hexahistidine tag at the amino- terminus was constructed, overexpressed, and purified in E. coli to characterize SCChi-1. H(6)SCChi-1 revealed a hydrolytic band on zymograms containing 0.1% glycol chitin and showed the highest lytic activity on colloidal chitin and acidic chitosan. The optimal temperature and pH for chitinolytic activity were 50°C and pH 8.0, respectively.

Biotechnological approaches to develop bacterial chitinases as a bioshield against fungal diseases of plants

Fungal diseases of plants continue to contribute to heavy crop losses in spite of the best control efforts of plant pathologists. Breeding for disease-resistant varieties and the application of synthetic chemical fungicides are the most widely accepted approaches in plant disease management. An alternative approach to avoid the undesired effects of chemical control could be biological control using antifungal bacteria that exhibit a direct action against fungal pathogens. Several biocontrol agents, with specific fungal targets, have been registered and released in the commercial market with different fungal pathogens as targets. However, these have not yet achieved their full commercial potential due to the inherent limitations in the use of living organisms, such as relatively short shelf life of the products and inconsistent performance in the field. Different mechanisms of action have been identified in microbial biocontrol of fungal plant diseases including competition for space or nutrients, production of antifungal metabolites, and secretion of hydrolytic enzymes such as chitinases and glucanases. This review focuses on the bacterial chitinases that hydrolyze the chitinous fungal cell wall, which is the most important targeted structural component of fungal pathogens. The application of the hydrolytic enzyme preparations, devoid of live bacteria, could be more efficacious in fungal control strategies. This approach, however, is still in its infancy, due to prohibitive production costs. Here, we critically examine available sources of bacterial chitinases and the approaches to improve enzymatic properties using biotechnological tools. We project that the combination of microbial and recombinant DNA technologies will yield more effective environment-friendly products of bacterial chitinases to control fungal diseases of crops.