CHITINASE OF ANTARCTIC SANGUIBACTER SP. KOPRI 21702

Abstract

Chitin is a polymer of ？-(1-4)-linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and a very abundant polymer next to cellulose in nature and represents an important potential source of renewable biomass. Chitin is degraded by chitinase (EC 3.2.1.14) and ？-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase (EC 3.2.1.30). Chitinase hydrolyze the-1,4-linkages in chitin, yielding predominantly N-N'-diacetyl chitobiose, which in further degraded by chitobiases to the GlcNAc monomer. Chitinases are a diverse family of enzymes found in a wide variety of higher plants, in vertebrates, in fungi, and in bacteria. Marine bacteria are excellent sources of chitinase. In this study, a chitinase-producing bacterium strain KOPRI 21702 and the chitinase gene of KOPRI 21702 were reported.