Marine Drugs (Jun 2024)

Heterologous Expression and Characterization of a pH-Stable Chitinase from <i>Micromonospora aurantiaca</i> with a Potential Application in Chitin Degradation

  • Han-Zhong Guo,
  • Dou Wang,
  • Hui-Ting Yang,
  • Yu-Le Wu,
  • Yong-Cheng Li,
  • Guang-Hua Xia,
  • Xue-Ying Zhang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/md22060287
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 22, no. 6
p. 287

Abstract

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To promote the bioconversion of marine chitin waste into value-added products, we expressed a novel pH-stable Micromonospora aurantiaca-derived chitinase, MaChi1, in Escherichia coli and subsequently purified, characterized, and evaluated it for its chitin-converting capacity. Our results indicated that MaChi1 is of the glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 18 with a molecular weight of approximately 57 kDa, consisting of a GH18 catalytic domain and a cellulose-binding domain. We recorded its optimal activity at pH 5.0 and 55 °C. It exhibited excellent stability in a wide pH range of 3.0–10.0. Mg2+ (5 mM), and dithiothreitol (10 mM) significantly promoted MaChi1 activity. MaChi1 exhibited broad substrate specificity and hydrolyzed chitin, chitosan, cellulose, soluble starch, and N-acetyl chitooligosaccharides with polymerization degrees ranging from three to six. Moreover, MaChi1 exhibited an endo-type cleavage pattern, and it could efficiently convert colloidal chitin into N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) and (GlcNAc)2 with yields of 227.2 and 505.9 mg/g chitin, respectively. Its high chitin-degrading capacity and exceptional pH tolerance makes it a promising tool with potential applications in chitin waste treatment and bioactive oligosaccharide production.

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