Chitosanase May Enhance Anti-Fungal Defense Responses

Fungal pathogens like Rhizoctonia, Thielaviopsis, and Fusarium thrive in the soils of Arkansas and are a major threat to both emerging seedlings and established crops. For the Arkansas farmer, these and other fungal pathogens usually make fungicide application a necessary part of production. The toxicity, environmental harm, and expense that come with fungicides, though, leave many farmers looking for other options. In the future, genetically-engineered crop plants that produce enzymes to degrade key structural polymers found in fungal cell walls may provide farmers with a more attractive option. One such enzyme, chitosanase, has the potential to slow or prevent fungal infection by degrading the structural chitosan found in the cell walls of many fungi. To gain insight on this possibility, a newly-discovered chitosanase gene from Paenbacillus sp. 61427 was expressed in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L cv. Xanthine), and the in planta anti-fungal potential of this protein was examined.