A cold-responsive chitinase gene, BiCHT1, was isolated from bromegrass (Bromus inermis) 'Manchar' suspension cells. BiCHT1 messenger RNA was detected at low levels in nonstressed bromegrass cells, whereas its accumulation was induced by incubation at 10 degrees C and 4 degrees C as detected by northern- and western-blot analyses. BiCHT1 was highly homologous to rye CHT9, known to encode an anti...

The chiA gene of Serratia marcescens codes for a secreted protein, bacterial chitinase (ChiA). We have investigated the modifications and the cellular location of ChiA when it is expressed in transgenic tobacco plants. Immunoblots on total leaf protein probed with antibody to ChiA showed that when the bacterial chitinase is expressed in plants, it migrates as a series of discrete bands with eit...

Nematodes are known to be harmful to various crops, vegetables, plants and insects. The present study reports that, chitin upregulates the activity of chitinase (20%) and nematicidal potential (15%) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The chitinase gene (pachi) from P. aeruginosa was cloned, and its nematicidal activity of pachi protein against Caenorhabditis elegans was studied. The mortality rate indu...

Antifreeze proteins similar to two different chitinases accumulate during cold acclimation in winter rye (Secale cereale). To determine whether these cold-responsive chitinases require post-translational modification to bind to ice, cDNAs coding for two different full-length chitinases were isolated from a cDNA library produced from cold-acclimated winter rye leaves. CHT9 is a 1,193-bp clone th...

Fungi have a plethora of chitinases, which can be phylogenetically divided into three subgroups (A, B and C). Subgroup C (sgC) chitinases are especially interesting due to their multiple carbohydrate-binding modules, but they have not been investigated in detail yet. In this study, we analyzed sgC chitinases in the mycoparasites Trichoderma atroviride and Trichoderma virens. The expression of s...

The gene encoding a major, inducible 45 kDa chitinase of Aspergillus fumigatus was cloned and analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence identified a chitinase of the fungal/bacterial class which was designated ChiB1. Recombinant ChiB1, expressed in Pichia pastoris, was shown to function by a retaining mechanism of action. That is, the beta-conformation of the chitin substrate linkage was pres...

The chiR gene of Serratia marcescens 2170, encoding a LysR-type transcriptional activator, was identified previously as an essential factor for expression of chitinases and a chitin-binding protein, CBP21. To identify other genes that are essential for chitinase production, transposon mutagenesis with mini-Tn5Km1 was carried out, and 25 mutants that were unable to produce chitinases and CBP21 w...

Chitinase proteins have evolved and diversified almost in all organisms ranging from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. During evolution, internal repeats may appear in amino acid sequences of proteins which alter the structural and functional features. Here we deciphered the internal repeats from Chitinase and characterized the structural similarities between them. Out of 24 diverse Chitinase sequence...