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Chitinolytic properties of Bacillus pabuli K1
Author(s) -
Frändberg Emma,
Schnürer J.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of applied bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 0021-8847
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1994.tb01641.x
Subject(s) - chitin , chitinase , laminarin , chemistry , substrate (aquarium) , carboxymethyl cellulose , polysaccharide , cellulose , food science , pectin , biochemistry , glucan , enzyme , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , chitosan , organic chemistry , ecology , sodium
The chitinolytic properties of Bacillus pabuli K1 isolated from mouldy grain was studied. Chitinase activity was measured as the release of p ‐nitrophenol from p ‐nitrophenyl‐N, N'‐diacetylchitobiose. Influences of substrate concentration and different environmental variables on growth and chitinase activity were determined. The optimum environmental conditions for chitinase production were: 30°C, initial pH 8, initial oxygen 10% and a w > 0.99. Chitinase production was induced when B. pabuli K1 was grown on colloidal chitin. The smallest chito‐oligosaccharide able to induce chitinase production was N, N'‐diacetylchitobiose, (GlcNAc) 2 . Production was also induced by (GlcNAc) 3 and (GlcNAc) 4 . When the bacterium was grown on glucose or N ‐acetylglucosamine, no chitinases were formed. The highest chitinase production observed was obtained with colloidal chitin as substrate. The production of chitinases by B. pabuli K1 growing on chitin was repressed by high levels (0.6%) of glucose. The production was also repressed by 0.6% starch, laminarin and β‐glucan from barley and by glycerol. The addition of pectin and carboxymethyl cellulose increased chitinase production.