Abstract
For a long time, fungi have been characterized by their ability to secrete enzymes, mostly hydrolytic in function, and thus are defined as extracellular degraders. Chitin and chitinolytic enzymes are gaining importance for their biotechnological applications. Particularly, chitinases are used in agriculture to control plant pathogens. Metarhizium anisopliae produces an extracellular chitinase when grown on a medium containing chitin, indicating that synthesis is subject to induction by the substrate. Various sugar combinations were investigated for induction and repression of chitinase. N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) shows a special dual regulation on chitinase production. M. anisopliae has at least two distinct, cell-bound, chitinolytic enzymes when cultured with GlcNAc as one of the carbon sources, and we suggest that this carbohydrate has an important role in protein secretion.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barreto, ., Staats, ., Schrank, . et al. Distribution of Chitinases in the Entomopathogen Metarhizium anisopliae and Effect of N-Acetylglucosamine in Protein Secretion. Curr Microbiol 48, 102–107 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-003-4063-z
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-003-4063-z