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Objective: To heterogeneously express the chitinase gene of Bacillus licheniformis strain MY75 in E. coli, and to characterize the recombinant chitinase ChiMY., Methods: The extracelluar crude protein from B. licheniformis MY75 was analyzed by zymogram analysis. The partial amino acid sequence of the protein owned chitinase activity was given by time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS). Then the corresponding chitinase gene chiMY was cloned and heterogeneously expressed in E. coli. The optimum temperature and pH of the ChiMY, and the effect of various metal ions on chitinase activity were studied. The antifungal activity and the synergistic effect on insecticidal activity were demonstrated by bioassays., Results: A 55 kDa extracelluar protein produced by B. licheniformis MY75 exhibited chitinase activity in zymogram analysis. The chiMY gene was 1797 bp long and encoded a 599 amino acid protein. The molecular weight of the recombinant protein ChiMY over-expressed in E. coli was 67 kDa. The amino acid sequence of the 55 kDa extracelluar protein was proved identical to the 67 kDa ChiMY by the TOF-MS. The optimum temperature and pH were 50 degrees C and 7.0, respectively. The enzyme activity was improved by Li+, Na+ and Mg2+ and inhibited by Mn2+, Cr3+, Zn2+, and Ag+. Cu2+ and Fe3+ can inactivate the enzyme. The bioassays demonstrated the heterogeneously expressed ChiMY could inhibit the sporangia germination of G. saubinetii and A. niger, and reduce the LC50 (50% lethal concentration) of the crystal protein of Bacillus thuringiensis against S. exigua by approximately 27%., Conclusions: The B. licheniformis MY75 could produce a 55 kDa chitinase. The corresponding chitinase gene was over-expressed in E. coli. The molecular weight of heterogeneously expressed ChiMY showed significant different to the wild-type chitinase protein. This implicated the the protein processing of chitinase in the B. licheniformis MY75. The ChiMY also owned the antifungal activity and could improve the insecticidal activity of the Bacillus thuringiensis crystal protein against S. exigua. This is the first report about the chitinase from B. licheniformis in China.

Abstract: To explore the influence of the direct repeat sequence (DRS) in Bacillus chitinase genes on heterogonous expression in Escherichia coli, we cloned and sequenced the entire open reading frame (ORF) and upstream sequences of the chitinase B (chiB) and chitinase MY75 (chiMY75) from Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus licheniformis. A pair of 8-bp DRS was found upstream of each chi gene. Chi ORFs with a series of truncated DRS were cloned and transformed into E. coli XL-Blue. The activity of the transformants without the DRS were significantly higher in chitinase assays than transformants containing the DRS. SDS-PAGE showed that part and full deletion of the DRS increased chi gene expression by approximately 1.7 and 3.8-fold, respectively. Northern blotting revealed deletion of the DRS regions increased chiB and chiMY75 mRNA expression. Specific binding of DNA-binding factors in the E. coli cell lyaste was observed to both the chiB and chiMY75 promoter regions and DRS elements. This is the first investigation to demonstrate that heterologous expression of Bacillus chi genes in E. coli is negatively regulated by their upstream DRS regions, which act as cis-acting elements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Chitinase A (ChiA) produced by Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. colmeri 15A3 (Bt. 15A3) was expressed in Escherichia coli XL-Blue. The ChiA was purified using Sephadex G-200 and its molecular mass was estimated to be 36kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Detection of chitinase activity on SDS-PAGE after protein renaturation indicated that the molecular mass of the protein band expressing chitinase activity was approximately 72kDa. This suggests that the dimeric form of ChiA is the enzymatically active form when glycol chitin is used as a substrate. ChiA has optimal activity at 50°C and retains most of its activity between 20 and 60°C. The optimum pH for ChiA activity is pH 5.0, and the enzyme is active between pH 4.0 and 8.0. The enzyme activity was significantly inhibited by Ag+ and Zn2+. ChiA significantly inhibited the spore germination of four species of fungi. The median inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of ChiA on the spore germination of Penicillium glaucum and Sclerotinia fuckelian were 11.27 and 10.57μg/ml, respectively. In surface contamination bioassays, the crude ChiA protein (12.6mU) reduced the LC50 (50% lethal concentration) of the crystal protein of Bt. 15A3 against the larvae of Spodoptera exigua and Helicoverpa armigera. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]