Chitin convertion to N-acetyl-glucosamine using chitinases of Aeromonas sp. isolated from marine environment

Abstract

Chitinolytic bacteria are widely distributed in the marine environment and are extremely important in the process of chitin degradation. The chitin metabolism is performed by enzymes called chitinases, which have different functions in nature and can be explore in biotechnology, especially in the production of derivatives of chitin. The production of N-acetyl-glucosamine has taken a potential interest in the last years due to its features and has great potential to be used as a component in cosmetics and for bioethanol production. This derivative is traditionally produced by chemical hydrolysis of chitin. However, the procedures used in these processes generate low yield and produce large amounts of chemical residues that can affect the environment. Thus, application of bacterial chitinases as an alternative to chemical hydrolysis of chitin coul be useful, since the bacteria are easier to handle, have low costs, are susceptible to genetic engineering and contribute to the self-sustainable development. Furthermore, the use of these enzymes in the production process would avoid the use of chemicals that may cause environmental damage. Due to this fact and our experience on chitinolytic bacteria since 2005, it is essential to explore the ability of the isolates studied previously for the production of N-acetyl-glucosamine. This study aims to evaluate the production of chitinases and N-acetyl-glucosamine in bioreactors by a chitinolytic bacteria selected of the Aeromonas genus isolated from marine ecosystem. The bacteria selected will be characterized as to species level by MLST (Multilocus Sequence Type) using seven housekeeping genes (gyrB, groL, gltA, metG, ppsA, recA,e rpoD), as the metabolic capacity through two biochemical identification systems and for the presence of nine genes associated to virulence (alt, act, ast, ahh1, aer, aerA, hlyA, ascV e ascFG). Assays more detailed will be used to assess the different chitinases expression levels and determine the enzymes expressed during cultivation in bioreactor. (AU)