Screening of Chitosanase-producing Strain Bacillus decisifrondis and Study on the Optimal Conditions of Chitosanase Production

Abstract

An extracellular chitosanase (ECTase) was induced and partially characterized from the culture supernatant of a novel strain designated to Bacillus decisifrondis. The enzymatic properties of ECTase induced in the presence of various size of chitosan were investigated and characterized. ECTase activity was found to be optimal at pH 7. The crude ECTase produced from B. decisifrondis showed that chitosan oligosaccharides (GlcN)n, n=1-3 were mainly obtained from the hydrolysis of high molecular weight chitosan (HMWC), indicating that exo- and endo-type chitosanolytic enzymes are acting in combination for the degradation of HMWC. The production of ECTase and chitooligosaccharides may be valuable for biological applications, such as food, cosmetics and agricultural additives. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the isolation and identification of bacterial strain B. decisifrondis that produces ECTase in the presence of chitosan as an inducer.