Chitinases of Bacillus licheniformis B-6839: isolation and properties

Five chitinases were isolated from culture filtrates of Bacillus licheniformis B-6839 R and S variants by combination of hydrophobic, ion-exchange, and gel permeation chromatography. The enzymes had molecular masses of 66, 62, 53, 49, and 42 kDa. The chitinases revealed two activity optima against colloidal chitin at pH 4.5–5.5 and 9.0–9.5 and they were rather stable at pH 4.0–9.5. The temperature optimum of activity was 90 °C for the 62-kDa chitinase and 70 °C for the other enzymes. The 66-, 53-, and 42-kDa chitinases showed pronounced similarities in their N-terminal sequences and apparently belonged to the same group, which might be related to Bacillus circulans chitinase A1. The 49- and 62-kDa enzymes did not reveal structural similarities with other chitinases produced by the studied B. licheniformis strain. No relationship was found with the 89- and 76-kDa chitinases isolated earlier from B. licheniformis X-7u.Key words: Bacillus licheniformis, chitinase, multiplicity.