Identification and Characterization of a Previously Uncharacterized Metagenome-Derived Chitinase and Its Application in N -Acetyl- d -Glucosamine Production from Crayfish Shell Waste
- 1Hubei University of Technology , , ,
- 2Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , , ,
- 3Konkuk University , , 1 Hwayang-Dong, Gwangjin-Gu , ,
Abstract
The generation of agricultural and food-processing byproducts has increased rapidly, highlighting the importance of their high-value utilization. In this study, a putative chitinase gene was identified from a metagenome-assembled genome. The enzyme plays a key role in chitin hydrolysis and was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli as a recombinant protein with a molecular weight of approximately 39.2 kDa. The chitinase exhibited optimal activity toward colloidal chitin at pH 6.0 and 40 °C. Enzyme activity was significantly enhanced by Mn2+, Mg2+, and Sr2+, remained largely unaffected by Ca2+, and was strongly inhibited by Co2+ and Fe3+, while Zn2+ and Cu2+ completely abolished activity. Site-directed mutagenesis confirmed the conserved catalytic motif G-DG-D-D-E. Furthermore, the enzyme was applied to the direct hydrolysis of crayfish shell waste without conventional acid–alkali pretreatment, resulting in the formation of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine at a concentration of 3.26 mg/g. This approach eliminates the requirement for conventional acid–alkali pretreatment and enables the efficient valorization of crustacean shell waste. The developed enzymatic strategy provides a sustainable route for producing functional amino sugars with potential applications in food and related industries.
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BibTeX
@article{xia2026identification,
title = {{Identification and Characterization of a Previously Uncharacterized Metagenome-Derived Chitinase and Its Application in N -Acetyl- d -Glucosamine Production from Crayfish Shell Waste}},
author = {Shuo Xia and Changhan Yu and Lulu Cao and Hongtao Bi and Jung-Kul Lee and Vipin Chandra Kalia and Chunjie Gong},
journal = {ACS Omega},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1021/acsomega.6c08438},
url = {https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/11/41/63866/5447006/Identification-and-Characterization-of-a},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Identification and Characterization of a Previously Uncharacterized Metagenome-Derived Chitinase and Its Application in N -Acetyl- d -Glucosamine Production from Crayfish Shell Waste
AU - Shuo Xia
AU - Changhan Yu
AU - Lulu Cao
AU - Hongtao Bi
AU - Jung-Kul Lee
AU - Vipin Chandra Kalia
AU - Chunjie Gong
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
JO - ACS Omega
DO - 10.1021/acsomega.6c08438
UR - https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/11/41/63866/5447006/Identification-and-Characterization-of-a
AB - The generation of agricultural and food-processing byproducts has increased rapidly, highlighting the importance of their high-value utilization. In this study, a putative chitinase gene was identified from a metagenome-assembled genome. The enzyme plays a key role in chitin hydrolysis and was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli as a recombinant protein with a molecular weight of approximately 39.2 kDa. The chitinase exhibited optimal activity toward colloidal chitin at pH 6.0 and 40 °C. Enzyme activity was significantly enhanced by Mn2+, Mg2+, and Sr2+, remained largely unaffected by Ca2+, and was strongly inhibited by Co2+ and Fe3+, while Zn2+ and Cu2+ completely abolished activity. Site-directed mutagenesis confirmed the conserved catalytic motif G-DG-D-D-E. Furthermore, the enzyme was applied to the direct hydrolysis of crayfish shell waste without conventional acid–alkali pretreatment, resulting in the formation of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine at a concentration of 3.26 mg/g. This approach eliminates the requirement for conventional acid–alkali pretreatment and enables the efficient valorization of crustacean shell waste. The developed enzymatic strategy provides a sustainable route for producing functional amino sugars with potential applications in food and related industries.
SN - 2470-1343
ER -