Isolation, molecular cloning and characterisation of two genes coding chitin deacetylase from mucor circinelloides ibt-83

Chitosan is a linear N-deacetylated derivative of chitin, soluble in acetic solutions. The deacetylation of chitin can be achieved enzymatically using chitin deacetylase (ChDa) (EC 3.5.1.41), which hydrolyses the N-acetamido groups of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues in chitin and chitosan. Complementary DNA (cDNA), which encodes ChDa, was isolated from M. rouxii s well as other fungi. Chitin deacetylase activity was detected in partially purified and concentrated crude extract of the protein from Mucor circinelloides IBT-83. Additionally, two open reading frames (ORF), putatively encoding ChDa, were identified and amplified from cDNA of this strain. Each ORF was molecularly cloned and sequenced. Amino acid sequences of ChDaI and ChDaII were predicted, using nucleotide sequences of these cDNA clones, and analysed by means of bioinformatics tools