Chitinase

Function

Chitinases (Chi) cleave the beta-1-4-glycosidic bond between the N-acetyl-D-glucosamine units of which chitin is comprised. Chitinases are present in plants, bacteria and fungi. The first chitinase structures were solved in 1994, from a bacterium (1ctn) and a plant (2hvm). A mechanism for chitin cleavage was proposed based on several structures and was later confirmed. ^[1].

• Chitinase I is found in plants.
  
• Chitinase II is found in plants, fungi and bacteria.
  
• Chitinase III has no sequence similarity to class I or II.
  
• Chitinase IV has similar characteristics to class I but are smaller than it.
  

Disease

Chi is related to allergies and asthma^[2].

Structural highlights

The of Chitinase A. ^[3] Water molecules are shown as red spheres.

3D Structures of Chitinase

Chitinase 3D structures