Cloning and expression of a chitinase gene from Eisenia fetida

Chitin is the second most abundant biopolymer in nature and is an important resource. In this study, we identified a chitinase gene, named Eisenia fetida-Chitinase (EF-Chi) gene, of 1494 base pairs (bp) that encodes a protein of 498 amino acids as indicated by the corresponding mRNA sequence. The amino acid sequence of EF-Chi was similar to those of chitinases from Eisenia andrei (99%), Branchiostoma floridae (50%) and Oryzias latipes (49%), and a gene encoding mature EF-Chi was expressed in the GS115 strain of Pichia pastoris. The molecular mass of the purified recombinant EF-Chi (rEF-Chi) was estimated to be 60 kDa and catalytically important residues of chitinases of the glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 18 were conserved in EF-Chi. The optimal catalytic temperature of rEF-Chi was identified as 60 °C, and the hydrolytic product from colloidal chitin was N-acetyl-chitobiose, suggesting that EF-Chi is an exo-type enzyme.