Molecular cloning, sequencing and expression of the gene encoding a novel chitinase A from a marine bacterium, Pseudomonas sp PE2, and its domain structure.

The pchA gene encoding chitinase A (PchA) from a Pythium porphyrae cell-wall-degrading marine bacterium, Pseudomonas sp. PE2, was cloned and characterized. The deduced PchA was a modular enzyme composed of an N-terminal signal peptide, a glycoside hydrolase family 18 catalytic domain that was responsible for the chitinase activity, the chitin-binding domains (ChBDs), and the carbohydrate-binding modules (CBM). The amino acid sequence of ChBD(PchA) was highly conserved in the CBM family 12 that also accommodates ChBDs without an AKWWTQG motif, a domain commonly found in bacterial chitinase and Streptomyces griseus protease C. Interestingly, CBM(PchA) showed significant sequence homology to the C-terminal region of endoglucanase B from Cellvibrio mixtus, which is a member of CBM family 6. This is the first report of a chitinase possessing a domain with high similarity to CBM family 6. Deletion analysis indicated clearly that ChBD(PchA) might play an important role in the binding of native chitin and chitosan, but not processed chitin. CBM(PchA) also appeared to play such a role in the binding of xylan and Avicel. These results suggest that the C-terminal region of PchA might be a key component in the binding of chitin in the cell walls of P. porphyrae or other structural components of marine organisms.