Abstract

Chitin is one of the most abundant biopolymers in nature being a structural component of fungal cell walls. Chitinases are hydrolytic enzymes able to degrade the chitin chain. Chitinases are classified as exochitinases or endochitinases. Exochitinases cleave chitin from the open ends, while endochitinases cleave chitin at random positions. Fungal chitinases belong to glycoside hydrolases family 18 and they are divided into three phylogenetic groups A, B and C, further subdivided to several subgroups. Chitinases are described to be involved in different aspects of fungal biology, including fungal-fungal interactions, nutrient acquisition, cell wall remodeling and autolysis.

Keywords

Aspergillus; cell wall; chitin; chitinases; endochitinases; ENGases; exochitinases; fungi; killer toxins; mycoparasitism; Neurospora crassa; trichoderma

Published in

Book title: Encyclopedia of Mycology
ISBN: 978-0-323-85180-0
Publisher: Elsevier

Authors' information