scholarly journals Chitosan perception in Arabidopsis requires the chitin receptor AtCERK1 suggesting an improved model for receptor structure and function

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Gubaeva ◽  
Airat Gubaev ◽  
Rebecca Melcher ◽  
Stefan Cord-Landwehr ◽  
Ratna Singh ◽  
...  

AbstractChitin, a linear polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, and chitosans, fully or partially deacetylated derivatives of chitin, are known to elicit defense reactions in higher plants. We compared the ability of chitin and chitosan oligomers and polymers (chitin oligomers with degree of polymerization 3 to 8; chitosan oligomers with degree of acetylation 0% to 35% and degree of polymerization 3 to 15; chitosan polymers with degree of acetylation 1% to 60% and degree of polymerization ~1300) to elicit an oxidative burst indicative of induced defense reactions in A. thaliana seedlings. Fully deacetylated chitosans were not able to trigger a response; elicitor activity increased with increasing degree of acetylation of chitosan polymers. Partially acetylated chitosan oligomers required a minimum degree of polymerization of 6 and at least four N-acetyl groups to trigger a response. Invariably, elicitation of an oxidative burst required the presence of the chitin receptor AtCERK1. Our results as well as previously published studies on chitin and chitosan perception in plants are best explained by a new general model of LysM-containing receptor complexes where two partners form a long, but off-set chitin-binding groove and are, thus, dimerized by one chitin or chitosan molecule, sharing a central GlcNAc unit with which both LysM domains interact. To verify this model and to distinguish it from earlier models, we assayed elicitor and inhibitor activities of selected partially acetylated chitosan oligomers with fully defined structures. In contrast to the initial “continuous groove”, the original “sandwich”, or the current “sliding mode” models for the chitin/chitosan receptor, the here proposed “slipped sandwich” model - which builds on these earlier models and represents a consensus combination of these - is in agreement with all experimental observations.

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 1145-1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Gubaeva ◽  
Airat Gubaev ◽  
Rebecca L. J. Melcher ◽  
Stefan Cord-Landwehr ◽  
Ratna Singh ◽  
...  

Chitin, a linear polymer of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine, and chitosans, fully or partially deacetylated derivatives of chitin, are known to elicit defense reactions in higher plants. We compared the ability of chitin and chitosan oligomers and polymers (chitin oligomers with degree of polymerization [DP] 3 to 8; chitosan oligomers with degree of acetylation [DA] 0 to 35% and DP 3 to 15; chitosan polymers with DA 1 to 60% and DP approximately 1,300) to elicit an oxidative burst indicative of induced defense reactions in Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings. Fully deacetylated chitosans were not able to trigger a response; elicitor activity increased with increasing DA of chitosan polymers. Partially acetylated chitosan oligomers required a minimum DP of 6 and at least four N-acetyl groups to trigger a response. Invariably, elicitation of an oxidative burst required the presence of the chitin receptor AtCERK1. Our results as well as previously published studies on chitin and chitosan perception in plants are best explained by a new general model of LysM-containing receptor complexes in which two partners form a long but off-set chitin-binding groove and are, thus, dimerized by one chitin or chitosan molecule, sharing a central GlcNAc unit with which both LysM domains interact. To verify this model and to distinguish it from earlier models, we assayed elicitor and inhibitor activities of selected partially acetylated chitosan oligomers with fully defined structures. In contrast to the initial ‘continuous groove’, the original ‘sandwich’, or the current ‘sliding mode’ models for the chitin/chitosan receptor, the here-proposed ‘slipped sandwich’ model—which builds on these earlier models and represents a consensus combination of these—is in agreement with all experimental observations.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Basa ◽  
Malathi Nampally ◽  
Talita Honorato ◽  
Subha Narayan Das ◽  
Appa Rao Podile ◽  
...  

The biological activity of chitosans depends on their degree of polymerization (DP) and degree of acetylation (DA). However, information could also be carried by the pattern of acetylation (PA): the sequence of <i>β</i>-1,4-linked glucosamine (deacetylated/D) and <i>N</i>-acetylglucosamine (acetylated/A) units. To address this hypothesis, we prepared partially-acetylated chitosan oligosaccharides from a chitosan polymer (DA=35%, DP<sub>w</sub>=905) using recombinant chitosan hydrolases with distinct substrate and cleavage specificities. The mixtures were separated into fractions DP4–DP12, which were tested for elicitor and priming activities in rice cells. We confirmed that both activities were influenced by DP, <a>but also observed apparent DA-dependent priming activity, with the ADDD+DADD fraction proving remarkably effective</a>. We then compared all four mono-acetylated tetramers prepared using different chitin deacetylases and observed significant differences in priming activity. This demonstrates for the first time that PA influences the biological activity of chitosans, which can now be recognized as <i>bona fide</i> information-carrying molecules


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Basa ◽  
Malathi Nampally ◽  
Talita Honorato ◽  
Subha Narayan Das ◽  
Appa Rao Podile ◽  
...  

The biological activity of chitosans depends on their degree of polymerization (DP) and degree of acetylation (DA). However, information could also be carried by the pattern of acetylation (PA): the sequence of <i>β</i>-1,4-linked glucosamine (deacetylated/D) and <i>N</i>-acetylglucosamine (acetylated/A) units. To address this hypothesis, we prepared partially-acetylated chitosan oligosaccharides from a chitosan polymer (DA=35%, DP<sub>w</sub>=905) using recombinant chitosan hydrolases with distinct substrate and cleavage specificities. The mixtures were separated into fractions DP4–DP12, which were tested for elicitor and priming activities in rice cells. We confirmed that both activities were influenced by DP, <a>but also observed apparent DA-dependent priming activity, with the ADDD+DADD fraction proving remarkably effective</a>. We then compared all four mono-acetylated tetramers prepared using different chitin deacetylases and observed significant differences in priming activity. This demonstrates for the first time that PA influences the biological activity of chitosans, which can now be recognized as <i>bona fide</i> information-carrying molecules


2003 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 553-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoît Poinssot ◽  
Elodie Vandelle ◽  
Marc Bentéjac ◽  
Marielle Adrian ◽  
Caroline Levis ◽  
...  

A purified glycoprotein from Botrytis cinerea(strain T4), identified as endopolygalacturonase 1 (T4BcPG1) by mass spectrometry analysis, has been shown to activate defense reactions in grapevine (Vitis vinifera cv. Gamay). These reactions include calcium influx, production of active oxygen species, activation of two mitogen-activated protein kinases, defense gene transcript accumulation, and phytoalexin production. Most of these defense reactions were also activated in grapevine in response to purified oligogalacturonides (OGA) with a degree of polymerization of 9 to 20. In vivo, these active OGA might be a part of the released products resulting from endopolygalacturonase activity on plant cell walls. Nevertheless, the intensity and kinetics of events triggered by OGA were very different when compared with T4BcPG1 effects. Moreover, chemical treatments of T4BcPG1 and desensitization assays have allowed us to discriminate enzymatic and elicitor activities, indicating that elicitor activity was not due to released oligogalacturonides. Thus, BcPG1 should be considered as both an avirulence and a virulence factor. The role of the secreted BcPG1 in the pathogenicity of Botrytis cinerea is discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-149

Extraction of chitin from mud crab (Scylla serrata) shells, involving demineralization and deproteinization, and deacetylation of the extracted chitin to form chitosan were investigated. The mud crab chitin and chitosan were obtained with a good yield (16.8% and 84.7% based on dried weight basis). The physicochemical properties, functional groups, molecular weight, and degree of acetylation of the chitin and chitosan were characterized. The surface morphology, the orientation arrangement of polysaccharide strands, and crystallinity of the chitin and chitosan prepared from the mud crab shells were investigated. SEM, FTIR, and XRD analyses demonstrated that the chitin consists of micron-sized fibrils, belonging to α from with the crystallinity of 60.1%. The chitosan has a viscosity-average molecular weight of 6.83 kDa with the degree of acetylation being 9.6% and the crystallinity of 73.8%. The chitosan was successfully fabricated into submicron-sized particles using top-down ionotropic gelation, microwave, and microemulsion methods, employing sodium tripolyphosphate, potassium persulfate, and glutaraldehyde as reagents, respectively. Overall, the results indicated that the preparation of chitin, chitosan, and submicron-sized chitosan particles from mud crab shells could open the opportunity for the value-added seafood waste to be utilized in a wide range of practical applications.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 366
Author(s):  
Wentong Hao ◽  
Kecheng Li ◽  
Yuzhen Ma ◽  
Rongfeng Li ◽  
Ronge Xing ◽  
...  

As a popular marine saccharide, chitooligosaccharides (COS) has been proven to have good antioxidant activity. Its antioxidant effect is closely related to its degree of polymerization, degree of acetylation and sequence. However, the specific structure–activity relationship remains unclear. In this study, three chitosan dimers with different sequences were obtained by the separation and enzymatic method, and the antioxidant activity of all four chitosan dimers were studied. The effect of COS sequence on its antioxidant activity was revealed for the first time. The amino group at the reducing end plays a vital role in scavenging superoxide radicals and in the reducing power of the chitosan dimer. At the same time, we found that the fully deacetylated chitosan dimer DD showed the strongest DPPH scavenging activity. When the amino groups of the chitosan dimer were acetylated, it showed better activity in scavenging hydroxyl radicals. Research on COS sequences opens up a new path for the study of COS, and is more conducive to the investigation of its mechanism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Cord-Landwehr ◽  
Bruno M. Moerschbacher

AbstractChitins and chitosans are among the most widespread and versatile functional biopolymers, with interesting biological activities and superior material properties. While chitins are evolutionary ancient and present in many eukaryotes except for higher plants and mammals, the natural distribution of chitosans, i.e. extensively deacetylated derivatives of chitin, is more limited. Unequivocal evidence for its presence is only available for fungi where chitosans are produced from chitin by the action of chitin deacetylases. However, neither the structural details such as fraction and pattern of acetylation nor the physiological roles of natural chitosans are known at present. We hypothesise that the chitin deacetylases are generating chitins and chitosans with specific acetylation patterns and that these provide information for the interaction with specific chitin- and chitosan-binding proteins. These may be structural proteins involved in the assembly of the complex chitin- and chitosan-containing matrices such as fungal cell walls and insect cuticles, chitin- and chitosan-modifying and -degrading enzymes such as chitin deacetylases, chitinases, and chitosanases, but also chitin- and chitosan-recognising receptors of the innate immune systems of plants, animals, and humans. The acetylation pattern, thus, may constitute a kind of ‘ChitoCode’, and we are convinced that new in silico, in vitro, and in situ analytical tools as well as new synthetic methods of enzyme biotechnology and organic synthesis are currently offering an unprecedented opportunity to decipher this code. We anticipate a deeper understanding of the biology of chitin- and chitosan-containing matrices, including their synthesis, assembly, mineralisation, degradation, and perception. This in turn will improve chitin and chitosan biotechnology and the development of reliable chitin- and chitosan-based products and applications, e.g. in medicine and agriculture, food and feed sciences, as well as cosmetics and material sciences.


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