Isolation and characterization of chitosanase-producing microorganism, Aureobacterium sp. YL, from crab shells

Abstract

A bacterial strain producing extracellular chitosanase was isolated from crab shells and identified as a member of the genus Aureobacterium. The production of chitosanase was proportionally related to the microbial growth, induced by the presence of chitosan, and repressed by glucose at 0.5% (w/v) concentration or higher. The optimal culture conditions for the production of chitosanase were 30°C and pH 7.0. Among the nitrogen sources tested, incubation with 0.25% (w/v) concentrations of tryptone and casitone showed the best production of chitosanase. The chitosanase of Aureobacterium sp. YL produced chitobiose as a major product and glucosamine, chitotriose, chitotetraose, and chitopentaose as minor products from chitosan.