Secretion of an enzymatically active Trichoderma harzianum endochitinase by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A novel endochitinase agar-plate assay has been developed and used to identify 11 full-length cDNAs encoding endochitinase I (ENCI) from a Trichoderma harzianum cDNA library by expression in yeast. The 1473-bp chi1 cDNA encodes a 424-residue precursor protein including both a signal sequence and a propeptide. The deduced ENCI amino-acid sequence is homologous to other fungal and bacterial chitinases, and the enzyme cross-reacts with a polyclonal antiserum raised against chitinase A1 from Bacillus circulans. The T. harzianum endochitinase I was secreted into the culture medium by the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a functionally active form. The purified recombinant enzyme had a molecular mass of 44 kDa, an isoelectric point of 6.3, a pH optimum of 7.0 and a temperature optimum of 20 degrees C.