Azide anions inhibit GH-18 endochitinase and GH-20 Exo β-N-acetylglucosaminidase from the marine bacterium Vibrio harveyi.

ABSTRACT: Vibrio harveyi is a bioluminescent marine bacterium that utilizes chitin as its sole source of energy. In the course of chitin degradation, the bacterium primarily secretes an endochitinase A (VhChiA) to hydrolyze chitin, generating chitooligosaccharide fragments that are readily transported into the cell and broken down to GlcNAc monomers by an exo β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (VhGlcNAcase). Here we report that sodium salts, especially sodium azide, inhibit two classes of these chitin-degrading enzymes (VhChiA and VhGlcNAcase) with distinct modes of action. Kinetic analysis of the enzymatic hydrolysis of pNP-glycoside substrates reveals that sodium azide inhibition of VhChiA has a mixed-type mode, but that it inhibits VhGlcNAcase competitively. We propose that azide anions inhibit chitinase

SUBMITTER: Sirimontree P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4892774 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature