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Microbial chitinases and their relevance in various industries

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Abstract

Chitin, the second most abundant biopolymer on earth after cellulose, is composed of β-1,4-N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) units. It is widely distributed in nature, especially as a structural polysaccharide in the cell walls of fungi, the exoskeletons of crustaceans, insects, and nematodes. However, the principal commercial source of chitin is the shells of marine or freshwater invertebrates. Microbial chitinases are largely responsible for chitin breakdown in nature, and they play an important role in the ecosystem's carbon and nitrogen balance. Several microbial chitinases have been characterized and are gaining prominence for their applications in various sectors. The current review focuses on chitinases of microbial origin, their diversity, and their characteristics. The applications of chitinases in several industries such as agriculture, food, the environment, and pharmaceutical sectors are also highlighted.

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Deepali Thakur, Anjali Chauhan and Prakriti Jhilta contributed to writing the original draft. Rajesh Kaushal contributed to supervision. Bhawna Dipta contributed to conceptualization, review, and editing.

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Correspondence to Bhawna Dipta.

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The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence this review paper.

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Thakur, D., Chauhan, A., Jhilta, P. et al. Microbial chitinases and their relevance in various industries. Folia Microbiol 68, 29–53 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-022-00999-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-022-00999-w

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