Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, 1374, Prof. Lineu Prestes Av., 05508-000, São Paulo, Brazil.
Mar Biotechnol (NY). 2011 Oct;13(5):823-30. doi: 10.1007/s10126-011-9388-1. Epub 2011 May 24.
Chitin is the most abundant renewable polymer in the oceans and is an important source of carbon and nitrogen for marine organisms. The process of chitin degradation is a key step in the cycling of nutrients in the oceans and chitinolytic bacteria play a significant role in this process. These bacteria are autochthonous to both marine and freshwater ecosystems and produce chitinases that degrade chitin, an insoluble polysaccharide, to a biologically useful form. In this brief review, a description of the structure of chitin and diversity of chitinolytic bacteria in the oceans is provided, in the context of the significance of chitin degradation for marine life.
几丁质是海洋中最丰富的可再生聚合物，也是海洋生物碳和氮的重要来源。几丁质降解过程是海洋营养物质循环的关键步骤，而几丁质分解菌在这个过程中起着重要的作用。这些细菌在海洋和淡水生态系统中都是自生的，它们产生的几丁质酶可以将不溶性多糖几丁质降解为具有生物利用价值的形式。在这篇简要的综述中，我们将描述几丁质的结构和海洋中几丁质分解菌的多样性，并探讨几丁质降解对海洋生物的重要意义。
