Chitin Oligosaccharides, a Potential Role for a Major Ecological Waste Product
Each year the world's oceans and bays produce more than one thousand metric tons of chitin, the second most abundant organic substance in nature after cellulose. Most of this chitin comes from tiny copepods, but it also occurs in other better-known forms, as in the shells of blue crabs. This abundance of chitin would rapidly deplete carbon and nitrogen from the seas if not for the work of chitin-degrading bacteria. Saul Roseman and his colleagues are investigating both the mechanisms these bacteria use to break down chitin, and the very valuable byproducts they create, such as chitin oligosaccharides. Others have recognized the medical and commercial potential of these byproducts, but the expense of producing them is often prohibitive. For example while chitin may cost from $22-49 per kilogram, pure oligosaccharides can cost from $5-15 per milligram.
In employing recombinant DNA technologies that use genes from chitin-digesting bacteria, Roseman has already made progress in deriving valuable chemical byproducts. In this continuing project he will work toward the production of a variety of oligosaccharides in large quantities, compounds that can then be tested for biological value in a range of applications.
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Saul Roseman
The Johns Hopkins University
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