Chitinosomes in Microbulbifer degradans*:
A New Paradigm for the Degradation of Complex Polysaccharides of Marine Origin
Just as cellulose provides nature's most ubiquitous building block for plants, so chitin provides an omnipresent building block for marine species, from tiny copepods to blue crabs. In terrestrial habitats, specialized microorganisms break down a significant portion of the more than 52 billion tons of cellulose that accumulate worldwide each year. Many of the complex carbohydrates in the ocean are difficult to breakdown, however, being relatively insoluble. In this project, the researchers will explore a recently discovered group of marine bacteria found to degrade and recycle complex carbohydrates found in chitin and in many marine biofilms. In particular, they will characterize the enzymes found in a new species of bacteria,
Microbulbifer degradans*. By unlocking mechanisms used by this bacterium, they will pave the way for a range of novel uses, including bioremediation and the treatment of wastes – such as the 8 million pounds of crab waste generated each year by crab processors on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
* now called
Saccharophagus degradans
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Ron Weiner and Steve Hutcheson
Department of Microbiology
University of Maryland College Park
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