Novel Acinetobacter parvus HANDI 309 microbial biomass for the production of N-acetyl-β-d-glucosamine (GlcNAc) using swollen chitin substrate in submerged fermentation

BACKGROUND: N-acetyl-β-d-glucosamine (GlcNAc)(6) is extensively used as an important bio-agent and a functional food additive. The traditional chemical process for GlcNAc production has some problems such as high production cost, low yield, and acidic pollution. Therefore, to discover a novel chitinase that is suitable for bioconversion of chitin to GlcNAc would be of great value. RESULTS: Here, we describe the complete isolation and functional characterization of a novel exo-chitinase from Acinetobacter parvus HANDI 309 for the conversion of chitin. The identified exo-chitinase mainly produced N-acetyl-d-glucosamine, using chitin as a substrate by submerged fermentation. The A. parvus HANDI 309 biofuels producing exo-chitinase were characterized by TLC, and was further validated and quantified by HPLC. Furthermore, the optimal temperature and pH for the exo-chitinase activity was obtained in the culture conditions of 30 °C and 7.0, respectively. The maximum growth of the stationary phase was reached in 24 h after incubation. These results suggest that A. parvus HANDI 309 biofuels producing exo-chitinases may have great potential in chitin to N-acetyl-d-glucosamine conversion. CONCLUSIONS: The excellent thermostability and hydrolytic properties may give the exo-chitinase great potential in chitin to GlcNAc conversion in industry. This is the first report that A. parvus HANDI 309 is a novel bacterial strain that has the ability to produce an enormous amount of exo-chitinase-producing bio-agents in a short time on an industrial scale without any pretreatment, as well as being potentially valuable in the food and pharmaceutical industries. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-017-0740-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.