New Molecule Found During Biological Study

Scientists say they’ve found a molecule essential for degradation of the biopolymer chitin and, therefore, may aid in developing fungi-resistant plants.

The research might also lead to the discovery of similar molecules that can be used in cellulose-based biofuel production.

Chitin is an insoluble molecule that consists of tightly packed chains of polymerized sugars, explained study author Dr. Vincent G. H. Eijsink of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. "It is synthesized by different crustaceans, mollusks, algae, insects, fungi and yeasts and is a major structural component of these organisms.

For example, chitin gives strength and stiffness to the shells/cuticles of shrimps and insects and to the cell walls of fungi, said Eijsink. Because chitin is an abundant resource and, most importantly, because it occurs in several types of plague organisms and parasites, chitin degradation is of great interest to humanity. For example, insects might be combated by interfering with their chitin metabolism.

The research appears as the Paper of the Week in the Aug. 5 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, a journal of the Bethesda, Md.-based, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.