Complete Genome of the Chitin-Degrading Bacterium Paenibacillus xylanilyticus W4

摘要

Chitinases possess an extraordinary ability to directly hydrolyze highly insoluble chitin polymers to low-molecular-weight chito-oligomers, which possess particular biological functions, such as elicitor action and antitumor activity. A novel strain, W4, which was isolated from soil, showed strong chitin degradation activity. Here, we first reported the complete genome information of . . W4 contains a 5,532,141 bp single circular chromosome with 47.33% GC content. The genome contains 5,996 genes, including 39 rRNA- and 109 tRNA-coding genes. Phylogenetic analysis and Genome-to-Genome Distance revealed its taxonomic characterization into a separate family. Six glycoside hydrolase 18 (GH18) and 2 GH23 enzymes involved in chitin degradation. Although many of the chitinases were conserved in , several GH18 chitinases share high similarity with . The genome information provided here could benefit for understanding the chitin-degrading properties of . as well as its potential application in biotechnological and pharmaceutical fields.