Seed chitinases

Abstract

AbstractSpecific chitinases accumulate in seeds of many species as part of their normal developmental programme. Some chitinases can also be induced in developing and germinating seeds in response to microbial attack. All known seed isoforms belong to classes I, II, IV and VII, which are encoded byChiagenes, as well as to the more divergent class III encoded byChibgenes. The study of seed-specific chitinases has contributed significantly to current knowledge of this ubiquitous protein family, including antifungal properties, structure, specificity and catalytic mechanism. Indeed, the first plant chitinase for which a three-dimensional structure was solved had been isolated from barley seeds. Moreover, the finding that a chitinase could rescue a somatic embryo mutant was the first evidence of a non-defensive function. Several lines of evidence have substantiated the biotechnological potential of chitinases to counter plant fungal disease. The recent identification of several seed and fruit chitinases as major panallergens should be taken into account when selecting the genes to be introduced into food crops.