Patent ID: 6121420
Filing Date: 2000-09-19
Classification: C07K,G01N

Abstract:
Substantially pure chitovibrin; wherein said chitovibrin is a protein of molecular weight about 134 kDa as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; wherein said chitovibrin has affinity for chitin and for chito-oligomers dp9 and larger; wherein said chitovibrin is obtained from or is identical to a protein obtained from secretions from marine bacteria of the genus Vibrio induced by the presence of chitin, chitin oligomers, or cellobiose; wherein said chitovibrin has an isoelectric pH of about 3.6; wherein said chitovibrin binds chitin at an optimum pH of about 6; wherein said chitovibrin binds to chitin in aqueous solutions throughout a range of NaCl concentrations from 0 M NaCl to about 4 M NaCl; and wherein said chitovibrin has no hydrolytic activity towards chitin, towards chitin oligomers, or towards chitobiose.