Chitin synthase

chitin synthase
Identifiers
EC number	2.4.1.16
CAS number	9030-18-6
Databases
IntEnz	IntEnz view
BRENDA	BRENDA entry
ExPASy	NiceZyme view
KEGG	KEGG entry
MetaCyc	metabolic pathway
PRIAM	profile
PDB structures	RCSB PDB PDBe PDBsum
Gene Ontology	AmiGO / EGO
Search PMC articles PubMed articles NCBI proteins

In enzymology, a chitin synthase (EC 2.4.1.16) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction

UDP-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine + [1,4-(N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminyl)]n $\rightleftharpoons$ UDP + [1,4-(N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminyl)]n⁺1

Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are UDP-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and [[[1,4-(N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminyl)]n]], whereas its two products are UDP and [[[1,4-(N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminyl)]n+1]].

This enzyme belongs to the family of glycosyltransferases, specifically the hexosyltransferases. The systematic name of this enzyme class is UDP-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine:chitin 4-beta-N-acetylglucosaminyl-transferase. Other names in common use include chitin-UDP N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase, chitin-uridine diphosphate acetylglucosaminyltransferase, chitin synthetase, and trans-N-acetylglucosaminosylase. This enzyme participates in aminosugars metabolism.

Production

Chitin Synthase is manufactured in the rough endoplasmic reticulum of fungi as the inactive form, zymogen. The zymogen is then packaged into chitosomes in the golgi apparatus. Chitosomes bring the zymogen to the hyphal tip of a mold or yeast cell membrane. Chitin synthase is placed into the interior side of the cell membrane and then activated.

References

• GLASER L, BROWN DH (1957). "The synthesis of chitin in cell-free extracts of Neurospora crassa". J. Biol. Chem. 228 (2): 729–42. PMID 13475355.
• Sburlati A, Cabib E (1986). "Chitin synthetase 2, a presumptive participant in septum formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae". J. Biol. Chem. 261 (32): 15147–52. PMID 2945823.