BACKGROUND
Chitobiose is a valuable disaccharide with growing industrial and commercial applications. The most efficient way to produce chitobiose is through the enzymatic degradation of chitin, a polymer derived from insect and crustacean exoskeletons like shrimp and lobster. Annually, over 1 billion tons of chitin are produced, making it an inexpensive and readily available starting material. The challenge, however, is that chitin is insoluble and not easily subjected to chemical decomposition to selectively produce specific, high-quality, chito-oligomers like chitobiose. Chitobiose is commercially valuable due to its diverse applications in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and agriculture, but it is relatively expensive, costing thousands of dollars per gram. This high cost has likely hindered its broader adoption in these fields and other applications. Therefore, developing methods to produce less expensive, high-quality chitobiose would be highly valuable.
TECHNOLOGY
Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a cost-effective method for producing chitobiose using genetically modified bacteria. They have used Streptomyces venezuelae, which possesses several secretable chitinolytic enzymes, to extracellularly convert chitin to chitobiose (Figure 1). Key to the invention is the knockout of chitobiose transporter proteins, which severely impairs the ability of the bacterium to import the chitobiose into the cell, leaving the metabolite available for harvesting from the highly enriched culture media.
Figure 1. Degradation of insect exoskeleton (left) and chitin (right) by Streptomyces venezuelae (S. vnz). Insect biomass reduced by 27% and chitin biomass by over 50%.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
- Inexpensive production of chitobiose
- Suitable for scale-up using microbial fermentation
- Avoids use of environmentally damaging and hazardous chemicals
APPLICATIONS
- Production of purified chitobiose and potentially other short chito-oligomers
- Investigating uses of purified chitobiose for various applications
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STATUS
- Provisional patent filed (Feb 2025)
PROJECT STATUS
Proof-of-concepts studies are being conducted for production of chitobiose in excess of 1 kg. With the material being readily available and at low cost, the laboratory is investigating various uses of chitobiose.
