Chitin Degradation by Microbial Communities of the Kandalaksha Bay, White Sea

Chitin is one of the most widespread biopolymers on Earth and occurs in high quantities in the exoskeletons of marine invertebrates. Chitinolytic bacteria are therefore typical components of marine ecosystems and play an important part in biodegradation. The Kandalaksha Bay area near the White Sea Biological Station, Moscow State University, which is inhabited by numerous invertebrates, is a promising site for the isolation of such bacteria. The composition of environmental prokaryotic communities and enrichment cultures grown on chitin was determined, and pure cultures of active chitinolytics were isolated and identified as Pseudoalteromonas undina and Vibrio alginolyticus. The chitinolytic potential of the genera predominant in enrichment cultures was assessed; these may include previously unknown chitinolytic microorganisms.