Chitin Is Endogenously Produced in Vertebrates

Chitin, a biopolymer of N-acetylglucosamine, is abundant in invertebrates and fungi and is an important structural molecule [1, 2]. There has been a longstanding belief that vertebrates do not produce chitin; however, we have obtained compelling evidence to the contrary. Chitin synthase genes are pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current biology 2015-03, Vol.25 (7), p.897-900
Main Authors: Tang, W. Joyce, Fernandez, Javier G., Sohn, Joel J., Amemiya, Chris T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amphibians - metabolism
Animals
Caudata
Chitin - genetics
Chitin - metabolism
Chitin Synthase - genetics
Chitin Synthase - metabolism
Danio rerio
Epithelial Cells - metabolism
Fishes - metabolism
Freshwater
Intestines - metabolism
Larva - growth & development
Molecular Sequence Data
Salmonidae
Vertebrates - growth & development
Vertebrates - metabolism
Zebrafish - metabolism
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Summary:Chitin, a biopolymer of N-acetylglucosamine, is abundant in invertebrates and fungi and is an important structural molecule [1, 2]. There has been a longstanding belief that vertebrates do not produce chitin; however, we have obtained compelling evidence to the contrary. Chitin synthase genes are present in numerous fishes and amphibians, and chitin is localized in situ to the lumen of the developing zebrafish gut, in epithelial cells of fish scales, and in at least three different cell types in larval salamander appendages. Chitin synthase gene knockdowns and various histochemical experiments in zebrafish further authenticated our results. Finally, a polysaccharide was extracted from scales of salmon that exhibited all the chemical hallmarks of chitin. Our data and analyses demonstrate the existence of endogenous chitin in vertebrates and suggest that it serves multiple roles in vertebrate biology. •Chitin synthase gene activity was detected in zebrafish, salmon, and axolotl•Chitin per se was detected in situ in multiple fish and axolotl tissues•Knockdown of chitin synthase in zebrafish embryos resulted in reduction of chitin•Polysaccharides from fish scale epithelia exhibited spectral properties of chitin It has been widely held that vertebrates do not produce chitin, a glyco-polymer found abundantly in nature. However, using multiple experimental approaches, Tang et al. provide strong evidence for the endogenous production of chitin in fishes and amphibians, raising questions as to its biological role within the vertebrates.
ISSN:0960-9822
1879-0445
DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2015.01.058