Paenibacillus larvae Chitin-Degrading Protein PlCBP49 Is a Key Virulence Factor in American Foulbrood of Honey Bees
Figure 5
Degradation of insoluble chitin structures by P. larvae PlCBP49.
Peritrophic matrices were isolated from Spodoptera frugiperda larvae and incubated in an Ussing-chamber (A) with mock-treated chitin beads as negative control and chitin-binding fractions of either wild type bacteria or the corresponding mutant bacteria. Methylene blue efflux was used as a measure for permeability (B). PM permeability was significantly higher than negative control after incubation with ATCC9545 wt and DSM25430 wt chitin binding fractions. After incubation with ATCC9545 Δcbp and DSM25430 Δcbp chitin-binding fractions PM permeability was significantly lower compared to the incubation with chitin-binding fractions of the wild-type strains (ATCC9545, DSM25430). Bars represent mean values + SEM of at least three independent experiments, analyzed by student's t-test; *p value<0.05 and **p value<0.01.