Enrichment of chitinolytic microorganisms: isolation and characterization of a chitinase exhibiting antifungal activity against phytopathogenic fungi from a novel Streptomyces strain.

Thirteen different chitin-degrading bacteria were isolated from soil and sediment samples. Five of these strains (SGE2, SGE4, SSL3, MG1, and MG3) exhibited antifungal activity against phytopathogenic fungi. Analyses of the 16S rRNA genes and the substrate spectra revealed that the isolates belong to the genera Bacillus or Streptomyces.