Engineering a recombinant chitinase from the marine bacterium Bacillus aryabhattai with targeted activity on insoluble crystalline chitin for chitin oligomer production.

Chitin, an abundant polysaccharide in India, is primary by-product of the seafood industry. Efficiently converting chitin into valuable products is crucial. Chitinase, transforms chitin into chitin oligomers, holds significant industrial potential.

Attenuation of lysyl oxidase and collagen gene expression in keratoconus patient corneal epithelium corresponds to disease severity.

Purpose: Keratoconus (KC) is characterized by progressive vision loss due to corneal thinning and structural abnormalities. It is hypothesized that KC is caused by deregulated collagen levels and collagen fibril-maturating enzyme lysyl oxidase (LOX). Further, it is currently not understood whether the gene expression deregulated by the corneal epithelium influences KC pathogenesis.