Transition of Bacterial Community Structure in Upland Soil Treated with N-acetylglucosamine and N,N'-diacetylchitobiose

In some chitinolytic soil bacterial strains which are expected as potent biocontrol agents suppressing plant pathogenic fungi, N,N'-diacetylchitobiose has been commonly identified as the smallest unit of chitin degradation product that induces chitinase production in those chitinolytic bacterial strains. N,N'-diacetylchitobiose generated by the degradation of chitin is uptaken into cells of the chitinolytic bacteria via specific transporters and induces chitinase genes. It is thus assumed that N,N'-diacetylchitobiose would induce chitinase activity in soil in which chitinolytic activity is induced by chitin, although it has not been experimentally investigated. In this project, we investigated the effects of N,N'-diacetylchitobiose on the bacterial community structure in an incubated upland soil.