Production of the chitinase by Beauveria bassiana in infecting Tribolium castaneum

Abstract Beauveria bassiana is one of the microorganisms that produce the enzyme chitinase. Chitinase has a high economic value which is widely used as a biocontrol agent because it can degrade chitin into an environmentally friendly product. The aim of the study was to investigate the production of chitinase by B. bassiana isolate in the presence of the cuticle of T. castaneum. In this study, the isolates of B. bassiana were cultured into potato dextrose agar. Further isolation, purification, and determination of the activity of chitinase. The results show that chitinase can be obtained from B. bassiana isolate derived from T. castaneum by using chitin colloidal substrate. The highest average specific activity of chitinase originating from isolated B. bassiana was 1 Unit/mg. Protein test using standard BSA solution and Lowry method obtained reading results with a spectrophotometer that was r = 0.9925.