InterPro domain: IPR002557

This entry represents a chitin binding domain [ 1 ]. It is found in (amongst others) the Peritrophin-A chitin binding proteins, particularly the peritrophic matrix proteins of insects and animal chitinases [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Copies of the domain are also found in some baculoviruses. It is an extracellular domain characterised by having a six-cysteine motif and several aromatic residues [ 5 ]. Chitin binding has been demonstrated for a protein containing only two of these domains [ 6 ].

1. Chitin-binding proteins in invertebrates and plants comprise a common chitin-binding structural motif. J. Biol. Chem. 275, 17929-32
2. A type I peritrophic matrix protein from the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae binds to chitin. Cloning, expression, and characterization. J. Biol. Chem. 273, 17665-70
3. Characterization of a major peritrophic membrane protein, peritrophin-44, from the larvae of Lucilia cuprina. cDNA and deduced amino acid sequences. J. Biol. Chem. 271, 8925-35
4. Antibody-mediated inhibition of the growth of larvae from an insect causing cutaneous myiasis in a mammalian host. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 94, 8939-44
5. Cloning and characterization of five cDNAs encoding peritrophin-A domains from the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis. Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. 33, 1061-73