• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.123-127
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• 2004

Pseudomonas sp. MBEL21 was newly isolated from soil samples and found to accumulate medium-chain-length Polyhydroxyalkanoates(MCL-PHAs) using oleic acid as a sole carbon source. Among the various nutrient limiting conditions examined, including nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus, only phosphorus limitation supported the accumulation of MCL-PHAs up to 15 wt％ of dry cell weight in flask cultures. MCL-PHAs produced by Pseudomonas sp. MBEL21 was mainly composed of 3-hydroxy-5-cis-tetradecenoate. Fed-batch culture of Pseudomonas sp. MBEL21 by novel feeding strategies based on cell growth charcteristics was carried out under phosphorus limitation using oleic acid as a sole carbon source. The final cell concentration and PHA content of 82 g/L and 28 wt％, respectively, were obtained. Furthermore, PHA consisted of MCL-hydroxyalkanoates and 3-hydroxybutyrate could be produced using olive oil as a sole carbon source.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.18-23
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• 2018

A new naturally occurring benzoic acid derivative, benzyl 2,4-di(benzyloxy)benzoate (1) and six known compounds (2-7) were isolated from the fungus, Preussia sp. found in frozen soil of the Himalaya Mountain. The structures of the new compound, together with the known compounds were determined by 1D-and 2D-NMR experiments, as well as comparison with published values. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, the known compounds 2-7 were isolated for the first time from the genus Preussia and the family Sporormiaceae. The isolates were evaluated for cancer chemopreventive potential based on their ability to inhibit nitric oxide (NO) production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells in vitro. Compounds 1 and 2 inhibited NO production by 50.7% and 88.5% at a concentration of 100 mg/ml, respectively.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.372-376
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• 2018

To investigate the bio-activities of lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertner), ethanol extracts were prepared from different parts of lotus, including lotus root, node of root (NR), leaf, pod of seed (PS), seed (S), and embryo of seed (ES), respectively. Anti-thrombosis activities were evaluated. NR, S, and PS extracts displayed strong anti-coagulation activities, as evidenced by the inhibition of thrombin, prothrombin, and coagulation factors, respectively. NR, leaf, S, and PS extracts displayed strong platelet aggregation inhibitory activities. The aggregation inhibition of S and PS extract was comparable to that of aspirin. The extracts of NR, S, and PS did not show hemolysis activity up to 1.0 mg/ml.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.539-546
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• 2020

A cellulolytic bacterial strain, S2-3, was isolated from sea water collected in Jeju island, Republic of Korea. The strain was aerobic and gram negative, and formed yellow colored colonies on marine agar medium. S2-3 cells were long rod-shaped, 0.5 × 0.25 ㎛ (width x length) in size, and did not have flagella. The optimal growth conditions for S2-3 were 30-35℃ and pH 6.5-7.0. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of S2-3 revealed that it had the highest identity with those of Seonamhaeicola algicola Gy8 (97.08%), Hyunsoonleella udonensis JG48 (95.01%), and Aestuariibaculum scopimerae I-15 (94.86%). In phylogenetic analysis, S2-3 formed the same clade as S. algicola Gy8, implying that S2-3 belongs to the genus Seonamhaeicola. The major fatty acids (>10%) comprised C15:1 iso G (22.29%), C15:0 iso (17.71%), C17:0 iso 3OH (16.06%), and C15:0 iso 3OH (10.7%), resulting in quite different ratio of the component from those of S. algicola Gy8. Moreover, its biochemical characteristics, including acid production and enzyme activities, were different from those of S. algicola Gy8. Therefore, putting all these results together, we concluded S2-3 is distinct species from S. algicola Gy8, and thus named it Seonamhaeicola sp. S2-3. In liquid culture, S2-3 produced extracellular cellulases that can hydrolyze cellulose or cellooligosaccharides into cellobiose, which is a good enzyme resource that deserves further research.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.328-336
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• 2020

Parachlorella sp. is an efficient fatty acid producer that can be used in the production of biofuels, feeds, and fertilizers. Microalgae show varying responses to culture conditions, even those within the same species. In this study, growth and fatty acid composition of a newly isolated Parachlorella sp. from the Nakdong river of Korea in different culture media were investigated. The microalga was cultivated in 400 ml bubble column photobioreactors using BG-11, BBM, TAP, and modified TAP (MTAP) media. It was shown that using BBM led to greater fatty acid accumulation (34%), while using TAP medium led to greater biomass productivity (0.34 g/l/day). Composition of the TAP medium was modified to have the N:P ratio of BBM while also varying concentrations of N and P to improve fatty acid productivity. One of the modified TAP media, MTAP-1 (104.8 mgN/l, 135.2 mgP/l, N:P ratio = 0.77), showed the highest fatty acid concentration of 0.69 ± 0.04 g/l, while those from TAP and BBM were 0.48 ± 0.06 g/l and 0.40 ± 0.02 g/l, respectively. The results showed that microalgal fatty acid productivity could be enhanced by changing the N:P ratio and concentrations.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.447-452
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• 2011

Depletion of petroleum increased the need of alternative energy and chemical resources. Biomass, a renewable resource, can be transformed to bioenergy and biomaterials, and the materials from biomass will ultimately substitute petroleum based energy and chemical compounds. In this perspective, production of C4-C6 compounds for bioenergy and biomaterials are described for understating of current research progress. n-Butanol and n-butyric acid, the major C4 compounds, are produced by Clostridium tyrobutyricum, Clostridium beijerinckii, and Clostridium acetobutylicum. n-Hexanoic acid, a typical C6 compound, is produced by Clostridium kluyveri and Megasphaera elsdenii. Reported maximum amount of n-butanol, n-butyric acid and n-hexanoic acid was 21, 55, and 19 g/L, respectively, and extraction of these C4-C6 compounds are induced increase production by those anaerobic bacteria. In addition, a new bacterium Clostridium sp. BS-1 produced 5 g/L of n-hexanoic acid using galactitol.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.92-99
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• 2001

High-cell-density cultivation of Ralstonia eutopha KHB 8862 by fed-batch fermentation in a 200 l pilot plant was carried out for the mass production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). After 80 h of cultivation, the dry cell weight (DCW), PHB concentration, and PHB yield from fructose syrup reached 168 g/l, 74%DCW, and 0.27 (w/w), respectively, resulting in a productivity of 1.6 g of PHB/L/h. Based on these results, the PHB production cost from bacterial fermentation was analyzed and economic evaluation was performed. In the case of new investment being implemented or not, the production cost of PHB was US$ 3.15/kg and US$ 2.41/kg, respectively. PHB productivity and PHB yield on a carbon substrate were both important factors to be optimized. The increase of PHB yield on a carbon sources significantly decreased the PHB production cost but the increase in productivity had a relatively slight effect on the decrease in PHB production cost because the cost of carbon sources (37%) for PHB was larger in proportion to total cost than the depreciation cost (17%). These results suggest that the increased PHB yield from carbon sources and the development of new cheaper substrates would be more effective in decreasing PHB production cost than the increase in productivity. It was demonstrated that PHB is not in competition with consumable plastics such as PET in present market. Therefore, it is essential to lower production cost to be used as a bulk product and desirable to develop new application fields for PHB such as biomedical and cosmeceuticals.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.143-148
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• 2019

The synthesis of captopril as an important chiral drug in commerce needs expensive resolution process of racemic mixture. Microorganisms, producing a thermostable esterase that catalyzes the stereo-selective hydrolysis of methyl DL-${\beta}$-acetylthioisobutyrate (DL-ester) to D-${\beta}$-acetylthioisobutyric acid (DAT) were screened from soils. Among the strains tested, strain No CJ-317 and strain No CJ-187 with highest activity were selected as the best DAT producer. The newly isolated microorganisms were identified respectively, as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas putida. The cell activity of esterase from K. pneumoniae CJ-317 and P. putida CJ-187 were showed an optimal reaction activity at $75^{\circ}C$ and $60^{\circ}C$, respectively. Also the cell activity of K. pneumoniae CJ-317 was stable up to $80^{\circ}C$ for 1 h, while that of P. putida CJ-187 was not over $60^{\circ}C$. By varying the concentration of DAT in the reaction mixture, the cell activity of P. putida CJ-187 showed about 55% and 80% of product inhibition in the presence of 2.5% (w/v) and 5.0% of DAT respectively. K. pneumoniae CJ-317 had less product inhibition than P. putida CJ-187 by about 35% and 44% at the same concentrations respectively. The esterase of newly isolated K. pneumoniae CJ-317 could be useful for the stereo-selective hydrolysis of DL-ester to DAT.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.447-452
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• 1994

The strain SL-387 which produces new inhibitors of aminopeptidase M, MR-387A and B, was isolated from a soil sample. The strain has branched substrate mycelia, from which aerial hyphae develop in the form of open spirals. Spore surface is smooth. Melanoid and soluble pigme- nts were observed. The isolate contains LL-diaminopimelic acid in its cell wall hydrolysate, and has no pectinolytic activity. The strain SL-387 is closely related to Streptomyces griseoruber and S. naganishii, but is different from these strains in some cultural and physiological characteristics. This strain was, therefore, designated as Streptomyces sp. SL-387. The effects of several carbon and nitrogen sources on the production of the inhibitor were examined. Among them, glucose, galactose, mannose, and xylose were effective as a carbon source and soybean meal, soytone, fish meal, and gluten meal were effective as a nitrogen source. The maximum peak of the inhibitor production in jar fermentor was obtained on the fifth day of culture.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2003

Myxobacteria are soil bacteria that move by gliding and have a complicated life cycle. In the research over the 25 years the myxobacteria have been shown to be a rich source of potentially useful bioactive substances. So far about 80 different basic compounds and 450 structural variants have been characterized. It is remarkable that myxobacteria produce the substance has special mechanisms. 26 new electron transport inhibitors,5 inhibitors of nucleic acid polymerases, 10 substances that act on the cytoskeleton, and 1 inhibitor of fungal acetyl-CoA carboxylase have been found. Presently, large-scale technical process was not fully established. But one of the compounds from myxobacteria is able to pass the many thresholds, which are on the road to application.