• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.1143-1149
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• 2003

To elucidate a method of preventing dental caries, strains producing lytic enzymes were isolated and their characteristics were investigated. Among 5,00 alkalophilic strains isolated from soil, 22 strains showed lytic activity against Streptococcus mutans. Strain No. 4830, with the highest lytic activity, was selected for further study. Strain 4830 showed 94% sequence homology with the 16S rDNA sequence of Bacillus alcalophilus, but it was concluded to be different from Bacillus alcalophilus because of its biochemical characteristics. The strain was named Bacillus sp. 4830. The lytic enzyme from Bacillus sp. 4830 was purified by ethanol precipitation and CM-agarose column chromatography. The molecular weight of the lytic enzyme was determined to be 28 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The lytic enzyme was stable between pH 5.0 and pH 11 and up to $40^{\circ}C$. The optimal pH and temperature for the lytic activity was 9.0 and $50^{\circ}C$, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.242-250
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• 2017

Actinobacteria tolerating extreme conditions can be a rich source of bioactive compounds and enzymes. In this study filamentous actinobacteria were isolated from soils of Ulleung Island, and their physiological properties were examined. Soil samples were collected, serially diluted and spread on various agar media. The average viable counts of total bacteria were $1.28{\times}10^7CFU/g$ for soil sample 1 (ULS1) and $2.05{\times}10^7CFU/g$ for soil sample 2 (ULS2). As a result, 34 strains of actinobacteria were isolated and assigned to the genera Streptomyces (16 strains), Isoptericola (5 strains), Rhodococcus (4 strains), Agromyces (3 strains), Micrococcus (2 strains), Arthrobacter (1 strain), Williamsia (1 strain), Microbacterium (1 strain), and Oerskovia (1 strain) based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Enzyme activity and plant growth promoting potential were tested for representative isolates. Multiple strains of Streptomyces degraded starch, casein and Tween 80. As for plant growth promoting potential, strains of Oerskovia, Williamsia, Isoptericola, and Streptomyces solubilized phosphate, and those of Agromyces, Oerskovia, Micrococcus, Rhodococcus, Streptomyces, and Isoptericola produced 3-indole-acetic acid (IAA), respectively. Selected strains of Streptomyces exhibited strong antagonistic activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis as well as Candida albicans. This study confirms that actinobacteria from Ulleung Island can be a good source of novel bioactive compounds.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2004

A new moderate thermophilic bacterial strain DG-22 which produces thermostable xylanase was isolated from a timber yard soil in Kyungju, Korea. On the basis of morphological, biochemical and phylogenetic studies the new isolate was identified as a Paenibacillus species. Production of xylanase in this strain was strongly induced by adding xylan to the growth medium and repressed by glucose or xylose. No cellulase activity was detected. The temperature and pH for optimum activity were 8$0^{\circ}C$ and 5.0-5.5, respectively. The crude xylanase was stable at $60^{\circ}C$ and retained 60% of initial activity after 2h at $70^{\circ}C$. Zymogram analysis of the culture supernatant showed two xylanase active bands with molecular masses of 22 and 30 kDa.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.95-103
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• 2000

To study the effects of soil moisture and texture on characteristics of growth, content of saikosaponins and activity of antioxidative enzymes in Bupleurum falcatum L., content of saikosaponins(a, c and d) and activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD) and peroxidase(POD) were investigated with two Bupleurum genotypes(Jangsoo and Samdo). Two Bupleurum genotypes were grown under different soil moisture(deficit, normal, surplus) and soil texture(sandy, sandy loam, loam) conditions. Among the tested soil conditions, dry weight accumulation rate of both cultivars could be ranked in the order surplus > normal > deficit soil for soil moisture and sandy > sandy loam > loam for soil texture. Under the surplus soil condition, growth retardation of Samdo cultivar was more severer than that of Jangsoo. Furthermore, content of saikosaponin a, d, and c also could be ranked in the order deficit > normal > surplus and sandy > sandy loam > loam for soil moisture and texture, respectively. Although both Jangsoo and Samdo cultivars grown under water deficit condition showed the highest POD and SOD activity, in general POD and SOD activity in both shoot and root was remarkably high in Jangsoo cultivar compared with Samdo. Saikosaponin content of root was positively correlated with POD and SOD. However, shoot and root length were negatively correlated with POD.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1410-1416
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• 2009

The present study aims to examine the effect of turbid water on fishes in streams which branch into a turbid water area (Yeongyang-gun) and a non-turbid water area (Cheongsong-gun), and finally flow into the Imha reservoir. In a comparison of water quality, the chemical status of the water showed higher pH, DO and SS in the turbid water area than in the non-turbid water area. Also, high density of clay minerals such as vermiculite (V) and illite (I), which is from clay mineral leakage during rainfall, was detected in turbid water, resulting in an increase of turbidity. Fishes inhabiting the turbid water showed irregular spaces in gill lamella, cell separation, edema, and clubbing in epithelial tissues. Also, the gill surface showed roughness and plenty of muddy debris substances inside the gills. The Bowman's space was expanded because of contraction of the glomerulus in the Bowman's space of the kidney tissues. Antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, CAT, GPX, and GST showed higher activities in the specific tissues, muscles and kidney, of fishes living in turbid water than in the non-turbid area. We suggested that; first, the antioxidant activities were increased due to removal of harmful radicals generated in fish bodies in the turbid water area, second, long-time exposure of these histological changes in the tissues might have induced secondary lesion accompanying the inaccurate physiological constancy of fishes.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.357-363
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• 2012

Ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) is an economically important crop in Korea. While the consumption of the crop is gradually increasing, the yield is decreasing due to the injury of continuous cultivation or infection of soil-borne fungal pathogens such as Cylindrocarpon destructans, Fusarium solani, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia nivalis. In order to find promising biocontrol agents, we have isolated 439 soil bacteria from ginseng cultivated soil and tested their antifungal activities against ginseng rot pathogens. Among them, 3 strains were finally selected and tested for the elucidation of their genetic and biochemical properties. They were identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens using phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Moreover, all selected strains showed positive reaction for PCR detection targeting biosynthetic gene sequences of iturin A and surfactin. The results provided promising evidences that the bacterial strains isolated from ginseng cultivated soil can be novel biocontrol agents for ginseng cultivaion.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.490-496
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• 1998

Aspergillus oryzae producing high proteolytic enzyme was isolated from soybean koji and named tentatively A. oryzae O-1. A. oryzae U-1 was obtained by mutation of A. oryzae O-1 with ultraviolet (UV)-irradiation and produced 14 times higher pretense activity compared with A. oryzae O-1. A. oryzae E-1 was acquired by treatment of A. oryzae U-1 with 0.5 M ethylmethanesulfonate (EMS) for 6 min at 3$0^{\circ}C$ and produced 39 times higher proteolytic activity than A. oryzae O-1. With protoplast fusion between A. oryzae O-1 and A. oryzee E-1 in the presence of polyethylenegylcol (PEG)-CaCl$_2$, proteolytic activity was increased to 82 times compared to A. oryzae O-1, and the fusant was named A. oryzae PF. The activities of the cultures containing proteolytic enzymes produced by the strains were determined to be 0.23 U/$m\ell$ for A. oryzae O-1, 3.29 U/$m\ell$ for A. oryzae U-1, 8.91 U/$m\ell$ for A. oryzae E-1, and 19.0 U/$m\ell$ for A. oryzae PF.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.295-301
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• 1992

An alkaline protease producing microorganism was isolated from soil and identified as Streptomyces griseus HC-1141. The optimum pH and temperature for the purified enzyme activity were 8.0 and $60^{\circ}C$, respectively. The enzyme was relatively stable in the pH range of 7.0-9.0 and at the temperature below $60^{\circ}C$. The activity of purified enzyme was inhibited by $Hg^{2+}$, $Cu^{2+}$, $Zn^{2+}$, $Ba^{2+}$ and $Fe^{2+}$, whereas activated by $Mn^{2+}$ and $Ca^{2+}$. $\varepsilon$-Amino caproic acid, 2,4-dinitrophenol and iodine did not show inhibitory effect on the activity of alkaline protease, but p-chloromercuribenzoic acid, ethylendiaminetetraacetic acid showed inhibitory effect on the enzyme activity. These result suggested that the protease was metalloenzyme, and require a reactive SH group for the activity. The reaction of this enzyme follows typical Michaelis-Menten kinetics with the $K_m$ value of $2.229{\times}10^{-4}$M and the $V_{max}$ of $46.08 {\mu}$g/min for casein. The activation energy for the alkaline protease calculated by Arrhenius equation was 3.643 kcal/mol. This enzyme hydrolyzed casein more rapidly than the hemoglobin and egg albumin.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.376-392
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• 2020

In Korea, damages to wooden cultural properties by termites have been reported all over the country, including Ulleungdo Island and Jeju Island. In order to reduce the damage caused by termites, most cultural properties damaged by them are treated with fumigation or drug treatment on the soil to kill or repel them. The number of treatments is decreasing due to cost and safety problems, and new methods needed to cope with this situation. After extracting an enzyme by selecting only worker termites from the termites collected in Shinan, Jeonnam, as a result of measuring the enzyme activity using xylan of cellulose and hemicellulose that are the components of wood, the activity of termite intestinal enzymes in xylan was higher than that of cellulose having a high molecular weight. Therefore, in this study, as a result of exploring over 600 species of medicinal plant extracts that inhibit the activity of termite intestinal enzymes using xylan as a substrate, the inhibitory effect was significant in Borneolum Syntheticum, Ephedra sinica, and Menthol. Selected Borneolum Syntheticum, Ephedra sinica, and Menthol's extracts not only inhibited the activity of termite intestinal enzymes, but also confirmed that they have insecticidal activation and inhibitory effects on feeding in the result of the direct treatment.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2002

Phytase from Escherichia coli WC7 was purified from cell extracts and its molecular mass was estimated to be 45 kDa by SDS-PAGE. Its optimum temperature and pH for phytate hydrolysis was 6$0^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.0, respectively. The enzyme was stable up to 6$0^{\circ}C$ and over broad pH range (pH 2-12). The enzyme had higher affinity for sodium phytate than p-nitrophenylphosphate (pNPP). That is, the apparent Km value for sodium phytate and pNPP were $0.15\pm$0.02 mM and 2.82$\pm$0.05 mM, respectively. The gene encoding the phytase was cloned in E. coli XL1-Blue. Sequence analysis showed an open reading frame of 1241 Up encoding a signal peptide (22 aa) and a mature enzyme (410 aa). WC7 phytase was expressed up to 17.5 U/ml in the transformed E. coli XL1-Blue/pUEP, which was 23-fold higher than the activity from wild strain.