• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.309-314
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• 1996

Alcaligenes sp. SH-69 can synthesize poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) from a single carbon source such as glucose. To clone the phaC gene from Alcaligenes sp. SH-69, a polymerase chain reaction was performed using the oligomers synthesized based on the conserved regions of the phaC genes from other bacteria. A PCR product (550 bp) was partially sequenced and the deduced amino acid sequence was found to be homologous to that of the phaC gene from Alcaligenes eutrophus. Using the PCR fragment Southern blotting of Alcaligenes sp. SH-69 genomic DNA digested with several restriction enzymes was carried out. To prepare a partial genomic library, about 5-Kb genomic DNA fragments digested with EcoRI, which showed a positive signal in the Southern blotting, were eluted from an agarose gel, ligated with pUC19 cleaved with EcoRI, and transformed into Escherichia coli. The partial library was screened using the PCR fragment as a probe and a plasmid, named pPHA11, showing a strong hybridization signal was selected. Restriction mapping of the insert DNA in pPHA11 was performed. Cotransformation into E. coli of the plasmid pPHA11 and the plasmid pPHA21 which has phaA and phaB from A. eutrophus resulted in turbid E. coli colonies which are indicative of PHA accumulation. This result tells us that the Alcaligenes sp. SH-69 phaC gene in the pPHA11 is functionally active in E. coli and can synthesize PHA in the presence of the A. eutrophus phaA and phaB genes.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.349-356
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• 1995

To produce PHA(polyhydroxyalkanoic acid) from microbr, dozens of microorganism have been screened from sewage sludge. Selected a strain HJ out of 50 strains of PHA producing bacteria has a capability of accumulating large amounts of PHB/HV copolymer when grown in batch culture with a single carbon source (glucose) that was not generally considered as precursor of hydroxyvalerate monomer unit. The strain HJ was identified as the genus Pseudomonas with respect to morphological, cultural, and biochemical characteristics. The optimal temperature and pH for cell growth were $37^{\circ}C$ and 7.0. The optimal medium compositions for cell growth were glucose 1% as a carbon source, (NH4) 2SO4 0.2% as a nitrogen source, K2HPO4 0.3%, and KH2PO4 0.45%. TO investigate she optimal condition for PHA production two-step cultivation method was employed. PHA production was inducted by deficiency of NH4+, SO4-2, Mg+2. Besides carbon source, deficiency of all nutrients stimulated PHA productivity but deficiency of NH4+ stimulated the most HV monomer content. The highest PHA production was C/N molar ratio 95.2. Pseudomonas sp. HJ was also able to pyoduc PHB/HV copolymer when cultivated on alkane, alkanoate, alcohol as carbon sources. The contents of PHA and she proportions of hydroxyvalerate monomer units varied depending on the carbon sources. Especially Pseudomonas sp. HJ was able to incorporate hydroxyvalerate into PHB/HV to level as high as from 49 to 74 mol% when grown in a medium containing hexadecane and propionate. The purified PHA was identified PHB/HV copolymer by HNMR analysis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.540-542
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• 1998

Five microorganisms capable of degrading an aromatic medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoate ($PHA_{MCL}$), poly(3-hydroxy-5-phenylvalerate) (PHPV), were isolated from wastewater-treatment sludge. Among the isolates, JS02 showed degrading activity consistantly during several transfers. The isolate JS02 could hydrolyze another aromatic MCL copolyester, poly(3-hydroxy-5-phenoxyvalerate-co-3-hydroxy-7-phenoxyheptanoate), ［P(5POHV-co-7POHH)］, and other short-chain-length PHAs ($PHA_{SCL}) such as poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) ［P3(HB)］, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) ［P(3 HB-co-4 HB)］, and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) ［P(3HB-co-3HV)］ with relatively low activity. The culture supernatant of JS02 showed hydrolyzing activity for the p-nitrophenyl esters of fatty acids.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.1315-1320
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• 2002

Since the enzymatic degradation of microbial poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate] (P(3HB-co-3HV)) initially occurs by a surface erosion process, a degradation behavior could be controlled by the change of surface property. In order to control the rate of enzymatic degradation, plasma gas discharge and blending techniques were used to modify the surface of microbial P(3HB-co-3HV). The surface hydrophobic property of P(3HB-co-3HV) film was introduced by CF$_3$H plasma exposure. Also, the addition of small amount of polystyrene as a non-degradable polymer with lower surface energy to P(3HB-co-3HV) has been studied. The enzymatic degradation was carried out at 37 $^{\circ}C$ in 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) in the presence of an extracellular PHB depolymerase purified from Alcaligenes facalis T1. Both results showed the significant retardation of enzymatic erosion due to the hydrophobicity and the enzyme inactivity of the fluorinated- and PS-enriched surface layers.

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 1996.10a
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• pp.195.2-195
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• 1996

acs gene cloning was constructed by subcloning the 2.2-kb MunI-MunI restriction fragment of 638 and 639 which include acs gene from the kohara phage into the unique EcoRI site of pUC18 and pJM9131 containing the PHA biosynthesis genes. Then recombinant E. coli fadRatoC(Con) mutants containing the polyhydroxyalkanoate(PHA) biosynthesis genes are able to incoporate s significant levels of 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) into the copolymer [P(3HB-co-3HV)]. Quantitative determination of PHB and P(3HB-co-3HV) was performed by gas-chromatographic analysis of extracts obtained from methanolysis of lyophilized cells.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.62-66
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• 2007

Four different biopolyester films, two aliphatic polyesters including polylactides (PLA) and poly(3-hydroxy-butyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate (PHBV), and two aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters including Ecoplex and Biomax, were prepared using by thermo-compression, and their tensile and water barrier properties were determined. Among the films tested, PLA film was the most transparent (T: 95.8%), strongest, and stiffest (TS, 40.98 MPa; E, 1916 MPa), however it was rather brittle. In contrast, Ecoplex film was translucent while being the most flexible and resilient (EB, 766.8%). Biomax film was semitransparent and was the most brittle film tested (EB, 0.03%). All biopolyester films were water resistant exhibiting very low water solubility (WS) values ranging from 0.0.3 to 0.36%. PHBV film showed the lowest water vapor permeability (WVP) value ($1.26{\times}10^{-11}\;g{\cdot}m/m^2{\cdot}sec{\cdot}Pa$) followed by Biomax, PLA, and Ecoflex films, respectively. The water vapor barrier properties of each film were approximately 100 times higher than those of carbohydrate or protein-based films, but about 100 times lower than those of commodity polyolefin films such as low-density polyethylene (LDPE) or polypropylene (PP).

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.39.2-39.2
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• 2009

In this work, Poly($\varepsilon$-Caprolactone)(PCL) andpoly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)(PHBV) mats were fabricated usingelectrospinning process. The electrospinning process is a simple and efficient method to fabricate the nanofibrous mats. PCL and PHBV is a kind of biodegradable polymer but their mechanical properties aren't good. For improving mechanical properties, PHBV mats were coated by TCP. Using PCL mats and TCP-coated PHBV composite mats, a bio-resorbablebone plate were made by pressing. Detailed micro-structural characterization was done by SEM techniques. Tensile strength and bending strength were also evaluated for mechanical properties. The cytotoxicity evaluation ofPCL/TCP-coated PHBV composite multilayer was done by MTT assay. The evidence obtained in this work implies the potential for use as a biodegradable boneplate.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.144-151
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• 2002

For elucidating the relationship between the biosynthetic pathways for polyhydroxyslkanoates (PHAs) and 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), culture conditions for the production of these two biomaterials by Rhodopseudomonas sp. KCTC 1437 were investigated. Of the carbon substrates tested, acetic acid was the best carbon source for cell growth and PHA biosynthesis. When succinic acid was added as a co-substrate into culture medium, cell growth and PHA production were greatly increased up to 2.5 g/ι and 73% of dry cell weight, respectively. The PHA obtained from the carbon substrates tested was homopolyester of 3-hydroxybutyrate, while valeric acid was only effective for the production of copolyester consisting of 3-hydroxybutyrate and 3-hydroxyvalerate. Anaerobic light culture condition was better for PHA production and cell growth than anaerobic dark or aerobic dark culture condition. The organism was capable of synthesizing ALA when glycine and succinic acid were added to the culture medium. ALA was produced to ca.400 mg/ι when levulinic acid, soccinic acid, and glycine were repeatedly added with a reductant (sodim thioglycolate). However, the presence of glycine, levulinic acid and sodium glycolate inhibited the cell growth and the conversion of carbon substrates to PHA. From these results it is apparent that the production yields of PHA and ALA could not be increased simultaneously because the optimal conditions for the production of PHA and ALA are opposed to each other.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.391-396
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• 1997

Two series of carbon sources, linear primary $C_1$~$C_9$ alcohols and linear $C_2$~$C_{10}$ monocarboxylic acids were tested for PHA synthesis in Paracoccus denitrificans. The results showed that the growth-associated synthesis of PHA could be referred only to the carbon sources with odd number of carbon except methanol. For all carbon sources with even number of carbon, nitrogen limitation was required to induce PHA synthesis in P. denitrificans. Poly(3-hydroxyvalerate)[P(3HV)] homopolymer was synthesized from $C_5$, $C_7$, and $C_9$ while growing in the presence of nitrogen, but the nitrogen depletion in the later growth period incorporated 3-hydroxybutyrate(3HB) unit into the polymer chain. The optimum C/N ratio for P(3HV) homopolymer production was found to be 10 when the strain was grown on 10 ml/l of valeric acid for 96 h. P. denitrificans synthesized P(3HB-co-3HV) copolymers from n-hexanoic and n-octanoic acid. The microstructural characterics of the P(3HB-co-3HV) copolymer from n-propanol was investigated using $^13C$-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, showing a structural heterogeneity.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.129-133
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• 2002

The fungus, Emericellopsis minima W2, capable of degrading poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) was isolated from a waste water sample. Production of the PHB depolymerase from E. minima W2 (PhaZ/ sub Emi/) was significantly repressed in the presence of glucose. PhaZ/ sub Emi/ was purified by column chromatography on Octyl-Sepharose CL-4B and Sephadex G-100. The molecular mass of the PhaZ/ sub Emi/), which consisted of a single polypeptide chain, was estimated to be 48.0 kDa by SDS-PAGE and its pI vague was 4.4. The maximum activity of the PhaZ/ sub Emi/ was observed at pH 9.0 and 55$\^{C}$. It was significantly inactivated by 1mM dithiothreitol, 2mM diisopropyl fluorphosphate, 0.1mM Tween 80, and 0.1 mM Triton X-l00, but insensitive to phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride and N-ethylmaleimide. The PhaZ/ sub Emi/ efficiently hydrolyzed PHB and its copolyester with 30 mol% 3-hydroxyvalerate, but did not act on poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate). It also hydrolyzed p-nitrophenylacetate and p-nitrophenylbutyrate but hardly affected the longer-chain forms. The main hydrolysis product of PHB was identified as a dimer of 3-hydroxybutyrate.