• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.296-302
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• 2012

A bacterial strain was isolated from soybean paste fermented in a Korean Buddhist temple as a producer of the extracellular thermostable ${\alpha}$-amylase. The isolate YB-1234 has been identified as Bacillus licheniformis on the basis of its 16S rDNA sequence, morphology and biochemical properties. A gene encoding the thermostable ${\alpha}$-amylase of B. licheniformis YB-1234 was cloned into Escherichia coli and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence of ${\alpha}$-amylase was very highly homologous to those of the thermostable ${\alpha}$-amylases of B. licheniformis belonging to the glycosyl hydrolase family 13. The ${\alpha}$-amylase produced by recombinant E. coli carrying the ${\alpha}$-amylase gene exhibited maximal activity at pH 6.0, identical to ${\alpha}$-amylase in the culture filtrate of B. licheniformis, while the temperature profile was somewhat different between the two. Particularly, ${\alpha}$-amylase produced from B. lcheniformis is much more thermostable than that from recombinant E. coli. The predominant products resulting from the ${\alpha}$-amylase hydrolysis were glucose, maltose and maltotriose for maltotetraose and maltohexaose.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.369-373
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• 1988

The gene for thermostable alpha-amylase from the thermostable bacterium Bacillus licheniformis has been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The Alpha-amylase producing E. coli cells contained a 7.4 kb chimeric plasmid (pTA 322) which was composed of the vector pBR322 and a 3.1 kb EcoRI fragment of B. licheniformis DNA. The alpha-amylase from cloned fragement was shown to be indistlnguishable from that of B. licheniformis in the optimum temperature of 9$0^{\circ}C$, heat stability and the pH stability. The foreign gene was expressed efficiently in E. coli and stably maintained.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.18-22
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• 1998

A mutant strain which hyperproduced thermostable ${\alpha}-amylase$ was obtained by chemical mutagenesis of Bacillus licheniformis. The mutant strain, SK-5, produced the enzyme about 50 times higher than the original strain. The mutant was longer and slimmer in shape, slower in growth compared to the original strain. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the SK-5 ${\alpha}-amylase$ gene revealed no changes in the the structural gene. The changes found in the promoter region might be responsible for the hyperproduction of the enzyme by the mutant. No structural changes in the enzyme structure could be observed when the secreted enzymes at various culture times were analyzed by Western blot.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.418-427
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• 1994

For the production of ${\alpha}$-amylase cloned from Bacillus licheniformis expressed in E. coli, cultivating factors including the concentrations of glucose, maltose and acetic acid were investigated. The results were as follows: 1) Maximum ${\alpha}$-amylase yield and maximum specific production rate obtained from glucose source were better than those achieved from maltose source. 2) The optimum production yield of ${\alpha}$-amylase was obtained at 1.0ml/$\ell$ or less of initial acetic acid concentration.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.5 no.5
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• pp.257-263
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• 1995

As a first step for developing Lactobacillus strains capable of fermenting starch directly, the $\alpha$-amylase gene (amyL) from Bacillus licheniformis (Kim et al., 1988. Kor. J. Appl. Microbiol. Bioeng. 16: 369-373) was introduced into Lactobacillus casei strains and the level of $\alpha$-amylase expression in transformants was examined. 3 kb EcoRI fragments encompassing amyL were subcloned into the suitable lactococcal cloning vectors (pSA3, pMG36e, and p1L2530) and then recombinant plasmids were introduced into E. coli and L. casei strains by electroporation. Only one recombinant plasmid, $pIL2530\alpha$ was able to transform few L. casei strains tested at low efficiencies. The transformation efficiencies with the plasmid into L. casei YIT 9018 and L. casei A Tee 4646 were less than $10^2/\mu$ g pIL2530\alpha$. The level of amylase activities in L. casei was five to ten-fold lower than that in E. coli cells. $p1L2530\alpha$ was stably maintained in Lactobacillus strains in the presence of Em (5 $\mu $g/ml) but without antibiotic selection, it was unstable so more than 95$%$ of cells lost plasmids after a week of daily subculturing.

• BMB Reports
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.642-647
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• 2004

The lysine residues of Bacillus licheniformis $\alpha$-amylase (BLA) were chemically modified using citraconic anhydride or succinic anhydride. Modification caused fundamental changes in the enzymes specificity, as indicated by a dramatic increase in maltosidase and a reduction in amylase activity. These changes in substrate specificity were found to coincide with a change in the cleavage pattern of the substrates and with a conversion of the native endo- form of the enzyme to a modified exo- form. Progressive increases in the productions of $\rho$-nitrophenol or glucose, when para nitrophenyl-maltoheptaoside or soluble starch, respectively, was used as substrate, were observed upon modification. The described changes were affected by the size of incorporated modified reagent: citraconic anhydride was more effective than succinic anhydride. Reasons for the observed changes are discussed and reasons for the effectivenesses of chemical modifications for tailoring enzyme specificities are suggested.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.561-564
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• 1998

The stabilizatio of amaylolytic enzyme such as $\beta$-amylase of barley, $\beta$-amylase of wheat, $\beta$-amylase of sweet potato, $\alpha$-amylase of Bacillus licheniformis, $\alpha$-amylase of Aspergillus sp. and $\alpha$-glucosidase of Aspergillus awamori was attained by modification with periodate-oxidized soluble starch. The pH stability of modified enzyme was increased at pH 9 for $\beta$-amylase of sweet potato, pH 3~5 and 8~11 for $\beta$-amylase of barley, pH 2~3 and 7~12 for $\beta$-amylase of wheat and pH 6 for $\alpha$-glucosidase of Aspergillus awamori. Thermal stability increased 17.6% for $\alpha$-amylase of Aspergillus sp. at 6$0^{\circ}C$ for 10min, 30% for $\alpha$-amylase of Bacillus licheniformis at 10$0^{\circ}C$ for 5min and 4.5% for $\alpha$-amylase of sweet potato at 6$0^{\circ}C$ for 10min compared with those of native enzymes.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.832-835
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• 1994

The ${alpha}$-amylase gene of Bacillus licheniformis has been cloned and two mutant ${alpha}$-amylase genes of which histidine 235 was changed to glutamine (H235Q) and aspartic acid 328 to glutamic acid (D328E) have been produced by site-directed mutagenesis. The kinetic parameters, optimum pH and thermostability of wild type(WT) and these two mutant amylases expressed in E. coli MC1061 have been compared after purification. The $K_m$ values of WT, H235Q and D328E ${alpha}$-amylases were 0.22%, 0.73%, and 0.80% respectively, when using starch as the substrate. The $V_max$ values of wild type ${alpha}$ -amylase and mutant ${alpha}$-amylases were 0.6-0.7%/minute, and did not show any significant differences among them. The optimum pH of D328E ${alpha}$-amylase was shifted to more acidic pH. Also, the thermostability of H235Q ${alpha}$-amylase was increased compared to the wild type ${alpha}$-amylase.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.190-195
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• 2008

The $\alpha$-amylase gene, amyL, from Bacillus licheniformis was expressed in Lactobacillus brevis 2.14 and Escherichia coli $DH5{\alpha}$ using two different shuttle vectors, pCW4 and pSJE. E. coli transformants (TFs) harboring either $pCW4T{\alpha}$ or $pSJET{\alpha}$ produced active $\alpha$-amylase but L. brevis TFs did not, as determined by enzyme assays and zymography. But amyL transcripts were synthesized in L. brevis TFs. In terms of plasmid stability, pSJE, a theta-type replicon, was more stable than pCW4, an RCR (rolling circle replication) plasmid, in L. brevis without antibiotic selection.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.563-568
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• 2010

The Val289 residue in the $\alpha$-amylase of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, which is equivalent to the Ala289 and Val286 residues in the $\alpha$-amylases of B. stearothermophilus and B. licheniformis, respectively, was studied by site-directed mutagenesis. This residue was substituted with 10 different amino acids by random substitution of the Val codon. In these mutant $\alpha$-amylases, Val289 was substituted with Ile, Tyr, Phe, Leu, Gly, Pro, Ser, Arg, Glu, and Asp. Compared with the wild-type $\alpha$-amylase, the mutant $\alpha$-amylase Val289Ile showed 20% more hydrolytic activity, whereas Val289Phe and Val289Leu showed 50% lesser activity. On the other hand, the mutant $\alpha$-amylases Val289Gly, Val289Tyr, Val289Ser, and Val289Pro showed less than 15% activity. The substitution of Val289 with Arg, Asp, or Glu resulted in complete loss of the $\alpha$-amylase activity. Interestingly, the mutant $\alpha$-amylase Val289Tyr had acquired a transglycosylation activity, which resulted in the change of product profile of the reaction, giving a longer oligosaccharide.