• BMB Reports
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.17-23
• /
• 2005

During the screening of xylanolytic enzymes from locally isolated fungi, one strain BCC14405, exhibited high enzyme activity with thermostability. This fugal strain was identified as Aspergillus cf. niger based on its morphological characteristics and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. An enzyme with xylanolytic activity from BCC14405 was later purified and characterized. It was found to have a molecular mass of ca. 21 kDa, an optimal pH of 5.0, and an optimal temperature of $55^{\circ}C$. When tested using xylan from birchwood, it showed $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ values of 8.9 mg/ml and 11,100 U/mg, respectively. The enzyme was inhibited by $CuSO_4$, EDTA, and by $FeSO_4$. The homology of the 20-residue N-terminal protein sequence showed that the enzyme was an endo-1,4-$\beta$-xylanase. The full-length gene encoding endo-1,4-$\beta$-xylanase from BCC14405 was obtained by PCR amplification of its cDNA. The gene contained an open reading frame of 678 bp, encoding a 225 amino acid protein, which was identical to the endo-1,4-$\^{a}$-xylanase B previously identified in A. niger.

• Journal of Conservation Science
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.40-47
• /
• 2000

Dimension stability was examined after PEG pretreatment and post freeze-drying treatment in order to determine the PEG(#3350) concentration and solvent for pre-treatment of freeze-drying of highly-degraded waterlogged ash woods(Fraxinus spp.; ca. 5,700 BP) excavated from peat lands at Pyungtack, Kyounggi-do. At the low concentration (<30-40%) of PEG soaking in both water and t-butanol, the weight increases abruptly, but at high concentration (>50%) gradually, consequently, taking longer treatment time. PEG loading was higher in t-butanol solution than in water. However, the best dimesional stability was obtained from freeze-drying after lower PEG solution (40% in water) soaking. Low dimensional stability, found in the samples treated with higher PEG solutions (60%-70% in t-butanol), might come from incomplete freezing and excess PEG absorbing moisture. The samples air-dried after 70% PEG treatment had collapse defects. In conclusion, the use of low concentration (about 40% in water) PEG solution was the most suitable pretreatment for freeze drying of highly-degraded waterlogged ash woods.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.604-610
• /
• 2007

A psychrotrophic strain 7195 showing extracellular lipolytic activity towards tributyrin was isolated from deep-sea sediment of Prydz Bay and identified as a Psychrobacter species. By screening a genomic DNA library of Psychrobacter sp. 7195, an open reading frame of 954 bp coding for a lipase gene, lipA1, was identified, cloned, and sequenced. The deduced LipA1 consisted of 317 amino acids with a molecular mass of 35,210 kDa. It had one consensus motif, G-N-S-M-G (GXSXG), containing the putative active-site serine, which was conserved in other cold-adapted lipolytic enzymes. The recombinant LipA1 was purified by column chromatography with DEAE Sepharose CL-4B, and Sephadex G-75, and preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, in sequence. The purified enzyme showed highest activity at $30^{\circ}C$, and was unstable at temperatures higher than $30^{\circ}C$, indicating that it was a typical cold-adapted enzyme. The optimal pH for activity was 9.0, and the enzyme was stable between pH 7.0-10.0 after 24h incubation at $4^{\circ}C$. The addition of $Ca^{2+}\;and\;Mg^{2+}$ enhanced the enzyme activity of LipA1, whereas the $Cd^{2+},\;Zn^{2+},\;CO^{2+},\;Fe^{3+},\;Hg^{2+},\;Fe^{2+},\;Rb^{2+}$, and EDTA strongly inhibited the activity. The LipA1 was activated by various detergents, such as Triton X-100, Tween 80, Tween 40, Span 60, Span 40, CHAPS, and SDS, and showed better resistance towards them. Substrate specificity analysis showed that there was a preference for trimyristin and p-nitrophenyl myristate $(C_{14}\;acyl\; groups)$.