• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.89-93
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• 1993

In order to study the effect of the intestinal bacteria on the physiology of the human large intestinal tract, we isolated the intestinal bacteria of Koreans and tested the enzymatic patterns. Isolated Bifidobacterium sp. Int-57 showed the higher activity of ${\beta}-xylosidase$ than other intestinal microorganisms. The effect of the carbon sources, nitrogen sources, inorganic salts, initial pH and initial temperature on the production of ${\beta}-xylosidase$ of Bifidobacterium sp. Int-57 was investigated. The most suitable carbon source, nitrogen source and inorganic salt for the production of ${\beta}-xylosidase$ were 1.1% xylose, 0.4% yeast extract and 0.0003% $CoCl_2$ respectively at initial pH 7.0 and temperature $40^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.142-147
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• 1993

For the purpose of fixing solar energy and utilizing water wastes from food industries for SCP(single cell protein), 170 strains of photosynthetic bacteria were isolated from 56 samples. Among 170 strains, B-Ps-106 strain was selected as the most suitable strain and identified as a variant or a relation of Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides and its growth was better under anaerobic light condition than aerobic condition. The optimum conditions of the cell growth of B-Ps-106 were investigated on soybean-curd whey media. The optimum pH for cell growth was $8.5{\sim}9.0$. The optimum temperature was $30^{\circ}C$ and the optimum light density was above $0.72\;cal/cm^2/min$. The most favorable concentration of $K_2HPO_4\;and\;(NH_4)_2SO_4$ was both 0.9 g/l when added to soybean-curd whey media.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.1022-1026
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• 2010

The different cleavage patterns of pYBamy59 plasmid isolated from E. coli $DH5{\alpha}$ and B. longum MG1 by the cell extract of B. longum MG1 suggested that the main reason for its low transformation efficiency was related to the restriction modification (R-M) system. To confirm the correlation between the R-M system and transformation efficiency, in vitro methylation and site-directed mutagenesis were performed in pYBamy59. Sequence analysis of pYBamy59 fragments digested by the cell extract of B. longum MG1 revealed that all fragments were generated by restriction of the sequence recognized by SacII endonuclease. When pYBamy59 from E. coli was methylated in vitro by CpG or GpC methyltransferase, it was protected from SacII digestion. Site-directed mutagenesis, which removed SacII sites from pYBamy59, or in vitro methylation of pYBamy59 showed 8- to 15-fold increases in the transformation efficiency over intact pYBamy59. Modification of the SacII-related R-M system in B. longum MG1 and in vitro methylation in pYBamy 59 can improve the transformation efficiency in this strain. The results showed that the R-M system is a factor to limit introduction of exogenous DNA, and in vitro modification is a convenient method to overcome the barrier of the R-M system for transformation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.675-682
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• 2014

Approximately 50% of people in the world experience abdominal flatulence after the intake of foods containing galactosides such as lactose or soybean oligosaccharides. The galactoside hydrolyzing enzymes of ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-galactosidases have been shown to reduce the levels of galactosides in both the food matrix and the human gastrointestinal tract. This study aimed to optimize the production of ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-galactosidases of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum RD47 with a basal medium containing whey and corn steep liquor. The activities of both enzymes were determined after culturing at $37^{\circ}C$ at pH 6.0 for 30 h. The optimal production of ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-galactosidases was obtained with soybean oligosaccharides as a carbon source and proteose peptone no. 3 as a nitrogen source. The optimum pH for both ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-galactosidases was 6.0. The optimum temperatures were $35^{\circ}C$ for ${\alpha}$-galactosidase and $37^{\circ}C$ for ${\beta}$-galactosidase. They showed temperature stability up to $37^{\circ}C$. At a 1 mM concentration of metal ions, $CuSO_4$ inhibited the activities of ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-galactosidases by 35% and 50%, respectively. On the basis of the results obtained in this study, B. longum RD47 may be used for the production of ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-galactosidases, which may reduce the levels of flatulence factors.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.188-193
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• 2011

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common type of sleep apnea and is caused by obstruction of the upper airway. Since it is closely related to sleep parameter and body indices, the study was focused on the relationship with them. The results of polysomnography (PSG) in obstructive sleep apnea was done at ENT department of Ewha women university Mokdong hospital from March to September 2010 with 52 subjects (male 35, female 17). The leads were placed to measure electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram (EOG), mandibular and anterior tibialis electromyogram (EMG), airflow in nasal and oral cavity, chest and abdominal breathing pattern, snoring sound and arterial oxygen saturation ($SpO_2$) level. From sleep parameter and body indices of adult obstructive sleep apnea compared to normal adult revealed that age (p<0.01) and snoring sound (p<0.05) were increased, stage 1 sleep (p<0.01) was increased, the deeper stages (3&4) of sleep (p<0.05) were reduced. Respiratory disturbance index (RDI) (p<0.01), mean $SpO_2$ (p<0.05) and lowest $SpO_2$ (p<0.01) were also decreased. The correlation analysis from sleep parameter and body indices of OSA showed the positive correlation with age (r=0.463, p<0.001), snoring sound (r=0.278, p<0.05), stage 1 sleep (r=0.391, p<0.01) and RDI (r=0.409, p<0.01), but showed the negative correlation with the deeper stages (3&4) of sleep (r=-0.307, p<0.05), mean $SpO_2$=(r=-0.274, p<0.05) and lowest $SpO_2$ (r=-0.392, p<0.01). This study proves that obstructive sleep apnea and indices have closed related.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.111-115
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• 2004

Reuterin production efficiency of Lactobacillus reuteri, which converts glycerol into reuterin (antimicrobial substance) under anaerobic condition, was examined. When compared at $32,\;37,\;and\;42^{\circ}C$, production rate and total amount produced increased with increasing incubation temperature. Reuterin production terminated earlier at $42^{\circ}C$ than at $32\;and\;37^{\circ}C$. Presence of various amino acids in the reaction mixture generally decreased reuterin production, whereas proline did not inhibit reuterin production. A continuous-type reactor in which glycerol was passed through the chamber containing L. reuteri cells produced greater amount of reuterin than when batch-type process was used.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.429-436
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• 2003

Pediocin K1 is a bacteriocin produced by Pediococcus sp. KCA 1303-10, isolated from traditionally fermented flatfish in Korea. Pediocin K1-dependent antibiosis and pediocin K1-independent antibiosis against Listeria monocyrogenes were investigated by comparing antibiosis potential of the ped＋ wild-type strain of Pediococcus sp. KCA1303-10 with that of the ped- mutant strain in 3 different media at 3 different temperatures. In the synthetic MRS-APT medium, bacteriocin (pediocin K1)-dependent antibiosis (BDA) acted as the major driving force of overall antibiosis at the initial stage before the pH of the media was not sufficiently lowered, while bacteriocin-independent antibiosis (BIA) took over the major role at the late stage of antibiosis by killing otherwise resistant cells in the modium. The role of BDA increased as the temperature of the system decreased. The antibiosis potential of BDA among the overall antibiosis of Pediococcus against Listeria at $37^{\circ}C$ was calculated as 46%, and as 75% at $25^{\circ}C$. In the skim milk medium, antibiosis of Pediococcus against Listeria was weakened more than 4 log cycles compared to that of the synthetic medium; however, BDA worked as the main antibiosis force regardless of the culturing temperature in the skim milk medium. In the bean soup medium, BDA also worked as the major killing mechanism against Listeria, but BIA played as another suppressing mechanism against otherwise pediocin-resistant Listeria population. These results suggest that a large portion of the inhibitory action of the ped+Pediococcus sp. KCA1303-10 was attributable to the bacteriocin produced by the strain and that viable Pediococcus sp. KCA1303-10 was superior to the purified bacteriocin in suppressing the occurrence of the bacteriocin-resistant Listeria monocytogenes in food systems.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.398-405
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• 2002

Bifidobacteria have been previously shown to stimulate the immune functions and cytokine production in macrophages and T-lymphocytes. Accordingly, the RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cell line was used to assess the effects of Bifidobacterium on the proliferation and cytoskeleton reorganization of the cells. Cytokine production after exposure to Bifidobacterium was also monitored in both whole cells and cell-free extracts. When RAW 264.7 cells were cultured for 24 h in the presence of heat-killed Bifidobacterium bifidum BGN4, the proliferation of macrophages was slowed down in a dose-dependent manner and cell differentiation was observed by staining with the actin-specific fluorescent dye, rhodamin-conjugated phalloidin. Although EL-4 cells, a T-cell line, stimulated RAW 264.7 cells to produce TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6, the stimulatory activity of B. bifidum BGN4 decreased as the EL-4 cell number increased. When disrupted and fractionated BGN4 was used, the whole cell fraction was more effective than the other fractions for the TNF-${\alpha}$ production. In contrast, the cell-free extract exhibited the highest IL-6 production level among the fractions, which was evident even at a $1{\mu}g/ml$ concentration. The current results demonstrate that Bifidobacterium induced differentiation of the macrophages from the fast proliferative stage and that the cytokine production was differentially induced by the whole cells and cell-free extracts. The in vitro approaches employed herein are expected to be useful in further characterization of the effects of bifidobacteria with regards to gastrointestinal and systemic immunity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1393-1400
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• 2008

Recent study has demonstrated an increasing prevalence of food allergy in Korean children. Specific probiotic bacteria may promote potentially anti-allergenic processes through induction of Th1-type immunity and enhance the regulatory lymphocyte. This study investigated whether orally administrated probiotics could suppress allergic responses in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergy mouse model. Thus, female C3H/HeJ mice were orally sensitized with OVA and cholera toxin for 4 weeks. Lactobacillus acidophilus AD031, Bifidobacterium lactis AD011, and L. acidophilus AD031 plus B. lactis AD011 were fed to mice from 2 weeks before the sensitization. The OVA-induced mice that were not treated with probiotics had significantly increased serum levels of OVA-specific IgE and IgG1, and OVA-specific IgA in feces. However, the mice treated with probiotics suppressed production of the OVA-specific IgE, IgG1, and IgA. The level of IL-4 was significantly lower, and the levels of INF-$\gamma$ and IL-10 were significantly higher in the mice treated with probiotics than that in the non-treated mice. The groups treated with probiotics had decreased levels of degranulated mast cells, eosinophil granules, and tail scabs. These results indicate that L. acidophilus AD031 and B. lactis AD011 might be useful for the prevention of allergy.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1650-1655
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• 2009

The $\beta$-glucuronidase (GUS) gene from Lactobacillus brevis RO1 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli GMS407. The GUS gene was composed of 1,812 bp, encoding a 603-amino-acid protein belonging to glycosyl hydrolase family 2 with three conserved domains. The amino acid similarity was higher than 70% with the $\beta$-glucuronidases of various microorganisms, yet less than 58% with the $\beta$-glucuronidase of L. gasseri ADH. Overexpression and purification of the GUS was performed in $\beta$-glucuronidase-deficient E. coli GMS407. The purified GUS protein was 71 kDa and showed 1,284 U/mg of specific activity at optimum conditions of pH 5.0 and $37^{\circ}C$. At $37^{\circ}C$, the GUS remained stable for 80 min at pH values ranging from 5.0 to 8.0. The purified enzyme exhibited a half-life of 1 h at $60^{\circ}C$ and more than 2 h at $50^{\circ}C$. When the purified GUS was applied to transform baicalin and wogonoside into their corresponding aglycones, $150\;{\mu}M$ of baicalin and $125\;{\mu}M$ of wogonoside were completely transformed into baicalein and wogonin, respectively, within 3 h.