• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.233-239
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• 2020

A small-spored Alternaria was found from black spots of storaged Koerle pear (Pyrus sinkiangensis), one of the economically important fruit in Xinjiang province, China. The morphology is similar to A. limoniasperae but obviously different in secondary conidiophores and conidial septa. A phylogenetic analysis using sequence datasets of ITS, GAPDH, TEF1, RPB2, Alt a1, OPA10-2, and EndoPG genes revealed that it belonged to the Alternaria alternata complex group. Pathogenicity tests illustrated that the fungus was the causal pathogen of black spot on Koerle pear fruit.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.628-640
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• 2015

Cellulase is the key enzyme in the use of cellulose-based biomaterials. Because of its structure, cellulose is difficult to be degraded by enzymes. In order to utilize cellulose-based biomaterials efficiently, evolutionary wisdom of how to use enzymes accurately and harmoniously in a biological system is needed, such as the cellulose digestive system in animals. In this study, the symbiotic bacteria from snails, Achatina fulica, were identified and their cellulase activity was evaluated. The 16S rRNA sequence analysis of 100 aerobic bacteria showed that they belonged to 9 genus and almost half of the bacteria were Lactococcus spp. Among 100 identified strains, only two Aeromonas sp. strains showed cellulase activity. Aeromonas sp. KMBS020 had both endo-${\beta}$-glucanase and ${\beta}$-glucosidase activities but Aeromonas sp. KMBS018 had ${\beta}$-glucosidase activity only. None of the 100 bacterial colonies had any cellobiohydrolase activity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.534-538
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• 2001

The xynA gene encoding an alikali-tolerant endo-1,4-${\beta}$-xylanase (XYN) was cloned from the alkalophilic Bacillus pumilus A-30. The nucleotide sequence of a 974-bp DNA fragment containing the xynA was determined. An ORF of 684 nucleotides that encoded a protein of 228 amino aicds was detected. Asparagine-71 of XYN from B. Pumilus A-30 showed to be highly conservative in alkaline xylanases of family G/11, upon comparing the amino acid sequences of 17 family G/11 xylanases. Site-directed mutation of N71D of the xynA gene resulted in a decrease of 12.4% in the specific acitivity and a significant decline in the enzyme activity in the alkaline pH range.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.921-928
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• 2002

Microorganism producing extracellular CFTase was isolated from soil and designated as Bacillus polymyxa MGL21. The gene encoding the CFTase (cft) from B. polymyxa MGL21 was cloned and sequenced. The ORF of the cf gene was composed of 3,999 nucleotides, encoding a protein (1,333 amino acids) with a predicted molecular mass of 149,375 Da. Sequence analysis indicated that CFTase was divided into five distinct regions. CFTase contained three regions of repeat sequences at the N-terminus and C-terminus. The endo-inulinase region of homology (ERH) of CFTase was similar to that of Pseudomonas mucidolens endo-inulinase ($50\%$ identity, 259 amino acids). Furthermore, CFTase possessed a highly conserved core region, which is considered to be functional for the hydrolysis reaction of inulin. The cft gene was expressed in a His-tagged form in Escherichia coli cells, and the His-tagged CFTase was purified to homogeneity. The optimal temperature and pH for CFTase activity were found to be $50^{\circ}C$ and 9.0, respectively. The enzyme activity was completely inhibited by 10 mM $Ag^+\;and\;Cu^2+$. Thin-layer chromatography analyses indicated that CFTase catalyzed not only the cyclization reaction ut also disproportionation and hydrolysis reactions as well.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.631-636
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• 1999

The thermostable endo-chitosanase gene from the isolated strain Bacillus sp. KFB-C108 was identified on the basis of a phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence, and was cloned into plasmid pUCl8 using E. coli $DH5\alpha$ as the host strain. Positive clones carrying recombinant plasmids (pKCHO I and pKCHO II) containing chitosanase activity were selected using the direct activity staining method. Detailed physical maps showed the two plasmid inserts were identical except that the KCHO II insert (2.6 kb) was 1.8 kb smaller than that of the KCHO I. The recombinant plasmids were analyzed to determine the essential region for chitosanase activity, and a 1.3-kb fragment (KCHO-6) was subcloned into pTrc99A using the EcoRI and BamHI sites to construct pTrc99A/KCHO-6(pTrEB13). The resulting plasmid exerted high chitosanase activity upon transformation of E. coli $DH5{\alpha}cells$, overproducing about 20 times more in the cloned cells than in the wild-type cells. The cloned chitosanase protein exhibited the same molecular weight and catalytic activity similar to those of Bacillus sp. KFB-C108. The cloned enzyme was an endo-type that produced a chitosan tetramer as the major reaction product; however, it produced no monomers or dimers.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.9
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• pp.1555-1563
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• 2008

A novel $\alpha$-amylase ($\alpha$-1,4-$\alpha$-D-glucan glucanohydrolase, E.C. 3.2.1.1), ScAmy43, was found in the culture medium of the phytopathogenic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum grown on oats flour. Purified to homogeneity, ScAmy43 appeared as a 43 kDa monomeric enzyme, as estimated by SDS-PAGE and Superdex 75 gel filtration. The MALDI peptide mass fingerprint of ScAmy43 tryptic digest as well as internal sequence analyses indicate that the enzyme has an original primary structure when compared with other fungal a-amylases. However, the sequence of the 12 N-terminal residues is homologous with those of Aspergillus awamori and Aspergillus kawachii amylases, suggesting that the new enzyme belongs to the same GH13 glycosyl hydrolase family. Assayed with soluble starch as substrate, this enzyme displayed optimal activity at pH 4 and $55^{\circ}C$ with an apparent $K_m$ value of 1.66 mg/ml and $V_{max}$ of 0.1${\mu}mol$glucose $min^{-1}$ $ml^{-1}$. ScAmy43 activity was strongly inhibited by $Cu^{2+}$, $Mn^{2+}$, and $Ba^{2+}$, moderately by $Fe^{2+}$, and was only weakly affected by $Ca^{2+}$ addition. However, since EDTA and EGTA did not inhibit ScAmy43 activity, this enzyme is probably not a metalloprotein. DTT and $\beta$-mercaptoethanol strongly increased the enzyme activity. Starting with soluble starch as substrate, the end products were mainly maltotriose, suggesting for this enzyme an endo action.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.1196-1206
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• 2014

A metagenomic fosmid library was constructed using genomic DNA isolated from the gut microflora of Hermetia illucens, a black soldier fly. A cellulase-positive clone, with the CS10 gene, was identified by extensive Congo-red overlay screenings for cellulase activity from the fosmid library of 92,000 clones. The CS10 gene was composed of a 996 bp DNA sequence encoding the mature protein of 331 amino acids. The deduced amino acids of CS10 showed 72% sequence identity with the glycosyl hydrolase family 5 gene of Dysgonomonas mossii, displaying no significant sequence homology to already known cellulases. The purified CS10 protein presented a single band of cellulase activity with a molecular mass of approximately 40 kDa on the SDS-PAGE gel and zymogram. The purified CS10 protein exhibited optimal activity at $50^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.0, and the thermostability and pH stability of CS10 were preserved at the ranges of $20{\sim}50^{\circ}C$ and pH 4.0~10.0. CS10 exhibited little loss of cellulase activity against various chemical reagents such as 10% polar organic solvents, 1% non-ionic detergents, and 0.5 M denaturing agents. Moreover, the substrate specificity and the product patterns by thin-layer chromatography suggested that CS10 is an endo-${\beta}$-1,4-glucanase. From these biochemical properties of CS10, it is expected that the enzyme has the potential for application in industrial processes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.160-166
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• 2008

A DNA fragment containing 2,079 base pairs from Bacillus circulans CGMCC 1416 was cloned using degenerate PCR and inverse PCR. An open reading frame containing 981 bp was identified that encoding 326 amino acids residues, including a putative signal peptide of 31 residues. The deduced amino acid sequence showed the highest identity (68.1%) with $endo-{\beta}-1,4-D-mannanase$ from Bacillus circulans strain K-1 of the glycoside hydrolase family 5 (GH5). The sequence encoding the mature protein was cloned into the pET-22b(+) vector and expressed in Escherichia coli as a recombinant fusion protein containing an N-terminal hexahistidine sequence. The fusion protein was purified by $Ni^{2+}$ affinity chromatography and its hexahistidine tag cleaved to yield a 31-kDa ${\beta}$-mannanase having a specific activity of 481.55U/mg. The optimal activity of the purified protein, MANB48, was at $58^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.6. The hydrolysis product on substrate locust bean gum included a monosaccharide and mainly oligosaccharides. The recombinant MANB48 may be of potential use in the feed industry.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.588-596
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• 2018

An endo-${\beta}$-1,4-glucanase gene, cel9K, was cloned using the shot-gun method from Paenibacillus sp. X4, which was isolated from alpine soil. The gene was 2,994 bp in length, encoding a protein of 997 amino acid residues with a predicted signal peptide composed of 32 amino acid residues. Cel9K was a multimodular enzyme, and the molecular mass and theoretical pI of the mature Cel9K were 103.5 kDa and 4.81, respectively. Cel9K contains the GGxxDAGD, PHHR, GAxxGG, YxDDI, and EVxxDYN motifs found in most glycoside hydrolase family 9 (GH9) members. The protein sequence showed the highest similarity (88%) with the cellulase of Bacillus sp. BP23 in comparison with the enzymes with reported properties. The enzyme was purified by chromatography using HiTrap Q, CHT-II, and HiTrap Butyl HP. Using SDS-PAGE/activity staining, the molecular mass of Cel9K was estimated to be 93 kDa, which is a truncated form produced by the proteolytic cleavage of its C-terminus. Cel9K was optimally active at pH 5.5 and $50^{\circ}C$ and showed a half-life of 59.2 min at $50^{\circ}C$. The CMCase activity was increased to more than 150% in the presence of 2 mM $Na^+$, $K^+$, and $Ba^{2+}$, but decreased significantly to less than 50% by $Mn^{2+}$ and $Co^{2+}$. The addition of Cel9K to a commercial enzyme set (Celluclast 1.5L + Novozym 188) increased the saccharification of the pretreated reed and rice straw powders by 30.4% and 15.9%, respectively. The results suggest that Cel9K can be used to enhance the enzymatic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to reducing sugars as an additive.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.216-223
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• 2003

A 1.3-kb of chitosanase gene (choA) encoding 45-kDa polypeptide was cloned, expressed, and characterized from a newly isolated Bacillus cereus H-1. The chitosanase protein (ChoA) of B. cereus H-l was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation and CM-sephadex column chromatography. Optimum pH was around 7, and stable pH range in the incubation at 50 C was 4-11. Optimum temperature was around 50 C, and enzyme activity was relatively stable below 45 C. ChoA showed the activities toward carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) in addition to soluble or glycol chitosan. Based on MALDI-TOF MS analysis of purified ChoA, the entire amino acid sequence of ChoA was interpreted by database searching of previously known Bacillus chitosanases. A 1.6 kb of PCR product of corresponding chitosanase gene was obtained and its DNA sequence was determined. The deduced amino acid of choA revealed that ChoA have a 98% homology with those of Bacillus sp. No.7-M strain and Bacillus sp. KCTC0377BP. The recombinant ChoA protein was expressed in E. coli DH5$\alpha$. Deduced amino acid comparison of choA with other chitosanases suggested that it belongs to family 8 microbial endo-chitosanase with chitosanase-cellulase activity.