• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.129-134
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• 2020

In most developing countries, Dientamoeba fragilis infection is an obscure protozoan infection. We aimed to determine a frequency and clinical importance of D. fragilis infection in Taif, Saudi Arabia. A 1-year case control study included patients with gastrointestinal (cases, n=114) or non-gastrointestinal symptoms (controls, n=90). The fecal samples were examined with the classical parasitological methods for intestinal protozoa, and by real time PCR for D. fragilis. The infection by D. fragilis was detected in 5.8% by PCR and in 4.4% patients by microscopy. The infection was identified more in control group (n=9) than in cases (n=3); a sole infection in 11 patients and mixed with Giardia in 1 patient. The other enteric parasites detected were Blastocystis sp. (8.3%), Giardia sp. (5.3%), Cryptosporidium sp. (2.9%), Entamoeba histolytica (1.4%), Entamoeba coli (0.9%) and Hymenolepis nana (0.4%). Our results tend to reinforce the need to increase awareness of D. fragilis infection in Saudi Arabia.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.90-94
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• 1988

Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunodiffusion method were used for the species differentiation of yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida utils, Candida tropicalis, and Kleuyveromyces fragilis. Comparing the electrophoretic patterns of soluble and membrane proteins, Saccharomyces cereνisiae was similar to Candida utilis but was different from Candida tropicalis and Kleuyveromyces fragilis. In immunochemical properties of soluble proteins, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was almost identical with Candido utilis. However, Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Candida utilis was quite different from Candida tropicalis and Kleuyveromyces fragilis in their immunoreactivities. In immunochemical properties of membrane proteins, almost the same results were obtained irrespective of four yeast species. By using SDS-PAGE and immunodiffusion methods, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida utilis were difficult to differentiate but both species were easily differentiated from Candida tropicalis and Kleuyveromyces fragilis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.6-11
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• 1993

An autonomously replicating sequence (Kf-ARS1) of Kluyveromyces fragilis was cloned from the genomic library which was constructed using pHN134 as a cloning vector to make a new host-vector system for the production of heterologous protein from K. fragilis as a host. The cloning vector pHN134 was composed of $Km^r, Ap^r$ and multiple cloning site in LacZ . A clone carrying Kf-ARS1 was isolated and the recombinant plasmid was designated as pIKD102. The cloned fragment was 2.3 kb (EcoRI/EcoRI) in length. Subcloning experiment showed that the region for ARS activity was 1.5 kb (SalI/EcoRI) fragment. It was shown that the Kf-ARS1 was active in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Kluyveromyces fragilis.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.131-137
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• 1995

The alkaline phosphatase (K-ALPase) gene of Kluyveromyces fragilis has been cloned (1) and determined its base sequences (2) previously in our laboratory. When the K-ALPase gene was expressed in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it showed a constitutive activity in E. coli, and a derepressed activity in S. cerevisiae in phosphate-limited medium. Northem hybridization experiment was performed to elucidate the transcription level of the K-ALPase gene. Northern experiment showed that transcription level of K-ALPase gene in S. cerevisiae was higher in phosphate depletion, but it was higher in high phosphate medium than in phosphate limited medium in K. fragilis. The transcription initiation site of the K-ALPase gene was determined by primer extension analysis. It matched nucleotide position - 169 in relation to the putative trnslational start site.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.151-156
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• 1991

In order to construct a yeast strain having high ethanol tolerance together with good lactose fermentation ability, the protoplast fusion using Saccharomyces cerevisiae STV 89 and Kluyveromyces fragilis CBS 397 was carried out. Auxotrophic mutants of K. fragilis were obtained as a selection marker by treatment of ethylmethane sulfonate. The best mutant for protoplast fusion was selected based on the capabilities of ${\beta}-galactosidase$ production and lactose fermentation. The protoplast fusion using polyethylene glycol and calcium chloride solution led to the fusion frequence of $3{\times}10^{-6}$ and a number of fusants were obtained. Among these fusants, a fusant F-3-19 showed the best results in terms of ethanol tolerance, ${\beta}-galactosidase$ activity and lactose fermentation. The performance of lactose fermentation and ethanol tolerance by this fusant were better than those of K. fragilis. Study on the ethanol tolerance having relation to fatty acid composition and intracellular ethanol concentration revealed that the fusant F-3-19 had a higher unsaturated fatty acids content and accumulated less amount of intracellular ethanol compared with a parent of K. fragilis.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.275-279
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• 2018

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing in prevalence in developed countries but the cause of this increase is unclear. In animal models of IBD and in human IBD patients, alterations in the tight junctional proteins have been observed, suggesting that the intestinal microflora may penetrate the underlying colonic tissue and promote inflammation. Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) causes inflammatory diarrhea in human and is implicated in inflammatory bowel diseases. However, it is unclear whether alterations in tight junctional proteins occur during ETBF infection in mice. In this brief communication, we report that ETBF infection induces up-regulation of claudin-2 and down-regulation of claudin-5 through B. fragilis toxin (BFT) activity in the large intestine of C57BL/6 mice. In contrast, BFT did not induce changes in tight junctional proteins in the HT29/C1 cell line, suggesting that analysis of biological activity of BFT in vivo is important for evaluating ETBF effects.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.161-167
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• 2015

These commensal intestinal bacteria can enhance the immune system and aid in nutrient absorption but can also act as opportunistic pathogens. Among these intestinal bacteria, the anaerobic Bacteroides fragilis are divided into enterotoxigenic B. fragilis (ETBF) which secrete the B. fragilis toxin (BFT) and non-enterotoxigenic B. fragilis (NTBF) which do not secrete BFT. ETBF can cause diarrhea and colitis in both humans and livestock but can also be found in asymptomatic individuals. ETBF is predominantly found in patients with inflammatory diarrheal diseases and traveller's diarrhea. Several clinical studies have also reported an increased prevalence of ETBF in human patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colitis and colorectal cancer. In small animal models (C57BL/6 wild-type mice, germ-free mice, multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min) mice, rabbits and Mongolian gerbils), ETBF have been found to initiate and/or aggravate IBD, colitis and colorectal cancer. BFT induces E-cadherin cleavage in intestinal epithelial cells resulting in loss of epithelial cell integrity. Subsequent activation of the ${\beta}$-catenin pathway leads to increased cellular proliferation. In addition, ETBF causes acute and chronic colitis in wild-type mice as well as enhances tumorigenesis in Min mice via activation of the Stat3/Th17 pathway. Currently, ETBF can be detected using a BFT toxin bioassay and by PCR. Advances in molecular biological techniques such as real-time PCR have allowed both researchers as well as clinicians to rapidly detect ETBF in clinical samples. The emergence of more sensitive techniques will likely advance molecular insight into the role of ETBF in colitis and cancer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.91-94
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• 1993

A 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase (3-IPMD) gene was cloned from Kluyveromyces fragilis. pJK104 could complement Escherichia coli leuB and Saccharomyces cerevisiae leu2 auxotrophs. The coding region was subcloned and the nucleotide sequence was determined. A 1.8 Kb EcoRI/SphI fragment of pJK104 subcloned in pUC18 could still complement the leuB mutation. An open reading frame of 1164 bp that corresponds to a polypeptide of 387 amino acids was found in the cloned fragment. The homology between the 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase of S. cerevisiae and that of K. fragilis was 68.13％ in nucleotides.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.174-179
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• 1997

In order to investigate effect of glucooligosaccharide (GOS) prepared by extrusion process as a bifidogenic factor, cultivation of Bifidobacterium sp., Bacteroides fragilis and Clostridium perfringens was done and analyzed. B. fragilis and C. perfringens were able to utilize only 16% and 11% of the oligosaccharides in GOS, respectively, whilst Bifidobacterium sp. FBD-22 could utilize 38%. Especially, many kinds of oligo saccharides in GOS were able to be utilized selectively only by Bifidobacterium sp.. In case that GOS, as a carbon source, was used in the co-cultivation by Bifidobacterium sp., B. fragilis and C. perfringens, growth of Bifidobacterium sp. was not influenced by the existence of B. fragilis and C. perfringens. Bifidobacterium sp. showed advantage on carbon source competition for GOS with B. fragilis. Acetic acid, antimicrobial agent in the intestine, was produced two times more from GOS than glucose in co-cultures of three strains. Therefore, it is suggested that GOS can be a potent bifidogenic factor which proliferates the population of Bifidobacterium sp. and may finally improve the intestinal environments of human.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.158-160
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• 1998

A new oxygenated furano sesquiterpene [1] has been isolated from the sponge Dysidea fragilis collected from Mandapam coast, Tamilnadu, India and its structure was determined by analysis of spectral data.