• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.1391-1395
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• 2008

Leuconostoc citreum HJ-P4 is a strain isolated for kimchi fermentation with its low temperature-adapted growth feature and its high dextransucrase activity. The detailed characteristics of cell growth and dextran sucrase activities were investigated at various environmental conditions such as temperatures, pHs, salts, and raw ingredients. This strain showed almost 2-fold higher maximal cell concentration ($X_{max}$) than that of the type culture Leuconostoc mesenteroides B-512F at $10^{\circ}C$. The $X_{max}$ of the strain was maximum at pH 7 and the cell growth was inhibited by salts in a dose-dependent mode up to 7%. Addition of pepper (<6%), garlic (<10%), and ginger (<2%) in kimchi gave no inhibition effect on the growth of HJ-P4. Dextransucrase synthesized by this strain retained over 80% of its maximum activity at $10^{\circ}C$ showing a comparable cold-adapted feature to its host microbe. This culture can be used as a starter culture in the industrial kimchi production giving desirable functions and predominance at low temperature.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.7
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• pp.1125-1132
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• 2013

In the kimchi manufacturing process, the starter is cultured on a large-scale and needs to be supplied at a low price to kimchi factories. However, current high costs associated with the culture of lactic acid bacteria for the starter, have led to rising kimchi prices. To solve this problem, the development of a new medium for culturing lactic acid bacteria was studied. The base materials of a this novel medium consisted of Chinese cabbage extract, a carbon source, a nitrogen source, and inorganic salts. The optimal composition of this medium was determined to be 30% Chinese cabbage extract, 2% maltose, 0.25% yeast extract, and $2{\times}$ salt stock (2% sodium acetate trihydrate, 0.8% disodium hydrogen phosphate, 0.8% sodium citrate, 0.8% ammonium sulfate, 0.04% magnesium sulfate, 0.02% manganese sulfate). The newly developed medium was named MFL (medium for lactic acid bacteria). After culture for 24 hr at $30^{\circ}C$, the CFU/mL of Leuconostoc (Leuc.) citreum GR1 in MRS and MFL was $3.41{\times}10^9$ and $7.49{\times}10^9$, respectively. The number of cells in the MFL medium was 2.2 times higher than their number in the MRS media. In a scale-up process using this optimized medium, the fermentation conditions for Leuc. citreum GR1 were tested in a 2 L working volume using a 5 L jar fermentor at $30^{\circ}C$. At an impeller speed of 50 rpm (without pH control), the viable cell count was $8.60{\times}10^9$ CFU/mL. From studies on pH-stat control fermentation, the optimal pH and regulating agent was determined to be 6.8 and NaOH, respectively. At an impeller speed of 50 rpm with pH control, the viable cell count was $11.42{\times}10^9(1.14{\times}10^{10})$ CFU/mL after cultivation for 20 hr - a value was 3.34 times higher than that obtained using the MRS media in biomass production. This MFL media is expected to have economic advantages for the cultivation of Leuc. citreum GR1 as a starter for kimchi production.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1109-1117
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• 2009

This study was conducted to examine the chemical and sensory characteristics of fermented worts and consumer acceptability according to added flavorings. The worts were fermented by yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) following fermentation by lactic acid bacteria (Leuconostoc citreum) at different aeration conditions. Chemical and sensory descriptive analyses were conducted to examine the effects of the fermentation conditions. The consumer acceptability of the worts with added flavorings was also examined. Organic acids, functional sugars, and ethanol were produced by L. citreum and S. cerevisiae, respectively. Ethanol concentrations ranged from 10 to 25 g/L depending on the fermentation conditions. The sensory characteristics of the fermented worts were clearly differentiated by the fermentation conditions. Yeast fermentation resulted in high intensities for certain sensory attributes such as 'alcohol', 'fermented barley', 'fermented white grape', and 'grassy'. Consumer acceptability changed with different levels of sugar and lemon flavoring, and the optimum levels were determined as 14.08% sugar and 0.98% lemon flavoring. Under these conditions, it was shown that a relatively acceptable fermented wort beverage containing functional materials can be produced.

• Food Engineering Progress
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.174-179
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• 2017

For preliminary molecular typing, PCR-based fingerprinting using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) is the method of choice. In this study, 14 bacterial strains were isolated from different Korean food sources, identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and characterized through RAPD-PCR. Two PCR primers (239 and KAY3) generated a total of 130 RAPD bands, 14 distinct PCR profiles, 10 polymorphic bands, one monomorphic band, and four unique bands. Dendrogram-based analysis with primer 239 showed that all 14 strains could be divided into seven clades out of which clade VII had the maximum of seven. In contrast, dendrogram analysis with the primer KAY3 divided the 14 L. citreum strains into four clades out of which clade IV consisted of a maximum of 10 strains out of 14. This research identified and characterized bacterial populations associated with different Korean foods. The proposed RAPD-PCR method, based on sequence amplification, could easily identify and discriminate the lactic acid bacteria species at the strain-specific level and could be used as a highly reliable genomic fingerprinting tool.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.837-842
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• 2013

A cryptic plasmid, pMBLR00, from Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides KCTC 3733 was isolated, characterized, and used for the construction of a cloning vector to engineer Leuconostoc species. pMBLR00 is a rolling circle replication plasmid, containing 3,370 base pairs. Sequence analysis revealed that pMBLR00 has 3 open reading frames: Cop (copy number control protein), Rep (replication protein), and Mob (mobilization protein). pMBLR00 replicates by rolling circle replication, which was confirmed by the presence of a conserved double-stranded origin and single-stranded DNA intermediates. An Escherichia coli-Leuconostoc shuttle vector, pMBLR02, was constructed and was able to replicate in Leuconostoc citreum 95. pMBLR02 could be a useful genetic tool for metabolic engineering and the genetic study of Leuconostoc species.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.558-561
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• 2019

This study aimed to understand the survival and growth patterns of bacteriophage-sensitive Weissella and Leuconostoc strains involved in kimchi fermentation. Dongchimi kimchi was prepared, and Weissella and Leuconostoc were co-cultivated in the dongchimi broth. Weissella cibaria KCTC 3807 growth was accompanied by rapid lysis with an increase in the bacteriophage quantity. Leuconostoc citreum KCCM 12030 followed the same pattern. The bacteriophage-insensitive strains W. cibaria KCTC 3499 and Leuconostoc mesenteroides KCCM 11325 survived longer under low pH as their growth was not accompanied by bacteriophages. The bacteriophage lysate of W. cibaria KCTC 3807 accelerated and promoted the growth of Leuconostoc. Overall, our results show that bacteriophages might affect the viability and population dynamics of lactic acid bacteria during kimchi fermentation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.493-497
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• 2016

Glucosyl rubusosides were synthesized by two dextransucrases. LcDexT was obtained from Leuconosotoc citreum, that LlDexT was obtained from Leuconostoc lactis. LcDexT and LlDexT regioselectively transferred a glucosyl residue to the 13-O-glucosyl moiety of rubusoside with high yield of 59-66% as analyzed by TLC and HPLC. Evaluation of the sweetness of these glucosyl rubusosides showed that their quality of taste, in particular, was superior to that of rubusoside. These results indicate that transglucosylation at the 13-O-glucosyl moiety of rubusoside by different regioselective dextransucrases can be applicable for increasing its sweetness and quality of taste.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.510-515
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• 2012

A recombinant putative dextransucrase (DexT) was produced from Leuconostoc citreum KM20 as a 160 kDa protein, but its productivity was very low (264 U/l). For optimization, we examined enzyme activity in 7 Escherichia coli strains with inducer molecules such as lactose or IPTG. E. coli BL21-CodonPlus(DE3)-RIL exhibited the highest enzyme activity with lactose. Finally, DexT activity was remarkably increased by 12-fold under the optimized culture conditions of a cell density to start induction ($OD_{600}$) of 0.95, a lactose concentration of 7.5 mM, and an induction temperature of $17^{\circ}C$. These results may effectively apply to the heterologous expression of other large DexT genes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1428-1433
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• 2013

Jeotgal fermentation is dependent upon a diverse microbial community, although a detailed understanding of its microbial composition is limited to a relatively small number of jeotgal. Pyrosequencing-based bacterial community analysis was performed in fermented squid, ojingeo jeotgal. Leuconostoc was identified as the predominant bacterial genus, with Bacillus and Staphylococcus also accounting for a large proportion of the bacterial community. Phylogenetic analysis with 16S rRNA genes of Leuconostoc type species indicated that L. citreum- and L. holzapfelii-like strains could be the major Leuconostoc strains in jeotgal. High concentrations of NaCl were thought to be an important factor determining the makeup of the bacterial community in the fermented squid; however, a genomic survey with osmotic stress-related genes suggests the existence of more complex factors selecting the dominant bacterial species in fermented squid.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.247-259
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• 2008

Terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis, one of rapid culture-independent microbial community analysis methods, was used to determine the lactic acid bacterial complexity and dynamics during kimchi fermentation at $15^{\circ}C$ and $4^{\circ}C$. At both temperatures, the common presence of Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lc. inhae, Lc. kimchi, Weissella koreensis, W. cibaria, Lactobacillus sakei, Lb. curvatus, Lb. plantarum, Lb. paraplantarum, Lb. pentosus, and Lb. brevis was predicted. Lc. citreum and Enterococcus faecalis were detected at $15^{\circ}C$ and $4^{\circ}C$, respectively. W. koreensis predominated during the mid stage of kimchi fermentation whereas lactobacilli were dominants during later stage. Lb. sakei and Lb. curvatus became dominants regardless of fermentation temperature but the growth of Lb. plantarum, Lb. paraplantarum, Lb. pentosus, and Lb. brevis was restricted at psychrophilic temperature. Some species of leuconostocs were maintained until the later stage of kimchi fermentation.