• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.1001-1011
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• 2011

To explore bacterial diversity for elucidating genetic variability in acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) lactonase structure, we screened 800 bacterial strains. It revealed the presence of a quorum quenching (QQ) AHL-lactonase gene (aiiA) in 42 strains. These 42 strains were identified using rrs (16S rDNA) sequencing as Bacillus strains, predominantly B. cereus. An in silico restriction endonuclease (RE) digestion of 22 AHL lactonase gene (aiiA) sequences (from NCBI database) belonging to 9 different genera, along with 42 aiiA gene sequences from different Bacillus spp. (isolated here) with 14 type II REs, revealed distinct patterns of fragments (nucleotide length and order) with four REs; AluI, DpnII, RsaI, and Tru9I. Our study reflects on the biodiversity of aiiA among Bacillus species. Bacillus sp. strain MBG11 with polymorphism (115Alanine > Valine) may confer increased stability to AHL lactonase, and can be a potential candidate for heterologous expression and mass production. Microbes with ability to produce AHL-lactonases degrade quorum sensing signals such as AHL by opening of the lactone ring. The naturally occurring diversity of QQ molecules provides opportunities to use them for preventing bacterial infections, spoilage of food, and bioremediation.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.562-567
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• 2001

Aspergillus niger LK harboring the enantioselective epoxide hydrolase (EHase) activity was isolated, and enantioselectivity of EHase was tested for various racemic aromatic epoxides. The gene encoding epoxide hydrolase was cloned from cDNA library generated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction of the isolated total mRNA. Sequence analysis showed that the cloned gene encodes 398 amino acids with a deduced molecular mass of 44.5 kDa. Database comparison of the amino acid sequence reveals that it is similar to fungal EHase, whereas the sequence identity with bacterial EHase is very low. Recombinant expression of the cloned EHase in Escherichia coli BL21 yielded an active EHases, which can offer a potential biocatalyst for the production of chiral epoxides.

• BMB Reports
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.595-603
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• 2002

A gene that encodes a homologue to baculoviral ODVP-6E/ODV-E56, a baculoviral envelope-associated viral structural protein, has been identified and sequenced on the genome of Choristoneura fumiferana granulovirus (ChfuGV). The ChfuGV odvp-6e/odv-e56 gene was located on an 11-kb BamHI subgenomic fragment using different sets of degenerated primers, which were designed using the results of the protein sequencing of a major 39 kDa structural protein that is associated with the occlusion-derived virus (ODV). The gene has a 1062 nucleotide (nt) open-reading frame (ORF) that encodes a protein with 353 amino acids with a predicated molecular mass of 38.5 kDa. The amino acid sequence data that was derived from the nucleotide sequence in ChfuGV was compared to those of other baculoviruses. ChfuGV ODVP-6E/ODV-E56, along with othe baculoviral ODVP-6E/ODV-E56 proteins, all contained two putative transmembrane domains at their C-terminus. Several putative N-and O-glycosylation, N-myristoylation, and phosphorylation sites were detected in the ChfuGV ODVP-6E/ODV-E56 protein. A similar pattern was detected when a hydrophobicity-plots comparison was performed on ChfuGV ODVP-6E/ODV-E56 with other baculoviral homologue proteins. At the nucleotide level, a late promoter motif (GTAAG) was located at -14 nt upstream to the start codon of the GhfuGV odvp-6e/odv-e56 gene. a slight variant of the polyadenylation signal, AATAAT, was detected at the position +10 nt that is downstream from the termination signal. A phylogenetic tree for baculoviral ODVP-6E/ODV-E56 was constructed using a maximum parsimony analysis. The phylogenetic estimation demonstrated that ChfuGV ODVP-6E/ODV-E56 is most closely related to those of Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV) and Plutella xylostella granulovirus (PxGV).

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.285-289
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• 2006

In screening of algicidal bacteria, we isolated a marine bacterium which had potent algicidal effects on harmful algal bloom (HAB) species. This organism was identified as a strain very close to Bacillus subtilisby 16S rRNA gene sequencing. This bacterium, Bacillus sp. SY-1, produces very active algicidal compounds against the harmful dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides. We isolated three algicidal compounds (MS 1056, 1070, 1084) and identified them by amino acid analyses, fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS), infrared spectroscopy (IR), $^1H$, $^{13}C$, and extensive two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D NMR) techniques including $^1H-^{15}N$ HMBC analysis. One of them, MS 1056, contains a b-amino acid residue with an alkyl side chain of $C_{15}$. MS 1056, 1070, and 1084 showed algicidal activities against C. polykrikoides with an $LC_{50}$ (6 hrs) of 2.3, 0.8, $0.6\;{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. These compounds also showed significant algicidal activities against other harmful dinoflagellates and raphidophytes. In contrast, MS 1084 showed no significant growth inhibition against various organisms coexisting with HAB species in natural environments, including bacteria, eukaryotic microalgae, and cyanobacteria, although it inhibited growth of some fungi and yeasts. These observations imply that algicidal bacterium Bacillus sp. SY-1 and its algicidal compounds could play an important role in regulating the onset and development of HABs in the natural environments.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.516-525
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• 2012

LAB were isolated from makgeolli locally produced around Jinju, Gyeongnam, S. Korea during spring of 2011. Randomly selected 11 isolates from MRS agar plates were identified first by API CHL 50 kits and then 16S rRNA gene sequencing. All 11 isolates were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum. Among them, ST4 grew in MRS broth with ethanol up to 10%, showing the highest alcohol resistance. L. plantarum ST4 was moderately resistant against acid and bile salts. When cellular proteins of L. plantarum ST4 under ethanol stress were analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE), the intensities of 6 spots increased, whereas 22 spots decreased at least 2-fold. Those 28 spots were identified by peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF). FusA2 (elongation factor G) increased 18.8-fold (6% ethanol) compared with control. Other proteins were AtpD (ATP synthase subunit beta), DnaK, GroEL, Tuf (elongation factor Tu), and Npr2 (NADH peroxidase), respectively. Among the 22 proteins decreased in intensities, lactate dehydrogenases (LdhD and LdhL1) were included.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.257-263
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• 2017

A cellulolytic strain Y2 was isolated from soil obtained in the Canadian Alpine region. The isolate was identified as Paenibacillus sp. Y2 by 16S rRNA sequencing. When grown in LB medium supplemented with carboxymethyl-cellulose (CMC), CMCase production increased to 122.0% of that observed in LB without CMC. Culture supernatant was concentrated by ultrafiltration and 80% ammonium sulfate precipitates were separated by Hi-Trap Q and CHT-II chromatography. The purified enzyme (EG-PY2) showed a homogeneous single band and the molecular mass was estimated to be 38 kDa by SDS-PAGE. Optimum pH and temperature of the enzyme were 4.5 and $30^{\circ}C$, respectively. The half-life of enzyme activity at 50 was 140.7 min, but the enzyme was drastically inactivated within 5 min at $55^{\circ}C$. The enzyme was highly activated to 135.7 and 126.7% by 5.0 mM of $Cu^{2+}$ or $Mg^{2+}$ ions, respectively, and moderately activated by $Ba^{2+}$ and $Ca^{2+}$ ions, whereas it was inhibited to 76.8% by $Fe^{2+}$, and to ${\leq}50%$ by $Mn^{2+}$, $Co^{2+}$, $Zn^{2+}$, and EDTA. The enzyme was activated to 211.5% in the presence of 0.5 M of NaCl and greatly tolerant to 3.15M of NaCl. The enzyme showed 2.98 times higher ${\beta}$-glucanase activity than CMCase activity. Based on these results, it can be concluded that EG-PY2 is an acidophilic, cold-active, and halotolerant endoglucanase. The authors suggest it is considered to be useful for various industrial applications, such as, fruit juice clarification, acidic deinking processes, high-salt food processing, textile and pulp industries, and for biofuel production from seaweeds.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.288-298
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• 2014

We examined the efficacy of a bacterium for biocontrol of the root-knot nematode (RKN) Meloidogyne hapla in carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Among 542 bacterial isolates from various soils and plants, the highest nematode mortality was observed for treatments with isolate C1-7, which was identified as Bacillus cereus based on cultural and morphological characteristics, the Biolog program, and 16S rRNA sequencing analyses. The population density and the nematicidal activity of B. cereus C1-7 remained high until the end of culture in brain heart infusion broth, suggesting that it may have sustainable biocontrol potential. In pot experiments, the biocontrol efficacy of B. cereus C1-7 was high, showing complete inhibition of root gall or egg mass formation by RKN in carrot and tomato plants, and subsequently reducing RKN damage and suppressing nematode population growth, respectively. Light microscopy of RKN-infected carrot root tissues treated with C1-7 showed reduced formation of gall cells and fully developed giant cells, while extensive gall cells and fully mature giant cells with prominent cell wall ingrowths formed in the untreated control plants infected with RKNs. These histopathological characteristics may be the result of residual or systemic biocontrol activity of the bacterium, which may coincide with the biocontrol efficacies of nematodes in pots. These results suggest that B. cereus C1-7 can be used as a biocontrol agent for M. hapla.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1702-1710
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• 2010

Korean traditional rice wines yakju and takju are generally brewed with nuruk as the source of the saccharogenic enzymes by natural fermentation. To improve the quality of Korean rice wine, the microorganisms in the nuruk need to be studied. The objective of this research was to improve the quality of Korean wine with the wild-type yeast strains isolated from the fermentation starter, nuruk. Only strain YA-6 showed high activity in 20% ethanol. Precipitation of Y89-5-3 was similar to that of very flocculent yeast (>80%) at 75.95%. Using 18S rRNA sequencing, all 10 strains were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Volatile compounds present in yakju were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass selective detector. The principal component analysis (PCA) of the volatile compounds grouped long-chain esters on the right side of the first principal component, PC1; these compounds were found in yakju that was made with strains YA-6, Y89-5-3, Y89-5-2, Y90-9, and Y89-1-1. On the other side of PC1 were short-chain esters; these compounds were found in wines that were brewed with strains Y183-2, Y268-3, Y54-3, Y98-4, and Y88-4. Overall, the results indicated that using different wild-type yeast strains in the fermentation process significantly affects the chemical characteristics of the glutinous rice wine.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.237-245
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• 2013

Canthaxanthin (cx) is a potent antioxidant that is chemically synthesized at the industrial scale and has imperative applications in the cosmetic and feed industries. An orange pigmented mesophilic bacterium, designated as K44, was isolated from soil samples of Kargil, India. Biochemical tests, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and FAME analysis of the bacterium indicated it to belong in the genus Dietzia and is distinct from human isolates. The strain showed 98% 16S rRNA gene sequence homology with Dietzia maris DSM 43102. High-performance liquid chromatography profile of the pigments isolated from K44 showed two major peaks absorbing at 465.3 and 475 nm. The liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis of both these peaks revealed their m/z to be 564. The molecular weights, LC-MS/MS fragmentation patterns, and ${\lambda}_{max}$ of these fractions corresponded to all-trans- (475 nm) and 9-cis-(465.3 nm) cx isomers. The antioxidant activities of cis- and trans-cx isomers isolated from this bacterium were found to differ, where the cis-isomer showed higher free radical, superoxide radical, and reactive oxygen species scavenging activities than the alltrans- isomer, suggesting that 9-cis-cx is more effective as an antioxidant than the all-trans-cx.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1697-1705
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• 2020

Meju, a type of fermented soybean paste, is used as a starter in the preparation of various Korean traditional soybean-based foods. In this study, we performed Illumina-MiSeq paired-end sequencing for microbial communities and mass spectrometry analysis for metabolite profiling to investigate the differences between 11 traditional meju products from different regions across Korea. Even though the bacterial and fungal communities showed remarkable variety, major genera including Bacillus, Enterococcus, Variovorax, Pediococcus, Weissella, and Aspergillus were detected in every sample of meju. The metabolite profile patterns of the 11 samples were clustered into two main groups: group I (M1-5) and group II (M6-11). The metabolite analysis indicated a relatively higher amino acid content in group I, while group II exhibited higher isoflavone, soyasaponin, and lysophospholipid contents. The bioactivity analysis proved that the ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) radical-scavenging activity was higher in group II and the FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) activity was higher in group I. The correlation analysis revealed that the ABTS activity was isoflavonoid, lipid, and soyasaponin related, whereas the FRAP activity was amino acid and flavonoid related. These results suggest that the antioxidant activities of meju are critically influenced by the microbiome and metabolite dynamics.