• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.299-304
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• 2003

A strain YB-9 was isolated from soil as a producer of the extracellular ${\beta}-D-galactosidase$, which catalyzes the hydrolysis of lactose. The strain YB-9 was identified as Streptomyces sp. on the basis of its cultural, morphological and physiological properties. After treating culture supematant of the isolate with ammonium sulfate $(15{\sim}70%)$, the precipitated protein was used as a crude ${\beta}-galactosidase$ for analyzing its reaction properties with $para-nitrophenyl-{\beta}-D-galactoside$ $(pNP-{\beta}Gal)$ and lactose as substrates. The {\beta}-galactosidase showed its maximal activity at pH $6.0{\sim}6.5$ and $60^{\circ}C$. The hydrolyzing activity of ${\beta}-galactosidase$ for both $pNP-{\beta}Gal$ and lactose was decreased by galactose. Its hydrolyzing activity for lactose was slightly decreased by glucose, but the activity for $pNP-{\beta}Gal$ was increased to 1.3-folds by glucose. Especially, its hydrolyzing activity was not affected for lactose and was increased to 1.6-folds for $pNP-{\beta}Gal$ by xylose.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.339-346
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• 2007

The MJP1 bacterial strain, which possesses antifungal activity, was isolated from meju and identified as Bacillus subtilis based on its morphological and biochemical properties, as well as its 16S rRNA sequence. Antimicrobial activity was found against various species of Gram-positive bacteria, yeasts, and molds, including food-spoilage microorganisms. The antifungal activity was found to be stable after heat and proteolytic enzyme treatment, and in the pH range of $6.0{\sim}10.0$. The antibacterial activity was stable in the pH range of $6.0{\sim}10.0$, but about 50% of the activity was lost after 24 hr at $30^{\circ}C$. The antibacterial compound was also inactivated by proteolytic enzyme treatment, indicating its proteinaceous nature. The apparent molecular masses of the partially purified antifungal and antibacterial compounds, as indicated by using the direct detection method in Tricine-SDS-PAGE, were approximately 2.4 kDa and 4.5 kDa, respectively. These studies suggest that B. subtilis MJP1 produces two bacteriocin-like substances with antifungal and antibacterial activities.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.152-161
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• 2015

CodY is a highly conserved protein in low G+C gram-positive bacteria that regulates genes involved in sporulation and stationary-phase adaptation. Bacillus thuringiensis is a grampositive bacterium that forms spores and parasporal crystals during the stationary phase. To our knowledge, the regulatory mechanism of CodY in B. thuringiensis is unknown. To study the function of CodY protein in B. thuringiensis, BMB171codY^- was constructed in a BMB171 strain. A shuttle vector containing the ORF of cry1Ac10 was transformed into BMB171 and BMB171codY^-, named BMB171cry1Ac and BMB171codY^-cry1Ac, respectively. Some morphological and physiological changes of codY mutant BMB171codY^-cry1Ac were observed. A comparative proteomic analysis was conducted for both BMB171codY^-cry1Ac and BMB171cry1Ac through two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF-MS/MS analysis. The results showed that the proteins regulated by CodY are involved in microbial metabolism, including branched-chain amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and energy metabolism. Furthermore, we found CodY to be involved in sporulation, biosynthesis of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate, growth, genetic competence, and translation. According to the analysis of differentially expressed proteins, and physiological characterization of the codY mutant, we performed bacterial one-hybrid and electrophoretic mobility shift assay experiments and confirmed the direct regulation of genes by CodY, specifically those involved in metabolism of branched-chain amino acids, ribosomal recycling factor FRR, and the late competence protein ComER. Our data establish the foundation for in-depth study of the regulation of CodY in B. thuringiensis, and also offer a potential biocatalyst for functions of CodY in other bacteria.

• The Journal of Natural Sciences
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.15-29
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• 2005

To produce a thermostable cyclodextrin by using thermotolerant cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferase(CGTase), a thermophilic and alkalophilic bacterium isolate, designated B-13 showing the highest CGTase activity was isalated from natural sources and identified as Bacillus cereus B-13 based on the morphological and physiological characteristics, and 16S rRNA sequence. The maximal CGTase activity (130 U/ml) was obtained when Bacillus cereus B-13 was cultured in SYC medium containing 2.0% soluble starch, 1.0% yeast extracts, 1% corn steep liquor and 1% $Na_2CO_3$ (pH 8.5) at $50^{\circ}C$ for 24 h and about 80% of maximal activity was also showed in he culture broth of $60^{\circ}C$ for 18 h. Optimum reaction temperature and pH of the partial purified CGTase for soluble starch were $65^{\circ}C$ and pH 8.5-9.0 respectively. The partial purified CGTase were also stable below $80^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.0-10.0. When 1% soluble starch was digested with the partial purified CGTase, the yield of cyclodextrin was 49%.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.631-635
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• 2017

We report facile solution processing of mesoporous hematite (${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$) thin films for high efficiency solar-driven water splitting. $Fe_2O_3$ thin films were prepared on fluorine doped tin oxide(FTO) conducting substrates by spin coating of a precursor solution followed by annealing at $550^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. in air ambient. Specifically, the precursor solution was prepared by dissolving non-toxic $FeCl_3$ as an Fe source in highly versatile dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO) as a solvent. The as-deposited and annealed thin films were characterized for their morphological, structural and optical properties using field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. The photoelectrochemical performance of the precursor (${\alpha}-FeOOH$) and annealed (${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$) films were characterized and it was found that the ${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$ film exhibited an increased photocurrent density of ${\sim}0.78mA/cm^2$ at 1.23 V vs. RHE, which is about 3.4 times higher than that of the ${\alpha}-FeOOH$ films ($0.23mA/cm^2$ at 1.23 V vs. RHE). The improved performance can be attributed to the improved crystallinity and porosity of ${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$ thin films after annealing treatment at higher temperatures. Detailed electrical characterization was further carried out to elucidate the enhanced PEC performance of ${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$ thin films.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.328-335
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• 2017

Fabricating photocatalytic composite membrane with a mesoporous and tailored morphological structure would have significant implication for environmental remediation. In this study, we reported hybrid $TiO_2$ immobilized photocatalytic membrane and its application for the treatment of dye solution. Photocatalytic film with high porosity and homogeneity was fabricated by graft copolymer as polymer template. Hybridization of membrane filtration with photocatalysis was successfully achieved by photocatalytic membrane reactor developed. Result showed that membrane permeability was significantly reduced after immobilizing the $TiO_2$ film on bare $Al_2O_3$ support. The membrane characterization indicated that well organized $TiO_2$ film was successfully formed on $Al_2O_3$ support. Benefiting from the controlled morphology of $TiO_2$ film, the composite membrane exhibited almost complete degradation of organic dye within 5 h of filtration under UV illumination. Langmuir-Hinshelwood model explained degradation of organic dye. First-order rate constant was approximately six times with $TiO_2$ immobilized composite ceramic membrane, higher than the one with the bare $Al_2O_3$ support (0.0081 vs. $0.0013min^{-1}$).

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.163-169
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• 2017

Strains D4 and D5 were isolated from peach-rotten soil during the peach harvest season. The isolates were identified based on morphological and biochemical characterization, and identification was determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Results showed that D4 has high similarity to Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC $14917^T$ and Lactobacillus pentosus ATCC $8041^T$ at 99.05% and 98.98%, respectively. D5 was also similar to Lactobacillus pentosus ATCC $8041^T$ and Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC $14917^T$ at 98.71% and 98.64%, respectively. In contrast, isolates showed differences in carbohydrate utilization in comparison to Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC $14917^T$ and Lactobacillus pentosus ATCC $8041^T$. In view of this we performed VITEK MS matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis, multiplex PCR fingerprinting, and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR to further confirm the identification of D4 and D5. The results of these analyses showed that both strains were most similar to Lactobacillus plantarum.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.370-374
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• 2013

The effects of zinc chloride addition on pore development of porous carbon nanofibers prepared by polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/ N,N'-dimethylformamide (DMF) (10 wt%) electrospinning were investigated. The change of morphological and structural modification by zinc chloride activation was investigated by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. $N_2$ adsorption isotherm characteristics at 77 K were confirmed by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and Horvath-Kawazoe (H-K) equations, and the curves showed the Type I mode in the International Union of Pore and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) classification, indicating that lots of micropores exist in the sample. In addition, specific surface areas and total pore volumes of porous carbons prepared by the zinc chloride activation were determined as 600~980 $m^2/g$ and 0.24~0.40 $cm^3/g$, respectively. As experimental results, many holes or demolished structures were found on the fiber surfaces after the zinc chloride activation as confirmed by a SEM analysis. It was also observed that various pore sizes were found to be depended on the adding content of zinc chloride in PAN/DMF solution in this system.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.780-786
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• 1993

About 7.7% of the total anaerobic bacteria in pig feces grew with clear zone around the colonies on the agar medium containing inulin as a sole carbon source. Among these bacteria, a strain with the strongest inulin-utilizing activity was isolated and identified as Bacteroides sp. based on its morphological and taxonomical characteristics. The isolate grew well with inulin, fructooligosaccharides or glucose as a sole carbon source, while its growth dropped to 50% of that obtained with glucose when soluble starch or sucrose are used. Since the inulase activity was found only when fructooligosaccharides or inulin was added to the growth medium, but not when glucose, sucrose or soluble starch was applied, the inulase production was considered to be induced by fructooligosaccharides or inulin. The highest inulase activity, 0.42 U/ml was detected with the inulin medium and 0.25 U/ml with fructooligosaccharides medium. The cell growth of the isolated strain increased with the amounts of inulin up to 2%(w/v) and maximum production of inulase was found in the cells fed 1% inulin. The inulase of the isolated Bacteroides sp. showed its maximum activity at pH $7.0{\sim}7.5\;and\;50{\sim}50^{\circ}C$ and was found to be an exoinulase judging by its mode of action.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.194-202
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• 2003

To isolate alga-lytic bacteria, a number of samples were collected from Lake of Sukchon and Pal'tang reservoir where cyanobacteria blooming occurred. HY0210-AK1, which exhibited high alga-lytic activity, was isolated using Anabaena cylindrica lawn. The morphological and biochemical characteristics of the isolate HY0210-AK1 were very similar to that of the genus Rhizobium. Taxonomic identification including 16S rDNA base sequencing and phylogenetic analysis indicated that the isolate Hy0210-AK1 had a 99.1% homology in its 16S rDNA babe sequence with Sphingobium herbicidovorans. A. cylindrica NIES-19 was susceptible to the alga-lytic bacterial attack. The growth-inhibiting offset of the bacterium was not different on A. cylindrica NIES-19 when Sphingobium herbicidovorans HY0210-AK1 was in the lag, exponential, and stationary growth phase, although the alga-Iytic effect of S. herbici-dovorans HY0210-AK1 that in stationary growth phase was somewhat pronounced at the first time of inoculation. When S. herbicidovorans HY0210-AK1 was inoculated was inoculated with $1\times 10^{8}$ CFU $ml^{-1}$ together with A cylindrica NIES-19, the bacterium proliferated and caused algal lysis. A. cylindrica NIES-19 died when S. herbicidovorans HY0210 AKl was added to the algal culture but not when duly the filtrates from the bacterial culture was added. This suggests that extracellular substances are not responsible for inhibition of A. cylindrica NIES-19 and that algal Iysis largely attributed to direct interaction between S. herbicidovorans HY0210-AK1 and A. cylindrica NIES-19. The alga-lytic bacterium HY0210-AK1 caused cell lysis and death of three strain of Micro-cystis aeruginosa, but revealed no alga-Iytic effects on the Stephanodiscus hantzschii.