• BMB Reports
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.59-70
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• 2012

Carbon catabolite repression (CCR) is a key regulatory system found in most microorganisms that ensures preferential utilization of energy-efficient carbon sources. CCR helps microorganisms obtain a proper balance between their metabolic capacity and the maximum sugar uptake capability. It also constrains the deregulated utilization of a preferred cognate substrate, enabling microorganisms to survive and dominate in natural environments. On the other side of the same coin lies the tenacious bottleneck in microbial production of bioproducts that employs a combination of carbon sources in varied proportion, such as lignocellulose-derived sugar mixtures. Preferential sugar uptake combined with the transcriptional and/or enzymatic exclusion of less preferred sugars turns out one of the major barriers in increasing the yield and productivity of fermentation process. Accumulation of the unused substrate also complicates the downstream processes used to extract the desired product. To overcome this difficulty and to develop tailor-made strains for specific metabolic engineering goals, quantitative and systemic understanding of the molecular interaction map behind CCR is a prerequisite. Here we comparatively review the universal and strain-specific features of CCR circuitry and discuss the recent efforts in developing synthetic cell factories devoid of CCR particularly for lignocellulose-based biorefinery.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.335-340
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• 2011

Glucose and xylose are the most abundant materials in nature which can be used to produce ethanol by yeast fermentation. Three combinations of cultivation with glucose and xylose were carried out; separated, co-culture, and sequential fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia stipitis. In the separated fermentation, S. cerevisiae fermented glucose to produce 14.5 g/l ethanol from 29.4 g/l glucose but hardly used xylose. However, P. stipitis utilized not only glucose but also xylose to produce ethanol 11.9 g/l and 11.6 g/l from 29.4 g/l glucose and 29.0 g/l xylose, respectively. In the mixture of glucose and xylose, P. stipitis fermented both sugars, producing 21.1 g/l ethanol while S. cerevisiae fermented only glucose, producing 13.4 g/l ethanol. In the co-culture and sequential fermentation, the co-culture showed more efficient ethanol productivity with 18.6 g/l ethanol than the sequential fermentation with 12.4 g/l ethanol. To investigate the effect of nutrients in the growth of microorganisms and ethanol production, yeast nitrogen base (YNB) was used in the sequential fermentation with S. cerevisiae and P. stipitis. YNB supplemented some nutrients which S. cerevisiae used up in the broth and the culture showed increased growth rate, increased consumption of xylose, and increased ethanol productivity producing 22.5 g/l ethanol from 54.6 g/l sugar with a yield of 0.41 g/g.

• Food Quality and Culture
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.22-26
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• 2007

This study was performed to determine the feasibility of developing a healthy yogurt using tofu whey concentrates separated by nanofiltration (NF). The curd yogurt was prepared from whole milk with added skim milk powder, in which the NF powder was substituted at 0, 6.25, 12.5, or 25% for the skim milk powder. The quality characteristics were evaluated for pH, titratable acidity, viscosity, color, and viable cell counts. There were no significant differences in pH or titratable acidity between the control (yogurt with added skim milk powder only) and the yogurts with added NF powder, after 24 hr of fermentation at $37^{\circ}C$. The apparent viscosities of the yogurts with added NF powder were higher ($3,197{\sim}3,574\;cps$) than that of the control yogurt (3,196 cps). Lightness decreased, while yellowness increased, as the amount of NF powder increased. Sensory evaluations showed that the NF powder could be substituted for the skim milk powder at 6.25% without lowering the yogurt quality.

• Food Quality and Culture
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 2007

In this study, we examined the effects of different concentrations of red pepper seed (0%, 1%, 3%, 5%, and 7%) on pH, total acidity, color, reducing sugar content, total microbes, lactic acid bacteria, and sensory quality, in terms of prolonging the shelf-life of kimchi. The additions of red pepper seed resulted in higher pH levels, while total acidity was lower than that of the control. The kimchi with red pepper seed had higher reducing sugar contents than the control. Furthermore, the kimchi with red pepper seed showed higher b-values than the control. During fermentation, the amounts of lactic acid bacteria and total microbes were higher in the kimchi with red pepper seed than in the control, and the higher ratios resulted in higher quality kimchi. The additions of red pepper seed also resulted in changes of color, flavor, taste, and texture, having a large influence on overall product quality. In conclusion, in terms of preservation and consumption, the 3% and 5% red pepper seed concentrations offered enhanced shelf-life and better quality kimchi products.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.461-468
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• 2016

One of the important phytohormones produced by plant growth promoting bacteria is the auxin; indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), with L-tryptophan as the precursor. In this study, we focused on the investigation of optimal conditions for the production of IAA by Bacillus megaterium BM5. We investigated culturing conditions, such as incubation temperature, pH of the culture medium and incubation period, with varying media components such as inoculation volume, tryptophan concentration and carbon and nitrogen source. Besides, optimization study intended for high IAA production was carried out with fermentation parameters such as rpm and aeration. The initial yield of $42{\mu}g\;IAA\;ml^{-1}$ after 24 hr increased to $85{\mu}g\;ml^{-1}$ when 5% (v/v) of L-tryptophan was used in the culture broth. The maximum yield of $320{\mu}g\;IAA\;ml^{-1}$ was observed in trypticase soy broth (TSB) supplemented with starch and soybean meal as C and N sources with a C/N ratio of 3:1 (v/v) at $30^{\circ}C$, pH 8.0 for 48 hrs with 1.0 vvm and 250 rpm in 5 L working volume using 10 L scale fermenter. The bacterial auxin extracted from the culture broth was confirmed by thin layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography and effect on plant growth was confirmed by root elongation test.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.333-340
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• 2022

Leuconostoc has been used as a principal starter in natural kimchi fermentation, but limited research has been conducted on its phages. In this study, prophage distribution and characterization in kimchi-derived Leuconostoc strains were investigated, and phage induction was performed. Except for one strain, 16 Leuconostoc strains had at least one prophage region with questionable and incomplete regions, which comprised 0.5-6.0% of the bacterial genome. Based on major capsid protein analysis, ten intact prophages and an induced incomplete prophage of Leu. lactis CBA3626 belonged to the Siphoviridae family and were similar to Lc-Nu-like, sha1-like, phiMH1-like, and TPA_asm groups. Bacterial immunology genes, such as superinfection exclusion proteins and methylase, were found on several prophages. One prophage of Leu. lactis CBA3626 was induced using mitomycin C and was confirmed as belonging to the Siphoviridae family. Homology of the induced prophage with 21 reported prophages was not high (< 4%), and 47% identity was confirmed only with TPA_asm from Siphoviridae sp. isolate ct3pk4. Therefore, it is suggested that Leuconostoc from kimchi had diverse prophages with less than 6% genome proportion and some immunological genes. Interestingly, the induced prophage was very different from the reported prophages of other Leuconostoc species.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.42 no.8
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• pp.740-749
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• 2009

The objectives of this study was to determine whether a new physically modified cornstarch by ultra-fine- or nanoscale pulverizer to reduce particle size offers better bioactive function than native cornstarch in weanling Sprague-Dawley rats. Male weaning Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing native cornstarch (NAC), ultra fine pulverized cornstarch (UFC) or nano-scale pulverized cornstarch (NSC) for 4 weeks. In vitro rate of starch hydrolysis, growth performance, organ weight, intestine length intestinal proliferation and the fermentation by Bifidobacterium of rat cecum were evaluated. The diet with reduced particle size (UFC or NSC) significantly increased body weight gain and organ weight. Feed efficiency was increased in NSC fed rats and was not affected in UFC fed rats. Intestinal proliferation was decreased in NSC group. Reduction of particle size also increased cecal short chain fatty acid concentration and the growth and acidifying activity of Bifidobacterium. It is concluded that a reduction of particle size of starch granules by physically modification may increase growing performance and gut function.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.209-221
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• 2019

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a neurotransmitter that exerts several physiological functions and positive effects on human health. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize the strains that had GABA-producing abilities from various fermented fish products. A total of 91 acid-producing strains were isolated from 41 samples of fermented fish products, and 27 strains showing GABA-producing abilities were identified by the 16S rDNA sequences. Among the strains, 31% strains tolerated at high-salt environment of 10-20% throughout the fermentation of fish sauces. The 27 isolates that produced GABA at various concentrations did so in the range of 5 to 454 mM. These GABA-producing isolates were identified as lactic acid bacteria of 14 strains, which included twelve Lactococcus lactis, one Enterococcus faecium, and one Lactococcus pentosus; eight Bacillus cereus group, which included seven B. thuringiensis and one B. cereus; and five Staphylococcus spp. Interestingly, with Vietnamese fish sauces, we mostly identified species of B. thuringiensis and Staphylococcus spp., while with Korean fermented fish products, the majority of the strains identified belonged to L. lactis. Among the strains, B. thuringiensis LH2134 produced the highest levels of GABA at 366 mM among the strains identified from Vietnamese fish sauces, whereas L. lactis LA43, a new strain isolated from Korean jeotgal (salted shrimp paste), produced the highest amount of GABA at 454 mM and the glutamate concentration in the medium was essential for GABA accumulation. Therefore, such the isolates might serve as good starters for development of more GABA-reinforced foods among fermented fish products.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.869-873
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• 2011

Most medium formulations for improving culture of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) based on protein sources have used enriched media like animal feed such as dried egg yolk, lactalbumin, and liver extract, among other ingredients. Most results, however, showed unstable yields and longer production time. Many of the results do not show the detailed parameters of fermentation. Soy flour, cotton seed flour, corn gluten meal, casein powder, soytone, peptone, casein hydrolysates, and lactalbumin hydrolysate as protein sources were tested to determine the source to support optimal symbiotic bacteria and nematode growth. The protein hydrolysates selected did not improve bacterial cell mass compared with the yeast extract control, but soy flour was the best, showing 75.1% recovery and producing more bacterial cell number ($1.4{\times}10^9$/ml) than all other sources. The highest yield ($1.85{\times}10^5$ IJs/ml), yield coefficient ($1.67{\times}10^6$ IJs/g medium), and productivity ($1.32{\times}10^7$ IJs/l/day) were also achieved at enriched medium with soybean protein.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.245-251
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• 2016

Trends of bioplastics, especially biomass-based bioplastics which is one of the most promising ways to solve the depletion of fossil fuels and global warming problems, were investigated. Emerged bioplastic polymers such as polylacticacid (PLA), polyglycolicacid (PGA) for cosmetic additive, polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) produced by bacterial fermentation, and cost effective starch-based polymer were discussed with their general studies. Also recent technologies of environment-friendly bioplastics for packaging and construction materials as well as disposable hygienic goods were briefly reviewed.