• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.345-351
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• 2005

To access the natural products of uncultured microorganisms, we constructed and screened the metagenomic DNA libraries by using a cosmid vector and DNA inserts isolated directly from soil. Initial screening of the libraries in Escherichia coli resulted in the isolation of several clones that produce a dark brown color when grown in LB medium. One of the positive clones, designed pYS85C, was transposon mutagenized and the DNA surrounding the transposon insertions in cosmids that no longer conferred the production of brown pigment to E. coli was sequenced. Annotation of the pYS85C sequence obtained from the transposon mutagenesis experiment indicated a single 393 amino acid open reading frame (ORF) with a molecular mass of about 44.5 kDa, predicted to be a 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenases (HPPDs), was responsible for the observed brown pigment. In a BLAST search against deposited sequence, the translated protein from this ORF showed moderate-level identity (>60%) to the other known HPPDs and was most conserved in the C-terminal region of the protein. These results show that genes involved in natural product synthesis can be cloned directly from soil DNA and expressed in a heterologous host, supporting the idea that this technology has the potential to provide novel natural products from the wealth of environmental microbial diversity and is a potentially important new tool for drug discovery.

• 보존과학연구
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• s.36
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• pp.11-32
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to analyse the properties of natural mineral pigments used in restoration and conservation of cultural assets. For this study blue-based pigments that are sold in market were selected. The component analysis using by XRF and XRD shows that blue pigment consist of Azurite. And each specimens were evaluated particle size, chromaticity, specific gravity and oil-absorption according to rating system of pigments particle size. Results show that the value of L* increase with the decrease in particle size. The results suggest that the physical properties which is specific gravity, oil-absorption and chromaticity depend on the particle sizes of pigments. When it comes to particle size of pigments decreased by increasing the number of rating system. In addition, the chromaticity related to particle size. The result from this study expects to be used as useful referencing data for conservation and restoration of cultural heritage and understanding phenomena of the properties according to various particle size of Seokcheong pigment.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.407-412
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• 2008

Anthocyanin pigments in soybean seed coat were D3G (Delphinidin-3-glucoside), C3G (Cyanidin-3- glucoside) and Pt3G (Petunidin-3-glucoside), which have been known potential roles in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. Anthocyanin contents in seed coat of blck soybean were significantly different according to soybean variety, C3G content showed the highest value in all materials and its variation was also wide. Antioxidant activity of each pigment was analyzed by DPPH and TEAC methods in which D3G and C3G showed high activity. And this study was carried out to investigate the effects of anthocyanin to human cancer cells. Cytotoxity were analyzed by MTT assay after anthocyanin pigments treated on leukemia (Jurkat T) and adenocarsinoma (MCF-7) cells. It showed decrement of cell numbers as anthocyanin concentration is increasing. ${EC}_50$ range of anthocyanin concentrations were $100{\sim}250\;ug/mL$ and $100{\sim}250\;ug/mL$ in Jurkat T and MCF-7 cell, respectively. D3G showed higher cytotoxicity than other pigments in Jurkat T cell whereas activity of C3G was high in MCF-7 cell. It is believed that supplementation of human diets with soybean anthocyanin markedly reduces human cancer mortality rates.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.46-49
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• 2008

Anthocyanin pigments from varieties of black, red and wild rice were identified and quantified to evaluate their potential as nutritional function, natural colorants or functional food ingredients. Anthocyanin extraction was conducted with acidified methanol with 0.1M HCl (85:15, v/v) and identification of anthocyanin, aglycone and sugar moieties was conducted by comparison with purified standards by HPLC, Ultraviolet-Visible absorption spectrophotometer and paper chromatography. Black and wild rice showed three different types of pigments by HPLC whereas red rice variety did not show any anthocyanins. Out of three pigments detected, one (peak 2) was characterized as cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G) by comparison of spectroscopic and chromatographic properties with an authentic standard, and another (peak 3) was tentatively identified as cyanidin-fructoside on the basis of spectroscopic properties with ${\lambda}_{max}$ of aglycone in 1% HCl methanol at 537 nm, electrospray ionization mass spectra with major ions at 449 and 287 m/z and chromatographic properties. But another pigment (peak 1) has not been characterized. The most abundant anthocyanin in black and wild rice was C3G.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.204-208
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• 2002

A Streptomyces sp. isolated from a soil sample collected in Taejeon, Korea has previously been found to produce two new polyene antibiotics. The two new antibiotics were named "16-methyloxazolomycin (antibacterial)" and "tetrin C (antifungal)", and their chemical structures are presented elsewhere [10, 11]. In the current study, chemotaxonomy, numerical taxonomy, and ISP methods were all employed for the taxonomic study. The spore chains were spirales and the spore surface was smooth. The spore mass was a gray series and no melanin pigment was produced. On the basis of the morphological and physiological properties, the microorganism was identified to be Streptomyces erumpens, belonging to the gray series of category IV, as defined by Bergey′s Manual. Tetrin C at the concentration of 20 ${\mu}g$/ml demonstrated a potent in vivo (pot test) preventive effect against rice blast, rice sheath blight, cucumber gray mold, wheat powdery mildew, and barley leaf rust.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.244-250
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• 2005

The copper-containing enzyme, tyrosinase, catalyzes the oxidation of tyrosine into dihydroxy phenylalanine (DOPA) and subsequently DOPAquinone. It is responsible, not only for the pigment melanin biosynthesis in human skin, but also for browning in foods. In the present study, tyrosinase inhibitory and antioxidant activities of Korean mistletoe extract and its fractions were investigated. As a result, both water and methanol (MeOn) extracts inhibited the tyrosinase activity. Among the fractions, the fraction eluted with $95\%$ MeOn significantly inhibited the tyrosinase activity. The fraction was further purified, and the purified fraction C strongly inhibited the enzyme activity up to $92\%$. In addition, water and methanol extracts exerted radical scavenging effects. The fractions eluted with $70\%\;MeOn\;and\;95\%$ Me on showed high radical scavenging activities. In conclusion, these results suggest that Korean mistletoe extract and its fractions might be useful for the treatment of various dermatological disorders such as epidermal hyperpigmentation and for improving food quality.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.200-205
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• 1995

Nutritional factors regulating the morphological differentiation and physiological differentiation of Streptomyces exfoliatus SMF13 on surface cultures were evaluated. S. exfoliatus SMF13 produced leupeptin and chymotrypsin-like protease (CTP) at the stage of substrate mycelium growth, and leupeptin-inactivating enzyme (LIE) and trypsin-like protease (TLP) at the stage of aerial mycelium growth. The activity of leupeptin and CTP was high in the region of active growing substrate mycelium, whereas the activity of LIE and TLP was high in the region of aerial mycelium or spores. The differentiations were induced in glucose-limited conditions or by the addition of glucose anti-metabolite (methyl $\alpha$-glucopyranoside), but repressed by high concentrations of glucose or casamino acids. Morphological differentiation (formation of aerial mycelia and spores) was closely related with physiological differentiation (formation of brown-pigment, LIE and TLP). The local distribution of leupeptin, CTP, LIE, and TLP in a developing colony showed that colony development correlated with the production and functions of the compounds: CTP is essential for providing a nitrogen source for mycelium growth: leupeptin regulates TLP activity: LIE inactivates leupeptin: TLP hydrolyzes nongrowing mycelium.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.507-517
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• 2019

Rhodotorula is a group of pigment-producing yeasts well known for its intracellular biosynthesis of carotenoids such as ${\beta}-carotene$, ${\gamma}-carotene$, torulene and torularhodin. The great potential of carotenoids in applications in food and feed as well as in health products and cosmetics has generated a market value expected to reach over $2.0 billion by 2022. Due to growing public concern over food safety, the demand for natural carotenoids is rising, and this trend significantly encourages the use of microbial fermentation for natural carotenoid production. This review covers the biological properties of carotenoids and the most recent findings on the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway, as well as strategies for the metabolic engineering methods for the enhancement of carotenoid production by Rhodotorula. The practical approaches to improving carotenoid yields, which have been facilitated by advancements in strain work as well as the optimization of media and fermentation conditions, were summarized respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1453-1459
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• 2019

Zeaxanthin is an important pigment in the photo-protection mechanism of microalgae. However, zeaxanthin epoxidase, an enzyme involved in the accumulation and conversion of zeaxanthin, has not been extensively studied in microalgae. In this work, we report the expression pattern of zeaxanthin epoxidase in Dunaliella tertiolecta (DtZEP) at different light and diverse salinity conditions. To confirm the responsiveness to light conditions, the ZEP expression pattern was investigated in photoperiodic (16 h of light and 8 h of dark) and continuous (24 h of light and 0 h of dark) light conditions. mRNA expression levels in photoperiodic conditions fluctuated along with the light/dark cycle, whereas those in continuous light remained unchanged. In varying salinity conditions, the highest mRNA and protein levels were detected in cells cultured in 1.5 M NaCl, and ZEP expression levels in cells shifted from 0.6 M NaCl to 1.5 M NaCl increased gradually. These results show that mRNA expression of DtZEP responds rapidly to the light/dark cycle or increased salinity, whereas changes in protein synthesis do not occur within a short period. Taken together, we show that DtZEP gene expression responds rapidly to light irradiation and hyperosmotic stress. In addition, ZEP expression patterns in light or salinity conditions are similar to those of higher plants, even though the habitat of D. tertiolecta is different.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.100-105
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• 2021

Genetic engineering is a potential approach to improve secondary metabolism in plants. In order to elucidate the effect of production of anthocyanin pigment 1 (PAP1) overexpression on the bioactivity of ginseng, we analyzed its antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-elastase activities in this study. Our results showed that PAP1 overexpression increased the production of polyphenolic compounds including anthocyanins. The antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-elastase activities were stronger in anthocyanin-overproducing ginseng hairy roots (AOX) than in wild ginseng hairy roots. Using a different solvent system (0, 30, 70, and 100% (v/v) EtOH), we revealed that variations in the contents of the polyphenolic compounds were highly correlated with changes in the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of AOX. The antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-elastase effects of AOX highlight genetic engineering as a powerful approach to enhance the therapeutic properties of plants. Our results show that AOX could potentially have various functional applications in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.