• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.936-942
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• 2002

When used in combination with organic acids, Pediococcus acidilactici K10 or its bacteriocin was effective in inhibiting Escherichia coli O157:H7 in vitro and in situ. P. acidilactici K10, a strain of bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB), was previously isolated from kimchi in our laboratory, and the molecular weight of its bacteriocin was estimated to be around 4,500 Da by SDS-PAGE. Initially, P. acidilactici K10 and its bacteriocin could not inhibit E. coli O157:H7, when used alone. However, when they were used together with organic acids such as acetic, lactic, and succinic acids, they greatly inhibited E. coli O157:H7 in vitro. Based on these in vitro results, a real sample test with ground beef was conducted at $4^{\circ}C$ with acetic acid (0.25%) or lactic acid (0.35%) alone, and then in combination with P. acidilactici K10 (10^5 CFU/g of sample). Combined treatment of P. acidilactici K10 with lactic acid showed the most inhibitory effect: a 2.8-$log_{10}$-unit reduction of E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef during storage at $4^{\circ}C$. This result suggests that the combination of bacteriocin-producing P. acidilactici K10 and organic acids has great potential as a food biopreservative by inhibiting the growth of E. coli O157:H7.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.56-62
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• 2000

The hpa gene genetically linked to the ctxa2b gene was cloned into the pTED expression vector, and the constructed pTEDhpa/ctxa2b was transformed into Excherichia coli. The fusion protein, the adhesin fused to the cholera toxin subunit A2B (CTXA2B) subunit, was expressed to high levels as inclusion bodies in E. coli. The expressed protein was partially purified by washing the inclusion bodies with working solution containing 8M Urea and 0.1M DTT. Refolding of denatured fusion protein was carried out in the presence of glutathione redox buffer. The refolded fusion protein was purified by size exclusion chromatography. The expressed fusion protein was verified by SDS-PAGE, western blotting with antibodies to both antigenic components of adhesin and cholera toxin subunit B (CTXB), and its N-terminal amino acid sequence was analyzed. The orderly assembled fusion protein was confirmed by modified Gm1-ganglioside ELISA with Abs to adhesin. The results indicate that the purified fusion protein is an Adhesin/CTXA2B protein containing the H. pylori adhesin and $G_{m1}4-ganglioside binding activity of CTXB and the expressed fusion protein in E. coli could be easily purified by the refolding process, Its molecular weight was 168kDa as estimated by size exclusion chromatography. The Adhesin/CTXA2B protein may be used as a candidate antigen for oral immunization against H. pylori.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.2082-2089
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• 2015

Avian beta-defensin 9 (AvBD9) is a small cationic peptide consisting of 41 amino acids that plays a crucial rule in innate immunity and acquired immunity in chickens. Owing to its wide antibacterial spectrum, lack of a residue, and failure to induce bacterial drug resistance, AvBD9 is expected to become a substitute for conventional antibiotics in the livestock and poultry industries. Using the preferred codon of Pichia pastoris, the mature AvBD9 peptide was designed and synthesized, based on the sequence from GenBank. The P. pastoris constitutive expression vector pGHKα was used to construct a pGHKα-AvBD9 recombinant plasmid. Restriction enzyme digestion was performed using SacI and BglII to remove the ampicillin resistance gene, and the plasmid was electrotransformed into P. pastoris GS115. High-expression strains with G418 resistance were screened, and the culture supernatant was analyzed by Tricine-SDS-PAGE and western blot assay to identify target bands of about 6 kDa. A concentrate of the supernatant containing AvBD9 was used for determination of antimicrobial activity. The supernatant concentrate was effective against Escherichia coli, Salmonella paratyphi, Salmonella pullorum, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, and Enterobacter cloacae. The fermentation product of P. pastoris carrying the recombinant AvBD9 plasmid was adjusted to 1.0 × 10⁸ CFU/ml and added to the drinking water of white feather broilers at different concentrations. The daily average weight gain and immune organ indices in broilers older than 7 days were significantly improved by the AvBD9 treatment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.1057-1063
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• 2011

Herein, a novel ginsenosidase, named ginsenosidase type IV, hydrolyzing 6-O-multi-glycosides of protopanaxatriol-type ginsenosides (PPT), such as Re, R1, Rf, and Rg2, was isolated from the Aspergillus sp. 39g strain, purified, and characterized. Ginsenosidase type IV was able to hydrolyze the 6-O-${\alpha}$-L-($1{\rightarrow}2$)-rhamnoside of Re and the 6-O-${\beta}$-D-($1{\rightarrow}2$)-xyloside of R1 into ginsenoside Rg1. Subsequently, it could hydrolyze the 6-O-${\beta}$-D-glucoside of Rg1 into F1. Similarly, it was able to hydrolyze the 6-O-$_{\alpha}$-L-($1{\rightarrow}2$)-rhamnoside of Rg2 and the 6-O-${\beta}$-D-($1{\rightarrow}2$)-glucoside of Rf into Rh1, and then further hydrolyze Rh1 into its aglycone. However, ginsenosidase type IV could not hydrolyze the 3-O- or 20-O-glycosides of protopanaxadiol-type ginsenosides (PPD), such as Rb1, Rb2, Rb3, Rc, and Rd. These exhibited properties are significantly different from those of glycosidases described in Enzyme Nomenclature by the NC-IUBMB. The optimal temperature and pH for ginsenosidase type IV were $40^{\circ}C$ and 6.0, respectively. The activity of ginsenosidase type IV was slightly improved by the $Mg^{2+}$ ion, and inhibited by $Cu^{2+}$ and $Fe^{2+}$ ions. The molecular mass of the enzyme, based on SDS-PAGE, was noted as being approximately 56 kDa.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.109-116
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• 1997

An extracellular proteinase of Candida albicans was purified by a combination of 0~75% ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow ion exchange chromatography, and Sephacryl S-200 HR molecular sieve chromatography. Its mlecular weight was approximately 41 kDa on SDS-PAGE and isoelectric point was 4.4. The enzyme was inhibited by pepstain A. Optimum enzyme activity ranged from pH 2.0 to 3.5 with its maximum at pH 2.5 and a temperature of 45$^{\circ}C$. The addition of divalent cations, $Ca^{2+}$, Zn$^{2+}$ and $Mg^{2+}$, resulted in no significant inhibition of enzymatic activity. However, some inhibitory effects were observed by Fe$^{2+}$, Ag$^{2+}$ and Cu$^{2+}$. With BSA as substrate, an apparent $K_m$ was determined to be 7$\times$10$^{-7}$ M and $K_i$, using pepstatin A as an inhibitor, was 8.05$\times$10$^{-8}$ M. N-terminal amino acid sequence was QAVPVTLXNEQ. Degradation of BSA and fibronectin was shown but not collagen, hemoglobin, immunoglobulin G, or lysozyme. The enzyme preferred peptides with Glu and Leu at the P$_1$ position, but the enzyme activity was highly reduced when the P$_2$ position was phe or pro. This enzyme showed antigenicity against sera of patients with candidiasis.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.363-367
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• 1994

In an effort to investigate the role of calmodulin (CaM) as a modulating molecule in the signal transduction system in plant cells, we established methods for introduction of purified CaM into cultured soybean cells. CaM was purified from bovine testis, and was labelled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). Suspension -cultured cells were healed with saponin (0.1 mg/mL) to permeabilize the plasma membrane and coincubated with FITC-CaM complex. Saponin pretreatment was found to increase the fluorescence in the suspension cultured cells, indicating that the FITC-CaM complex could be incorporated into the cytoplasm. Optimal conditions for introducing FITC-CaM complex into protoplasts by electroporation were established with various electric pulses. With increasing field strength, the fluorescence in the protoplase was increased, while the viability of the protoplase decreased. FITC-CaM complex was successfully introduced into the protoplasts by electroporation and the amount of FITC-CaM complex in the protoplase was estimated.

• BMB Reports
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.572-579
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• 2003

An expressed sequence tag (EST) library was established from the hypopharyngeal glands of Apis cerana. Sixty-six recombinant clones, possessing inserts >500 bp, were randomly selected and unidirectional sequenced. Forty-two of these (63.6%) were identified as homologues of Major Royal Jelly Proteins families 1, 2, 3, and 4 of A. mellifera (AmMRJP) for which MRJP1 was the most abundant family. The open-reading frame of the MRJP1 homologue (AcMRJP1) was 1299 nucleotides that encoded 433 deduced amino acids with three predicted N-linked glycosylation sites. The AcMRJP1 sequence showed 93% and 90% homologies with nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of AmMRJP1, respectively. Two complete transcripts of apisimin, and one and two partial transcripts of $\alpha$-glucosidase and glucose oxidase, were also isolated. In addition, the royal jelly proteins of A. cerana were purified and characterized using Q-Sepharose and Sephadex G-200 column chromatography. The native forms of protein peaks A1, A2, B1, and C1 were 115, 55, 50, and 300 kDa, respectively. SDS-PAGE analysis indicated that A1 and C1 were dimeric and oligomeric forms of the 80 kDa and 50 kDa subunits, respectively. The ratio of the total protein quantities of A1 : A2 : B1 : C1 were 2.52 : 4.72 : 1 : 12.21. Further characterization of each protein, using N-terminal and internal peptide sequencing, revealed that the respective proteins were homologues of MRJP3, MRJP2, MRJP1, and MRJP1 of A. mellifera.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.97-104
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• 2004

Water-sludge bacteria were screened to find a lipase enantioselectively hydrolyzing itraconazole precursor, which is well known as the starting material of antifungal drug agents. A bacterial strain was isolated and identified as Acinetobacter junii SY-01. After the strain was cultivated, the enzyme was purified 39.4-fold using ultrafiltration and gel filtration through a Sephadex G-100 chromatographic column and the activity yield was 34.9%. The molecular weight of the enzyme was about 40 kDa, as measured by SDS-PAGE, and the optimum pH was 7.0- 9.0 and stable at pH 6.0- 9.0. The optimum temperature was 45- $5^{\circ}C$, and 73% of the enzymes activity remained after incubation at 70% for 1 h. Enzyme activity was enhanced by gall powder, sodium deoxycholate, a cationic detergent Tween 80, and a non-ionic detergent Triton X-100, but was markedly inhibited by metal ions such as $Hg^{2＋},Cu^{2＋},Ni^{2＋}/,Ca^{2＋}$, and an anionic-surfactant sodium dodecylsulfate. The $K_{m}$ values for (R)- and (S)-enantiomers of the itraconazole precursor were 0.385 and 21.83 mM, respectively, and the $V_{max} values ($\mu$Mㆍmin^{-1}.)$ were 6.73 and 6.49, respectively. The acetyl group among the different acyl moieties of itraconazole precursor showed the highest enantioselectivity for the hydrolysis by the Acinetobacter junii SY-01 lipase, and the lipase from Acinetobacter junii SY-01 displayed better enantioselectivity than that of commercially available lipases and esterases.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.467-473
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• 2010

To improve the expression efficiency of recombinant endo-$\beta$-1,4-glucanase in P. pastoris, the endo-$\beta$-1,4-glucanase (egI) gene from Aspergillus niger was synthesized using optimized codons. Fourteen pairs of oligonucleotides with 15 bp overlap were designed and the full-length syn-egI gene was generated by two-step PCR-based DNA synthesis. In the synthesized endo-$\beta$-1,4-glucanase gene syn-egI, 193 nucleotides were changed, and the G+C content was decreased from 54% to 44.2%. The syn-egI gene was inserted into pPIC9K and transformed into P. pastoris GS115 by electroporation. The enzyme activity of recombinant P. pastoris stain 2-7# reached 20.3 U/ml with 1% barley $\beta$-glucan and 3.3 U/ml with 1% carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) as substrates in shake flasks versus 1,270.3 U/ml and 220.7 U/ml for the same substrates in 50-1 fermentors. The molecular mass of the recombinant protein was approximately 40 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE analysis, the optimal temperature for recombinant enzyme activity was $70^{\circ}C$, and the optimal pH was 5.0 when CMC was used as the substrate.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.829-835
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• 2004

A fibrinolytic enzyme has been found in several bacteria isolated from fermented food. This study was carried out to investigate the purification and characteristics of the fibrinolytic enzyme produced by Bacillus subtilis KCK-7 originated from Chungkookjang. The fibrinolytic enzyme was purified to homogeneity from the culture supernatant using ammonium sulfate fractionation and chromatographies on DEAE-cellulose and on Sephadex G-100. The final specific activity of the purified enzyme increased 11.0-fold, and the protein amount in the purified enzyme was about 16% of that in the culture supernatant. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be about 45,000 by SDS-PAGE. The optimum pH and temperature for the enzyme activity were pH 7.0 and $60^{\circ}C$, respectively. The enzyme activity was relatively stable up to $60^{\circ}C$ over the pH range of 7.0-10.0. The fibrinolytic enzyme activity increased by $Ca^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$, whereas it was inhibited by $Hg^{2+}$ and $Ba^{2+}$. In addition, it was severely inhibited by PMSF and DFT. It is suggested that the purified enzyme was a serine protease for the fibrinolysis. The purified enzyme could completely hydrolyze fibrin in vitro within 8 h. Hence, it is suggested that the purified enzyme can be put into practice as an effective thrombolytic agent.