• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.488-492
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• 2016

Saccharomycopsis fibuligera is an amylolytic yeast that exhibits raw starch-degrading activity. In this study, adaptive laboratory evolution was performed to improve the tolerance of S. fibuligera to lactic acid by prolonged repeated batch fermentation in which the lactic acid concentration was gradually increased. The evolved S. fibuligera strain exhibited a significantly enhanced tolerance to lactic acid at concentrations up to 2.5% (w/v), as assessed by determining its specific growth rate using a plate assay. Scanning electron microscopy revealed an elongated and perforated morphology of the parent strain under lactic acid stress, indicating that its membrane might be more prone to damage caused by lactic acid than that of the evolved strain.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.53-58
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• 2002

Adverse environmental conditions such as drought, high salt and cold/freezing are major factors that reduces crop productivity worldwide. According to a survey, 50-80% of the maximum potential yield is lost by these "environmental or abiotic stresses", which is approximately ten times higher than the loss by biotic stresses. Thus, improving stress-tolerance of crop plants is an important way to improve agricultural productivity, In order to develop such stress-tolerant crop plants, we set out to identify key stress signaling components that can be used to develop commercially viable crop varieties with enhanced stress tolerance. Our primary focus so far has been on the identification of transcription factors that regulate stress responsive gene expression, especially those involved in ABA-mediated stress response. Be sessile, plants have the unique capability to adapt themselves to the abiotic stresses. This adaptive capability is largely dependent on the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA), whose level increases under various stress conditions, triggering adaptive response. Central to the response is ABA-regulated gene expression, which ultimately leads to physiological changes at the whole plant level. Thus, once identified, it would be possible to enhance stress tolerance of crop plants by manipulating the expression of the factors that mediate ABA-dependent stress response. Here, we present our work on the isolation and functional characterization of the transcription factors.n factors.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.574-581
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• 2001

The microbial properties and acid tolerance of the three kinds of Acetobacter sp. isolated from persimmon vinegar were investigated. Acid tolerance was also evaluated. Acetobacter sp. were gram negative, short rod, nonspore forming and motile. They reacted positively catalase, methyl red, oxidation fermentation, Voges-Proskauer and nitrate reduction tests and negative to hydrogen sulfide test and ONPG. Acetobacter sp. showed normal growth curve in Carr broth and there was no significant difference between isolates and (standard on) typical strains such as Acetobacter aceti (KCTC1010), Acetobacter liquefaciens (KCTC2804), Acetobacter diazotrophicus (KCTC 2859). Optimum temperature and initial ethanol concentration in incubation were $30^{\circ}C$ and 6%, respectively. Growth and acid production of Acetobacter sp. were suppressed by the concentration of above 4% acetic acid. The amount of $Mg^{++}$ release from Acetobacter sp. cells in medium was increased by acetic acid, and almost in the concentration of 6% acetic acid. Glycolysis by Acetobacter sp. had optimal pH about 6.0 to 7.0 and more stable in acidic condition than in alkalic. The $H^+-ATPase$ of Acetobacter sp. S-1 and S-3 showed a maximal activity between pH values of approximately 5.5 to 7.5 and 6.0 to 7.5, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.1190-1197
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• 2016

The acid response of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum BBMN68 has been studied in our previous study. The fab gene, which is supposed to be involved in membrane fatty acid biosynthesis, was demonstrated to be induced in acid response. In order to investigate the relationship between acid response and cell membrane fatty acid composition, the acid adaptation of BBMN68 was assessed and the membrane fatty acid composition at different adaptation conditions was identified. Indeed, the fatty acid composition was influenced by acid adaptation. Our results showed that the effective acid adaptations were accompanied with decrease in the unsaturated to saturated fatty acids ratio (UFA/SFA) and increase in cyclopropane fatty acid (CFA) content, which corresponded to previous studies. Moreover, both effective and non-effective acid adaptation conditions resulted in decrease in the C_18:1 cis-9/C_18:1 trans-9 ratio, indicating that the C_18:1 cis-9/C_18:1 trans-9 ratio is associated with acid tolerance response but not with acid adaptation response. Taken together, this study indicated that the UFA/SFA and CFA content of BBMN68 were involved in acid adaptation and the C_18:1 cis-9/C_18:1 trans-9 ratio was involved in acid tolerance response.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.47-50
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• 2000

A new technique has been developed for the preparation of Lactobacillus microcapsules to enhance the stability against high temperature, humidity, gastric acid and bile acid. Employing fluidized bed coating, primary sub-coating was processed in non-organic solvent system, so that Lactobacillus did not directly contact with organic solvent. Secondary enteric-coating was processed in organic solvent with low temperature $(below\;33^{\circ}C)$ technique, which minimized the heat labilability of Lactobacillus. Survival rate of Lactobacillus within microcapsule was not less than 95% and acid tolerance was above 30% in the artificial gastric acid. Further more it was dissolved in the artificial intestine juice within 2-3 hr. Average size of Lactobacillus microcapsules was $450\;{\mu}m$(25-50 mesh) and its viability was above 90% in the direct tableting.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.33-37
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• 2015

Recently, several health benefits of rice wine, makgeolli, were known due to the interest on the traditional Korean liquor and the researches on the rice wine are increasing. Organic acids produced during the process of rice wine fermentation play important roles in the taste and flavor. In this study, we have examined the optimal conditions for lactic acid production in rice koji as a carbon source. Skim milk was also used as a supplementary ingredient for the optimization of lactic acid fermentation. Bacterial growth of Lactobacillus sakei was monitored under this condition. The pH, acidity of the culture and the ethanol tolerance of this bacterium were also tested. Through these experiments, we were able to optimize the growth condition of lactic acid bacteria by the addition of skim milk. This was also able to affect the change of pH, acidity, sugar concentration and alcohol tolerance, which might contribute to the improvement of the quality of rice wine. The optimal condition for the growth was 2 days with 10% (w/v) of skim milk concentration. With these results, it was confirmed that rice koji was an effective carbon source for the growth of lactic acid bacteria.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.20 no.2 s.91
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• pp.76-83
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• 2005

Lactic acid bacteria were isolated from pig feces for probiotics. The six isolated strains were identified as Lactobacillus paracasei (Lp), Lactobacillus fermentum (Lf), Lactobacillus brevis (Lb), Lactobacillus plantarum (P1 , P2), and Pediococcus pentosaceus (P3) by its sugar utilization, morphological and physiological characteristics. Pl was showed largest antibacterial inhibition zone among the isolated strains. It was against Salmonella gallinarum 25mm, E. coli 20.5mm, Staphylococcus aures 24mm, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa 28mm by inhibitory zone, respectively. Lf was showed hyper acid tolerance, $80\%$ survival rate for 40 minutes, and P1, Lb showed hyper bile tolerance, $408\%,\;283\%$ survival rate for 9 hrs, respectively. Therefore the Lf, P1, and P2 strains were expected to probiotics.

• Entomological Research
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.514-521
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• 2018

Drosophila melanogaster Meigen and Drosophila suzukii Matsumura are taxonomically close Drosophila species belonging to the family Drosophilidae and melanogaster group. D. melanogaster is thought to be evolutionarily adapted to overripe, decaying, and fermented fruits, in which large amounts of chemicals such as ethanol, acetic acid, and 2-phenylethanol are produced, whereas, D. suzukii is attracted to fresh ripening fruit. Considering the distinct habitats of the two flies, D. suzukii is hypothesized to exhibit higher susceptibility to these chemicals than D. melanogaster. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the survival rate of the flies at various concentrations of three chemicals (2-phenlyethanol, acetic acid, and ethanol) and calculated the lethal concentration (LC) values to compare the tolerance and susceptibility of D. melanogaster and D. suzukii to the chemicals. Our results revealed that D. melanogaster exhibited higher tolerance than D. suzukii to all chemicals, supporting the hypothesis of different evolutionary adaptations to distinct habitats of the two flies.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.201-207
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• 2016

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains as probiotics. Two strains were isolated from healthy chicken cecum and their acid and bile tolerance, residual organic acids, antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria, and immunomodulation activity were measured. Identification of the isolated strains was performed using the API 50CHL system and phylogenetic analysis using 16S rDNA sequencing. The isolates were determined to be Lactobacillus sakei strains. The acid tolerance of strains L2 and L8 was high enough that 75% of the inoculum survived in pH 2 for 2 h. The bile tolerance of both strains was observed at a 1% Oxgall concentration in MRS broth. The production of organic acids (lactic acid and acetic acid) and pH changes during growth were monitored and the maximum concentrations were obtained after 48 h of incubation. Culture supernatants of the two LAB strains showed strong antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria. The heat-killed LAB cells also induced high levels of immune cell proliferation compared with the control, and stimulated IL-6 and TNF-α production in mouse macrophages. Therefore, L. sakei strains L2 and L8 can be considered suitable probiotic bacteria.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.249-254
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the acid tolerance, bile acid tolerance, and fermentation activity of lactic acid bacteria isolated from Kimchi in the presence of hydrolysates of whey protein concentrate. Kimchi isolates DK109, DK119, DK121, DK128, DK211, DK212, and DK215, which were identified as Lactobacillus sp., and L. casei DK128 showed the highest acid and bile acid tolerance. To produce whey hydrolysates, enzymes were added to a 10% (w/v) whey protein concentrate (WPC) solution at 1:50 (w/v, protein). The viabilities of the DK strains were determined in the presence of low pH and bile salts. Then, yogurt was produced via fermentation with L. casei DK128, an isolate from Kimchi, in the presence of the following additives: CPP, WPC, and WPC hydrolysates (WPCH) generated by alcalase (A) or neutrase (N). The produced yogurts were subjected to various analyses, including viable cell counts (CFU/mL), pH, titratable activity, and sensory testing. After 8 h of fermentation, the pH and titratable activity values of all test samples were 4.2 and 0.9, respectively. The viable counts of LAB were $3.49{\times}10^8$, $5.72{\times}10^8$, $7.01{\times}10^8$, and $6.97{\times}10^8$, for the Control, CPP, A, and N samples, respectively. These results suggest that whey proteins have potential as dietary supplements in functional foods and that WPCH could be used in yogurt as a low-cost alternative to CPP.