• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.16 no.7
• /
• pp.1032-1040
• /
• 2006

Some Pseudomonas species can grow on styrene as a sole carbon and energy source. From the new isolate Pseudomonas putida SN1, the genes for styrene catabolism were cloned and sequenced. They were composed of four structural genes for styrene monooxygenase (styA and styB), styrene oxide isomerase (styC), and phenylacetaldehyde dehydrogenase (styD), along with two genes for the regulatory system (styS and styR). All the genes showed high DNA sequence (91% to 99%) and amino acid sequence (94% to 100%) similarities with the corresponding genes of the previously reported styrene-degrading Pseudomonas strains. A recombinant Escherichia coli to contain the styrene monooxygenase from the SN1 was constructed under the control of the T7 promoter for the production of enantiopure (S)-styrene oxide, which is an important chiral building block in organic synthesis. The recombinant E. coli could convert styrene into an enantiopure (S)-styrene oxide (ee >99%) when induced by IPTG The maximum activity was observed as 140 U/g cell, when induced with 1 mM IPTG at $15^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.25 no.11
• /
• pp.1856-1862
• /
• 2015

In order to improve the stability of endoglucanase under thermal and acidic conditions, the endoglucanase gene was fused to the N-terminus of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae pir gene, encoding the cell wall protein PIR. The fusion gene was transformed into Pichia pastoris GS115 for expression. A resulting strain with high expression and high activity was identified by examining resistance to Geneticin 418, Congo red staining, and quantitative analysis of enzyme activity. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that the endoglucanase was successfully displayed on the yeast cell surface. The displayed endoglucanase (DEG) showed maximum activity towards sodium carboxyl methyl cellulose at approximately 275 IU/g cell dry weight. DEG exhibited greater than 60% residual activity in the pH range 2.5-8.5, higher than free endoglucanase (FEG), which had 40% residual activity at the same pH range. The highest tolerated temperature for DEG was 70℃, much higher than that of FEG, which was approximately 50℃. Moreover, DEG showed 91.1% activity at 65℃ for 120 min, while FEG only kept 77.8% residual activity over the same period. The half-life of DEG was 270 min at 65℃, compared with only 150 min for FEG. DEG could be used repeatedly at least three times. These results suggest that the DEG has broad applications as a yeast whole-cell biocatalyst, due to its novel properties of high catalytic efficiency, acid-thermal stabilities, and reusability.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.24 no.9
• /
• pp.1260-1268
• /
• 2014

Screening of a gene library from Paenibacillus sp. PBS-2 generated in Escherichia coli led to the identification of a clone with lipolytic activity. Sequence analysis showed an open reading frame encoding a polypeptide of 378 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 42 kDa. The esterase displayed 69% and 42% identity with the putative ${\beta}$-lactamases from Paenibacillus sp. JDR-2 and Clostridium sp. BNL1100, respectively. The esterase contained a Ser-x-x-Lys motif that is conserved among all ${\beta}$-lactamases found to date. The protein PBS-2 was produced in both soluble and insoluble forms when E. coli cells harboring the gene were cultured at $18^{\circ}C$. The enzyme is a serine protein and was active against p-nitrophenyl esters of $C_2$, $C_4$, $C_8$, and $C_{10}$. The optimum pH and temperature for enzyme activity were pH 9.0 and $30^{\circ}C$, respectively. Relative activity of 55% remained at up to $5^{\circ}C$ with an activation energy of 5.84 kcal/mol, which indicates that the enzyme is cold-adapted. Enzyme activity was inhibited by $Cd^{2+}$, $Cu^{2+}$, and $Hg^{2+}$ ions. As expected for a serine esterase, activity was inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride. The enzyme was remarkably active and stable in the presence of commercial detergents and organic solvents. This cold-adapted esterase has potential as a biocatalyst and detergent additive for use at low temperatures.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.25 no.7
• /
• pp.1108-1113
• /
• 2015

Cadaverine (1,5-diaminopentane) is an important industrial chemical with a wide range of applications. Although there have been many efforts to produce cadaverine through fermentation, there are not many reports of the direct cadaverine production from lysine using biotransformation. Whole-cell reactions were examined using a recombinant Escherichia coli strain overexpressing the E. coli MG1655 cadA gene, and various parameters were investigated for the whole-cell bioconversion of lysine to cadaverine. A high concentration of lysine resulted in the synthesis of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP) and it was found to be a critical control factor for the biotransformation of lysine to cadaverine. When 0.025 mM PLP and 1.75 M lysine in 500 mM sodium acetate buffer (pH6) were used, consumption of 91% lysine and conversion of about 80% lysine to cadaverine were successfully achieved.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.147-154
• /
• 2009

The carboxylesterase-encoding gene(bioHs) of a newly isolated strain, Serratia sp. SES-01, was cloned from the genomic DNA library by detecting formation of transparent halo around the colony on LB-tributyrin agar plates. The amino acid sequence of BioHs was highly similar to the members of the BioH enzyme family involved in the biotin biosynthetic pathway; it showed the highest similarity(91%) with that of Serratia proteamaculans. To compare BioHs with other BioH enzymes, the relatively well-known bioHe gene of E. coli was cloned with PCR. After we achieved high-level expression of soluble BioHs and BioHe through the exploration of different culture conditions, the purified BioHs and BioHe enzymes were characterized in terms of specificity, activity, and stability. BioHe was generally more robust to a change in temperature and pH and an addition of organic solvents than BioHs. The two enzymes exhibited a strong preference for carboxylesterase rather than for thioesterase and were optimal at relatively low temperatures($20-40^{\circ}C$) and alkaline pHs(7.5-9.0). The results in this study strongly suggested that both the BioHs and BioHe enzymes would be potential candidates for use as a carboxylesterase in many industrial applications.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.28 no.11
• /
• pp.1850-1858
• /
• 2018

Glucosamine (GlcN) is widely used in the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries. Currently, GlcN is mainly produced by traditional multistep chemical synthesis and acid hydrolysis, which can cause severe environmental pollution, require a long prodution period but a lower yield. The aim of this work was to develop a whole-cell biocatalytic process for the environment-friendly synthesis of glucosamine (GlcN) from N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). We constructed a recombinant Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis strains as efficient whole-cell biocatalysts via expression of diacetylchitobiose deacetylase ($Dac_{ph}$) from Pyrococcus furiosus. Although both strains were biocatalytically active, the performance of B. subtilis was better. To enhance GlcN production, optimal reaction conditions were found: B. subtilis whole-cell biocatalyst 18.6 g/l, temperature $40^{\circ}C$, pH 7.5, GlcNAc concentration 50 g/l and reaction time 3 h. Under the above conditions, the maximal titer of GlcN was 35.3 g/l, the molar conversion ratio was 86.8% in 3-L bioreactor. This paper shows an efficient biotransformation process for the biotechnological production of GlcN in B. subtilis that is more environmentally friendly than the traditional multistep chemical synthesis approach. The biocatalytic process described here has the advantage of less environmental pollution and thus has great potential for large-scale production of GlcN in an environment-friendly manner.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.26 no.7
• /
• pp.1278-1284
• /
• 2016

Rhizopus chinensis cells immobilized on loofah (Luffa cylindrica) sponges were used to produce biodiesel via the transesterification of soybean oil. In whole-cell immobilization, loofah sponge is considered to be a superior alternative to conventional biomass carriers because of its biodegradable and renewable properties. During cell cultivation, Rhizopus chinensis mycelia can spontaneously and firmly adhere to the surface of loofah sponge particles. The optimal conditions for processing 9.65 g soybean oil at 40℃ and 180 rpm using a 3:1 methanol-to-oil molar ratio were found to be 8% cell addition and 3-10% water content (depending on the oil's weight). Under optimal conditions, an over 90% methyl ester yield was achieved after the first reaction batch. The operational stability of immobilized Rhizopus chinensis cells was assayed utilizing a 1:1 methanol-to-oil molar ratio, thus resulting in a 16.5-fold increase in half-life when compared with immobilized cells of the widely studied Rhizopus oryzae. These results suggest that transesterification of vegetable oil using Rhizopus chinensis whole cells immobilized onto loofah sponge is an effective approach for biodiesel production.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.53 no.6
• /
• pp.802-807
• /
• 2015

In this study, we synthesized a new biocatalyst consisting of glucose oxidase (GOx), polyethyleneimine (PEI) and carbon nanotube (CNT) with addition of terephthalaldehyde (TPA) (TPA/GOx/PEI/CNT) for fabrication of glucose sensor that shows improved sensing ability and stability compared with that using other biocatalysts. Main bonding of the new TPA/GOx/PEI/CNT catalyst is formed by Aldol condensation reaction of functional end groups between GOx/PEI and TPA. Such formed bonding structure promotes oxidation reaction of glucose. Catalytic activity of TPA/GOx/PEI/CNT is evaluated quantitatively by electrochemical measurements. As a result of that, large sensitivity value of $41{\mu}Acm^{-2}mM^{-1}$ is gained. Regarding biosensor stability of TPA/GOx/PEI/CNT catalyst, covalent bonding formed between GOx/PEI and TPA prevents GOx molecules from becoming leaching-out and contributes improvement in biosensor stability. With estimation of the biosensor stability, it is found that the TPA/GOx/PEI/CNT catalyst keeps 94.6% of its initial activity even after three weeks.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2000.11a
• /
• pp.579-582
• /
• 2000

(R,S)-3-amino-n-butanoic acid$(DL-\;{\beta}\;-homoalanine)$ has been kinetically resolved using Alcaligenes denitrificans Y2k-2 as a biocatalyst, which was isolated from soil by enrichment culture, which was carried out with minimal media containing (R,S)-3-amino-n-butanoic acid as a sole nitrogen source. The enzyme which peformed this kinetic resolution assumed to belong to the ${\omega}-transaminase$ family, because A. denitrificans used pyruvate as amino acceptor and its transaminase activity was inhibited by gabaculine, aminooxy acetic acid and hydroxylamine. In whole cell reaction, (R,S)-3-amino-n-butanoic acid was kinetically resolved to the corresponding (R)-3-amino-n-butanoic acid with excellent E (>100) in the presence of pyruvate as an amino acceptor at $37^{\circ}C$. (S-specific) We observed the substrate inhibition for pyruvate at 100mM. In this study, characteristics of transaminase activity of Alcaligenes denitrificans Y2k-2, such as substrate specificity and thermostability, are carried out for the development of (R)-3- amino-n-butanoic acid production system.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.16 no.6
• /
• pp.562-567
• /
• 2001

Aspergillus niger LK harboring the enantioselective epoxide hydrolase (EHase) activity was isolated, and enantioselectivity of EHase was tested for various racemic aromatic epoxides. The gene encoding epoxide hydrolase was cloned from cDNA library generated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction of the isolated total mRNA. Sequence analysis showed that the cloned gene encodes 398 amino acids with a deduced molecular mass of 44.5 kDa. Database comparison of the amino acid sequence reveals that it is similar to fungal EHase, whereas the sequence identity with bacterial EHase is very low. Recombinant expression of the cloned EHase in Escherichia coli BL21 yielded an active EHases, which can offer a potential biocatalyst for the production of chiral epoxides.