• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.47-54
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• 1990

In order to investigate physiological characteristics of fusants by interspecific protoplast fusion of the genus Cellulomonas, protoplasts of Cellulomonas flavigena NCIB 12901 and Cellulomonas bibula NCIB 8142 were fused and cell wall regenerated. To give gene maker, C. bibula was treated with 500 ug/ml NTG for 1 hr and arginine requiring auxotrophic mutants were isolated. Protoplasts of the genus Cellulomonas were obtained by treatment with $600{\mu}{\textrm{g}}$/ml lysozyme, and 0.5M sorbitol was optimal for osmotic stabilizer on protoplast fromation. Protoplast fusion was enhanced by 40% PEG)M.W.6,000) containing 25 mM $CaCl_{2}$ at $30^{\circ}C$ for 30 min and fusion frequency between C. bibula and C. flavigena was $5\times 10^{-4}$. Processes of protoplast formation, cell wall regeneration and protoplast fusion were obsdrved by scanning electron microscope. By comparing enzyme activities of cellulase, exocellobiohydrolase, .betha.-glucosidase of the parent strains of Cellulomonas with those of thier mutants and fusants, fusants with increased enzyme activity were obtained. By the studies on nutritional requirement, antibiotic resistance, cellulolytic enzyme activities, type of peptidoglycan and motility of two mutants and fusants, fusants were proved to be recombinant of both mutant strains.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.71-76
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• 2002

Soil samples were screened for actinomycete strains capable of producing phospholipase D, and a strain, Streptomyces sp. YU100, showing a high transphosphatidylation activity was isolated. This strain secreted phospholipase D in a culture broth after 12 h of cultivation, and its productivity continued to increase for 36 h of fermentation. In addition, its transphosphatidylation rate of phosphatidylcholine to phosphatidylserine was almost $68\%$ within 1 h. The morphological and chemotaxonomical characteristics showed that this strain could be classified as a number of the Streptomycetaceae family, particularly due to the spiral form of its spore chain consisting of 60-70 smooth spores $(0.75{\times}1.0{\mu}m$) on an aerial mycelium, FA-2c type of fatty acid profile in the cell wall, and LL-DAP component in the cell wall peptidoglycan. A phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rDNA provided a clue that the strain YU100 was actually a member of the genus Streptomyces, because the determined sequence exhibited a higher homology with Streptomyes sp. ASB27, S. peucetius JCM9920, and S. griseus ATCC10137. A dendrogram based on the 16S rDNA sequences also showed a phylogenetic relationship between the strain YU100 and these strains. However, the strain YU100 has not yet been assigned to a particular species, because of absence of any other classified species with a high matching score.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.143-147
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• 2005

The non-pathogenic, non-glycopeptide-producing actinomycete Streptomyces coelicolor carries a cluster of seven genes (vanSRJKHAX) that confers inducible, high-level resistance to vancomycin. The van genes are organised into four transcription units, vanRS, vanJ, vanK and vanHAX, and these transcripts are induced by vancomycin in a vanR-dependent manner. vanHAX are orthologuous to genes found in vancomycin resistant enterococci that encode enzymes predicted to reprogramme peptidoglycan biosynthesis such that cell wall precursors terminate in D-Ala-D-Lac, rather than D-Ala-D-Ala. vanR and vanS encode a two-component signal transduction system that mediates transcriptional induction of the seven van genes. vanJ and vanK are novel genes that have no counterpart in previously characterised vancomycin-resistance clusters from pathogens. VanK is essential for vancomycin resistance in S. coelicolor and it is required for adding Gly branch to stem peptides terminating D-Ala-D-Lac. Because VanK can recognise D-Lac-containing precursors but the constitutively expressed femX enzyme, encoded elsewhere on the chromosome, cannot recognize D-Lac-containing precursors as a substrate, vancomycin-induced expression of VanHAX in a vanK mutant is lethal. Further, femX null mutants are viable in the presence of glycopeptide antibiotics but die in their absence. Bioassay using vanJp-neo fusion reporter system also showed that all identified inducers for van genes expression were glycopeptide antibiotics, but teicoplanin, a membrane-anchored glycopeptide, failed to act as an inducer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.964-972
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• 2023

Bacteriophage endolysins are peptidoglycan hydrolases composed of cell binding domain (CBD) and an enzymatically active domain. A phage endolysin CBD can be used for detecting bacteria owing to its high specificity and sensitivity toward the bacterial cell wall. We aimed to develop a method for detection of Enterococcus faecalis using an endolysin CBD. The gene encoding the CBD of ECP3 phage endolysin was cloned into the Escherichia coli expression vector pET21a. A recombinant protein with a C-terminal 6-His-tag (CBD) was expressed and purified using a His-trap column. CBD was adsorbed onto epoxy magnetic beads (eMBs). The bacterial species specificity and sensitivity of bacterial binding to CBD-eMB complexes were determined using the bacterial colony counting from the magnetic separations after the binding reaction between bacteria and CBD-eMB complexes. E. faecalis could bind to CBD-eMB complexes, but other bacteria (such as Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, Streptococcus mutans, and Porphyromonas gingivalis) could not. E. faecalis cells were fixed onto CBD-eMB complexes within 1 h, and >78% of viable E. faecalis cells were recovered. The E. faecalis recovery ratio was not affected by the other bacterial species. The detection limit of the CBD-eMB complex for E. faecalis was >17 CFU/ml. We developed a simple method for the specific detection of E. faecalis using bacteriophage endolysin CBD and MBs. This is the first study to determine that the C-terminal region of ECP3 phage endolysin is a highly specific binding site for E. faecalis among other bacterial species.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.581-585
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• 2005

Five lactic acid bacteria (LAB) including 2 Lactobacillus strains isolated from Kimchi were evaluated to determine the binding ability to Caco-2 cells and $AFB_1$. LAB were divided into three different groups ; viable, heat-treated, and acid-treated cells. In the radioactive-labeling assay for bound cell counting, viable Lactobacillus Plantarum KCTC 3099 showed the higher adhesion to Caco-2 cells with the binding capacity of $39.2\%$, which was $149\%$ higher than Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG as a positive control. Leuconostoc mesenteroids KCTC 3100 showed the similar binding ability to L. rhamnosus GG. After 1 hour incubation at $37^{\circ}C$ with $AFB_1$, viable L. Planterum KTCC 3099 removed the toxin by $49.8\%$, which was similar level to L. rhamnosus GG. Both heat- and acid-treated groups showed high binding effect but acid-treated group was more effective for both Caco-2 cell binding and $AFB_1$ removal than the other. These results indicate that components of bacterial cell wall might be involved in tile binding to intestinal cells and toxins.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.188-203
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• 2023

Lysozymes are well-known antibacterial enzymes that mainly target the peptidoglycan layer of the bacterial cell wall. Animal lysozymes are mainly categorized as g-type, c-type, and i-type based on protein sequence and structural differences. In this study, c-type (AcLysC) and g-like-type (AcLysG-like) lysozymes from Amphiprion clarkii were characterized in silico via expressional and functional approaches. According to in silico analysis, open reading frames of AcLysC and AcLysG-like were 429 bp and 570 bp, respectively, encoding the corresponding polypeptide chains with 142 and 189 amino acids. Elevated expression levels of AcLysC and AcLysG-like were observed in the liver and the heart tissues, respectively, as evidenced by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assays. AcLysC and AcLysG-like transcript levels were upregulated in gills, head kidney, and blood cells following experimental immune stimulation. Recombinant AcLysC exhibited potent lytic activity against Vibrio anguillarum, whereas recombinant AcLysG-like showed remarkable antibacterial activity against Vibrio harveyi and Streptococcus parauberis, which was further evidenced by scanning electron microscopic imaging of destructed bacterial cell walls. The findings of this study collectively suggest the potential roles of AcLysC and AcLysG-like in host immune defense.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.1862-1867
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• 2006

A moderately halophilic, Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium was isolated from the roots of Blutaparon portulacoides, a plant found in sandy soil parallel to the beach line in Restinga de Jurubatiba, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The strain, designated $M9^T$, was motile and strictly aerobic with rod-shaped cells. It grew in the absence of NaCl and up to 20% NaCl, and was able to hydrolyze casein and starch. Strain $M9^T$ had a cell-wall peptidoglycan based on L-Orn-D-Asp, the predominant menaquinone present was menaquinone-7 (MK-7), diaminopimelic acid was not found, and anteiso-$C_{15:0}$ and iso-$C_{15:0}$ were the major fatty acids. A phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain $M9^T$ belonged to the genus Halobacillus and exhibited 16S rRNA gene similarity levels of 97.8-99.4% with the type strains of the other nine Halobacillus species. The DNA-DNA relatedness of strain $M9^T$ with H. trueperi, the closest relative as regards 16S rRNA gene similarity, and H. locisalis was 21% and 18%, respectively. Therefore, on the basis of phenotypic, genotypic, and phylogenetic data, strain $M9^T$ (=ATCC BAA-$1217^T$, =CIP $108771^T$, =KCTC $3980^T$) should be placed in the genus Halobacillus as a member of a novel species, for which the name Halobacillus blutaparonensis sp. nov. is proposed.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.273-282
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• 2000

dTDP-rhamnose provides L-rhamnose to the bridge-like structure between mycolyl arabinogalactan and peptidoglycan of the mycobacterial cell wall. dTDP-rhamnose is composed of glucose-l-phosphate and dTTP by four enzymes encoded by rmlA-D. To determine the region(s) of RmlC protein essential for its dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxyglucose epimerase activity, we overexpressed both whole (202 amino acids) and three different truncated (N-terminal 106 or 150 or C-terminal 97 amino acids) RmlC proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The RmlC enzyme activity in the soluble lysates of ${\Delta}rmlC$ E. coli strain $S{\Phi}874$ (DE3 PlysS) expressing the wild type or truncated rmlC genes was initially analyzed by three sequential reactions from dTDP-glucose to dTDP-rhamnose in the presence of purified RmlB and RmlD. All three soluble lysates containing the truncated RmlC proteins showed no enzyme activity, while that containing the wild type RmlC was active. This wild type RmlC was then overexpressed and purified. The incubation of the purified RmlC enzyme so obtained with dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxyglucose resulted in the conversion of dTDP-4-keto-rhamnose. The results show that the truncated regions of the RmlC protein are important for the RmlC enzyme activity in M. tuberculosis.

• The Journal of Natural Sciences
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.83-91
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• 2004

Recently phage K11 lysozyme was cloned and characterized in our lab. The K11 lysozyme was identified to have dual functions. It not only cuts a peptidoglycan bond in bacterial cell wall but also acts as an inhibitor of K11 RNA polymerase. It has been known that the T7 lysozyme binds specifically to T7 RNA polymerase and inhibits transcription. The dual activities of K11 lysozyme are atreeable to the case of T7 phage lysozyme and RNA polymerare. In order to identify the binding magnitude of K11 lysozyme with K11 RNA polymerase, yeast two-hybrid system was used. K11 phage lysozyme gene was introduced into pLexA plasmid and used as a prey. Also, K11 phage RNA polymerase gene was introduced into pJG4-5 and used as a bait. The binding between K11 lysozyme and K11 RNA polymerase was demonstrated by expression of reporter genes such as lacZ and leu2.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.1203-1206
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• 2008

A Gram-positive strain designated as MSL-$14^T$ isolated from a soil sample collected from Bigeum Island, Korea, was subjected to polyphasic taxonomy. The isolate was strictly aerobic. Cells were short rods and motile. Optimum growth temperature and pH was 28$^{\circ}C$ and 7.0, respectively. It was characterized chemotaxonomically as having a cell-wall peptidoglycan type based on LL-2,6-diaminopimelic acid and MK-$8(H_4)$ as the predominant menaquinone. The major fatty acids were iso-$C_{16:0}$, $C_{17:1}$ omega8c, and $C_{18:1}$ omega9c. The G+C content was 67.6 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain MSL-$14^T$ is affiliated to the genus Nocardioides and formed a distinct lineage within the genus. MSL-$14^T$ showed highest sequence similarity to Nocardioides aestuarii JCM $12125^T$, having a similarity of 96.5%. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence divergence and phenotypic characteristics, it is proposed that strain MSL-$14^T$ should be classified as representing a novel member of the genus Nocardioides, for which we propose the name Nocardioides tritolerans sp. novo The type strain is strain MSL-$14^T$ (=KCTC $19289^T$=DSM $19320^T$).