• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.1312-1321
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• 2011

Enzyme extracts of cellulase [filter paper cellulase (FPase) and carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase)], chitinase, and chitosanase produced by Aspergillus niger NRRL-567 were evaluated. The interactive effects of initial moisture and different inducers for FP cellulase and CMCase production were optimized using response surface methodology. Higher enzyme activities [FPase $79.24{\pm}4.22$ IU/gram fermented substrate (gfs) and CMCase $124.04{\pm}7.78$ IU/gfs] were achieved after 48 h fermentation in solid-state medium containing apple pomace supplemented with rice husk [1% (w/w)] under optimized conditions [pH 4.5, moisture 55% (v/w), and inducers veratryl alcohol (2 mM/kg), copper sulfate (1.5 mM/kg), and lactose 2% (w/w)] (p<0.05). Koji fermentation in trays was carried out and higher enzyme activities (FPase $96.67{\pm}4.18$ IU/gfs and CMCase $146.50{\pm}11.92$ IU/gfs) were achieved. The nonspecific chitinase and chitosanase activities of cellulase enzyme extract were analyzed using chitin and chitosan substrates with different physicochemical characteristics, such as degree of deacetylation, molecular weight, and viscosity. Higher chitinase and chitosanase activities of $70.28{\pm}3.34$ IU/gfs and $60.18{\pm}3.82$ to $64.20{\pm}4.12$ IU/gfs, respectively, were achieved. Moreover, the enzyme was stable and retained 92-94% activity even after one month. Cellulase enzyme extract obtained from A. niger with chitinolytic and chitosanolytic activities could be potentially used for making low-molecular-weight chitin and chitosan oligomers, having promising applications in biomedicine, pharmaceuticals, food, and agricultural industries, and in biocontrol formulations.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.407-415
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• 2012

An endophytic bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis GS1, was isolated from bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) and found to have maximal production of chitinase (4.3 units/ml) at 5 days after culture. This study investigated the ability of B. thuringiensis GS1 to induce resistance to Rhizoctonia solani KACC 40111 (RS) in cucumber plants. Chitinase activity was greatest in RS-treated plants at 4 days. ${\beta}$-1,3-Glucanase activity was highest in GS1-treated plants at 5 days. Guaiacol peroxidase (GPOD) activity increased continuously in all treated plants for 5 days. Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity in RS-treated plants was increased 1.5-fold compared with the control at 4 days. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity in RS-treated plants was increased 1.5-fold compared with the control at 3 days. At 5 days after treatment, activity staining revealed three bands with chitinase activity (Ch1, Ch2, and Ch3) on SDS-PAGE of cucumber plants treated with GS1+RS, whereas only one band was observed for RS-treated plants (Ch2). One GPOD isozyme (Gp1) was also observed in response to treatment with RS and GS1+RS at 4 days. One APX band (Ap2) was present on the native-PAGE gel of the control, and GS1- and GS1+RS-treated plants at 1 day. PPO bands (Po1 and Po2) from RS- and GS1+RS-treated plants were stronger than in the control and GS1-treated plants upon native-PAGE at 5 days. Taken together, these results indicate that the induction of PR proteins and defense-related enzymes by B. thuringiensis GS1 might have suppressed the damping-off caused by R. solani KACC 40111 in cucumber plants.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2008

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), one of the most important food crops, is susceptible to a number of devastating fungal pathogens in addition to bacterial and other pathogens. Producing disease-resistant cultivars has been an effective and useful strategy to combat the attack of pathogens. Potato was transformed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA101 harboring chitinase, (ChiC) isolated from Streptomyces griseus strain HUT 6037 and bialaphos resistance (bar) genes in a binary plasmid vector, pEKH1. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis revealed that the ChiC and bar genes are integrated into the genome of transgenic plants. Different insertion sites of the transgenes (one to six sites for ChiC and three to seven for bar) were indicated by Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA from the transgenic plants. Expression of the ChiC gene at the messenger RNA (mRNA) level was confirmed by Northern blot analysis and that of the bar gene by herbicide resistance assay. The results obviously confirmed that the ChiC and bar genes are successfully integrated and expressed into the genome, resulting in the production of bialaphos-resistant transgenic plants. Disease-resistance assay of the in vitro and greenhouse-grown transgenic plants demonstrated enhanced resistance against the fungal pathogen Alternaria solani (causal agent of early blight).

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.307-318
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• 2023

Objectives: Bacterial biofilm is regarded as a significant threat to the production of safe food and the arise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The objective of this investigation is to evaluate the quorum sensing inhibitory effect of Nepeta curviflora methanolic extract. Methods: The effectiveness of the leaves at sub-inhibitory concentrations of 2.5, 1.25, and 0.6 mg/mL on the virulence factors and biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa was evaluated. The effect of N. curviflora methanolic extract on the virulence factors of P. aeruginosa, including pyocyanin, rhamnolipid, protease, and chitinase, was evaluated. Other tests including the crystal violet assay, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), swarming motility, aggregation ability, hydrophobicity and exopolysaccharide production were conducted to assess the effect of the extract on the formation of biofilm. Insight into the mode of antiquorum sensing action was evaluated by examining the effect of the extract on the activity of N-Acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) and the expression of pslA and pelA genes. Results: The results showed a significant attenuation in the production of pyocyanin and rhamnolipid and in the activities of protease and chitinase enzymes at 2.5 and 1.25 mg/mL. In addition, N. curviflora methanolic extract significantly inhibited the formation of P. aeruginosa biofilm by decreasing aggregation, hydrophobicity, and swarming motility as well as the production of exopolysaccharide (EPS). A significant reduction in AHL secretion and pslA gene expression was observed, indicating that the extract inhibited quorum sensing by disrupting the quorum-sensing systems. The quorum-sensing inhibitory effect of N. curviflora extract appears to be attributed to the presence of kaempferol, quercetin, salicylic acid, rutin, and rosmarinic acid, as indicated by LCMS analysis. Conclusion: The results of the present study provide insight into the potential of developing anti-quorum sensing agents using the extract and the identified compounds to treat infections resulting from quorum sensing-mediated bacterial pathogenesis.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.148-155
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• 2023

This study was aimed to isolate bacterial inoculants producing chitinase and evaluate their application effects on corn silage. Four corn silages were collected from four beef cattle farms to serve as the sources of bacterial inoculants. All isolates were tested against Fusarium graminearum head blight fungus MHGNU F132 to confirm their antifungal effects. The enzyme activities (carboxylesterase and chitinase) were also measured to isolate the bacterial inoculant. Based on the activities of anti-head blight fungus, carboxylesterase, and chitinase, L. buchneri L11-1 and L. paracasei L9-3 were subjected to silage production. Corn forage (cv. Gwangpyeongok) was ensiled into a 10 L mini silo (5 kg) in quadruplication for 90 days. A 2 × 2 factorial design consists of F. graminearum contamination at 1.010⁴ cfu/g (UCT (no contamination) vs. CT (contamination)) and inoculant application at 2.1 × 10⁵ cfu/g (CON (no inoculant) vs. INO (inoculant)) used in this study. After 90 days of ensiling, the contents of CP, NDF, and ADF increased (p<0.05) by F. graminearum contamination, while IVDMD, acetate, and aerobic stability decreased (p<0.05). Meanwhile, aerobic stability decreased (p<0.05) by inoculant application. There were interaction effects (p<0.05) on IVNDFD, NH3-N, LAB, and yeast, which were highest in UCT-INO, UCT-CON, CT-INO, and CT-CON & INO, respectively. In conclusion, this study found that mold contamination could negatively impact silage quality, but isolated inoculants had limited effects on IVNDFD and yeast.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.66-73
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• 2012

Plant growth promoting traits like production of indoleacetic acid (IAA), ammonia, hydrogen cyanide (HCN), siderophore, and like the enzyme activities of catalase, ACC deaminase, cellulase, chitinase and protease were assayed in vitro for twenty one phosphorus solubilizing bacteria isolated from soil isolates. Except SPP-5 and SPP-15 strains, all the other isolated strains produced IAA in various amounts of 10 to $23{\mu}g\;ml^{-1}$. All strains showed positive response for ammonia production and ACC deaminase activity implying that they are capable of growing in a N-free basal medium. Catalase activity was found to be superior in SPP-2, SPP-7, SPP-12 and SPP-17 compared to the other strains tested. HCN production was detected by 15 strains and among them SPP-9, SPP-15, SAph-11, and SAph-24 were found to be strong HCN producers. Except the isolates SPP-10, SPP-12, SPP-13 and SPP-14, all the other isolates produced more than 80% siderophore units. None of the strains showed cellulose and chitinase activity. SAph-8, SAPh-11, SAPh-24 and SPP-15 strains showed 35.84, 50.33, 56.64 and 34.78 U/ml protease activities, respectively. SPP-1, SPP-2, SPP-3, SPP-11, SPP-17, SPP-18, SAph-11 and SAph-24 strains showed positive response for all the tested plant growth promotion traits except cell wall degrading enzyme activities. According to the results, all the tested phosphorus solubilizing isolates could exhibit more than three or four plant growth promoting traits, which may promote plant growth directly or indirectly or synergistically. Therefore, these phosphorus solubilizing strains could be employed as bio-inoculants for agriculture soils.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.117-126
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• 2010

A chitinase (CHT) and a protease (PRO) were purified from the culture supernatant of Serratia sp. TKU017, with shrimp shell as the sole carbon/nitrogen source. The molecular masses of CHT and PRO determined by SDS-PAGE were approximately 65 kDa and 53 kDa, respectively. CHT was inhibited by $Mn^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$, and PRO was inhibited by most tested divalent metals and EDTA. The optimum pH, optimum temperature, pH stability, and thermal stability of CHT and PRO were pH 5, $50^{\circ}C$, pH 5-7, and <$50^{\circ}C$, and pH 9, $40^{\circ}C$, pH 5-11, and <$40^{\circ}C$, respectively. PRO retained 95% of its protease activity in the presence of 0.5 mM SDS. The result demonstrates that PRO is an SDS-resistant protease and probably has a rigid structure. The $4^{th}$-day supernatant showed the strongest antioxidant activity (70%, DPPH scavenging ability) and the highest total phenolic content ($196{\pm}6.2\;{\mu}g$ of gallic acid equiv./ml). Significant associations between the antioxidant potency and the total phenolic content, as well as between the antioxidant potency and free amino groups, were found for the supernatant. With this method, we have shown that shrimp shell wastes can be utilized and it is effective in the production of enzymes and antioxidants, facilitating its potential use in industrial applications and functional foods.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.129-134
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• 1988

Enzymatical properties of Streptomyces sp. S-45 producing chitinase and ${\beta}$-1.3-glucanase isolated from soil were investigated. Chitinase activity was 3.01(U/ml) and ${\beta}$-1.3-glucanase activity was 2.49(U/ml). The optimum medium for mycolytic enzyme production of strain was composed of 0.7% colloidal chitin, 0.3% glucose, 0.5% asparagine, 0.2% peptone, 0.01% NaCl, 0.01% $K_2HPO_4$ and 0.01% $MgSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O$ in intial pH 7.0. The optimal condition for mycolytic enzyme activities were: pH 6.5-7.0, $45-50^{\circ}C$. Enzyme activities were activated by metal ion as $10^{-2}M\;Co^{{+}{+}}$, $Cu^{{+}{+}}$, $Mn^{{+}{+}}$, $Al^{{+}{+}{+}}$ and $10^{-3}M\;Sn^{{+}{+}}$ but $Ag^{{+}{+}}$, $Hg^{{+}{+}}$ inhibited.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.105-111
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• 2013

The experiments were carried out to investigate the biocontrol potential of Lysobacter capsici YS1215 on root-knot nematode and to characterize its lytic enzyme activities. L. capsici YS1215 showed chitinase and gelatinase activities on the medium containing 0.5% chitin or 0.5% gelatin as substrates. Cell growth of L. capsici YS1215 was highest at 6 days, and the highest activities of chitinase (4.0 unit $ml^{-1}$) and gelatinase (7.43 unit $ml^{-1}$) were observed on 3 and 5 days after incubation, respectively. To investigate the effect of L. capsici YS1215 on tomato growth and nematode infection, the plants in pot trial were treated with bacterial culture (BC), half of bacterial culture (HBC), only bacterial medium (BM), tap water (TW) and commercial nematicide (CN). HBC treatd plants showed the higher shoot fresh weight and dry weight on $5^{th}$week after incubation while BM, HBC and BC had consistently higher values than TW at $9^{th}$ week. HBC appeared to be the highest shoot fresh length at $9^{th}$ week. Both CN and BC showed lower number of egg mass, root gall, and population of juveniles in soil compared to BC, HBC, BM and TW. These results suggest that L. capsici YS1215 with its strong ability of lytic enzyme production can be one of the most significant candidates for biocontrol agents against root-knot nematodes.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.219-225
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• 2008

For the production of an antifungal compound, one strain (I-8) was selected from approximately 400 strains isolated from various soil samples. The optimum carbon source, nitrogen source and pH culture conditions for the production of the antifungal compound were investigated. ISP No. 2 medium (yeast extract 0.4%, malt extract 1% and dextrose 0.4%, at pH 8) was determined to be the optimum medium. Strain I-8 showed broad antifungal activity against the plant pathogenic fungi tested, including Sclerotinia sclerotiorum KACC 41065, as well as cellulase and chitinase activities in an agar plate assay. The extraction of antifungal compounds was performed using ethyl ether and ethyl acetate. In a culture broth of strain I-8, the ethyl acetate extract exhibited effective growth inhibition against 14 of the 20 phytopathogenic fungi tested. By mixing the ethyl acetate extract from I-8 with the ethyl ether extract from the fungus 13-16, which shows specific antifungal activity against Colletotrichum orbiculare KACC 40808, the antifungal activity of I-8 against phytopathogenic fungi was confirmed to be slightly increased. Strain I-8 showed strong growth inhibition against 16 phytopathogenic strains in agar plate tests.