• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1630-1636
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• 2010

During the fermentation process of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, yeast cells must rapidly respond to a wide variety of external stresses in order to survive the constantly changing environment, including ethanol stress. The accumulation of ethanol can severely inhibit cell growth activity and productivity. Thus, the response to changing ethanol concentrations is one of the most important stress reactions in S. cerevisiae and worthy of thorough investigation. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between ethanol tolerance in S. cerevisiae and a unique protein called alcohol sensitive RING/PHD finger 1 protein (Asr1p). A real-time PCR showed that upon exposure to 8% ethanol, the expression of Asr1 was continuously enhanced, reaching a peak 2 h after stimulation. This result was confirmed by monitoring the fluorescence levels using a strain with a green fluorescent protein tagged to the C-terminal of Asr1p. The fluorescent microscopy also revealed a change in the subcellular localization before and after stimulation. Furthermore, the disruption of the Asr1 gene resulted in hypersensitivity on the medium containing ethanol, when compared with the wild-type strain. Thus, when taken together, the present results suggest that Asr1 is involved in the response to ethanol stress in the yeast S. cerevisiae.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.184-189
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• 2012

We sought to breed an industrially useful yeast strain, specifically an ethanol-tolerant yeast strain that would be optimal for ethanol production, using a novel breeding method, called genome reconstruction, based on chromosome splitting technology. To induce genome reconstruction, Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain SH6310, which contains 31 chromosomes including 12 artificial mini-chromosomes, was continuously cultivated in YPD medium containing 6% to 10% ethanol for 33 days. The 12 mini-chromosomes can be randomly or specifically lost because they do not contain any genes that are essential under high-level ethanol conditions. The strains selected by inducing genome reconstruction grew about ten times more than SH6310 in 8% ethanol. To determine the effect of mini-chromosome loss on the ethanol tolerance phenotype, PCR and Southern hybridization were performed to detect the remaining mini-chromosomes. These analyses revealed the loss of mini-chromosomes no. 11 and no. 12. Mini-chromosome no. 11 contains ten genes (YKL225W, PAU16, YKL223W, YKL222C, MCH2, FRE2, COS9, SRY1, JEN1, URA1) and no. 12 contains fifteen genes (YHL050C, YKL050W-A, YHL049C, YHL048C-A, COS8, YHLComega1, ARN2, YHL046W-A, PAU13, YHL045W, YHL044W, ECM34, YHL042W, YHL041W, ARN1). We assumed that the loss of these genes resulted in the ethanol-tolerant phenotype and expect that this genome reconstruction method will be a feasible new alternative for strain improvement.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.219-225
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• 2017

We investigated the anti-oxidative effect of the blueberry duke (Vaccinium corymbosum L., Ericaceae) ethanol extract in Caenorhabditis elegans model. The ethanol extract of blueberry duke showed relatively significant DPPH radical scavenging and superoxide quenching activities. To prove antioxidant activity of the extract, we checked the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, intracellular ROS, and oxidative stress tolerance in C. elegans. In addition, to verify if the increased stress tolerance of C. elegans by treating with the extract was due to regulation of stress-response genes, we checked SOD-3 expression using a transgenic strain. As a consequence, the blueberry duke ethanol extract increased SOD and catalase activities of C. elegans, and reduced intracellular ROS accumulation in a dose-dependent manner. Besides, blueberry duke ethanol extract-treated CF1553 worms showed higher SOD-3::GFP intensity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.17-22
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• 2016

Ethanol is a very valuable material, however, it is also a source of stress, as the accumulation of ethanol in a medium inhibits cell viability and decreases productivity of the target product. Therefore, the ethanol tolerance of yeast, which is closely related to ethanol productivity, is an important factor in industrial ethanol production. In this study, the YDJ1 and PEP5 genes were selected as target genes for elucidating ethanol-tolerant mechanisms by analyzing the expression regulation of these genes. The pA-YDJ1 and pA-PEP5 plasmids containing YDJ1 and PEP5 genes under an ADH1 promoter, respectively, were constructed and transformed into BY4742 (host strain), BY4742△ydj1, and BY4742△pep5 strains. The ethanol tolerance in the BY4742△ydj1/ pA-YDJ1 and BY4742△pep5/pA-PEP5 transformants was restored by overexpression of the YDJ1 and PEP5 genes to the host strain level. The YDJ1 and PEP5 genes were also introduced into the double gene disruptant (BY4742△ydj1△pep5) to investigate the expression regulation of the YDJ1 and PEP5 genes. The simultaneous overexpression of the YDJ1 and PEP5 genes restored ethanol tolerance to the 90% level of the BY4742 strain under 8% ethanol stress. The YDJ1 gene induced more overexpression of the PEP5 gene in the BY4742△ydj1 △pep5/pA-YDJ1, pA-PEP5 strain, suggesting that the YDJ1 gene partially regulates the expression of the PEP5 gene as an upstream regulator.

• Mycobiology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.191-195
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• 2003

Ethanol treatment method was attempted for the selective isolation of ethanol-tolerant fungi from two sites of rice paddy fields around Seoul area. The vertical and seasonal fluctuation of the fungal population were also investigated. The ethanol-tolerant fungi were Talaromyces stipitatus, T. flavus var. flavus, T. helicus var. major, Eupenicillium javanicum, Emericellopsis terricolor, Pseudourotium zonatum, Aspergillus flavus, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Penicillium frequentans, P. janthinellum, and P. verruculosum. The most dominant species isolated by this method was T. stipitatus. It was found that the numbers of fungal species and colony forming units(CFUs) of ethanol-tolerant fungi were higher in Ascomycota than in Deuteromycota. A particular tendency appeared the highest CFUs in autumn, but lower in spring and winter. T. stipitatus was the dominant species of ethanol tolerant microfungi. This result would suggest that membrane lipid composition of ethanol-tolerant fungi isolated from the soils may play on important role in the ethanol tolerance.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.257-261
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• 2008

Previous studies have suggested a possible correlation between cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) and stress tolerance in Bifidobacterium. In this study, the relationship was examined between CSH and environmental stress tolerance in Lactobacillus spp. By measuring the adhesion to hexadecane, 2 Lactobacillus fermentum strains- KLB 261 and KLB 231 were found to have high and low CSH, respectively. To measure their tolerance to various stresses, cells were subjected to salt (2 M NaCl), acid (pH 2), $H_2O_2$ (0.01 %, v/v), ethanol (20%, v/v), heat ($60^{\circ}C$), and cold ($-20^{\circ}C$). Compared with KLB 231, the hydrophobic KLB 261 was found to be much more resistant to the various stresses examined. After being subjected to different stresses for a period of time, KLB 261 and KLB 231 showed 50 and 0% survivability in 2 M NaCl, 108.2 and 0.6% in 0.01 %(v/v) $H_2O_2$, 40.2%(v/v), and 3.7% at $60^{\circ}C$ incubation, 4 and 0.6% at $-20^{\circ}C$, 12.9 and 0.1 % in pH 2, 33.8 and 0.2% in 20%(v/v) ethanol, respectively. Autoaggregation test and morphological observation were also conducted in an attempt to explain these differences. These results suggested that high CSH could strengthen the stress tolerance of lactobacilli.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.667-674
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• 2014

Twenty-five Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains were screened for the highest sugar tolerance, ethanol-tolerance, ethanol production, and inhibitor resistance, and S. cerevisiae KL5 was selected as the best strain. Inhibitor cocktail (100%) was composed of 75 mM formic acid, 75 mM acetic acid, 30 mM furfural, 30 mM hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF), and 2.7 mM vanillin. The cells of strain KL5 were treated with ${\gamma}$-irradiation, and among the survivals, KL5-G2 with improved inhibitor resistance and the highest ethanol yield in the presence of inhibitor cocktail was selected. The KL5-G2 strain was adapted to inhibitor cocktail by sequential transfer of cultures to a minimal YNB medium containing increasing concentrations of inhibitor cocktail. After 10 times of adaptation, most of the isolated colonies could grow in YNB with 80% inhibitor cocktail, whereas the parental KL5 strain could not grow at all. Among the various adapted strains, the best strain (KL5-G2-A9) producing the highest ethanol yield in the presence of inhibitor cocktail was selected. In a complex YP medium containing 60% inhibitor cocktail and 5% glucose, the theoretical yield and productivity (at 48 h) of KL5-G2-A9 were 81.3% and 0.304 g/l/h, respectively, whereas those of KL5 were 20.8% and 0.072 g/l/h, respectively. KL5-G2-A9 reduced the concentrations of HMF, furfural, and vanillin in the medium in much faster rates than KL5.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.227-235
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• 2015

The objective of this study was to improve the quality of Korean rice wine with wild type yeast strains isolated from various traditional Korean fermented foods. Herein the fermentation and sensory characterization of wild yeast, for the purposes of brewing Korean rice wine, was investigated. 12 yeast strains were examined for their ethanol and glucose tolerance. In addition, the pH, soluble solids, acidity, amino acidity, ethanol content, organic acids, and volatile compounds were also studied for the alcoholic beverages made with the wild yeasts. Almost all Saccharomyces genera yeasts were showed to have a tolerance at 10% ethanol, but non-Saccharomyces genera yeasts displayed a low tolerance. The alcoholic beverages fermented by non-Saccharomyces yeasts demonstrated higher levels of soluble solids, titratable acidity, amino acids, and lower ethanol content, when compared with the alcoholic beverages fermented by Saccharomyces genera yeasts. The organic acid content, such as malic acid, acetic acid, and succinic acid, was seen to also be higher. The electronic nose was analyzed, and discriminant function analysis (DFA) was used for discriminating wild yeast strains. The DFA plots indicated a significant separation of Saccharomyces genera and non-Saccharomyces yeast strains. For volatile compounds, ethyl acetate from non-Saccharomyces yeasts, and ethanol from Saccharomyces genera yeast, a high area ratio was observed.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.1771-1779
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• 2018

Chrysanthemum zawadskii (CZ) is a perennial herb belonging to the Asteraceae family. CZ is used medicinally to treat inflammatory and uterine diseases in Asia. CZ was extracted with 50% ethanol and CZ extract (CZE; at 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg body weight) was administered orally every day for 5 or 6 weeks to investigate the anti-diabetic effects in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced rats and STZ + high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. CZE significantly decreased fasting blood glucose levels in STZ- and STZ + HFD-induced diabetic models. In addition, glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance were improved in the STZ + HFD + CZE group by increasing insulin levels and decreasing hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels in serum. Furthermore, CZE supplements decreased components of the serum lipid profile such as triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. These results suggest that CZE may be a potential candidate for controlling hyperglycemia.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.355-359
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• 1992

Yeast cells of a fusant strain constructed by protoplast fusion of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Kluyveromyces frugilis were immobilized on calcium alginate beads. The increment of the ethanol tolerance of this strain to 8.0%, when compared with the parent K, fragilis, was confirmed. Based on the results from jar fermentation, a packed-bed reactor of theh immobilized yeast cells was operated. The optimal performance of the immobilized yeast reactor for ethanol production was achieved when supplying 10% lactose (suplemented 1.0% yeast extract) at a temperature of 30.deg.C. The maximal ethanol productivity was obtained as 13.3 g/I/hr at a dilution rate of $0.76 hr^{-1}$.