• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.529-536
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• 1998

In a 20 L fermentor experiments the level of dissolved oxygen (D.O.) strongly affected growth and PHBV production of Azotobacter vinelandii UWD. A higher D.O. (5%) increased specific cell growth rate two folds but PHBV production was 17 folds higher (62.3 wt%) at a lower D.O.(1%) level. D.O. level was not a good criterion to evaluate the effect of aeration on fermentation characteristics of A. vinelandii UWD. This strain maintained an equal D.O. (5%) by decreasing its oxygen consumption rate when oxygen transfer rate (OTR) was decreased by changing agitation speed at a fixed aeration rate. OTR rather than D.O. was a criterion to explain the effect of aeration on the cell growth and PHBV production. At 5% D.O. with a lower 0TR cell growth rate decreased but PHBV production (57.3 wt%) approached to that (62.3 wt%) of the lower (1%) D.O.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.106-114
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• 2014

Folic acid, one of the B group of vitamins, is an essential substance for maintaining the functions of the nervous system, and is also known to decrease the level of homocysteine in plasma. Homocysteine influences the lowering of the cognitive function in humans, and especially in elderly people. In order to determine the strains with a strong capacity to produce folic acid, 190 bacteria were isolated from various kinds of jeotgal and chungkuk-jang. In our test experiment, JA71 was found to contain $9.03{\mu}g/mL$ of folic acid after 24 h of incubation in an MRS broth. This showed that JA71 has the highest folic acid production ability compared to the other lactic acid bacteria that were isolated. JA71 was identified as Lactobacillus plantarum by the result of API carbohydrate fermentation pattern and 16s rDNA sequence. JA71 was investigated for its physiological characteristics. The optimum growth temperature of JA71 was $37^{\circ}C$, and the cultures took 12 h to reach pH 4.4. JA71 proved more sensitive to bacitracin when compared with fifteen different antibiotics, and showed most resistance to neomycin and vancomycin. Moreover, it was comparatively tolerant of bile juice and acid, and displayed resistance to Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Staphylococcus aureus with restraint rates of 60.4%, 96.7%, and 76.2%, respectively. These results demonstrate that JA71 could be an excellent strain for application to functional products.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.512-526
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• 2020

Synthetic nitrite is considered an undesirable preservative for meat products; thus, controlling synthetic nitrite concentrations is important from the standpoint of food safety. We investigated 1,000 species of microorganisms from various kimchi preparations for their potential use as a starter culture for the production of nitrites. We used 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis to select a starter culture with excellent nitrite and nitric oxide productivity, which we subsequently identified as Staphylococcus hominis subspecies hominis WiKim0113. That starter culture was grown in NaCl (up to 9%; w/v) at 10℃-40℃; its optimum growth was observed at 30℃ at pH 4.0-10.0. It exhibited nonproteolytic activity and antibacterial activity against Clostridium perfringens, a bacterium that causes food poisoning symptoms. Analysis of Staphylococcus hominis subspecies hominis WiKim0113 with an API ZYM system did not reveal the presence of β-glucuronidase, and tests of the starter culture on 5% (v/v) sheep blood agar showed no hemolytic activity. Our results demonstrated the remarkable stability of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus hominis subspecies hominis WiKim0113, especially in strain negative for staphylococcal enterotoxins and sensitive to clinically relevant antibiotics. Moreover, Staphylococcus hominis subspecies hominis WiKim0113 exhibited a 45.5% conversion rate of nitrate to nitrite, with nitrate levels reduced to 25% after 36 h of culturing in the minimal medium supplemented with nitrate (200 ppm). The results clearly demonstrated the safety and utility of Staphylococcus hominis subspecies hominis WiKim0113, and therefore its suitability as a starter culture.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.177-181
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• 2001

It is previously reported that Bacillus licheniformis B1 strain isolated from nature was successfully used for Chungkookjang fermentation. Antioxidant activity of its powder was determined in this study. Sephadex G-75 gel filtration chromatography was performed, far soluble fractions of the powder extracted by distilled water. The soluble fractions were separated into large and small fractions. The substance 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) was used as an electron acceptor. Antioxidant activity was found in the small fractions. Five% solution of the Chungkookjang powder was the most effective in the extraction of antioxidant substances from the powder. It was proven in this study that strong antioxidant activity still remained in the Chungkookjang powder.

• BMB Reports
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.59-70
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• 2012

Carbon catabolite repression (CCR) is a key regulatory system found in most microorganisms that ensures preferential utilization of energy-efficient carbon sources. CCR helps microorganisms obtain a proper balance between their metabolic capacity and the maximum sugar uptake capability. It also constrains the deregulated utilization of a preferred cognate substrate, enabling microorganisms to survive and dominate in natural environments. On the other side of the same coin lies the tenacious bottleneck in microbial production of bioproducts that employs a combination of carbon sources in varied proportion, such as lignocellulose-derived sugar mixtures. Preferential sugar uptake combined with the transcriptional and/or enzymatic exclusion of less preferred sugars turns out one of the major barriers in increasing the yield and productivity of fermentation process. Accumulation of the unused substrate also complicates the downstream processes used to extract the desired product. To overcome this difficulty and to develop tailor-made strains for specific metabolic engineering goals, quantitative and systemic understanding of the molecular interaction map behind CCR is a prerequisite. Here we comparatively review the universal and strain-specific features of CCR circuitry and discuss the recent efforts in developing synthetic cell factories devoid of CCR particularly for lignocellulose-based biorefinery.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.85-91
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• 2015

This study was initiated to evaluate ethanol production by a Korean isolate of white rot fungus Irpex consors. It was found that the fungus could produce ethanol by converting glucose, mannose, xylose, and cellobiose under semi-aerobic condition with yields of 0.23, 0.19, 0.21, and 0.17 g ethanol per g sugars, respectively. Furthermore, the strain produced ethanol by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of rice straw treated with steam pressured boiling water, 3% NaOH, and 3% $H_2SO_4$ with maximum yields of 0.12, 0.15, and 0.19 g ethanol per g rice straw, respectively. These results suggested that I. consors could produce ethanol from the components of cellulose and hemicellulose including glucose, mannose, xylose, cellobiose as well as rice straw treated with steam pressured boiling water, dilute sodium hydroxide, and dilute sulfuric acid. This is the first report that I. consors mycelia produce ethanol from various sugars and lignocellulosic substance including rice straw.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.152-155
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• 2000

Cultural Conditions for the Improvement in Gibberellic Acid Productivity by a Mutant of Gibberellafujikuroi ATCC 12616-Gibberella fujikuroi G-36 . Dh, Young-Jun. Department of Food and Biotechnolog}'r Dongshm Umversity, Naju 520-714, Korea - A mutant Gibberella jujih/roi G- 36 was selected by metagenesis of G/bberella fitjikuroi ATCC 12616 with mutagens such as N-methy1-N'~nitro~N"nitrosoguanidine and hydroxylamine for improving productivity of gibberellic acid. The mutant strain produced gibberellic acid (70 mg/l) more than that of wilde type. A fermentation medium containing glucose, $NH_4N0_3$, $MgS0_4$, $KH_2P0_4$ and trace elements was deve]oped for the maximal production of a gibberellic acid by the mutanL The Guctuating cultural temperature that was vaded from 300e to 20DC resulted in higher GA yield than that of fixed cu1tura] temperature at $28^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1210-1214
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• 2010

Many bacteria are involved in the fermentation of doenjang, and Bacillus species are known to perform significant roles. Although SDS-PAGE has been frequently used to classify and identify bacteria in various samples, the microbial diversity in doenjang has not yet been investigated. This study aims to determine the identity and distribution of dominant Bacillus species in doenjang using SDS-PAGE profiles of whole-cell proteins and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Reference Bacillus strains yielded differential SDS-PAGE banding patterns that could be considered to be highly specific fingerprints. Grouping of bacterial strains isolated from doenjang samples by whole-cell protein patterns was confirmed by analysis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences. B. subtilis was found to be the most dominant strain in most of the samples, whereas B. licheniformis and B. amyloliquefaciens were less frequently found but were also detected in several samples. The results obtained in this study show that a combined identification method using SDS-PAGE profiles of whole-cell proteins and subsequent 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis could successfully identify Bacillus species isolated from doenjang.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.1675-1686
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• 2016

We characterized the probiotic properties of Lactobacillus helveticus strains KII13 and KHI1 isolated from fermented cow milk by in vitro and in vivo studies. The strains exhibited tolerance to simulated orogastrointestinal condition, adherence to Caco-2 cells, and antimicrobial activity. Both L. helveticus strains produced bioactive tripeptides, isoleucylprolyl-proline and valyl-prolyl-proline, during fermentation of milk. KII13 showed higher in vitro cholesterol-lowering activity (47%) compared with KHI1 (28%) and L. helveticus ATCC 15009 (22%), and hence, it was selected for in vivo study of cholesterol-lowering activity in atherogenic diet-fed hypercholesterolemic mice. For the study, mice were divided into four groups (viz., normal diet control group, atherogenic diet control group (HCD), KII13-atherogenic diet group (HCD-KII13), and Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 43121-atherogenic diet group (HCD-L.ac) as positive control). The serum total cholesterol level was significantly decreased by 8.6% and 7.78% in the HCD-KII13 and HCD-L.ac groups (p < 0.05), respectively, compared with the HCD group. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in both HCD-KII13 and HCD-L.ac groups were decreased by 13% and 11%, respectively, compared with the HCD group (both, p < 0.05). Analysis of cholesterol metabolism-related gene expression in mice liver showed increased expression of LDLR and SREBF2 genes in mice fed with KII13. By comparing all the results, we conclude that L. helveticus KII13 could be used as a potential probiotic strain to produce antihypertensive peptides and reduce serum cholesterol.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.1495-1500
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• 2008

In an attempt to develop a probiotic formulation for poultry feed, a number of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from chicken intestinal specimens and a series of in vitro experiments were performed to evaluate their efficacy as a potential probiotic candidate. A total of 650 LAB strains were isolated and screened for their antagonistic potential against each other. Among all the isolates only three isolates (TMU121, 094 and 457) demonstrated a wide spectrum of inhibition and were thus selected for detailed investigations. All three selected isolates were able to inhibit the growth of E. coli and Salmonella species, although to variable extent. The nature of the inhibitory substance produced by the isolates TMU121 and 094 appeared to be associated with bacteriocin, as their activity was completely lost after treatment with proteolytic enzymes, while pH neutralization and catalase enzyme had no effect on the residual activity. In contrast, isolate TMU457 was able to resist the effect of proteolytic enzymes while pH neutralization completely destroyed its activity. Attempts were made to study the acid, bile tolerance and cell surface hydrophobicity of these isolates. TMU121 showed high bile salt tolerance (0.3%) and high cell surface hydrophobicity compared to the other two strains studied, while TMU094 appeared the most pH resistant strain. Based on these results, the three selected LAB isolates were considered as potential ingredients for a chicken probiotic feed formulation and were identified to species level based on their carbohydrate fermentation pattern by using API 50CH test kits. The three strains were identified as Lactobacillus fermentum TMU121, Lactobacillus rhamnosus TMU094, and Pediococcus pentosaceous TMU457.