• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.1238-1249
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• 2023

In this study, we sought to investigate the production and optimization of biosurfactants by soil fungi isolated from petroleum oil-contaminated soil in Saudi Arabia. Forty-four fungal isolates were isolated from ten petroleum oil-contaminated soil samples. All isolates were identified using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, and biosurfactant screening showed that thirty-nine of the isolates were positive. Aspergillus niger SA1 was the highest biosurfactant producer, demonstrating surface tension, drop collapsing, oil displacement, and an emulsification index (E₂₄) of 35.8 mN/m, 0.55 cm, 6.7 cm, and 70%, respectively. This isolate was therefore selected for biosurfactant optimization using the Fit Group model. The biosurfactant yield was increased 1.22 times higher than in the nonoptimized medium (8.02 g/l) under conditions of pH 6, temperature 35℃, waste frying oil (5.5 g), agitation rate of 200 rpm, and an incubation period of 7 days. Model significance and fitness analysis had an RMSE score of 0.852 and a p-value of 0.0016. The biosurfactant activities were surface tension (35.8 mN/m), drop collapsing (0.7 cm), oil displacement (4.5 cm), and E₂₄ (65.0%). The time course of biosurfactant production was a growth-associated phase. The main outputs of the mathematical model for biomass yield were Yx/s (1.18), and µ_max (0.0306) for biosurfactant yield was Y_p/s (1.87) and Y_p/x (2.51); for waste frying oil consumption the So was 55 g/l, and Ke was 2.56. To verify the model's accuracy, percentage errors between biomass and biosurfactant yields were determined by experimental work and calculated using model equations. The average error of biomass yield was 2.68%, and the average error percentage of biosurfactant yield was 3.39%.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.944-951
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• 2004

The influences of inoculum size, pH, and medium composition on mycelial growth and exopolysaccharides (EPS) production were investigated in shake flasks and in a bioreactor. The optimum inoculum size for both mycelial growth and EPS production was identified to be 10% (v/v) in shake flask cultures. The optimal initial pH for mycelial growth and EPS production in shake flask cultures were found to be 5.0 and 7.0, respectively. However, the optimal pH was 5.0 for both mycelial growth and EPS production in bioreactor cultures where the pH was regulated. The optimal mass ratio of the two major carbon sources, glucose to dextrin, was 1:4. The optimal mass ratio of the two major nitrogen sources, yeast extract to soy tone peptone, was 2:1. When 500 mg $1^{-1}$ of $MnSO_4-5H_2O$ was added to the bioreactor culture, both mycelial growth and EPS production were enhanced by approximately 10%. Under the optimized conditions, a mycelial biomass of 9.85 g $1^{-1}$ and an EPS concentration of 4.92 g $1^{-1}$ were obtained in 4 days.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.37-42
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• 2011

A new versatile acrylonitrile-bioconverting strain isolated from a petroleum-contaminated sludge sample and identified as Rhodococcus ruber AKSH-84 was used for optimization of medium and biotransformation conditions for nitrilase activity to produce acrylic acid. A simple and rapid HPLC protocol was optimized for quantification of acrylic acid, acrylamide, and acrylonitrile. The optimal medium conditions for nitrilase activity were pH of 7.0, temperature of $30^{\circ}C$, agitation of 150 rpm, and inoculum level of 2%. Glycerol as a carbon source and sodium nitrate as the nitrogen source provided good nutritional sources for achieving good biotransformation. Nitrilase activity was constitutive in nature and was in the exponential growth phase after 24 h of incubation under optimal conditions without addition of any inducer. The substrate preference was acrylonitrile and acetonitrile. The present work demonstrates the biotransformation of acrylonitrile to acrylic acid with the new strain, R. ruber AKSH-84, which can be used in green biosynthesis of acrylic acid for biotechnological processes. The nitrilase produced by the isolate was purified and characterized.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.255-261
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• 1991

The effect of concentration of yeast extract and NH4Cl in the mediun of alcohol fermentation of S. cerevisiae ATCC 24858 on the fermentation characteristics, specific growth rate, sugar conversion, alcohol productivity was experimentally investigated. Regardless of initial sugar concentrations, the values of the above three characteristics increased with augument of concentration of yeast extract. However, the increasing tendency ceased above a certain concentration. The concentration of NH4Cl had little effect on the change of the three characteristics. The functional relationships between the concentration of yeast extract and the characteristics were different according to the initial sugar concentrations, but those between the ratio of yeast extract concentration to initial sugar concentration and the characteristics could be expressed as same forms respectively regardless of initial sugar concentrations. Also the values of the three characteristics approached to the maximum values around 0.085 of the ratio, but did not increase any more above 0.1 of the ratio. We have come to conclusion that the optimum ratio of the yeast extract concentration to the initial sugar concentration was about 0.085 and the ratio should not be decided as greater than 0.1 in the medium of alcohol fermentation of S. cerevisiae ATCC 24858.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.230-238
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• 2010

A microbial strain having high keratinase activity was isolated from the soil of poultry factories of Gyeonggi or Chungcheong-do. The isolated strain was identified as Bacillus sp. based on its morphological and biochemical characteristics. In this study, the optimal conditions for the production of keratinase by this strain were investigated. The optimal medium composition for the keratinase production was determined to be 3.5% chicken feather as carbon source, 1.0% tryptone as organic nitrogen source, 1.0% $KNO_3$ as inorganic nitrogen source and 0.05% KCl, 0.05% $KH_2PO_4$, 0.03% $K_2HPO_4$ as mineral source and 0.01% yeast extract as growth factor. The optimal temperature and pH was $40^{\circ}C$ and 8.5 with shaking culture (200 rpm), respectively. The maximum keratinase production reached to 123 units/ml after 42 hr of cultivation under the optimal condition. When the hair was used as the sole carbon source, the maximum enzyme activity was 88 units/ml after 120 hr and in this case, the hair added in the medium was not degraded completely but got thinner than the control by 20%.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.577-586
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• 2018

We recently reported the potential probiotic properties of Lactobacillus brevis SBB07 isolated from blueberries. The present study investigates the effect of culture conditions such as temperature, initial pH, culture time, and medium constituent for industrial application. The ingredients of the medium to improve cell growth were selected by Plackett-Burman design (PBD) and central composite design (CCD) within a desirable range. The PBD was applied with 19 factors: seven carbon sources, six nitrogen sources, and six microelements. Protease peptone, corn steep powder (CSP), and yeast extract were found to be significant factors for the growth of SBB07. The CCD was then applied with three variables found from the PBD at five levels, and the optimum values were decided for the three variables: protease peptone, CSP, and yeast extract. In the case of the growth of SBB07, the proposed optimal media contained 2.0% protease peptone, 2.5% CSP, and 2.0% yeast extract, and the maximum dried-cell weight was predicted to be 2.93963 g/l. By the model verification, it was confirmed that the predicted and actual results are similar. Finally, the study investigated the effects of incubation temperature and initial pH at the optimized medium. It was confirmed that the dried-cell weight increased from $2.2933{\pm}0.0601g/l$ to $3.85{\pm}0.0265g/l$ when compared to the basal medium at $37^{\circ}C$ and initial pH 8.0. Establishing the optimal culture condition for SBB07 provides good potential for applications in probiotics and can serve as the foundation for the industrialization of materials.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.443-449
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• 1999

Bacillus subtilis BK-17 which produces a novel protease with fibrinolytic activity was isolated from soybean paste. Bioreactor production of the enzyme was studied in order to optimize fermentation conditions such as medium concentration, pH, agitation speed, and temperature. Under most cultural conditions, enzyme production initially began when the cell growth stopped. The onset of the enzyme production was indicated by rapid increase in both dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH. Two- to three-times more concentrated medium than the flask optimum medium yielded higher enzyme production in the bioreactor fermentation. When the medium pH was controlled constant, pH 6.5 exhibited the highest activity in the range of 6.0 to 7.5, but the activity was similar to the case when the pH was initially adjusted to 7.5 and subsequently maintained within a relatively wide range of 6.4 to 7.8. Agitation speed did not affect the enzyme production with an exception of DO reaching zero. Fermentation time was reduced when temperature increased within the range of $25^{\circ}C$ to$37^{\circ}C$. However, the highest activity, along with the slow decrease of the enzymatic activity after reaching the maximum value, was observed at $25^{\circ}C$. By shifting the temperature from $37^{\circ}C$ to $25^{\circ}C$immediately after DO reached the minimum level, the high enzyme production of 1,100 U/ml along with the short fermentation period of 13 h could be obtained.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.347-356
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• 2018

Chionanthus retusus is a small deciduous tree that is widely used in landscaping due to its beautiful white spring flowers and ornamental value. Conventional propagation through seeds requires one to two years of breaking dormancy. The objective of this study was to determine the conditions of in vitro germination in C. retusus. In vitro embryo culture was carried out to investigate the effects of six factors: basal media (McCown Woody Plant Medium (WPM) and Murashige and Skoog (MS)); plant growth regulators (different combinations and concentrations of naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 6-Benzylaminopurine (BA), and gibberellic acid ($GA_3$)); embryo age (collected weekly beginning 36 days after fruit setting); low temperature pretreatment (storing $4^{\circ}C$ for 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks); coconut additives (100, 200, and $300ml{\cdot}L^{-1}$); and genotype (grouping plants depending on their flowering nature). The basal medium used in this study was WPM with $2mg{\cdot}L^{-1-1}\;GA_3$, $20g{\cdot}L^{-1}$ sucrose, and $6g{\cdot}L^{-1}$ Agar. WPM medium mixed with $GA_3$, resulted in higher germination rate as compared to when using a combination of auxin and cytokinin. $GA_3$ at $2mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ was the most effective of all combinations and concentrations of PGRs. WPM medium with $2mg{\cdot}L^{-1}GA_3$ resulted in better and faster germination (75.93%). Embryos collected at 57 days after fruit setting had the highest percent of germinated seeds (87.04%) while low-temperature pretreatment of fruits at $4^{\circ}C$ for two weeks produced the highest germination (95.37%). These results of this study could be an open ground for development of an efficient protocol for commercial production of the ornamental tree.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.91-97
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• 1994

To improve the productivity of peroxidase (POD) of cell line SP-47 derived from cell suspension cultures of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L) Lam.cv White Star), we optimized culture conditions including the composition and concentration of plant growth regulators and carbon source, and the cell inoculum size. When one g (fr wt) of cells was inoculated into 50 mL TL medium supplemented with l mg/L 2,4-D and 30g/L sucrose in 300 mL Erlenmeyer flask at 25$^{\circ}C$ in the dark (100rpm), the POD activity per g cell dry wt was maximized to be about 6,800 units after 25 days of subculture, which was about 30 times higher than that of intact roots of horseradish plants grown in the greenhouse, but the cell growth was maximum after 15 days of subculture. The protein content per g cell dry wt maintained almost plateau and after 25 days of subculture decreased as culture Proceeded further whereas the POD specific activity (unit/mg protein) was about two times higher after subculture and continuously increased from 12 days to the end of cultures (40 days). The POD isozyme patterns showed almost the same regardless of cell growth stage, but some acidic isozymes were slightly increased after 25 days of subculture. These results indicate that POD activity in suspension cultures of sweet potato is closely associated with cell growth and stresses derived from cell culture renditions and medium depletion. Due to its high POD activity the SPL47cell line seems to be suitable for the mass production of POD.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.327-333
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• 1988

For optimal production of recombinant human interleukin-2 (IL-2) in E. coli the effect of fermentation conditions on cell growth, IL-2 production, and stability of recombinant cells were investigated. Among the complex nutrients tested in this work, yeast extract, peptone and corn steep liquor were found to be effective for recombinant cell growth. The recombinant cells were maintained stably under repression condition (3$0^{\circ}C$), but the stability of recombinant cells were drastically reduced upon induction of IL-2 expression (42$^{\circ}C$) even under the selection pressure. Addition of antibiotics to the culture medium resulted in the cell growth inhibition without significant improvement in recombinant stability. When the expression of IL-2 gene was induced at different growth phases, highest IL-2 production was achieved by the induction of IL-2 at the middle-exponential growth phase. It was found that the production of IL-2 significantly inhibited the cell growth and the ex-pression of other genes in the plasmid.