• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1547-1556
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• 2009

A novel thermostable $\alpha$-glucosidase (TtGluA) from Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis MB4 was successfully expressed in E. coli and characterized. The TtgluA gene contained 2,253 bp, which encodes 750 amino acids. The native TtGluA was a trimer with monomer molecular mass of 89 kDa shown by SDS-PAGE. The purified recombinant enzyme showed hydrolytic activity on maltooligosaccharides, p-nitrophenyl-$\alpha$-D-glucopyranide, and dextrin with an exotype cleavage manner. TtGluA showed preference for short-chain maltooligosaccharides and the highest specific activity for maltose of 3.26 units/mg. Maximal activity was observed at $60^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.5. The half-life was 2 h at $60^{\circ}C$. The enzyme showed good tolerance to urea and SDS but was inhibited by Tris. When maltose with the concentration over 50 mM was used as substrate, TtGluA was also capable of catalyzing transglycosylation to produce $\alpha$-1,4-linked maltotriose and $\alpha$-1,6-linked isomaltooligosaccharides. More importantly, TtGluA showed exclusive regiospecificity with high yield to produce $\alpha$-1,6-linked isomaltooligosaccharides when the reaction time extended to more than 10 h.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.1758-1764
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• 2007

Synthesis of oligosaccharides during milk fermentation was attempted by inoculating Leuconostoc citreum with Lactobacillus casei, Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, and Streptococcus thermophilus as starters. Dextransucrase of Ln. citreum worked as a catalyst for the transglycosylation reaction of sugars; sucrose was added as the glucose donor, and lactose or maltose acted as the acceptor compound for the reaction. When 4% sucrose was added in milk, glucosyl-lactose was synthesized (about 1%, w/v) after 1-2 days of fermentation at 15 or $25^{\circ}C$. Alternatively, when sucrose and maltose (2% each, w/v) were added, panose (about 1 %, w/v) and other isomaltooligosaccharides were made in a day at $15-35^{\circ}C$. Growth patterns of lactobacilli and streptococci starters were not affected by the coculture of leuconostoc starter, but the rate of acid synthesis was slightly slowed at every temperature. Addition of sugars in milk did not give any adverse effect on the lactate fermentation. Accordingly, the use of leuconostoc starter and addition of sugars in milk allowed the production of oligosaccharides-containing fermented milk, and application of this method will facilitate the extensive development of synbiotic lactate foods.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1141-1145
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• 2008

Isomaltooligosaccharide (IMO) is a promising dietary component with prebiotic effect, and the long-chain IMOs are preferred to short chain ones owing to the longer persistence in the colon. To establish the optimal process for synthesis of long-chain IMOs, we systematically examined the reaction condition of dextransucrase of Leuconostoc mesenteroides B-512F by changing the ratio of sucrose to maltose (varying as 1:4, 1:2, 1:1, and 2:1) and amount of each sugar (from 2% to 20%). As a result, a ratio of 2:1 (sucrose to maltose, 10:5% or 20:10%, w/v) was determined as an optimal condition for long-chain IMO synthesis (DP3-DP9) with relatively higher yields (70-90%, respectively).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.46-52
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• 2002

As a functional additive for intestinal microflora, panose ($6^2-{\alpha}$-D-glucopyranosylmaltose) was synthesized during kimchi fermentation using the glucose transferring reaction of glucansucrase from Leuconostoc mesenteroides. For the glucose transferring reaction, sucrose and maltose were added ($2\%$ each, w/v) to dongchimi-kimchi as the glucosyl donor and acceptor molecule, respectively. After five days of incubation at $10^{\circ}C$, referring to the initial phase for the production of lactic acid in kimchi, over $60\%$ (w/v) of the total sugars were converted into panose and other branched oligosaccharides. Thereafter, the kimchi was stored at $4^{\circ}C$ and the amount of panose remained at a constant level for three weeks, thereby indicating the stability of panose to microbial degradation during the period of kimchi consumption. The use of maltose as the acceptor molecule in the kimchi also facilitated a lower viscosity in the kimchi-juice by preventing the synthesis of a dextran-like polymer which caused an unfavorable taste. Accordingly, the application of this new method of simultaneous biocatalytic synthesis of oligosaccharides during lactate fermentation should facilitate the extensive development of new function-added lactate foods.