• Journal of Life Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.69-80
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• 1999

Some trials to alter the structure of extracellular polysaccharides by means of biotransformation and microbial modification have been reported. Seaweed alginate was acetylated by intact and resting cells of Pseudomonas syringae ATCC 19304. Glucose analogs such as 3-O-methyl-D-glucose used as sole carbon sources was directly incorporated into curdlan by agrobacterium sp. ATCC 31749. The 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucose (glucosamine)and 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose (N-acetylglucosamine) were incorporated into microbial cellulose by Acetobacter xylinum ATCC 10245. The changed monomeric composition in pullulan by Aureobasidium pullulans ATCC 42023 as well as zooglan by Zoogoea ramigera ATCC 25935 was another effect of glucose analogs used a carbon source. There was no effect of glucose analogs found in polysacharide-7 (PS-7) produced by Beijerinckia indica. ATCC 21423.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.1361-1370
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• 2015

A blue laccase was purified from a white rot fungus of Trametes trogii, which was a monomeric protein of 64 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. The enzyme acted optimally at a pH of 2.2 to 4.5 and a temperature of 70℃ and showed high thermal stability, with a half-life of 1.6 h at 60℃. A broad range of substrates, including the non-phenolic azo dye methyl red, was oxidized by the laccase, and the laccase exhibited high affinity towards ABTS and syringaldazine. Moreover, the laccase was fairly metal-tolerant. A high-molecular-weight kraft lignin was effectively polymerized by the laccase, with a maximum of 6.4-fold increase in weight-average molecular weight, as demonstrated by gel permeation chromatography. Notable structural changes in the polymerized lignin were detected by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. This revealed an increase in condensed structures as well as carbonyl and aliphatic hydroxyl groups. Simultaneously, phenolic hydroxyl and methoxy groups decreased. These results suggested the potential use of the laccase in lignin modification.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1876-1882
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• 2018

A series of pentacyclic triterpenoids similar to glycyrrhetinic acid were designed and synthesized via the combination of chemical modification and microbial catalysis. All products were screened for the glycogen phosphorylases inhibitory activities in vitro. Within this series of derivatives, compound 5 displayed good inhibitory activities with $IC_{50}$ value of $27.7{\mu}M$, which is better than that of the other derivatives and glycyrrhetinic acid. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis of these inhibitors was also discussed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1955-1970
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• 2018

Several genetic strategies have been proposed for the successful transformation and expression of microbial transgenes in model and crop plants. Here, we bring into focus the prominent applications of microbial transgenes in plants for the development of disease resistance; mitigation of stress conditions; augmentation of food quality; and use of plants as "bioreactors" for the production of recombinant proteins, industrially important enzymes, vaccines, antimicrobial compounds, and other valuable secondary metabolites. We discuss the applicable and cost-effective approaches of transgenesis in different plants, as well as the limitations thereof. We subsequently present the contemporary developments in targeted genome editing systems that have facilitated the process of genetic modification and manifested stable and consumer-friendly, genetically modified plants and their products. Finally, this article presents the different approaches and demonstrates the introduction and expression of microbial transgenes for the improvement of plant resistance to pathogens and abiotic stress conditions and the production of valuable compounds, together with the promising research progress in targeted genome editing technology. We include a special discussion on the highly efficient CRISPR-Cas system helpful in microbial transgene editing in plants.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.159-164
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• 2011

Microbial whole-cell biosensors can be excellent analytical tools for monitoring environmental pollutants. They are constructed by fusing reporter genes (e.g., lux, gfp or lacZ) to inducible regulatory genes which are responsive to the relevant pollutants, such as aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals. A large spectrum of microbial biosensors has been developed using recombinant DNA technology and applied in fields as diverse as environmental monitoring, medicine, food processing, agriculture, and defense. Furthermore, their sensitivity and target range could be improved by modification of regulatory genes. Recently, microbial biosensor cells have been immobilized on chips, optic fibers, and other platforms of high-throughput cell arrays. This paper reviews recent advances and future trends of genetically modified microbial biosensors used for monitoring of specific environmental pollutants.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.137-147
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• 1972

Estrone, which is obtainable from 19-hydroxycholesterol acetate through microbial oxidation, was chemically transformed to orally active estrogens, ethynylestradiol and methylestradiol. For progestin synthesis, $5{\alpha}$-bromo-619-oxidoisoandrosterone, was harvested from the culture broth(ATCC:19170), in which $5{\alpha}$-bromo-619-oxidocholestanol, acetate was added as a carbon source. Methylestrenolone, a potent orally active progestin, was synthesized from the harvested product via several reactions. Norethindrone, a popular progestin, was also prepared from 19-norandrostenedione. 19-Norandrostenedione is also available through microbial oxidation and chemical modification of $5{\alpha}$-chlor-619-oxidocholestanol, acetate.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.168-172
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• 2008

A microbial fuel cell is a noble green technology generating electricity from biomass and is expected to find applications in a real world. One of main hurdles to this purpose is the low power density. In this study, we constructed a prototype microbial fuel cell using Proteus vulgaris to study the effect of various reaction conditions on the performance. Main focus has been made on the modification of the anode with electropolymerized polypyrrole (Ppy). A dramatic power enhancement was resulted from the Ppy deposition onto the reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) electrode. Our obtained maximum power density of 1.2 mW cm-3 is the highest value among the reported ones for the similar system. Further power enhancement was possible by increasing the ionic strength of the solution to decrease internal resistance of the cell. Other variables such as the deposition time, kinds of mediators, and amount of bacteria have also been examined.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.747-753
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• 1999

Microbial surfactants are more effective and environmentally friendly than many synthetic surfactants. Sophorolipid, a glycolipid type microbial surfactant, is produced from C. bombiocola. Cultivation techniques to increase the productivity have been developed using various carbon sources and reactor setup, reaching its concentration upto 100-300 g/L. Due to its high productivity and non-toxicity, sophorolipid became one of the most promising alternative to synthetic surfactants. Fermentative production of sophorolipid depends primarily on the carbon sources, such as glucose and vegetable oils, and nitrogen sources. Chemical modification of the sophorolipid produces various derivative with different physical properties including hydrophile-liphophilie balance(HLB), emulsion formation, surface tension and dispersing ability. Commercial potentials of sophorolipid in the cosmetic, health care and environment clean-up industries have been discussed.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.1315-1320
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• 2002

Since the enzymatic degradation of microbial poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate] (P(3HB-co-3HV)) initially occurs by a surface erosion process, a degradation behavior could be controlled by the change of surface property. In order to control the rate of enzymatic degradation, plasma gas discharge and blending techniques were used to modify the surface of microbial P(3HB-co-3HV). The surface hydrophobic property of P(3HB-co-3HV) film was introduced by CF$_3$H plasma exposure. Also, the addition of small amount of polystyrene as a non-degradable polymer with lower surface energy to P(3HB-co-3HV) has been studied. The enzymatic degradation was carried out at 37 $^{\circ}C$ in 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) in the presence of an extracellular PHB depolymerase purified from Alcaligenes facalis T1. Both results showed the significant retardation of enzymatic erosion due to the hydrophobicity and the enzyme inactivity of the fluorinated- and PS-enriched surface layers.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.1344-1348
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• 2008

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been regarded as noble clean energy technology that can directly convert biomass to electricity. However, its low power density is a main limitation to be used as a new energy source. To overcome this limitation, we focused on the anode improvement in a mediator-type MFC using P. vulgaris as a biocatalyst. Fuel cell performance increased when the anode was coated with carbon black or polypyrrole. The best performance was observed when polypyrrole/carbon black (Ppy/CB) composite material was coated on a carbon paper electrode. Our obtained value of 452 mW $m^{-2}$ is the highest value among the reported ones for the similar system. The effects of amount of Ppy/CB, mediator concentration, and amount of P. vulgaris have also been examined.