• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제15권6호
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• pp.1170-1177
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• 2005

Terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis was used to monitor inoculated oil-degrading microorganisms during bioremedial treatability tests. A pair of universal primers, fluorescently labeled 521F and 1392R, was employed to amplify small subunit rDNA in order to simultaneously detect two bacterial strains, Corynebacterium sp. IC10 and Sphingomonas sp. KH3-2, and a yeast strain, Yarrowia lipolytica 180. Digestion of the 5'-end fluorescence/labeled PCR products with HhaI produced specific terminal-restriction fragments (T-RFs) of 185 and 442 bases, corresponding to Corynebacterium sp. IC10 and Y. lipolytica 180, respectively. The enzyme NruI produced a specific T-RF of 338 bases for Sphingomonas sp. KH3-2. The detection limit for oildegrading microorganisms that were inoculated into natural environments was determined to be $0.01\%$ of the total microbial count, regardless of the background environment. When three oil-degrading microorganisms were released into oil-contaminated sand microenvironments, strains IC10 and 180 survived for 35 days after inoculation, whereas strain KH3-2 was detected at 8 days, but not at 35 days. This result implies that T-RFLP could be a useful tool for monitoring the survival and relative abundance of specific microbial strains inoculated into contaminated environments.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.28-33
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• 1998

A gene coding for ${\beta}$-xylosidase from thermophilic xylanolytic Bacillus sp. KK-1 was cloned into Escherichia coli using plasmid pBR322. Recombinant plasmid DNAs were isloated from E. coli clones which were capable of hydrolyzing 4-methylumbelliferyl-${\beta}$-D xylopyranoside. Restriction analysis showed the DNAs to share a common insert DNA. Xylo-oligosaccharides, including xylotriose, xylotetraose, xylopentaose, and xylobiose were hydrolyzed to form xylose as an end product by cell-free extracts of the E. coli clones, confirming that the cloned gene from strain KK-1 is ${\beta}$-xylosidase gene. The ${\beta}$-xylosidase gene of strain KK-1 designated as xylB was completely sequenced. The xylB gene consisted of an open reading frame of 1,602 nucleotides encoding a polypeptide of 533 amino acid residues, and a TGA stop codon. The 3' flanking region contained one stem-loop structure which may be involved in transcriptional termination. The deduced amino acid sequence of the KK-1 ${\beta}$-xylosidase was highly homologous to the ${\beta}$-xylosidases of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus pumilus, but it showed no similarity to a thermostable ${\beta}$-xylosidase from Bacillus stearothermophilus.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.162-165
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• 2002

With the objective of identifying the commercial potential of new direct-fed microbials, several temperature-tolerant strains were isolated from cane molasses at $39^{\circ}C$ and tested for their tolerance to pH, bile salts, and a mixture of volatile fatty acids (acetic acid:propionic acid:butyric acid=6.5:2.0:1.5). It was found that the isolated strain DY 252 grew very well up to pH 2.0 and was resistant to relatively high concentrations of bile salts. Among the strains tested, DY 252 was least inhibited by the addition of volatile fatty acids to the growth medium at $39^{\circ}C$. Accordingly, it would appear that strain DY 252, identified as yeast Issatchenkia orientalis, may be a potential candidate for use as a microbial feed additive.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.337-345
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• 2005

The degradation of phenanthrene, a model PAH compound, by microorganisms either in the mixed culture or individual strain, isolated from oil-contaminated soil in oil refmery vicinity sites, was examined. The effects of pH, temperature, initial concentration of phenanthrene, and the addition of carbon sources on biodegradation potential were also investigated. Results showed that soil samples collected from four oil refinery sites in Korea had different degrees of PAH contamination and different indigenous phenanthrene-degrading microorganisms. The optimal conditions for phenanthrene biodegradation were determined to be 30$^{circ}C$ and pH 7.0. A significantly positive relationship was observed between the microbial growth and the rate of phenanthrene degradation. However, the phenanthrene biodegradation capability of the mixed culture was not related to the degree of PAH contamination in soil. In low phenanthrene concentration, the growth and biodegradation rates of the mixed cultures did not increase over those of the individual strain, especially IC10. High concentration of phenanthrene inhibited the growth of microbial strains and biodegradation of phenanthrene, but was less inhibitory on the mixed culture. Finally, when non-ionic surfactants such as Brij 30 and Brij 35 were present at the level above critical micelle concentrations (CMCs), phenanthrene degradation was completely inhibited and delayed by the addition of Triton X100 and Triton N101.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제29권3호
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• pp.401-409
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• 2019

Heat-resistant microbial hosts are required for bioprocess development using high cell density cultivations at the industrial scale. We report that the thermotolerance of Escherichia coli can be enhanced by overexpressing ybeD, which was known to encode a hypothetical protein of unknown function. In the wild-type E. coli BL21(DE3), ybeD transcription level increased over five-fold when temperature was increased from $37^{\circ}C$ to either $42^{\circ}C$ or $46^{\circ}C$. To study the function of ybeD, a deletion strain and an overexpression strain were constructed. At $46^{\circ}C$, in comparison to the wild type, the ybeD-deletion reduced cell growth half-fold, and the ybeD-overexpression promoted cell growth over two-fold. The growth enhancement by ybeD-overexpression was much more pronounced at $46^{\circ}C$ than $37^{\circ}C$. The ybeD-overexpression was also effective in other E. coli strains of MG1655, W3110, DH10B, and BW25113. These findings reveal that ybeD gene plays an important role in enduring high-temperature stress, and that ybeD-overexpression can be a prospective strategy to develop thermotolerant microbial hosts.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제30권12호
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• pp.1937-1943
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• 2020

Although classical metabolic engineering strategies have succeeded in developing microbial strains capable of producing desired bioproducts, metabolic imbalance resulting from extensive genetic manipulation often leads to decreased productivity. Thus, abiotic strategies for improving microbial production performance can be an alternative to overcome drawbacks arising from intensive metabolic engineering. Herein, we report a promising abiotic method for enhancing lycopene production by UV-C irradiation using a radiation-resistant ΔcrtLm/crtB+dxs+ Deinococcus radiodurans R1 strain. First, the onset of UV irradiation was determined through analysis of the expression of 11 genes mainly involved in the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway in the ΔcrtLm/crtB+dxs+ D. radiodurans R1 strain. Second, the effects of different UV wavelengths (UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C) on lycopene production were investigated. UV-C irradiation induced the highest production, resulting in a 69.9% increase in lycopene content [64.2 ± 3.2 mg/g dry cell weight (DCW)]. Extended UV-C irradiation further enhanced lycopene content up to 73.9 ± 2.3 mg/g DCW, a 95.5% increase compared to production without UV-C irradiation (37.8 ± 0.7 mg/g DCW).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제18권3호
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• pp.410-416
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• 2008

The gene SfXyn10, which encodes a protease-resistant xylanase, was isolated using colony PCR screening from a genomic library of a feather-degrading bacterial strain Streptomyces fradiae var. k11. The full-length gene consists of 1,437bp and encodes 479 amino acids, which includes 41 residues of a putative signal peptide at its N terminus. The amino acid sequence shares the highest similarity (80%) to the endo-1,4-${\beta}$-xylanase from Streptomyces coelicolor A3, which belongs to the glycoside hydrolase family 10. The gene fragment encoding the mature xylanase was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The recombinant protein was purified to homogeneity by acetone precipitation and anion-exchange chromatography, and subsequently characterized. The optimal pH and temperature for the purified recombinant enzyme were 7.8 and $60^{\circ}C$, respectively. The enzyme showed stability over a pH range of 4.0-10.0. The kinetic values on oat spelt xylan and birchwood xylan substrates were also determined. The enzyme activity was enhanced by $Fe^{2+}$ and strongly inhibited by $Hg^{2+}$ and SDS. The enzyme also showed resistance to neutral and alkaline proteases. Therefore, these characteristics suggest that SfXyn10 could be an important candidate for protease-resistant mechanistic research and has potential applications in the food industry, cotton scouring, and improving animal nutrition.

• 한국지하수토양환경학회지:지하수토양환경
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• 제11권3호
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• pp.66-77
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• 2006

최근에 적용된 지하수 미생물의 군집구조를 밝히는 분자생물학적 및 생화학적 방법들에 대해서 알아보았고 그 결과로서 지하수의 주요 오염물질에 따른 활성화된 미생물군집들이 무엇인지를 밝힌 연구논문들을 종합하여 정리하였다. PCR에 의한 유전자 증폭기술의 발달로 배양 없이 미생물 종류와 개체군을 파악할 수 있게 되었고 각종 finger-printing 방법 (DGGE, SSCP, RISA, microarray) 과 지방산분석법 (PLFA/FAME)을 이용하여 활성화 된 미생물군집구조를 분석하였으며 FISH 등의 방법으로 특정균의 활성도를 알아본 사례들을 조사하였다. 대표적인 지하수오염물질인 유류성분 (n-alkanes, BTEX, MTBE, ethanol)과 염소계 용매 (TCE, PCE, PCB, CE, carbon tetrachloride, chloro-benzene) 등으로 오염되었을 때 우점하는 지하수 미생물상에 대해 보고된 내용을 포함하였다.

• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제49권4호
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• pp.501-509
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• 2021

The increasing demand for baked products has given a boost to research on isolation and selection of novel yeast strains with improved leavening activity. Twelve sourdough samples were collected from several localities of the Fez region in Morocco. The pH and total titratable acidity (TTA) values of these samples varied from 3.03-4.63 and 14-17.5 ml of 0.1 N NaOH/10 g of sourdough, respectively, while yeast counts ranged from 5.3 6.77 Log CFU/g. Thirty-two yeast isolates were obtained and evaluated for their leavening ability. Out of all isolates, four yeasts molecularly identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae (three strains) and Kluyveromyces marxianus (one strain) showed highest specific volumes of 4.69, 4.55, 4.35 and 4.1 cm³/g, respectively. These strains were further assessed for their tolerance to high concentrations of salt, sugar, elevated temperatures, and low pH conditions. K. marxianus showed higher resistance than the S. cerevisiae. Thus, Moroccan sourdoughs harbor technologically relevant yeasts that could be used as potential starters for bread preparation.

• 미생물학회지
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• 제46권3호
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• pp.278-285
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• 2010

국내에 자생하는 당귀, 삽주, 쇠무릎, 지모, 황기의 근권토양내 EPS 생성균주의 분포율을 조사한 결과 당귀로부터 분리된 균주의 56%가 EPS 생성 균주로 가장 높은 분포율을 나타내었다. 또한, 당귀 근계 (근권, 근면, 근 내부) 내 EPS 생성 세균의 밀도를 측정한 결과, 근권 토양 내에는 $9.0{\times}10^6$ CFU/$g{\cdot}soil$, 근면에는 $7.0{\times}10^6$ CFU/$g{\cdot}soil$, 그리고, 근 내부에는 $1.4{\times}10^3$ CFU/$g{\cdot}soil$로 확인되어, 다수의 EPS 생성 세균이 분포하고 있음이 확인되었다. 당귀 근권으로부터 분리된 EPS 생성세균은 Alphaproteobacteria (4 strains), Betaproteobacteria (6 strains), Firmicutes (2 strains), Actinobacteria (3 strains), 그리고 Bacteroidetes (1 strain) 계통군에 속하는 균주였다. 근면으로 부터 분리된 EPS 생성세균은 Alphaproteobacteria (7 strains), Betaproteobacteria (3 strains), Actinobacteria (2 strains), Bacteroidetes (3 strains), 그리고 Acidobacteria (1 strain) 계통군으로 나타났으며, 근 내부에서 분리된 EPS 생성세균은 모두 Bacteroidetes 계통군 Chitinophaga에 속하는 특징을 나타내었다. 약초 근권토양으로부터 분리된 EPS 생성세균 112균주중에서 Burkholderia caribiensis DR14 (1,547 mpa.s), Terriglobus sp. DRP35균주(2,136 mpa.s), Rhizobium hainanense SAP110균주(1,680 mpa.s)를 최우수 EPS 생성 균주로 선발하였다. 분리 정제된 EPS를 Bio-LC로 분석한 결과 glucose, galactose, mannose의 중성당과, galactosamine, glucosamine의 아미노당이 나타났다. 특히 Rhizobium hainanense SAP110 균주는 주요 중성당으로 glucose (60-89%)를 그리고 주요 아미노당으로 glucosamine (8.5%)을 생성하는 특징을 나타내었다.