• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.375-379
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• 2002

Methyl mercaptan oxidase was successfully induced in Thiobacillus thioparus TK-m using methyl mercaptan gas, and was purified for the detection of mercaptans. The purification procedure Involved a DEAE (diethylaminoethyl) -Sephacel, or Superose 12, column chromatography with recovery yields of 47.5 and 48.5%, and specific activities of 374 and 1240.8 units/mg-protein, respectively, The molecular weight of the purified methyl mercaptan oxidase was 66.1kDa, as determined by SDS-PAGE. The extract, from gel filtration chromatography oxidizes methyl mercaptan, producing formaldehyde, which can be easily detected by the purpald-coloring method. The optimized temperature for activity was found to be at 55$\^{C}$. This enzyme was inhibited by both NH$_4$Cl and (NH$_4$)$_2$SO$_4$, but was unaffected by either KCl or NaCl at less than 200 mM. With K$_2$SO$_4$, the activity decreased at 20 mM, but recovered at 150 mM. In the presence of methanol, full activity was maintained, but decreased in the presence of glycerin, ethanol and acetone 43, 78 and 75%, respectively.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.492-497
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• 1998

Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD) was purified from horseradish by using Mono Q and Superose 12 FPLC column chromatography. The native molecular mass of the purified enzyme was approximately 33 kDa, as determined by gel filtration. The subunit molecular weight, as estimated by SDS-PAGE, was 16 kDa. These results indicated that the native enzyme is a homodimer. We investigated the free radical-generating function of horseradish Cu,Zn-SOD by using a chromogen, 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) which reacts with ${\cdot}OH$ radicals to form $ABTS^{+{\cdot}}$ The formation of $ABTS^{+{\cdot}}$ was required for both active Cu, Zn-SOD and $H_2O_2$. The optimal pH for the free radical-generating activity of this enzyme was 6.0-8.0, and it retained about $40^{\circ}C$ of its maximum activity when exposed at $40^{\circ}C$ for 15 min. A neutral scavenger, ethanol, inhibited the $ABTS^{+{\cdot}}$ formation by horseradish Cu, Zn-SOD more effectively than that by the mammalian enzyme. These results suggest that the active channel of horseradish enzyme is slightly larger than that of the mammalian enzyme.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.286-290
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• 2006

A genomic library of Streptococcus vestibularis ATCC49124 was constructed in an E. coli plasmid vector, and the urease-positive transformants harboring the urease gene cluster were isolated on Christensen-urea agar plates. The minimal DNA region required for urease activity was located in a 5.6 kb DNA fragment, and a DNA sequence analysis revealed the presence of a partial ureI gene and seven complete open reading frames, corresponding to ureA, B, C, E, F, G, and D, respectively. The nucleotide sequence over the entire ure gene cluster and 3'-end flanking region of S. vestibularis was up to 95% identical to that of S. salivarius, another closely related oral bacterium, and S. thermophilus, isolated from dairy products. The predicted amino acid sequences for the structural peptides were 98-100% identical to the corresponding peptides in S. salivarius and S. thermophilus, respectively, whereas those for the accessory proteins were 96-100% identical. The recombinant E. coli strain containing the S. vestibularis ure gene cluster expressed a high level of the functional urease holoenzyme when grown in a medium supplemented with 1 mM nickel chloride. The enzyme was purified over 49-fold by using DEAE-Sepharose FF, Superdex HR 200, and Mono-Q HR 5/5 column chromatography. The specific activity of the purified enzyme was 2,019 U/mg, and the Michaelis constant ($K_{m}$) of the enzyme was estimated to be 1.4 mM urea. A Superose 6HR gel filtration chromatography study demonstrated that the native molecular weight was about 196 kDa.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.452-457
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• 2001

The glutaryl 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (glutaryl 7-ACA) acylase was purified from Pseudomonas diminuta KAC-1 cells isolated from soil, and characterized. The acylase was purified by procedures including ammonium sulfate fractionation and column chromatographies on DEAE-Sepharose, Phenyl-Sepharose, Q-Sepharose, and Superose 12H/R. The negative acylase was found to be composed of two subunits with molecular masses of approximately 55 kDa and 17 kDa, respectively. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was 4.0. The specific activities of the purified acylase were 8.0 and 7.0 U/mg on glutaryl 7-ACA and glutaryl 7-aminodesacetoxy cephalosporanic acid (glutaryl 7-ADCA), respectively, and $K_m$ values were 0.45 mM for glutaryl 7-ADCA and 0.67 mM for glutaryl 7-ADCA. The enzyme had a pH optimum at 8.0 and a tmperature optimum at $40^{\circ}C$. The acylase catalyzed the synthesis of glutaryl 7-ACA from glutaric acid and 7-ACA as well as the hydrolysis of glutaryl 7-ADCA, although the reaction rate of the synthesis was slower than that of the hydrolysis. In addition, it was found that the enzyme had a glutaryl transferase activity, thereby transferring the glutaryl group from one cephalosporin nucleus to another.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1648-1654
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• 2008

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) removes damaging reactive oxygen species from the cellular environment by catalyzing the dismutation of two superoxide radicals to hydrogen peroxide and oxygen. Extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) is a tetramer and is present in the extracellular space and to a lesser extent in the extracellular fluids. Increasing therapeutic applications for recombinant human extracellular superoxide dismutase (rEC-SOD) has broadened interest in optimizing methods for its purification, with a native conformation of tetramer. We describe a solid phase refolding procedure that combines immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) and gel filtration chromatography in the purification of rEC-SOD from Escherichia coli. The purified rEC-SOD tetramer from the $Ni^{2+}$-column chromatography is refolded in Tris buffer. This method yields greater than 90% of the tetramer form. Greater than 99% purity is achieved with further purification over a Superose 12PC 3.2/30 column to obtain the tetramer and specific activities as determined via DCFHDA assay. The improved yield of rEC-SOD in a simple chromatographic purification procedure promises to enhance the development and therapeutic application of this biologically potent molecule.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.805-810
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• 2000

An antifungal protein antagonistic to the rice blast fungus, Pyricularia oryzae was purified from Paenibacillus macerans PM-1 by ammonium sulfate fractionation, Q Sepharose Fast Flow column chromatography, Phenyl Sepharose CL-4B column chromatography and Superose 12 gen filtration. An apparent molecular mass of the purified antifungal protein was determined as 8 kDa by SDS-PAGE and 9 kDa by analytical gel filtration, respectively, suggesting that the purified protein is a monomer. The antifungal protein was stable at pH range from 7-12 and up to $100^{\circ}C$. The protein was also stable at 0.1-1% Tween 20 and Triton X-100. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the antifungal protein was Thr-Glu-Leu-Pro-Leu-Gly-Ile-Val-Met-Asp-Lys-Tyr-Thr-Asp-Ala-Phe-Lys-Phe-Asp-Met-Phe. Comparison of the determined sequence with other peptide and DNA sequences did not reveal homology at all. Therefore, the purified antifungal protein was speculated to be a novel protein. The condidial germination in vitro of P. oryzae KJ301:93-39 by the purified protein ($5.9{\mu} g/ml$) was limited to $9{\pm}3.2%$ only, compared with $69{\pm}2.4%$ of the control. Ungerminated conidia were swollen at basa and mid cell by the purified protein. In vivo bioassay for inhibition of conidial germination of P. oryzae KJ 301, one of the most predominating racesin Korea. the purified protein ($5.9{\mu} g/ml$)strongly inhibited the conidial germination. The conidia, even though germinated, could not develop any further to produce appressoria efficiently.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.1221-1228
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• 2013

Two lipase genes (bpl1 and bpl3) from Antarctic Bacillus pumilus strains were expressed in Bacillus subtilis. Both recombinant lipases BPL1 and BPL2 were secreted to the culture medium and their activities reached 3.5 U/ml and 5.0 U/ml, respectively. Their molecular masses apparent using SDS-PAGE were 23 kDa for BPL1 and 19 kDa for BPL3. Both lipases were purified to homogeneity using ammonium sulfate precipitation and HiTrap SP FF column and Superose 12 column chromatographies. The final specific activities were estimated to be 328 U/mg for BPL1 and 310 U/mg for BPL3. Both lipases displayed an optimum temperature of $35^{\circ}C$, similar to other mesophilic enzymes. However, they maintained as much as 70% and 80% of the maximum activities at $10^{\circ}C$. Accordingly, their calculated activation energy at a temperature range of $10-35^{\circ}C$ was 5.32 kcal/mol for BPL1 and 4.26 kcal/mol for BPL3, typical of cold-adapted enzymes. The optimum pH of BPL1 and BPL3 was 8.5 and 8.0, respectively, and they were quite stable at pH 7.0-11.0, showing their strong alkaline tolerance. Both lipases had a preference toward medium chain length ($C_6-C_{10}$) fatty acid substrates. These results indicate the potential for the two Antarctic B. pumilus lipases as catalysts in bioorganic synthesis, food, and detergent industries.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.235-240
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• 2002

Streptomycetes is a group of Gram-positive soil bacteria that growas a branching vegetative mycelium leading to the formation of spores, and display a physiological differenti-ation related to the synthesis of many secondary metabolites including antibiotics. Their complex life cycle and multicellular differentiation require various levels of regulation and types of signal transduction systems including eukaryotic-type serine/threonine protein kinases and prokaryotic-type histidine/aspartic acid protein kinases. Akt kinase that was found in cells is a sorine/threonine kinase controlling signal pathway for multi-tude of important cellular events. The activation or inactivation of Akt kinase in the cell is one of the critical regulatory points to deliver cell proliferation, differentiation, survival or apoptosis signal. To find the regula-tory protein homologous to Akt in Streptomyces, the fluorescien-labeled synthetic peptide (FITC-TRRSR-TESIT) was designed from the consensus sequence of target proteins for Akt kinase. From the difference of the mobility between the nonphosphorylated and phosphorylated synthetic peptides on Agarose gel electro-phoresis, the Akt-phosphorylating activity was monitored. The cell-free extract prepared from Streptomyces griseus IFO 13350 and the Akt homologous protein was purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation and many steps of column chromatographies such as, DEAE-Sepharose, Mono Q, Resource Phenyl-Soporose and Gel permeation column chromatographies. As a result, the protein phosphorylating the fluorescien-labeled Akt substrate was identified and it's molecular weight was estimated as 39 kDa on SDS-PAGE.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.408-413
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• 2006

A strain, P821, with phospholipase D activity was isolated from soil and identified as a Streptomyces species. The phospholipase D enzyme was purified from a culture broth of the isolated strain using ammonium sulfate precipitation and DEAE-Sepharose, phenyl-Sepharose, and Superose 12 HR column chromatographies. The purified enzyme exhibited an optimum temperature and pH of $55^{\circ}C$ and 6.0, respectively, in the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine and remained stable up to $60^{\circ}C$ within a pH range of 3.5-8.0. The enzyme also catalyzed a transphosphatidylation reaction to produce phosphatidylserine with phosphatidylcholine and serine substrates. The optimum conditions for the transphosphatidylation were $30^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.0, indicating quite different optimum conditions for the hydrolysis and transphosphatidylation reactions. The gene encoding the enzyme was cloned by Southern hybridization and colony hybridization using a DNA probe designed from the conserved regions of other known phospholipase D enzymes. The resulting amino acid sequence was most similar to that of the PLD enzyme from Streptomyces halstedii (89.5%). Therefore, the enzyme was confirmed to be a phospholipase D with potential use in the production of phosphatidylserine.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.4 s.84
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• pp.581-586
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• 2007

Staphylococcus epidermidis is a coagulase-negative, gram-positive bacterium that normally inhabits the human skin. S. epidermidis is also known to be an opportunistic pathogen in infections of various indwelling medical devices. This report describes purification and characterization of the urease of S. epidermidis urease, which may act as a virulence factor. The urease from S. epidermidis was purified 1,127 fold by using DEAE-Sepharose, Phenyl-Sepharose, Mono-Q and Superdex HR200 column chromatography. The specific activity of the purified enzyme was 993.8 U/mg. Michaelis constant($K_m$) of the enzyme was estimated to be 8.5 mM urea by using Lineweaver-Burke double reciprocal plot. The native molecular weight of the urease was shown to be 255 kD by using Superose 6HR gel filtration chromatography and the purified enzyme contained 2.2 nickel ions per catalytic unit. The overall stoichiometry of the enzyme subunits appears to be $(\alpha\beta\gamma)_3$, which is consistent with the enzymes from other bacteria sources.