• KSBB Journal
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.187-191
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• 2004

Among 14 medicinal plants selected for the study ethanol (70%) extract of Coptis japonica Makino showed the highest anti-microbial activity against Helicobacter pylori followed by Perilla frutescens var. acuta KUDO, Caesalpinia sappan L. and Schizonepeta tenuifolia Briq. However, anti-urease activity of methanol (80％) extracts was best for Forsythiae Fructus followed by Caesaipinia sappan L. and Schizonepeta tenuifolia Briq. In the second fractionation using water, ethyl acetate and butanol more than 90％ of the anti-urease activity was detected in the ethyl acetate fraction.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.317-325
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• 2001

For heuristic purposes, the relative ratio of urease contents inside and outside cells was surveyed using nine ureB+ strains of Helicobacter pylori. the ratio of the enzyme specific activity appeared to vary greatly between the various H. pylori strains, ranging from 0.5 to 2.5. Besides the above compartment, urease was also richly found in the membrane fraction, especially in either peripheral or integral form. The urease distribution across the H. pylori membrane was significantly influenced by the ambient pH; the specific activity of external urease was highest at pH 5.5 with a narrow plateau, whereas the internal specific activity was highest within a pH range of 4.5 to 6.5 with a broad plateau. These finding strongly suggest that H. pylori urease is secretory and responded to the external pH. However, at pH 4.0 or below, no urease activity was detected in either the internal or external compartment, although an increase in the color development with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonate (TNBS) was observed. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) demonstrated that these phenomena may be related to a specific proteolysis in certain proteins, including urease or ${\gamma}$-glutamyl transpeptidase. Interestingly, the effect of ammonium ions n alleviating the enzyme inactivation inside the H. pylori cells was remarkably similar to that of D-glucose. In addition, it would appear that the cation acted as a surrogate of not only $Na^+$ but also $K^+$ thereby increasing the H. pylori P-type ATPase activity. This is of great interest, as it implies that the urease action in H. pylori is indispensible at any locus.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.43-53
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• 1998

Dental caries is induced by organic acids produced by oral bacteria. In order to prevent dental caries, therefore, it is essential to maintain neutral pH in the oral cavity. Urea plays a major role in oral pH homeostasis. Urea is hydrolyzed by bacterial ureases to ammonia, causing a pH elevation. Streptococcus salivarius has been shown to be a major contribution to oral ureolysis. Synthesis of urease by S. salivarius appears to be constituitive, but can be greatly enhanced by low pH. It is, therefore, conceivable that ureolytic activity of S. salivarius from a carious lesion is greater than that of the bacterium from a healthy tooth. In the present study, urease activity of S. salivarius isolates from dental plaque of carious lesions was compared with that of the isolates from plaques of the teeth and the dorsum of the tongue; 45 S. salivarius strains were isofated from carious lesions(>C2) of 21 individuals with dental caries and 30 strains from 10 individuals without dental caries. The results were as follows: 1. All the 21 individuals with dental caries harbored ureolytic S. salivarius whereas 3 of 13 individuals without dental caries harbored non-ureolytic strains of S. salivarius. 2. All the 45 S. saliuarius isolates from carious lesions showed urease activity. In contrast, of 30 isolates from individuals without dental caries, 17 isolates(56.7%) did not demonstrate urease activity, or if any, very little(<5${\mu}mol$/min/mg). 3. Urease activity of the isolates from carious lesions was greater than that of the isolates from individuals without dental caries : the urease activity ranged from 42 to $381{\mu}mol$/min/mg and from 0 to $208{\mu}mol$/min/mg, respectively. 4. At acid pH(5.5), the isolates which showed intermediate urease activity at pH 7.0 demonstrated even higher activity whereas the isolate with no or lower urease activity did not show any significant difference in their activity. However, the isolates with the greatest urease activity from both individuals with and without dental caries, exhibited a rather much lower urease activity at pH 5.5. The overall results suggest that isolates may have their own urease activity but the isolates exposed to chronic acidic environment of the carious lesion might elevate urease activity of S. salivarius, which in turn, might influence on survival of S. salivarius itself and other bacteria, establishing a new oral bacterial ecosystem.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.26-29
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• 1996

The genes coding for the urease of alkalophilic Bacillus pasteurii have been previously cloned and recently sequenced. (You, J. H., B. H. Song, J. H. Kim, M. H. Lee, and S. D. Kim (1995) Molecules and Cells 5, 359-369.) The recombinant Bacillus pasteurii urease expressed in an E. coli HB101 strain was purified 31.2 fold by using combinations of anion-exchange and hydrophobic chromatography followed by Mono-Q chromatography on a FPLC. In spite of the presence of three discrete structural peptide genes in the Bacillus pasteurii urease gene cluster, only one or two enzyme subunits have been observed to date. Here we report for the first time that the recombinant Bacillus pasteurii urease expressed in a E. coli strain consists of three distinct subunits. One large subunit was estimated to be of $M_r$=65, 200 and the two small-subunit peptides are of $M_r$=14, 500 and $M_r$=13, 700, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.531-536
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• 2009

A urease-positive bacterium isolated from sea water was identified as Photobacterium sp. by morphological, biochemical, and 16s rRNA gene analyses and named Photobacterium sp. strain HA-2. 2.0-fold increase enzyme activity was observed in LB medium containing 3% NaCl and 0.1% urea or not and the enzyme activity was 16.0-fold lower compared to urease-positive Vibrio parahaemolyticus AQ4673 strain when grown in the LB medium containing 3% NaCl with 0.1% urea. The cloning and sequencing of Photobacterium sp. strain HA-2 urease gene cluster is currently being analyzed in our laboratory.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.639-643
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• 2015

In this study, we cloned and sequenced the 15,204-bp DNA region containing the gene cluster for urease production from the chromosome of the environmental Photobacterium sp. strain HA-2. We identified 15 open reading frames (ORFs) and the G+C content was 40.3%. The urease gene cluster of Photobacterium sp. strain HA-2 consisted of seven genes, namely, ureDABCEF and ureG. There were five ORFs of urease genes in the opposite direction, which were homologous to the nickel transport operons (nik) of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Escherichia coli. The genetic organization and sequences of the urease genes of Photobacterium sp. strain HA-2 resembled those found in Vibrio fischeri and V. parahaemolyticus.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.390-396
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• 1995

Bacillus sphaericus 1593 is a larvicidal toxin-producing mosquitocidal bacterium. The toxin contains a parasporal crystalline inclusion which is composed of a protein that is activated under alkaline condition. To enhance alkaline environment around toxin protein, cryptic plasmid cured, B. sphaericus 1593 was transformed by the Bacillus pasteurii urease gene which generate ammonia from urea. Transformant produced urease at about 80% more than wild type strain. B. sphaericus 1593, and the urease gene was stably maintained. It also produced crystalline toxin protein at the same level as the wild type strain B. sphaericus 1593.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.74-78
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• 2003

To determine the urease inhibitory activity of various heavy metal ions, a photometric cuvette assay for measuring ammonia production was developed. In this assay, the absorbance values at 630 m were linearly increased according to the ammonia concentrations up to 3.0 mg/l (r : 0.998). The urease inhibitions upon addition of a single species of heavy metal ions were in the decreasing order of Hg(II) > Pb(II) > Cu(II) > Cd(II) > Zn(II) ions. As expected, the urease inhibitions at a fixed concentration of a single species and at varying concentrations of other species occurred in the additive way. The above results show the applicability of the current method to the selective detection on Hg(II) ions as well as the screening of heavy metal ions possibly present at various samples.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.356-361
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• 1991

- To investigate the possibility of genetic development for a multi-purpose strain of Bacillus subtilis YBL-7 against Fusat-iurn solani causing root rot of many impotant corps, the plasmid pGU66 inserting urease gene of Bacillus pasteurii had been introduced into Bacillus subtilis YBL-7 by PEG-induced protoplast (PIP) transformation system. Protoplasts of B. subtilis YBL-7 were prepared by treating the cells with lysozyme (200 $\mu g$/ml) in hypertonic buffer (SMMP). The highest transformation frequency was achieved when cells of the strain with lysozyme at $42^{\circ}C$ for 90 minutes. Optimal transformation was obtained using polyethylene glycol (MW 4000) at final concentration of 30% (V/V). The transformation frequency was increased proportionally to 1.2 $\mu g$ of plasmid DNA. At best condition, the transformation frequency (transformants/ regenerants/$\mu g$ of DNA) for pGU66 was appoximately $4 \times 10^{-3}$. Also, the urease gene was strongly expressed in the transformants of B. subtilis YBL-7 and maintained steadily. The antifungal ability of transformant was very similar to that of B. ssubtilis YBL-7.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.58-63
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• 2004

Five urease-positive Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains were isolated from Kamak Bay in Yeosu in 2002 and 2003. V. parahaemolyticus YKB4 and YKB14 were isolated from seawater, YFB20 from black rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli), and YFO2l and YFO22 from olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus). The five urease-positive strains (YKB4, YKB14, YFB20, YFO21, and YFO22) did not show hemolysin and protease activity, while they did alter in color (to red) as the bacteria grew in the urea broth medium. All samples showed identical biochemical characteristics as a reference strain, V. parahaemolyticus KCTC2471, except in urease production. The five urease-positive strains showed urease activities at a mid stationary phase, and their activity was maximal in the late stationary phase of their culture supernatant. The addition of urea to the Luria-Bertani (LB) broth medium significantly affected the initial production of urease of V. parahaemolyticus isolates. Mortality by urease-positive V. parahaemolyticus YKB4, YKB14, YFO2l, and YFO22 was significantly high, being$60-80\%$, while YFB20 only reflected a rate of $20\%$. Protease-positive V. parahaemolyticus FM39 and FM50 showed a $40\%$ and $60\%$ mortality rate, respectively. However, hemolysin-positive V. parahaemolyticus had no mortality, like the non-pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus KCTC2471, while V. vulnificus resulted in a $40\%$ mortality rate. Injection with urease-positive V. parahaemolyticus strains showed mortality within 12 hrs in mice, and the strains could be isolated from the dead mice.