• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.1717-1725
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• 2013

Traditional soybean paste from Shandong Liangshan and Tianyuan Jiangyuan commercial soybean paste were chosen for analysis and comparison of their bacterial and fungal dynamics using denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis and 16S rRNA gene clone libraries. The bacterial diversity results showed that more than 20 types of bacteria were present in traditional Shandong soybean paste during its fermentation process, whereas only six types of bacteria were present in the commercial soybean paste. The predominant bacteria in the Shandong soybean paste were most closely related to Leuconostoc spp., an uncultured bacterium, Lactococcus lactis, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus spp., and Citrobacter freundii. The predominant bacteria in the Tianyuan Jiangyuan soybean paste were most closely related to an uncultured bacterium, Bacillus licheniformis, and an uncultured Leuconostoc spp. The fungal diversity results showed that 10 types of fungi were present in the Shandong soybean paste during the fermentation process, with the predominant fungi being most closely related to Geotrichum spp., an uncultured fungal clone, Aspergillus oryzae, and yeast species. The predominant fungus in the commercial soybean paste was Aspergillus oryzae.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.42-47
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• 2012

Hydrothermal vents (HTV) provide special environments for evolution of lives independent on solar energy. HTV samples were gained from Tofua arc trench in Tonga, South Pacific. We investigated archaeal diversity enriched using combinations of various electron donors (yeast extract and $H_2$) and electron acceptors [Iron (III), elemental sulfur ($S^0$) and nitrate. PCR amplification was performed to detect archaeal 16S rRNA genes after the cultures were incubated $65^{\circ}C$ and $80^{\circ}C$ for 2 weeks. The cultures showing archaeal growth were transferred using the dilution-to-extinction method. 16S rRNA gene PCR-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis was used to identify the enriched archaea in the highest dilutions where archaeal growth was observed. Most of cultured archaea belonged to genus of Thermococcus (T. alcaliphilius, T. litoralis, T. celer, T. barossii, T. thoreducens, T. coalescens) with 98-99% 16S rRNA gene similarities. Interestingly, archaeal growth was observed in the cultures with Iron (III) and nitrate as an electron acceptor. It was supposed that archaea might use the elemental sulfur generated from oxidation of the reducing agent, sulfide. To cultivate diverse archaea excluding Thermococcus, it would be required to use other reducing agents instead of sulfide.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.204-210
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• 2015

Makgeolli is made from rice or flour, yeast, and nuruk, a fermentation starter. The flavor of makgeolli is affected by sugars, amino acids, organic acids and volatile flavor compounds produced by various microorganisms. In this study, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from unsterilized makgeolli samples collected from several provinces in Korea, and then later identified. Under anaerobic conditions, LAB density ranged from $5.0{\times}10^6$ to $1.5{\times}10^8CFU/mL$; yeast density ranged from $2.5{\times}10^7$ to $1.5{\times}10^8CFU/mL$. Of the LAB isolated from makgeolli, 1,126 were analyzed using restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of 16S rRNA, which allowed for classification into five groups. Of the 1,126 LABs tested, 130 produced ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.1617-1621
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• 2007

The 21 Kimchi samples collected by a contest for the best Kimchi homemaker in Jeonju were analysed to find major microbial composition and the correlation between sensory scores and the microbial properties, which include total microbial numbers, dominant strain number, subdominant strain number, yeast strain numbers, and floral diversity. The most common microbial composition of the Kimchi samples was Leuconostoc mesenteroides as dominant strain, and Lactobacillus sakei as subdominant strain, the pattern of which was also observed in all three Kimchi samples with the highest sensory scores, but not in all three Kimchi samples with the lowest sensory scores. However none of the other examined properties showed any significant correlation to sensory scores. This result means that the taste of fermented Kimchi depends mainly on the composition of bacterial species and that of Leuconostoc mesenteroides as dominant strain and Lactobacillus sakei as subdominant strain is the best for good taste. Yeast strains were found in the range of $3.8{\sim}4.6log\;CFU/g$ from 8 Kimchi samples and all the strains were identified to be Saccharomyces servazzii. However, fungi were not detected from any of the Kimchi. samples.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.400-406
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• 2018

Takju and yakju are traditional Korean alcoholic beverages that are prepared by fermentation of glutinous rice with nuruk, a cereal starter containing various bacteria, fungi, and yeast. In this study, physicochemical and microbial properties of a total of 12 commercial takju and yakju samples were analyzed; their pH, sweetness, and alcohol content were varied, depending on the type of alcohol, from pH 3.64-4.8, $5.1-24.8^{\circ}Bx$, and 4.6-18.5%, respectively. Microbial communities were analyzed with 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing using MiSeq system. At the phylum level, Firmicutes (86.2%) was the most dominant, followed by Proteobacteria (8.08%), Actinobacteria (2.56%), and Cyanobacteria (3.13%). Lactic acid bacteria, including Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Leuconostoc, and Weissella were also frequently detected. Among eukaryotes, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was the most dominant in these samples.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.362-376
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• 2020

Rabbit meat bekasam is a traditional fermentation product from Indonesia. This study aimed to determine the chemical and microbiological characteristics of rabbit meat bekasam during the fermentation process in order to isolate, characterize (in vitro and in vivo), and identify lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as the probiotic candidate. The chemical contents of bekasam on 7-day fermentation were investigated in explorative and experimental methods in a completely randomized design. A proximate analysis reported a decrease in the moisture content, fat and carbohydrate content, and an increase in protein content. Also, lactic acid content was increased from 0.48% to 1.12%, and pH was decreased from 5.3 to 4.3. Other properties indicated different values, such as bacteria (2.75×10⁶ to 4.45×10⁷ CFU/g), total LAB (3.82×10⁶ to 4.67×10⁸ CFU/g), total yeast (9.89×10⁶ to 3.82×10⁸ CFU/g) and total mould (4.34×10¹ to 4.86×10³ CFU/g). The experiment produced nine LAB isolates, including two probiotics subjected to further 16S rRNA gene analysis, which indicated that Lactobacillus buchneri was the potential probiotic isolate. After being tested on BALB/c mice, L. buchneri could improve the immune system by inhibiting the growth of Coliform and Salmonella.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.355-367
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• 1994

This study aims at exploring the nature of the traditional Korean wines brewed throughout the Southern Region of Korea-Chulla-do, Kyungsang-do and Cheju-do describing their varieties and brewing methods and also comparing the similarities and differences of their features. When compared with the wines produced in the Central Region, the Southern varieties are very fastidious and complex in their brewing methods, which in turn show a wide range of diversity. First of all, all the 29 kinds of wines investigated, not a single one shows any resemblance to any one of the remaining, each exhibiting peculiar and particular characteristic features of its own. Especially, the distilling methods demonstrate very complex processes. Secondly, the majority of the Southern spirits are made from grains, added with fragrant flavor of pine tree, wormwood, chrysanthemum leaves and other medicine herbs such as Chinese matrimony vine and tankui. Thirdly, they are brewed with yeast made from wheat into kodupap(steamed rice) type of spirits, emerging as in the form of blended liquor. Fourthly, in brewing, different fermenting temperature and duration are required. Typewise, the temperature required for the basic spirit is $15{\sim}20^{\circ}C\;or\;25{\sim}30^{\circ}C$ : in the case of blended secondarily fermented liquor, from the minimum of $0{\sim}5^{\circ}C$ to the maximum of $75{\sim}80^{\circ}C$. The brewing duration is $3{\sim}5$ days for the basic spirits. In some cases, from the minimum of 3 days to the maximum of 100 days are consumed for fermenting. Fifthly, the wine extraction gadgets are yongsu (wine strainer), the sieve, filter paper, Korean traditional paper, the utilization of which implies that the brewers endeavor to observe and preserve the traditional and indigenous methods of wine making.

• Mycobiology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.258-266
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• 2009

Pleurotus eryngii, known as king oyster mushroom has been widely used for nutritional and medicinal purposes. This study was initiated to screen the suitable conditions for mycelial growth and to determine the phylogenetic relationship of the selected strains. Optimal mycelial growth was observed at $30{^{\circ}C}$ and minimum mycelial growth observed at $10{^{\circ}C}$. This mushroom tolerates a broad pH range for mycelial growth, with most favorable growth observed at pH 6. Results also indicated that glucose peptone, yeast malt extract and mushroom complete media were favorable growth media, while Hennerberg and Hoppkins media were unfavorable. Dextrin was the best and xylose the least effective carbon sources. Results revealed that inorganic nitrogen sources were less effective than organic sources for the mycelial growth of P. eryngii. Investigation of genetic diversity is necessary to identify the strains. The ITS region of rDNA were amplified using PCR. The size of the ITS1 and ITS2 regions of rDNA from the different strains varied from 214 to 222 bp and 145 to 236 bp, respectively. The sequence of ITS2 was more variable than that of ITS1, and the 5.8S sequences were identical. A phylogenetic tree based on the ITS region sequences indicated that selected strains could be classified into six clusters. Fourteen IUM and ATCC- 90212 strains were also analyzed by RAPD with 20 arbitrary primers. Fourteen of these primers were efficiently amplified the genomic DNA. The number of amplified bands varied with the primers and strains, with polymorphic fragments in the range from 0.2 to 2.3 kb.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.191-200
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• 2014

Nuruk samples collected from various regions in Korea were investigated in terms of fungal contents and diversity. In measurement of colony forming unit (CFU) in Nuruk suspensions on DRBC agar, Nuruk samples MS4, MS8, and MS10 were among the highest fungal density, with $1,278.9{\pm}21.6$ (${\times}10^4$), $1,868.0{\pm}27.7$ (${\times}10^4$), and $775.1{\pm}19.2$ (${\times}10^4$) were among the samples showing the highest fungal density. CFU per 20 mg Nuruk, respectively. The majority of fungal components were yeasts, including Pichia anomala, P. kudriavzevii, Kluyveromyces marxianus, and Saccharomycopsis fibuligera, whereas Aspergillus oryzae and Rhizopus oryzae, the representative Nuruk fungi, were predominant only in the low fungal density Nuruks (MS2, MS5, and MS11). Saccharification capability of the fungal isolates was assessed by measurement of amylase activity in the culture broth. The highest amylase activity was found in A. niger and A. luchuensis, followed by S. fibuligera. A. oryzae and R. oryzae showed fair amylase activity but significantly lower than those of the three fungal species. R. oryzae was suggested to play an additional role in degradation of ${\beta}$-glucan in crop component of Nuruk since R. oryzae was the only fungus that showed ${\beta}$-glucanase activity among the fungal isolates. To confirm the safety of Nuruk, aflatoxigenicity of the isolated Aspergillus was estimated using the DNA markers norB-cypA, aflR, and omtA. All of the isolates turned out to be non-aflatoxigenic as evidenced by the deletion of gene markers, norB-cypA and aflR, and the absence of aflatoxin in the culture supernatants shown by TLC analysis.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.351-359
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• 2014

A beverage was produced by the fermentation of mixed extracts from the various fruits, vegetables, algae, and medical herbs. The physicochemical properties of the fermented beverage of plant extracts (FBPE) and microbial diversity were analyzed in cultures enriched from FBPE using 16S and 26S rRNA gene sequence analyses. The pH, acidity, $^{\circ}brix$, reducing sugar, and alcohol contents of the FBPE were determined to be the 3.48, 1.68%, 70.0, 1,026 g/L, and 3.5%, respectively. The most abundant free sugar and organic acid in the FBPE were glucose (567.83 g/L) and tartaric acid (93.68 mg/L), respectively. Lactobacillus homohiochii was the predominant species in all enriched culture samples: 100% of the species in 0B (0% sugar) and 40B (40% sugar) libraries and 95.6% of 20B library (20% sugar). Lactobacillus fructivorans was detected in the 20B library. The predominant species in the samples of enrichment cultures collected from FBPE with three different sugar concentrations were: Candida zeylanoides (45.2%) in the 0Y library (0% sugar), Candida lactis-condensi (35.7%) and C. zeylanoides (35.7%) in the 20Y library (20% sugar), and C. lactis-condensi (38.1%) in the 40Y library (40% sugar). This result may provide a useful frame of reference for further analyses of microbial population dynamics in FBPE.