• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.122-129
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• 1998

It were reported that antifungal mechanism of Enterobacter cloacae is a volatile ammonia that produced by the strain in soil, and the production of ammonia is related to the bacterial urease activity. A powerful bacterium SH14 against soil-borne pathogen Fusarium solani, which cause root rot of many important crops, was selected from a ginseng pathogen suppressive soil. The strain SH14 was identified as Bacillus subtilis by cultural, biochemical, morphological method, and $API^{circledR}$ test. From several in vitro tests, the antifungal substance that is produced from B. subtilis SH14 was revealed as heat-stable and low-molecular weight antibiotic substance. In order to construct the multifunctional biocontrol agent, the urease gene of Bacillus pasteurii which can produce pathogenes-suppressive ammonia transferred into antifungal bacterium. First, a partial BamH I digestion fragment of plasmid pBU11 containing the alkalophilic B. pasteurii l1859 urease gene was inserted into the BamH I site of pEB203 and expressed in Escherichia coli JM109. The recombinant plasmid was designated as pGU366. The plasmid pGU366 containing urease gene was introduced into the B. subtilis SH14 with PEG-induced protoplast transformation (PIP) method. The urease gene was very stably expressed in the transformant of B. subtilis SH14. Also, the optimal conditions for transformation were established and the highest transformation frequency was obtained by treatment of lysozyme for 90 min, and then addition of 1.5 ${mu}g$/ml DNA and 40% PEG4000. From the in vitro antifungal test against F. solani, antifungal activity of B. subtilis SH14(pGu366) containing urease gene was much higher than that of the host strain. Genetical development of B. subtilis SH14 by transfer of urease gene can be responsible for enhanced biocontrol efficacy with its antibiotic action.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.639-644
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• 1998

Extracellular serine proteases were isolated from a soil bacterium, alkalophilic coryneform bacterium TU-19, which have been grown in a liquid medium optimized at 3$0^{\circ}C$ and pH 10.0. Three different sizes, 120 kDa (protease I), 80 kDa (protease II), and 45 kDa (protease III), of serine pro teases were purified using Sephadex G-150 and QAE-Sephadex chromatography (Kang et al. 1995. Agric. Chem Biotech. 38: 534-540). SDS-PAGE showed that the 120 kDa protease was degraded into the 80 kDa protease in 20 mM Tris-HCI (pH 8.0) buffer solution. This degradation was enhanced in the presence of 0.5 M NaCl and 5 mM EDTA, but was inhibited in the presence of 5 mM $CaCl_2$. These results indicated that the $Ca^{2＋}$ ion seems to stabilize the 120 kDa protease like other proteases derived from Bacillus species. The $NH_2$-terminal amino acid sequences of the 10 residues of both proteases were completely identical: Met-Asn-Thr-Gln-Asn-Ser-Phe-Leu-Ile-Lys. In contrast to this, the 80 kDa protease has 1.5 times higher specific activity than the 120 kDa protease does (Kang et al. 1995. Agric. Chern. Biotech. 38: 534-540). Therefore the C-terminal of the 120 kDa protease seems to be autolyzed to the 80 kDa protease but this autolysis did not decrease the protease activity. Optimum pH and temperature of both 80 kDa and 120 kDa proteases were pH 10.5 and $45^{\circ}C$, respectively, and pH and thermal stability were almost identical. Several divalent ions except the $Fe^{2＋}$ ion showed similar effects on activities of both proteases, which are similarly resistant to three different detergents.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.519-526
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• 1992

The gene coding for urease of alkalophilic Bacillus pasteurii had been cloned in Escherichia coli previously. The urease protein was purified 63.1-fold by TEAE-cellulose, DEAE-Sephadex A-50, Sephadex G-150 and Sephadex G-200 chromatographies with a 7.3% yield from the sonicated fluid of the E. coli HB1Ol(pBUll) encoding B. pasteurii urease gene. The ureases of E. coli (pBUll) and B. pasteurii possessed as a $K_m$ for urea, 42.1 mM and 40.4 mM, respectively. They hydrolyzed urea with $V_{max}$ of 86.9$\mu$mol/min and 160$\mu$mol/min, respectively. Both ureases were composed with four subunits (Mrs 67,000) and a subunit (Mr 20,000). The molecular weight of both native enzymes was Mr 280,OOO$pm$10,000 determined by gel filtration chromatography and Coomassie blue staining of the subunits. The optimal reaction pH of both ureases were pH 7.5. The ureases were stabled in pH 5.5-10.5. The optimal reaction temperature of both ureases were $60^{\circ}C$, and the ureases were stable for an hour at $50^{\circ}C$, 40min at $60^{\circ}C$ and 10 min at $70^{\circ}C$ The activity of both enzymes were inhibited completely by $Ag^{2+}$, $Hg^{2+}$, $Zn^{2+}$, $Cu^{2+}$, and were inhibited 60% by CoH, 30% by $Fe^{2+}$ and 10% by $Pb^{2+}$. However it was increased by the addition of $Sn^{2+}$, $Mn^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$ at concentration of $1{\times}10^{-3}$M. Both ureases were inhibited completely by p-CMB and acetohydroxamic acid. The urease expressed in E. coli (pBU11) was inhibited 70% by SDS. The urease of B. pasteurii was inhibited 40% by hydroxyurea, whereas the recombinant urease of E. coli strain was inhibited 17%. Both enzymes were not inhibited by cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid (CDTA) and ethylendiaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA).