• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1054-1059
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• 2005

An extracellular protease was identified from Bacillus subtilis KCCM 10257 by N-terminal sequencing and mass spectral analysis. The molecular mass of the extracellular protease was estimated to be 28 kDa by SDS-PAGE. Sequencing of the N-terminal of the protease revealed the sequence of A(G,S,R)QXVPYG(A)V(P,L)SQ. The N-terminal sequence exhibited close similarity to the sequence of other proteases from Bacillus sp. A mass list of the monoisotopic peaks in the MALDI-TOF spectrum was searched after peptide fragmentation of the protease. Six peptide sequences exhibiting monoisotopic masses of 1,276.61, 1,513.67, 1,652.81, 1,661.83, 1,252.61, and 1,033.46 were observed from the fragmented protease. These monisotopic masses corresponded to the lytic enzyme L27 from Bacillus subtilis 168, and the Mowse score was found to be 75. A doubly charged Top product (MS) at a m/z of 517.3 exhibiting a molecular mass of 1034.6 was further analyzed by de novo sequencing using a PE Sciex QSTAR Hybrid Quadropole-TOF (MS/MS) mass spectrometer. MS/MS spectra of the Top product (MS) at a m/z of 517.3 obtained from the fragmented peptide mixture of protease with Q-star contained the b-ion series of 114.2, 171.2, 286.2, 357.2, 504.2, 667.4, 830.1, and 887.1 and y-ion series of 147.5, 204.2, 367.2, 530.3, 677.4, 748.4, 863.4, and 920.5. The sequence of analyzed peptide ion was identified as LGDAFYYG from the b- and y-ion series by de novo sequencing and corresponded to the results from the MALDI-TOF spectrum. From these results the extracellular protease from Bacillus subtilis KCCM 10257 was successfully identified with the lytic enzyme L27 from Bacillus subtilis 168.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.880-888
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• 2006

Pleurocidin, an $\alpha$-helical cationic antimicrobial peptide, was isolated from skin mucosa of winter flounder (Pleuronectes americamus). It had strong antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, but had very weak hemolytic activity. The Gly$^{13,17}\rightarrow$Ala analog (pleurocidin-AA) showed similar antibacterial activities, but had dramatically increased hemolytic activity. The bacterial cell selectivity of pleurocidin was confirmed through the membrane-disrupting and membrane-binding affinities using dye leakage, tryptophan fluorescence blue shift, and tryptophan quenching experiments. However, the non-cell-selective antimicrobial peptide, pleurocidin-AA, interacts strongly with both negatively charged and zwitterionic phospholipid membranes, the latter of which are the major constituents of the outer leaflet of erythrocytes. Circular dihroism spectra showed that pleurocidin-AA has much higher contents of $\alpha$-helical conformation than pleurocidin. The tertiary structure determined by NMR spectroscopy showed that pleurocidin has a flexible. structure between the long helix from $Gly^3$ to $Gly^{17}$ and the short helix from $Gly^{17}$ to $Leu^{25}$. Cell-selective antimicrobial peptide pleurocidin interacts strongly with negatively charged phospholipid membranes, which mimic bacterial membranes. Structural flexibility between the two helices may play a key role in bacterial cell selectivity of pleurocidin.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.283-289
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• 2019

Overuse of antibiotics has significantly contributed to an increase in microbial antibiotic resistance, causing difficulties in the suppression of microbe-borne infectious diseases. In this study, we determined the anti-Klebsiella pneumoniae effect in the kidneys of mice induced by peptides isolated from H. illucens larvae. Mice were intranasally infected with a high dose of K. pneumoniae and 1 day later, peptides were introduced through the intramuscular route. Mice were sacrificed on day 10 upon K. pneumoniae infection to determine the bacterial loads in the kidneys. Mice receiving peptide treatment demonstrated significantly reduced bacterial loads, reduced bodyweight loss, and higher survival in a dose-dependent manner compared to control. These results indicate that peptide isolated from H. illucens larva inhibits K. pneumoniae infection in the kidney. The peptide from H. illucens larva could be a potential candidate for the development of an effective antibacterial drug.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.1282-1289
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• 2020

Previously, we performed an in silico analysis of the Periplaneta americana transcriptome. Antimicrobial peptide candidates were selected using an in silico antimicrobial peptide prediction method. It was found that periplanetasin-5 had antimicrobial activity against yeast and gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. In the present study, we demonstrated the anti-inflammatory activities of periplanetasin-5 in mouse macrophage Raw264.7 cells. No cytotoxicity was observed at 60 ㎍/ml periplanetasin-5, and treatment decreased nitric oxide production in Raw264.7 cells exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In addition, quantitative RT-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed that periplanetasin-5 reduced cytokine (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6) expression levels in the Raw264.7 cells. Periplanetasin-5 controlled inflammation by inhibiting phosphorylation of MAPKs, an inflammatory signaling element, and reducing the degradation of IκB. Through LAL assay, LPS toxicity was found to decrease in a periplanetasin-5 dose-dependent manner. Collectively, these data showed that periplanetasin-5 had anti-inflammatory activities, exemplified in LPS-exposed Raw264.7 cells. Thus, we have provided a potentially useful antibacterial peptide candidate with anti-inflammatory activities.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Sericultural Science Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.73-73
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• 2002

No Abstract, See Full Text

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2015

Melittin is the main component of Bee Venom and has antibacterial activity against several bacteria. To produce the melittin antimicrobial peptide, we constructed transgenic silkworm that expressed melittin gene under the control BmA3 promoter using piggyBac vector. The use of the 3xP3-driven EGFP cDNA as a marker allowed us to rapidly distinguish transgenic silkworm. Mixtures of the donor vector and helper vector were micro-injected into 300 eggs of bivoltin silkworms, Baegokjam. In total, 131 larvae (G0) were hatched and allowed to develop into moths. The resulting G1 generation consisted of 36 broods, and we selected 4 broods containing at least 1 EGFP-positive embryo. The rate of successful transgenesis for the G1 broods was 11%. We identified 12 EGFP-positive G1 moths and these were backcrossed with wild-type moths. With the aim of identifying a melittin as antimicrobial peptide, we investigated the Radical diffusion Assay (RDA) and then demonstrated that melittin possesses high antibacterial activities against gramnegative bacteria.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.127-131
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• 2006

A study was carried out to produce antimicrobial peptides from zein treated with pretenses of six kinds. Among the pretenses of six kinds, zein hydrolysate treated with pepsin showed the highest antimicrobial activity. The zein hydrolysate with pepsin was fractionated with membrane filter (30,000 10,000 and 3,000 molecular weight cut-off) and antimicrobial activity was measured for each fractions. Antimicrobial activity appeared greatly in the fraction below 3,000 (molecular weight cut-off) . The fraction was re-fractionated by HPLC and substances of two peaks collected as a sample to measure antimicrobial activity. All of both peaks showed the antimicrobial activity but 1st peak exhibited a consistently higher antimicrobial activity than 2nd peak. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were between 2.5 and 3.0 mg/mL. The peptide was heat-stable since antimicrobial activity was maintained after treated with heat for 20 min at $121^{\circ}C$. N-terminal amino acid sequence of peptide fractionated by HPLC was leucine, glutamic acid, proline, phenylalanine, aspartic acid and argenine. These results indicated that peptide isolated from zein hydrosate with pepsin can use as a natural preservative ingredient in food industry.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.2082-2089
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• 2015

Avian beta-defensin 9 (AvBD9) is a small cationic peptide consisting of 41 amino acids that plays a crucial rule in innate immunity and acquired immunity in chickens. Owing to its wide antibacterial spectrum, lack of a residue, and failure to induce bacterial drug resistance, AvBD9 is expected to become a substitute for conventional antibiotics in the livestock and poultry industries. Using the preferred codon of Pichia pastoris, the mature AvBD9 peptide was designed and synthesized, based on the sequence from GenBank. The P. pastoris constitutive expression vector pGHKα was used to construct a pGHKα-AvBD9 recombinant plasmid. Restriction enzyme digestion was performed using SacI and BglII to remove the ampicillin resistance gene, and the plasmid was electrotransformed into P. pastoris GS115. High-expression strains with G418 resistance were screened, and the culture supernatant was analyzed by Tricine-SDS-PAGE and western blot assay to identify target bands of about 6 kDa. A concentrate of the supernatant containing AvBD9 was used for determination of antimicrobial activity. The supernatant concentrate was effective against Escherichia coli, Salmonella paratyphi, Salmonella pullorum, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, and Enterobacter cloacae. The fermentation product of P. pastoris carrying the recombinant AvBD9 plasmid was adjusted to 1.0 × 10⁸ CFU/ml and added to the drinking water of white feather broilers at different concentrations. The daily average weight gain and immune organ indices in broilers older than 7 days were significantly improved by the AvBD9 treatment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.510-519
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• 2018

Synbiotics are a combination of probiotics and prebiotics, which lead to synergistic benefits in host welfare. Probiotics have been used as an alternative to antibiotics. Among the probiotics, Pediococcus acidilactici (PA) has shown excellent antimicrobial activity against Salmonella Gallinarum (SG) as a major poultry pathogen and has improved the production performances of animals. Inulin is widely used as a prebiotic for the improvement of animal health and growth. The main aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of inulin nanoparticle (IN)-internalized PA encapsulated into alginate/chitosan/alginate (ACA) microcapsules (MCs) for future in vivo application. The prepared phthalyl INs (PINs) were characterized by DLS and FE-SEM. The contents of phthal groups in the PINs were estimated by $^1H-NMR$ measurement as 25.1 mol.-%. The sizes of the PINs measured by DLS were approximately 203 nm. Internalization into PA was confirmed by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. The antimicrobial activity of PIN-internalized probiotics encapsulated into ACA MCs was measured by coculture antimicrobial assays on SG. PIN-internalized probiotics had a higher antimicrobial ability than that of ACA MCs loaded with PA/inulin or PA. Interestingly, when PINs were treated with PA and encapsulated into ACA MCs, as a natural antimicrobial peptide, pediocin was produced much more in the culture medium compared with other groups with inulin-loaded ACA MCs and PA encapsulated into ACA MCs.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.231-238
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• 2011

Attacin is an insect antibacterial protein that plays an important role in immune response to injury and infection. In this report, we have isolated and characterized of cDNA encoding for the attacin from the immunized larvae of swallowtail butterfly, $Papilio$ $xuthus$. A full length cDNA of $P.$ $xuthus$ attacin was obtained by employing annealing control primer (ACP)-based differential display PCR and 5' RACE. The complete $P.$ $xuthus$ attacin cDNA was comprised of 949 bp encoding a 250 amino acid precursor. It contains a putative 18 amino acid signal peptide sequence, a 42 amino acid propeptide sequence, and a 190 amino acid mature protein with a theoretical molecular mass of 19904.01 and a pI of 9.13. The putative mature protein of $P.$ $xuthus$ attacin showed 48-52% and 24-30% identity in amino acid sequences with that of lepidopteran and dipteran insects, respectively. Semiquantitive RT-PCR results revealed that the transcript of $P.$ $xuthus$ attacin gene was up-regulated at significant levels after injection with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We sub-cloned cDNA fragment encoding mature $P.$ $xuthus$ attacin into the expression vector, highly expressed in $E.$ $coli$ BL21 cells, and its antibacterial activity was analyzed. Recombinant $P.$ $xuthus$ attacin evidenced considerably antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria, $E.$ $coli$ ML 35 and $Klebsiella$ $pneumonia$.