• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.549-554
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• 2006

To standardize a manufacturing method and improve the quality of traditional kochujang, eight-types of meju with different shapes (brick, grain) were prepared using Aspergillus oryzae (A.o) or Aspergillus sojae (A.s) alone or in combination with Bacillus subtilis (B.s). The physicochemical characteristics and enzyme activities of the various meju were compared during fermentation for 12 days at $28^{\circ}C$. The moisture content of both the brick- and grain-shaped meju were gradually decreased from an initial content of 50.47 to 54.89% to a content of 12.91 to 16.25% on day 12 of fermentation. The neutral protease activities of the brick-shaped meju ranged from $1.19{\pm}0.12$ to $1.25{\pm}0.28\;unit/mL$, and were similar for all treatments. The ${\alpha}$-amylase activities in A.s+B.s treatment of brick-shaped and grain-shaped meju were the highest, $11{\pm}0.6$ and $9{\pm}0.7\;unit/mL$, respectively. The ${\beta}$-amylase activities ranged from $1.53{\pm}0.01$ to $1.56{\pm}0.02\;unit/mL$, and were similar for all treatments. The amino type nitrogen content of A.o+B.s brick-shaped meju was the highest, $0.39{\pm}0.03%$. We confirmed that the brick-shaped meju prepared with A. oryzae and B. subtilis could be used to prepare traditional kochujang to improve the quality of the product.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.402-409
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• 2017

Cyclic dipeptides (CDPs) are one of the simplest compounds produced by living organisms. Plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) also produce CDPs that can induce disease resistance. Bacillus vallismortis strain BS07 producing various CDPs has been evaluated as a potential biocontrol agent against multiple plant pathogens in chili pepper. However, plant signal pathway triggered by CDPs has not been fully elucidated yet. Here we introduce four CDPs, cyclo(Gly-L-Pro) previously identified from Aspergillus sp., and cyclo(L-Ala-L-Ile), cyclo(L-Ala-L-Leu), and cyclo(L-Leu-L-Pro) identified from B. vallismortis BS07, which induce disease resistance in Arabidopsis against Pseudomonas syringae infection. The CDPs do not directly inhibit fungal and oomycete growth in vitro. These CDPs require PHYTOALEXIN DEFICIENT4, SALICYLIC ACID INDUCTION DEFICIENT2, and NONEXPRESSOR OF PATHOGENESIS-RELATED PROTEINS1 important for salicylic acid-dependent defense to induce resistance. On the other hand, regulators involved in jasmonate-dependent event, such as ETHYLENE RECEPTOR1, JASMONATE RESPONSE1, and JASMONATE INSENSITIVE1, are necessary to the CDP-induced resistance. Furthermore, treatment of these CDPs primes Arabidopsis plants to rapidly express PATHOGENESIS-RELATED PROTEIN4 at early infection phase. Taken together, we propose that these CDPs from PGPR strains accelerate activation of jasmonate-related signaling pathway during infection.

• 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.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.403-412
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• 2021

This study aimed to identify plant growth-promoting activity, phytopathogenic fungi growth inhibitory activity, mineral solubilization ability, and extracellular enzyme activity of the genus Bacillus in soil and the rhizosphere. With regards to antifungal activity against phytopathogenic fungi, DDP257 showed antifungal activity against all 10 pathogenic fungi tested. ANG20 showed the highest ability to produce indole-3-acetic acid, a plant growth-promoting factor (70.97 ㎍/ml). In addition, 10 species were identified to have 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase production ability, and most isolates showed nitrogen fixation and siderophore production abilities. Thereafter, the isolated strains' ability to solubilize minerals such as phosphate, calcite, and zinc was identified. With extracellular enzyme activity, the activity appeared in most enzymes. In particular, all the strains showed similar abilities for alkaline phosphatase, esterase (C4), acid phosphatase, and naphtol-AS-BI-phosphohydrolase production. This result was observed because the genus Bacillus secreted various organic substances, antibiotics, and extracellular enzymes. Therefore, through the results of this study, we suggest the possibility of using strains contributing to the improvement of the soil environment as microbial agents.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.76-81
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• 2008

Currently, natural food colorants and preservatives are being used for their general health benefits. Monascus koji, the product of certain fungi that grow on rice grains, has been added to many foods for coloring and preservation. In this study, the antimicrobial activities of Monascus koji ethanol extracts were investigated. Six Monascus strains (M. araneosus KFRI 00371, M. kaoliang ATCC 46597, M. pilosus IFO 4520, M. purpureus IFO 4482, M. ruber IFO 32318 and M. sp. ATCC 16437) were selected based on their relative intensity of red pigment. Two Monascus extracts, M. kaoliang ATCC 46597 and M. purpureus IFO 4482, displayed antimicrobial activities against Bacillus subtilis, B. cereus, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhimurium in concentration-dependent manners. The two extracts showed their strongest antimicrobial activity against S. typhimurium, a cause of food poisoning. Therefore, these results suggest that Monascus koji could be used as a natural food colorant and preservative.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.275-281
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• 1982

One strain of Streptomyces sp. (AS-707) isolated from soil was found to produce a biologically active substance that showed a strong inhibitory activity against proteolytic enzymes viz. trypsin, papain, $\alpha$-chymotrypsin, Azotobacter protease, and Bacillus pretense. The substance was separated from culture filtrate by ion exchange column chromatography using Amberlite IRC-50 and CM-cellulose column chromatography. It was found that the recovery yield was 26% as activity basis. The substance was stable in wide pH range from 2.0 to 12.0 at 37$^{\circ}C$, but it was unstable in alkaline pH values at 6$0^{\circ}C$. The activity was thermostable to give 90% activity compared to the intact sample when it was treated at pH5.6 at 10$0^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.154-160
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• 1990

A bacterial strain which was capable of producing extracellular soymilk-clotting enzyme was isolated from soil samples during the course of screening test. The characteristics of the isolated strain K-324-7, indicated that the strain belonged to species of Bacillus cereus. The crude purification of this enzyme was precipitated by salting out with ammonium sulfate of 0.8 saturation. The optimal pH for the enzyme activity was at $6.1{\sim}7.0$ and below $50^{\circ}C$. The optimal culture medium for the production of soymilk-clotting enzyme were consisted of 0.2% glucose, 0.2% peptone, and 0.5% $KH_2PO_4$ with initial pH value of 6.5. The activity of enzyme was maximum when the microbe was cultured for 3 days at $35^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 2009

Biofouling in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination process causes many problems such as flux decline, biodegradation of membrane, increased cleaning time, and increased energy consumption and operational cost. Therefore biofouling is considered as the most critical problem in system operation. To control biofouling in early stage, detection of the most problematic bacteria causing biofouling is required. In this study, six model bacteria were chosen; Bacillus sp., Flavobacterium sp., Mycobacterium sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Rhodobacter sp. based on report in the literature and phylogenetic analysis of seawater intake and fouled RO membrane. The adhesion to RO membrane, the high pressure resistance, and the hydrophobicity of the six model bacteria were examined to find out their fouling potential. Rhodobacter sp. and Mycobacterium sp. were found to attach very well to RO membrane surface compared to others used in this study. The test of hydrophobicity revealed that the bacteria which have high hydrophobicity or similar contact angle with RO membrane ($63^{\circ}$ of contact angle) easily attached to RO membrane surface. P. aeruginosa which is highly hydrophilic ($23.07^{\circ}$ of contact angle) showed the least adhesion characteristic among six model bacteria. After applying a pressure of 800 psi to the sample, Rhodobacter sp. was found to show the highest reduction rate; with 59-73% of the cells removed from the membrane under pressure. P. fluorescens on the other hand analyzed as the most pressure resistant bacteria among six model bacteria. The difference between reduction rates using direct counting and plate counting indicates that the viability of each model bacteria was affected significantly from the high pressure. Most cells subjected to high pressure were unable to form colonies even thought they maintained their structural integrity.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.355-360
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• 2007

During the traditional production process of yugwa, a Korean traditional oil-puffed snack, three bacterial isolates, 12, 37, and B1 from waxy rice slurry were characterized by using the molecular techniques, and the quality of the yugwa prepared by using three isolates was examined in relation to physical and sensory properties. Isolates 37 and B1 were identified as Lactobacillus sp. by 16S rDNA sequence analysis, while isolate 12 was as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens by gyrA sequence analysis. Waxy rice inoculated with isolate 12 demonstrated the lowest hardness and the highest peak and [mal viscosity. Yugwa prepared from isolate 12-inoculated waxy rice indicated the lowest hardness and the highest volume expansion, the key characteristics of yugwa. This result presents the possibility for the use of a starter in the commercial production of yugwa and other rice-based snacks.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.131-137
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• 2021

This study aimed at isolating lactic acid bacteria with anti-MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) bacteriocin activity from fermented shrimp. We selected three strains, named Weissella sp. S1, S2, and S3, using analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. All strains showed appropriate growth in an MRS medium containing 5% (w/v) NaCl and showed antibacterial activities against Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and MRSA. The strains exhibited similar growth rates at 0-5% NaCl, with approximate reduction in growth rate observed at 9% NaCl. Weissella sp. S1, S2, and S3 exhibited maximum growth rates at pH 7, 9, and 8, respectively. The crude bacteriocin was prepared from Weissella sp. S3 and subjected to characterization. The remaining activities after 30 min of exposure at each temperature were 100%, beyond 75%, and 49% at 4℃ and 37℃, 50℃ and 70℃, and 100℃, respectively. The remaining activities after 24 h of exposure at each pH were 100%, 75%, and 49% at pH 3 and 5, 7 and 9, and 10, respectively. Use of 50% (v/v) ethanol or isopropanol treatment did not diminish the antibacterial activity of the bacteriocin, while the 50% (v/v) hexane treatment reduced the activity by 51%. The molecular weight of the bacteriocin was nearly 6 kDa that was quantified using tricine-SDS-PAGE. Our findings suggest that Weissella sp. S3 may be considered a probiotic and useful source of antimicrobial substances in the development of bio-preservatives for food or in MRSA treatment.