• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.149-155
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• 2020

This study was conducted to investigate the potential prebiotic activity of an extract from yacon tuberous root on the growth of probiotic strains Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. Results showed that the amount of fructooligosaccharides per 100 g fresh root was the highest (7.60 g), followed by sucrose (0.72 g), fructose (0.34 g), and glucose (0.26 g). The in vitro culture test of intestinal beneficial bacteria, including Bifidobacterium longum BORI, B. bifidum BGN4, and B. lactis AD011 showed effective growth on the MRS-Yacon medium containing yacon extract, whereas the growth of Lactobacillus acidophilus AD031, L. plantarum BH02, and L. fermentum BH03 did not differ from that of the control groups. In particular, B. longum BORI showed better growth than the control group after 10 h of incubation. These results indicate that yacon can be a natural prebiotic source of fructooligosaccharides, which can exert a prebiotic effect on intestinal microflora by selectively enriching Bifidobacterium.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.380-387
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• 2002

To investigate the effects of xylooligosaccharides on the in vitro growth of intestinal bacteria, various species were cultivated individually on the m-PYF medium containing a carbon source (0.5% w/v) such as xylooligosaccharides, isomaltooligosaccharides, fructooligosaccharides and sucrose, respectively. The health-promoting microorganisms such as Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus acidophilus grew more effectively by xylooligosaccharides than by other carbon source, though xylooligosaccharides inhibited the growth of Clostridium perfringens, Bacteroides fragilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhumurium. At the mixed culture xylooligosaccharides exerted a preferential stimulatory effects on numbers of the health-promoting microorganisms, while xylooligosaccharides inhibited populations of potential pathogens at relatively low level. Xylooligosaccharides also maintained the acidity of culture with Streptococcus mutans, caries-inducing bacteria, over pH 5.0. These results suggest that xylooligosaccharides selectively promote the growth of the health-promoting microorganisms in human intestine and prevent caries by inhibiting acid production from Streptococcu mutans.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.107-113
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• 1994

The present study was undertaken to obtain the basic knowledge on the distribution of intestinal microflora and characterization of Bifidobacterium isolated from the intestine of cattle, pigs, chicken and dogs. Bacteroidaceae and Streptococcus were isolated from the feces of cattle as predominant organisms, and Bifidobacterium was in counts of $8.65{\pm}0.21$ log 10 organisms. Bacteroidaceae, Eubacterium and Peptococcaceae counts on the feces of pigs were particularly high, but Bifidobacterium did not isolated. In hens and dogs, the counts of Bifidobacterium were $7.60{\pm}0.71$ and $8.15{\pm}2.04$ log 10 organism, respectively. Isolated 7 Bifidobacterial strains were identified respectively to B. thermophilum from cattle, B. pullorum and B. animalis from pigs, and B. longum, B. adolescentis and B. pseudolongum from dogs by their carbohydrate fermentation ability.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.312-320
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• 2000

Abstract The full sequence of the plasmid pKJ36, which was derived from Bifidobacterium longum KJ, was determined and analyzed to construct shuttle vectors between E. coli and Bifidobacterium. The plasmid pKJ36 was composed of 3,625 base pairs with a 65.1% G+C content. The structural organization of pKJ36 was highly similar to that of pKJ50, and the three major ORFs on pKJ36 showed high amino acid sequence homologies with those of pKJ50. The putative proteins coded by these three ORFs were designated as RepB (32.0 kDa, pI=9.25), MembB (29.0 kDa, pI=12.25), and MobB (39.0 kDa, pI=IO.66), respectively. The amino acid sequence of RepB showed a 57% identity and 70% similarity with that of the RepA protein of pKJ50. Upstream of the repB gene, the so-called iteron sequence was directly repeated four-and-ahalf times and a conserved dnaA box was identified. An amino acid sequence comparison between the MobB and MobA of pKJ50 revealed a 48% identity and 61 % similarity. A conserved oriT sequence with an inverted repeat identical to that of pKJ50 was also found upstream of the mobB gene. A hydropathy analysis of MembB revealed four possible transmembrane regions. The expressions of the repB and membB genes were confirmed by RT-PCR. The in vitro translation reaction of pKJ36 showed protein bands with anticipated sizes with respect to each putative gene product. S 1 endonuclease treatment and Southern hybridization suggested that pKJ36 replicates by a rolling circle mechanism via a single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) intermediate. A shuttle vector between E. coli and Bifidobacterium sp. was constructed using the pKJ36, pBR322, and staphylococcal chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) gene. The successful transformation of the Bifidobacterium strains was shown by Southern hybridization and PCR. The transformation efficiency differed from strain to strain and, depending on the electroporation conditions, with a range between $1.2{\times}10^1-2.6{\times}10^2{\;}cfu/\mu\textrm{g}$ DNA.X> DNA.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.688-696
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• 2018

Ginseng and probiotics have anti-obesity effects in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Absorption of ginsenoside and colonization of probiotics occur in the intestine. In this study, a mixture of fermented ginseng and two probiotics, Bifidobacterium longum BORI and Lactobacillus paracasei CH88, was administered to HFD-fed mice for 9 weeks. The mixture significantly suppressed weight gain (p < 0.05, n = 8) and lipid deposition in the liver and adipose tissues as well as increased the mice's food intake. The adipocyte size of the adipose tissue was significantly decreased in the mixture-fed group, especially when 0.5% fermented ginseng and $5{\times}10^8/ml$ of the two probiotics were used (p < 0.05, n = 10). The expression of TNF-${\alpha}$ in adipose tissue was efficiently downregulated in the mixture-fed group (p < 0.05, n = 4). The supplement also improved the mice's fasting blood glucose levels (p < 0.05, n = 8) and total cholesterol feces excretion (p < 0.05, n = 8). The mixture of fermented ginseng and B. longum BORI and L. paracasei CH88 could have an anti-obesity effect and suppress lipid deposit in the liver and adipose tissues.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.443-451
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• 2001

In order to investigate what kind of response anaerobic bifidobacteria has on oxygen stress, five oxygen-tolerant bifidobacteria were isolated from human fecal samples. All were temporarily identified as Bifidobacterium longum through an analysis of carbohydrate utilization patterns and cellular fatty acid profiles. In the presence of oxygen, the lag phase became extended and the cell growth was suppressed. Bifidobacterial cell was able to remove dissolved oxygen in an early stage of growth and to overcome oxygen stress to a certain extent. The cell became long n size and showed a rough surface containing many nodes which were derived from abnormal or incomplete cell division. Cellular fatty acid profiled changed remarkably under a partially aerobic condition, so that the carbon chain of cellular fatty acid became short. All the dimethyl acetals originated from plasmalogen were reduced, any cyclopropane fatty acid, 9, 10-methyleneoctadecanoic acid ($C_{19:0}cyc9,10$), was increased remarkably. Oxygen stress induced a 5.5 kD protein in B. longum JI 1 of the oxygen-teolerant bifidobacteria, that was named Osp protein, and its N-terminal amino acid sequence was as follows: unknown amino acid-Thr-Gly-Val-Arg-Phe-Ser-Asp-Asp-Glu. Therefore, the oxygen-tolerant bifidobacteria seemed to defend against oxygen stress byincreasing the content of short fatty acid and cyclopropane fatty acid, and induction of an oxygen stress protein, but not the plasmalogen.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.1022-1026
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• 2010

The different cleavage patterns of pYBamy59 plasmid isolated from E. coli $DH5{\alpha}$ and B. longum MG1 by the cell extract of B. longum MG1 suggested that the main reason for its low transformation efficiency was related to the restriction modification (R-M) system. To confirm the correlation between the R-M system and transformation efficiency, in vitro methylation and site-directed mutagenesis were performed in pYBamy59. Sequence analysis of pYBamy59 fragments digested by the cell extract of B. longum MG1 revealed that all fragments were generated by restriction of the sequence recognized by SacII endonuclease. When pYBamy59 from E. coli was methylated in vitro by CpG or GpC methyltransferase, it was protected from SacII digestion. Site-directed mutagenesis, which removed SacII sites from pYBamy59, or in vitro methylation of pYBamy59 showed 8- to 15-fold increases in the transformation efficiency over intact pYBamy59. Modification of the SacII-related R-M system in B. longum MG1 and in vitro methylation in pYBamy 59 can improve the transformation efficiency in this strain. The results showed that the R-M system is a factor to limit introduction of exogenous DNA, and in vitro modification is a convenient method to overcome the barrier of the R-M system for transformation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.675-682
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• 2014

Approximately 50% of people in the world experience abdominal flatulence after the intake of foods containing galactosides such as lactose or soybean oligosaccharides. The galactoside hydrolyzing enzymes of ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-galactosidases have been shown to reduce the levels of galactosides in both the food matrix and the human gastrointestinal tract. This study aimed to optimize the production of ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-galactosidases of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum RD47 with a basal medium containing whey and corn steep liquor. The activities of both enzymes were determined after culturing at $37^{\circ}C$ at pH 6.0 for 30 h. The optimal production of ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-galactosidases was obtained with soybean oligosaccharides as a carbon source and proteose peptone no. 3 as a nitrogen source. The optimum pH for both ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-galactosidases was 6.0. The optimum temperatures were $35^{\circ}C$ for ${\alpha}$-galactosidase and $37^{\circ}C$ for ${\beta}$-galactosidase. They showed temperature stability up to $37^{\circ}C$. At a 1 mM concentration of metal ions, $CuSO_4$ inhibited the activities of ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-galactosidases by 35% and 50%, respectively. On the basis of the results obtained in this study, B. longum RD47 may be used for the production of ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-galactosidases, which may reduce the levels of flatulence factors.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.863-871
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• 2015

Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum BBMN68, isolated from centenarians in Guangxi, China, has been proved to be a promising probiotic strain for its health benefits. In this study, the biodistribution of this strain in the rat gut was first investigated using the quantitative realtime PCR assay and propidium monoazide. Strain-specific primers were originally designed based on the BBMN68 genome sequence. Healthy rats were orally inoculated with either a single dose of BBMN68 (10¹⁰ colony-forming units/kg), or with one dose per day for 7 days and bacterial concentrations were analyzed in detail from the intestinal contents and feces of four different gut locations, including stomach, small intestine, colon, and rectum. Results indicated that strain BBMN68 could overcome the rigors of passage through the upper gastrointestinal tract and transiently accumulate in the colon, even though survival in the stomach and small intestine was not high. A good level of BBMN8 could stay in vivo for 72 h following a 7-day oral administration, and a daily administration is suggested for a considerable and continuous population of BBMN68 to be maintained in the host intestine.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.358-361
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• 2008

Effect of extract of fermented dropwort (Oenanthe stolonifera) on growth of intestinal harmful/useful bacteria and enzyme activity were investigated in vitro. The extract showed strong inhibition on harmful microbes including Vibrio and Salmonella, but mild inhibition on Bifidobacterium longum in both agar plate and liquid cultivation. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of B. longum was the highest among tested microbes. Inhibition effect of fermented extract on harmful microbes increased according to fermentation period. Extract of fermented dropwort showed inhibitory effects on activity of microbial ${\beta}$-glucuronidase and tryptophanase. The inhibitory effects were also proportional to fermentation period. As consequence, it is assumed that the uptake of fermented dropwort might be useful for human intestinal health.