• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.40-49
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• 2020

This article emphasized the physiological characteristics of the selected marine microalgal strains obtained from the culture collection of the National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea (MABIK). Therefore, in this study, 13 different marine microalgal strains belonging to the phylum Chlorophyta were analyzed for the composition of fatty acids, elements, photosynthetic pigments, and monosaccharides, as well as the lipid and protein contents. The results presented that the primary fatty acids were palmitic (C_16:0), palmitoleic (C_16:1 n-7), stearic (C_18:0), oleic (C_18:1 n-9), linoleic (C_18:2 n-6), and α-linolenic (ALA, C_18:3 n-3) acid in the evaluated microalgae. The lipid contents of heterotrophically grown strains ranged from 15.1% to 20.4%. The calorific values of the strains were between 17.4 MJ kg^-1 and 21.3 MJ kg^-1. The major monosaccharides were galactose, glucose, and mannose, while the primary photosynthetic pigments were chlorophyll-a (Chla), chlorophyll-b (Chlb), and lutein, respectively. Based on the results, the microalgal strains showed high potentials in the use of microalgae-based technologies to produce biochemicals, food, and renewable fuels as they are rich in sustainable sources of high-value bio-compounds, such as antioxidants, carbohydrates, and fatty acids.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1634-1640
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• 2008

This study was focused on the screening of valuable genetic resources, such as promoters from metagenome, and describes a promoter trapping system with a bidirectional probe concept, which can select promoters or operons from various biological resources including metagenomic DNA. A pair of reporters, GFP and DsRed, facing the opposite direction without promoters, is an effective system that can function regardless of the direction of inserted promoters. The feasibility of this system was tested for the isolation of constitutively expressed promoters in E. coli from a soil metagenome, resulting in a potential pool of various promoters for practical application. The analyses of structural organization of the trapped genes demonstrated that constitutively expressible promoters in E. coli were broadly distributed within the metagenome, and suggested that some promoters were useful for the construction of expression vectors. Based on these observations, three constitutive promoters were employed in the expression vector system and their potentials for practical application were evaluated in terms of expression level, protein solubility, and effects on host growth.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.289-309
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• 2019

Marine microalgae have long been used as food additives and feeds for juvenile fish and invertebrates as their nutritional content is beneficial for humans and marine aquaculture species. Recently, they have also been recognized as a promising source for cosmeceutical, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical products as well as biofuels. Marine microalgae of various species are rich in multiple anti-oxidant phytochemicals and their bioactive components have been employed in cosmetics and dietary supplements. Oil contents in certain groups of marine microalgae are extraordinarily rich and abundant and therefore have been commercialized as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid supplements and mass production of microalgae-based biodiesels has been demonstrated by diverse research groups. Numerous natural products from marine microalgae with significant biological activities are reported yearly and this is attributed to their unique adaptive abilities to the great diversity of marine habitats and harsh conditions of marine environments. Previously unknown toxin compounds from red tide-forming dinoflagellates have also been identified which opens up potential applications in the blue biotechnology sector. This review paper provides a brief overview of the biotechnological potentials of Korean marine microalgae. We hope that this review will provide guidance for future marine biotechnology R&D strategies and the various marine microalgae-based industries in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.146-149
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: Selenium is an essential element for all life forms but can be toxic above certain narrow levels. Prevalent forms of selenium in oxic environment are selenium oxyanions such as selenite and selenate, which may be contaminants in soils and water bodies. Bacterial reduction of more mobile selenium species (selenite or selenate) to less mobile elemental selenium may suggest a benign solution for alleviating toxicity and bioavailability of the selenium species. METHODS AND RESULTS: A facultative anaerobic bacterium, Citrobacter strain SE4-1 was isolated from the contaminated stream sediments and found to effectively reduce selenite to elemental selenium. Aqueous phase of selenite was analyzed by inductively couple plasma spectroscopy and the precipitated sphere-shaped elemental selenium was observed by transmission electron microscopy. CONCLUSION: The bacterial strain SE4-1 isolated in this study suggests a potential role in biogeochemical cycle of selenium by the selenite reduction in the stream environment, and potentials for biotechnological applications to reduceselenium concentrations in selenium-contaminated systems such as wastewater, soil, and groundwater.