• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.14-18
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• 1989

As the final experiment to assess the possibility of industrial application of FSC14-75, ethanol productivity from liquefied sweet potato starch was examined in a pilot scale of 300 liters. FSC14-75 produced 6.6％(v/v) of ethanol from 13.3％ of liquefied sweet potato starch in 8 days, and the residual sugar was 3.15％. The corresponding efficiency was 70％ of the theoretical maximum. Since we could isolate unicellular cell and flocculent cell from the fermentation broth, we designated them FSC14-75(S) and FSC14-75(F), respectively. We investigated ethanol productivity of FSC14-75(F) compared with that of FSC14-75(S) from liquefied potato starch in a mini·tar tormentor scale of 2.5 liters. FSC14-75(F) was found more favorable than the counterpart in terms of ethanol productivity, and produced 8.1％(v/v) of ethanol from 15％ of liquefied potato starch with an efficiency of 75％. In a pilot scale fermentation with 15％ of liquefied sweet potato starch, ethanol productivity of FSC14-75(F) reached maximum level of 7.7％(v/v) after 8 days, and the residual sugar was 1.9％. However, the ethanol productivity was not enhanced by a supplementary addition of Thermamyl to the fermentation broth after sterilization.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.8-13
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• 1989

The optimum conditions for ethanol fermentation and ethanol productivity of the fusant ESC-14-15 were examined in a mini-jar formentor scale (working volume : 2.5 liters) to assess the possibility of practical application. Addition of yeast extract to fermentation broth greatly enhanced the ethanol productivity and shortened the period of fermentation. The pH 4.2 was more favorable than pH 5.5 with respect to ethanol productivity and fermentation speed. The optimum concentration of liquefied potato starch for ethanol fermentation of FSC-14-15 was 15%(w/v) and the corresponding productivity was 8.7%(v/v) of ethanol with an efficiency of 80.6% to the theoretical maximum. When the fresh fermentation broth containing 20% of liquefied potato starch was inoculated with love(v/v) of inoculum, the fusant FSC-14-75 produced 11.0%(v/v) of ethanol in 4 days, which is considered comparable to that from an industrial process. From the liquefied cassava starch or the equal mixture of liquefied barley and sweet potato starch prepared according to the same method as in the industrial process except saccharification step, the fusnnt FSC-14-75 produced 8.5%(v/v) or 7.6%(v/v) of ethanol in 4 days, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1386-1392
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• 2008

A gene (sll0158) putatively encoding a glycogen branching enzyme (GBE, E.C. 2.4.1.18) was cloned from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, and the recombinant protein expressed and characterized. The PCR-amplified putative GBE gene was ligated into a pET-21a plasmid vector harboring a T7 promoter, and the recombinant DNA transformed into a host cell, E. coli BL21(DE3). The IPTG-induced enzymes were then extracted and purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. The putative GBE gene was found to be composed of 2,310 nucleotides and encoded 770 amino acids, corresponding to approx. 90.7 kDa, as confirmed by SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF-MS analyses. The optimal conditions for GBE activity were investigated by measuring the absorbance change in iodine affinity, and shown to be pH 8.0 and $30^{\circ}C$ in a 50 mM glycine-NaOH buffer. The action pattern of the GBE on amylose, an $\alpha$-(1,4)-linked linear glucan, was analyzed using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) after isoamylolysis. As a result, the GBE displayed $\alpha$-glucosyl transferring activity by cleaving the $\alpha$-(1,4)-linkages and transferring the cleaved maltoglycosyl moiety to form new $\alpha$-(1,6)-branch linkages. A time-course study of the GBE reaction was carried out with biosynthetic amylose (BSAM; $M_p{\cong}$8,000), and the changes in the branch-chain length distribution were evaluated. When increasing the reaction time up to 48 h, the weight- and number-average DP ($DP_w$ and $DP_n$) decreased from 19.6 to 8.7 and from 17.6 to 7.8, respectively. The molecular size ($M_p$, peak $M_w{\cong}2.45-2.75{\times}10^5$) of the GBE-reacted product from BSAM reached the size of amylose (AM) in botanical starch, yet the product was highly soluble and stable in water, unlike AM molecules. Thus, GBE-generated products can provide new food and non-food applications, owing to their unique physical properties.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.901-910
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• 2006

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] is a microbial polyester intracellularly accumulated as distinct granules in numerous microorganisms as an energy and carbon storage material. Recombinant Escherichia coli harboring the heterologous P(3HB) biosynthesis genes accumulates large amounts of P(3HB) granules, yet the granule-associated proteins have not been identified. Therefore, this study reports on an analysis of the P(3HB) granule-associated proteome in recombinant E. coli. Fiye proteins out of 7 spots identified were found to be involved in functions of translation, heat-stress responses, and P(3HB) biosynthesis. Two of the major granule-associated proteins, IbpA/B, which are already known to bind to recombinant proteins forming inclusion bodies in E. coli, were further analyzed. Immunoblotting and immunoelectron microscopic studies with IbpA/B antibodies clearly demonstrated the binding and localization of IbpA/B to P(3HB) granules. IbpA/B seemed to play an important role in recombinant E. coli producing P(3HB) by stabilizing the interface between the hydrophobic P(3HB) granules and the hydrophilic cytoplasm. Thus, IbpA/B were found to act like phasins in recombinant E. coli, as they are the major proteins bound to the P(3HB) granules, affect the morphology of the granules, and reduce the amount of cytosolic proteins bound to the P(3HB) granules.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.730-738
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• 2016

est19 is a gene from Bacillus sp. K91 that encodes a new esterase. A comparison of the amino acid sequence showed that Est19 has typical Ser-Gly-Asn-His (SGNH) family motifs and could be grouped into the SGNH hydrolase family. The Est19 protein was functionally cloned, and expressed and purified from Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). The enzyme activity was optimal at 60℃ and pH 9.0, and displayed esterase activity towards esters with short-chain acyl esters (C₂-C₆). A structural model of Est19 was constructed using phospholipase A1 from Streptomyces albidoflavus NA297 as a template. The structure showed an α/β-hydrolase fold and indicated the presence of the typical catalytic triad Ser49-Asp227-His230, which were further investigated by site-directed mutagenesis. To the best of our knowledge, Est19 is a new member of the SGNH hydrolase family identified from thermophiles, which may be applicable in the industrial production of semisynthetic β-lactam antibiotics after modification.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1532-1539
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• 2012

The ${\alpha}$-galactosidase-coding gene agaAJB13 was cloned from Sphingomonas sp. JB13 showing 16S rDNA (1,343 bp) identities of ${\leq}97.2%$ with other identified Sphingomonas strains. agaAJB13 (2,217 bp; 64.9% GC content) encodes a 738-residue polypeptide (AgaAJB13) with a calculated mass of 82.3 kDa. AgaAJB13 showed the highest identity of 61.4% with the putative glycosyl hydrolase family 36 ${\alpha}$-galactosidase from Granulicella mallensis MP5ACTX8 (EFI56085). AgaAJB13 also showed <37% identities with reported protease-resistant or Sphingomonas ${\alpha}$-galactosidases. A sequence analysis revealed different catalytic motifs between reported Sphingomonas ${\alpha}$-galactosidases (KXD and RXXXD) and AgaAJB13 (KWD and SDXXDXXXR). Recombinant AgaAJB13 (rAgaAJB13) was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The purified rAgaAJB13 was characterized using p-nitrophenyl-${\alpha}$-D-galactopyranoside as the substrate and showed an apparent optimum at pH 5.0 and $60^{\circ}C$ and strong resistance to trypsin and proteinase K digestion. Compared with reported proteaseresistant ${\alpha}$-galactosidases showing thermolability at $50^{\circ}C$ or $60^{\circ}C$ and specific activities of <71 U/mg with or without protease treatments, rAgaAJB13 exhibited a better thermal stability (half-life of >60 min at $60^{\circ}C$) and higher specific activities (225.0-256.5 U/mg). These sequence and enzymatic properties suggest AgaAJB13 is the first identified and characterized Sphingomonas ${\alpha}$-galactosidase, and shows novel protease resistance with a potential value for basic research and industrial applications.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.391-397
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• 2013

A putative cyclomaltodextrinase (LLCD) gene was cloned from the genome of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis KCTC 3769 (ATCC 19435), which encodes 584 amino acids with the predicted molecular mass of 68.7 kDa. KCTC 3769 shares approximately 40% of amino acid sequence identity with the CDase-family of enzymes. The dimeric enzyme with C-terminal six-histidines was heterologously expressed and purified from recombinant E. coli. LLCD showed the highest activity against ${\beta}$-cyclodextrin (CD) at pH 7.0 and $37^{\circ}C$. In particular, LLCD exhibited extremely low activity against starch and pullulan, while its CD-hydrolyzing activity was about 80 times higher than starch. Due to its much higher activity on CD over starch, LLCD has been identified as a member of CDases. However, LLCD can be distinguished from the other common CDases on the basis of its extremely low hydrolyzing activity against starch, pullulan, and acarbose.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.445-452
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• 1996

To investigate the promoter effect on heterologous gene expression in S. cerevisiae, the recombinant plasmids pYI11, pYI12, pYI10-2, and pYIGP were constructed to contain the inulinase gene (INUI) as a reporter under the control of GAL10, GAL7, GAL1, and GAP promoters, respectively. When the yeasts transformants were cultivated on galactose-containing rich media, the cell growth reached to 36-39 OD600 at 72 hours of cultivation. The specific growth rates of the cells harboring the four different plasmids decreased similarly : they dropped from $0.24 h^{-1}$ during the glucose-consuming period to 0.04 -$0.10 h^{-1}$ during the galactose-consuming period (gene expression phase for GAL promoter system). After the depletion of glucose, the expression of inulinase gene was started and reached to maximal levels of 4.3(GAL1 promoter), 4.0(GAL10 promoter), 3.8(GAL7 promoter), and 1.6(GAP promoter) unit/mL at 72 hours of cultivation. Based on the maximal expression level and activity staining on the plate, the promoter strength was in the order of GAL1, GAL10, GAL7 and GAP promoter. While the GAL-promoter systems showed a high plasmid stabilities of more than 78%, the GAP-promoter plasmid revealed a lower plasmid stability of 55%. Most of inulinase activity (98%) was found in the extracellular medium, indicating that the secretion efficiency of inulinase is independent on the type of promoter.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.12
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• pp.954-965
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• 2017

Mammalian genomes are well established, and highly conserved regions within odorant receptors that are unique from other G-protein coupled receptors have been identified. Numerous functional studies have focused on specific conserved amino acids motifs; however, not all conserved motifs have been sufficiently characterized. Here, we identified a highly conserved 18 amino acid sequence motif within transmembrane domain seven (CAS-TM7) which was identified by aligning odorant receptor sequences. Next, we investigated the expression pattern and distribution of this conserved amino acid motif among a broad range of odorant receptors. To examine the localization of odorant receptor proteins, we used a sequence-specific peptide antibody against CAS-TM7 which is specific to odorant receptors across species. The specificity of this peptide antibody in recognizing odorant receptors has been confirmed in a heterologous in vitro system and a rat-based in vivo system. The CAS-TM7 odorant receptors localized with distinct patterns at each region of the olfactory epithelium; septum, endoturbinate and ectoturbinate. To our great interests, we found that the CAS-TM7 odorant receptors are primarily localized to the dorsal region of the olfactory bulb, coinciding with olfactory epithelium-based patterns. Also, these odorant receptors were ectopically expressed in the various non-olfactory tissues in an evolutionary constrained manner between human and rats. This study has characterized the expression patterns of odorant receptors containing particular amino acid motif in transmembrane domain 7, and which led to an intriguing possibility that the conserved motif of odorant receptors can play critical roles in other physiological functions as well as olfaction.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.494-498
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• 1988

The optimum conditions for glucoamylase production, and ethanol productivity of the transformant TSD-14 were investigated as compared with the parental strains. The properties of TSD-14 were comparatively similar to the donor S. diastaticus IFO 1046 as regards the conditions of glucoamylase production and ethanol productivity. The soluble starch was the most effective carbon source for the glucoamylase production. While inorganic nitrogen sources did not prompt cell growth and enzyme production, the organic nitrogen sources generally enhanced both cell growth and glucoamylase production. The metal salts such as FeSO$_4$, MgSO$_4$, MnCl$_2$, and NiSO$_4$were favorable to the enzyme production. And the optium temperature and initial pH for glucoamylase production were 3$0^{\circ}C$ and 5. The transformant TSD-14 produced 8.3%(v/v) ethanol from 15% sucrose medium, 4.8%(v/v) ethanol from 15% soluble starch medium, and 7.5%(v/v) ethanol from 15% liquefied potato starch medium. The corresponding fermentation efficiency were 84% , 45% and 70%, respectively.