• KSBB Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.137-141
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• 2002

Levan oligosaccoharides and low molecular weight levin were produced from levin by acid hydrolysis and following column chromatography. Levan hydrolysis was progressed proportionally as increased incubation time. In terms of levan hydrolysis reaction, no differences were found from the sources of levan. Optimum hydrolysis conditions for the formation of levan oligosaccharides were, 0.38 M H$_2$S0$_4$; and incubation at 95$\^{C}$ for 4 min. The purified products were determined as the mixture of oligosaccharides (degree of polymerization (DP) of 3-6), Two of lactic acid-producing bacteria, Lactobacillus plantarum KCTC 3104 and Pediococcus pentosaceus KCTC 3507, were studied in vitro for their ability to metabolize levin oligosaccharides. Apparently, the growth of both cells were increased by levin oligosaccharide diet, compared with those of levan diets, suggesting that levan oligosaccharides may be beneficial in selectively growth of lactic acid-producing bacteria.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.102-108
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• 2006

The IscA gene, encoding a levansucrase of 424 amino acids (aa) residues, was cloned from the genomic DNA of Pseudomonas aurantiaca S-4380, and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant levansucrase overexpressed in E. coli was then used to produce levan from sucrose. Levan crystals with 98% purity could be obtained from the reaction mixture with $62\%$ yield using an alcohol precipitation method. The molecular weight of the levan was $7\times10^5$ daltons. Methylation studies showed that the levan was branched: main linkage C-2,6; branched linkage C-2,1; and degree of branching $6\%$. Three bacterial levans from different strains were incubated with levan fructotransferase (LFTase) from Arthrobacter ureafaciens K2032, which produced $di-\beta-D-fructofuranose$ dianhydride IV (DFA IV); final conversion yields from the levans to DFA IV were $39\%$ in Zymomonas mobilis, $53\%$ in Serratia levanicum, and $59\%$ in P. aurantiaca S-4380 levansucrase. The levan from P. aurantiaca S-4380 levansucrase gave the highest conversion yield of levan to DFAIV so far reported.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.34 no.1_2
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• pp.37-42
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• 1998

The microorganisms degrading levan were screened from soil. The isolated strain produced levanase releasing single oligosacchride from levan. The optimum cultural medium for levanase production (g/l) was composed of 0.5% levan, 0.1% $K_2HPO_4$, 0.05% NaCl, 0.3% $NaNO_3$, 0.3% yeast extract (pH 8.0). The cultivation for levanase production was carried out in 500 ml shaking flask containing 50 ml of the optimum medium at $30^{\circ}C$ on a reciprocal shaker, and the highest levanase production was observed after 54 hours of cultivation. The levanase hydrolyzed levan into single oligosaccharide. The product purified by chilled EtOH precipitation and gel filtration was detected as a single peak on HPLC analysis. The oligosaccharides formed by enzyme reaction was identified as levanheptaose (DP7) by HPLC and by ESI-MASS.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1064-1069
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• 2008

Levan fructotransferase (LFTase) preferentially catalyzes the transfructosylation reaction in addition to levan hydrolysis, whereas other levan-degrading enzymes hydrolyze levan into a levan-oligosaccharide and fructose. Based on sequence comparisons and enzymatic properties, the fructosyl transfer activity of LFTase is proposed to have evolved from levanase. In order to probe the residues that are critical to the intramolecular fructosyl transfer reaction of the Microbacterium sp. AL-210 LFTase, an error-prone PCR mutagenesis process was carried out, and the mutants that led to a shift in activity from transfructosylation towards hydrolysis of levan were screened by the DNS method. After two rounds of mutagenesis, TLC and HPLC analyses of the reaction products by the selected mutants revealed two major products; one is a di-D-fructose-2,6':6,2'-dianhydride (DFAIV) and the other is a levanbiose. The newly detected levanbiose corresponds to the reaction product from LFTase lacking transferring activity. Two mutants (2-F8 and 2-G9) showed a high yield of levanbiose (38-40%) compared with the wild-type enzyme, and thus behaved as levanases. Sequence analysis of the individual mutants responsible for the enhanced hydrolytic activity indicated that Asn-85 was highly involved in the transfructosylation activity of LFTase.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.441-447
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• 1998

A bacterial strain No. 43 was isolated from soil samples as a levan-assimiating microorganism producing an extracellular levanase and hydrolying levan to levanbiose. According to the taxonomic characteristics of its morphological and physiological properties, the strain was idenified as Pseudomonas sp. No. 43. The optimum culura medium was composed of 10g levan, 5g(NH4)2SO4, 3g NH4Cl, 3g polypepton, 1g K2HPO4, 0.5gMgSO4.7H2O, and 0.2g MnCl2.4H2O per liter. The cultivation for levanase was carried out in pH 7.0 at 4$0^{\circ}C$ for 28hr. The reaction product was a kind of oligosaccharide and it was purified by chilled ethanol precipitation and gel filtration for evalluation of degree of polymerization (DP). The purified product was determined as levanbiose of MW 342 and DP2 by HPLC and FAB-MS.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.64-67
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• 2006

To enhance the stability of ascorbic acid, the glycosylation of ascorbic acid was studied using the transfructosylation activity of levan fructotransferase. When levan was used as glycosyl donor, a novel fructoside (ascorbic acid 2-ffuctoside) was formed by the transfructosylation activity of the levan fructotransferase. The production of ascorbic acid 2-fructoside was highly affected by the concentration of the fructosyl acceptor (ascorbic acid). When $35\%$ of ascorbic acid and $2\%$ of levan were incubated with LFTase of 0.5 unit/glevan at $37^{\circ}C$ for 85 h, a maximum 52 g/l of AA-2F was produced.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.348-353
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• 2003

Generally, two different types of fructose polymer are found in nature. One is inulin, whose fructosyl residues are linked mainly by a ${\beta}-(2,1)-linkage$, while the other is high-molecular-weight levan, whose fructosyl residues are linked mainly by a ${\beta}-(2,6)-linkage$. In contrast to the extensive studies on the prebiotic properties of inulin, there has been no report on the effect of levan on the large bowel microflora in viva. Therefore, to examine whether dietary levan can be used as a prebiotic, Sprague-Dawley male rats were fed one of two diets for 3 weeks: 1) basal diet plus sucrose; 2) basal diet plus 10% (wt/wt) levan. The cecal bowel mass, cecal and colon short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), pH, and microflora were then compared. The intake of the levan-containing diet significantly increased the total cecal weight and wall weight. The analyses of the SCFAs in the cecal and colonic contents revealed that levan was converted into acetate, butyrate, and lactate, which resulted in acidic conditions. The intake of levan also significantly increased the total number of microorganisms by 5-fold and lactic acid-producing bacteria (LAB) 30-fold in the feces. Accordingly, the current work shows that levan can be used as a prebiotic for stimulating the growth of LAB in an animal model.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 2007

Levan, the fructose polymer is an indigestible carbohydrate regularly consumed by humans. Its physiological functions, in terms of hypocholesterolemic effect and calcium metabolism, have not been well documented. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of levan on blood lipids and the calcium absorption ratio in rats fed a 0.1% low calcium diet. Thirty rats were divided into three groups and fed a 0.1% low calcium diet (control) or low calcium diets containing either 2.5% levan or 5% levan for eight weeks. The blood lipid and biomarkers relevant to Ca metabolism (urinary Ca and hydroxyproline), the femoral weight and the Ca contents were determined. The body weight gains were lower in the 5% levan group than the control group. Plasma concentrations of triacylglycerol and LDL-cholesterol decreased in the 5% levan group, compared to the control group, but the atherogenic indice were not affected. Blood alkaline phosphatase activity, Ca and urinary hydroxyproline excretion levels were not different in the three groups. The net calcium absorption in rats fed a 5% levan diet was greater than rats fed the control diet, while the femoral weights and Ca contents were not significantly different in the three groups. We concluded that a 5% levan diet could both enhance the calcium absorption and improve the lipid profiles in rats fed a low calcium diet.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.788-795
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• 2002

This study described the effect of levan (9-2,6-linked fructose polymer) feeding on serum lipids, adiposity and uncoupling protein (UCP) expression in growing rats. Levan was synthesized from sucrose using bacterial levansucrase. UCP is a mitochondrial protein that uncouples the respiratory chain from oxidative Phosphorylation and generates heat instead of ATP, thereby increase energy expenditure. We observed that 3% or 5% levan containing diet reduced serum triglyceride levels, visceral and peritoneal fat mass and induced the UCP expression in rats fed high fat diet in previous study. To determine whether the intake of low level of levan may have the hypolipidemic and anti-obesity effect, 4 wk old Sprague Dawley male rats were fed AIN-76A diet for 6 wk, and sub-sequently fed 1% or 2% levan solution for further 5 wk. Intake of 1% levan in liquid form reduced serum triglyceride and serum total cholesterol levels to 50% and 66% of control group, respectively. Although epididymal and peritoneal fat masses were not affected by levan feeding, visceral fat mass was lower in 1% levan group compared to control group. The expression of UCP2 mRNA in brown adipose tissue, skeletal muscle and hypothalamus and UCP3 mRNA in skeletal muscle were not changed by levan feeding, while the UCP2 mRNA in white adipose tissue was up-regulated by levan feeding. In conclusions, intake of low level of levan solution reduced serum triglyceride and total cholesterol, restrained the visceral fat accumulation and increased UCP expression in white adipose tissue in rats. This study suggests that hypolipidemic and anti-obesity effect of levan attributed to anti-lipogenesis and inefficeint energy utilization by up-regulation of UCPs.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.567-570
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• 2000

The condition of immobilization of the partially purified levan fructotransferase and the properties of the immobilized enzyme was investigated. Levan fructotransferase was immobilized on ${\kappa}\;-carrageenan$ beads by entrapment method. The optimal ${\kappa}\;-carrageenan$ concentration was obtained 2%(w/v) (or the matrix. At that time, immobilized enzymes(0.81 units) have relative low activity compare with soluble enzyme(7.7 units). To immobilized and soluble enzyme, optimal activity temperature and pH were measured $55^{\circ}C$, 6.0 in sodium phosphate buffer 20mM solution. If crosslinking agent was added, proper concentration was 0.5%(v/v). At $37^{\circ}C$, immobilized and soluble enzyme converted levan to oligofructose and DFA IV, and the conversion ratio was 32% and 61% at 60 hr.