• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.405-409
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• 2000

We have studied the genome of an obligately commensal thermophile, Symbiobacterium toebii. The chromosome was extracted from pure cultures of S. toebii recently established. Total DNA of S. toebii was resolved by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) into discrete numbers of fragments by digenstion with the endonuclease SspI, SpeI, XbaI, and HpaI. Estimated sizes of fragments produced by the four enzymes and their sum consistently yielded a total genome size of 2.8 Mb. Because restriction endonucleases NotI and SwaI, recognizing 8 bp, released too many fragments, these enzymes could not be used for the estimation of the genome size. Considering no mobility of undigested genome under PFGE, the genome of S. toebii appears to be circular. The presence of extrachromosomal DNA in S. toebii was excluded by the results of the conventional 1% agarose gel electrophoresis and the field inversion gel electrophoresis of undigested S. toebii DNA.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.332-345
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• 2002

It is a recent observation that about 80 per cent of the body's immune system is localized in the gastrointestinal tract. This explains to a large extent why eating right is important for the modulation the immune response and prevention of disease. In addition it is increasingly recognized that the body has an important digestive system also in the lower gastrointestinal tract where numerous important substances are released by microbial enzymes and absorbed. Among these substances are short chain fatty acids, amino acids, various carbohydrates, poly-amines, growth factors, coagulation factors, and many thousands of antioxidants, not only traditional vitamins but numerous flavonoids, carotenoids and similar plant- and vegetable produced antioxidants. Also consumption of health-promoting bacteria (probiotics) and vegetable fibres (prebiotics) from numerous sources are known to have strong health-promoting influence. It has been calculated that the intestine harbours about 300,000 genes, which is much more than the calculated about 60,000 for the rest of the human body, indicating a till today totally unexpected metabolic activity in this part of the GI tract. There are seemingly several times more active enzymes in the intestine than in the rest of the body, ready to release hundred thousand or more of substances important for our health and well-being. In addition do the microbial cells produce signal molecules similar to cytokines but called bacteriokines and nitric oxide, with provide modulatory effects both on the mucosal cells, the mucosa- associated lymphoid system (MALT) and the rest of the immune system. Identification of various fermentation products, and often referred to as synbiotics, studies of their role in maintaining health and well-being should be a priority issue during the years to come.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.709-715
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• 2013

The waste from beer fermentation broth (WBFB) has been found an excellent and inexpensive resource for bioethanol production. We tried to evaluate the saccharification and fermentation capabilities of WBFB to confirm its effectiveness for bioethanol production. The saccharification potentials of the WBFB were evaluated at various temperatures (30, 40, 50, 60 and $70^{\circ}C$). It was found that the saccharification capabilities increased with temperature and highest reached maximum at $60^{\circ}C$ and $70^{\circ}C$ after 4h. Ethanol production from a mixture of WBFB and chemically defined media (CDM) without addition of any microbial species confirmed the fermentation capabilities of WBFB. Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation were performed using WBFB, starch solution and CDM as culturing media. The maximum yield of bioethanol production was obtained at $30^{\circ}C$. The saccharifying enzymes and the yeast cells present in WBFB were essential factors for the production of bioethanol from WBFB without any additional enzymes or microbial cells.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition Conference
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• 2001.12a
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• pp.187-231
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• 2001

It is a recent observation that about 80 per cent of the body's immune system is localized in the gastrointestinal tract. This explains to a large extent why eating right is important for the modulation the immune response and prevention of disease. I addition it is increasingly recognized that the body has an important digestive system also in the lower gastrointestinal tract where numerous important substances are released by microbial enzymes and absorbed. Among these substances are short chain fatty acids, amino acids, various carbohydrates, polyamines, growth factors, coagulation factors, and many thousands of antioxidants, not only traditional vitamins but numerous flavonoids, carotenoids and similar plant- and vegetable produced antioxidants. Also consumption of health-promoting bacteria (probiotics) and vegetable fibres (prebiotics) from numerous sources are known to have strong health-promoting influence. It has been calculated that the intestine harbours about 300 000 genes, which is much more than the calculated about 60000 for the rest of the human body, indicating a till today totally unexpected metabolic activity in this part of the GI tract. There are seemingly several times more active enzymes in the intestine than in the rest of the body, ready to release hundred thousand or more of substances important for our health and well-being. In addition do the microbial cells produce signal molecules similar to cytokines but called bacteriokines and nitric oxide, with provide modulatory effects both on the mucosal cells, the mucosa-associated lymphoid system (MALT) and the rest of the immune system. Identification of various fermentation products, and often referred to as synbiotics, studies of their role in maintaining health and well-being should be a priority issue during the years to come.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.229-235
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• 2024

Background: Plant health is directly related to the change in native microbial diversity and changes in soil health have been implicated as one of the main cause of root rot. However, scarce information is present regarding allelopathic relationship of Panax notoginseng root exudates and pathogenic fungi Fusarium oxysporum in a continuous cropping system. Methods: We analyzed P. notoginseng root exudate in the planting soil for three successive years to determine phenolic acid concentration using GC-MS and HPLC followed by effect on the microbial community assembly. Antioxidant enzymes were checked in the roots to confirm possible resistance in P. notoginseng. Results: Total 29 allelochemicals in the planting soil extract was found with highest concentration (10.54 %) of p-hydroxybenzoic acid. The HPLC showing a year-by-year decrease in p-hydroxybenzoic acid content in soil of different planting years, and an increase in population of F. oxysporum. Moreover, community analysis displayed negative correlation with 2.22 mmol. L^-1 of p-hydroxybenzoic acid correspond to an 18.1 % population of F. oxysporum. Furthermore, in vitro plate assay indicates that medium dose of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (2.5-5 mmol. L^-1) can stimulate the growth of F. oxysporum colonies and the production of macroconidia, as well as cell wall-degrading enzymes. We found that 2-3 mmol. L^-1 of p-hydroxybenzoic acid significantly increased the population of F. oxysporum. Conclusion: In conclusion, our study suggested that p-hydroxybenzoic acid have negative effect on the root system and modified the rhizosphere microbiome so that the host plant became more susceptible to root rot disease.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.1659-1676
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• 2002

Ruminant animals develop a diverse and sophisticated microbial ecosystem for digesting fibrous feedstuffs. Plant cell walls are complex and their structures are not fully understood, but it is generally believed that the chemical properties of some plant cell wall compounds and the cross-linked three-dimensional matrix of polysaccharides, lignin and phenolic compounds limit digestion of cell wall polysaccharides by ruminal microbes. Three adaptive strategies have been identified in the ruminal ecosystem for degrading plant cell walls: production of the full slate of enzymes required to cleave the numerous bonds within cell walls; attachment and colonization of feed particles; and synergetic interactions among ruminal species. Nonetheless, digestion of fibrous feeds remains incomplete, and numerous research attempts have been made to increase this extent of digestion. Exogenous fibrolytic enzymes (EFE) have been used successfully in monogastric animal production for some time. The possibility of adapting EFE as feed additives for ruminants is under intensive study. To date, animal responses to EFE supplements have varied greatly due to differences in enzyme source, application method, and types of diets and livestock. Currently available information suggests delivery of EFE by applying them to feed offers the best chance to increase ruminal digestion. The general tendency of EFE to increase rate, but not extent, of fibre digestion indicates that the products currently on the market for ruminants may not be introducing novel enzyme activities into the rumen. Recent research suggests that cleavage of esterified linkages (e.g., acetylesterase, ferulic acid esterase) within the plant cell wall matrix may be the key to increasing the extent of cell wall digestion in the rumen. Thus, a crucial ingredient in an effective enzyme additive for ruminants may be an as yet undetermined esterase that may not be included, quantified or listed in the majority of available enzyme preparations. Identifying these pivotal enzyme(s) and using biotechnology to enhance their production is necessary for long term improvements in feed digestion using EFE. Pretreating fibrous feeds with alkali in addition to EFE also shows promise for improving the efficacy of enzyme supplements.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.4 s.100
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• pp.326-330
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• 2002

A wetland soil was sterilised by two methods and changes in microbial enzyme activities were assessed. The short-term effects were determined by toluene addition, while the longer-term effects of elimination was monitored by ${\gamma}$-radiation. The changes in ${\beta}$- glucosidase, ${\beta}$-xylosidase, cellobiohydrolase, phosphatase, arylsulphatase, and N-acetylglucosaminidase activities were determined by using methylumbelliferyl model substrates and comparing with the activities of control samples. Toluene addition induced different responses of enzymes. For example, phosphatase activity increased by the treatment while ${\beta}$-glucosidase and arylsulphatase activities decreased. In contrast, ${\gamma}$-radiation decreased all enzyme activities compared to control by 40-80%. The overall results of the toluene and ${\gamma}$-radiation experiments indicate that the large amounts of enzymes are stabilised outside of living cells, at least in the short term, but that the persistence of enzymes is maintained by de-novo synthesis of microbes.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.46-53
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• 2001

A commensal thermophile, Symbiobacterium toebii, isolated from hay compost (toebii) in Korea commensally interacted with a thermophilic Geobacillus toebii sp. nov., which was a new species within the genus Geobacillus on the basis of the phenotypic traits and molecular systematic data. S. toebii required the crude extracts and/or culture supernatant of the Geobacillus toebii for axenic growth and could grow on the temperature between 45 and $70^{\circ}C$ (optimum: $60^{\circ}C$; 2.4 h doubling time) and pH 6.0 and 9.0 (optimum: pH 7.5). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was $65 mol\%$, and the major quinones were MK-6 and MK-7. A phylogenetic analysis of its 16S rDNA sequence indicated that Symbiobacterium toebii was closely related with solely reported Symbiobacterium thermophilum. The presence of the commensal thermophile 16S rDNA and accumulation of indole in all the enriched cultures indicate that Symbiobacterium toebii is widely distributed in the various soils. The genome of S. toebii constituted a circular chromosome of 3,280,275 base pairs and there was not an extra-chromosomal element (ECE). It contained about 4,107 predicted coding sequences. Of these protein coding genes, about $45.6\%$ was encoded well-known proteins and annotated the functional assignment of 1,874 open reading frames (ORFs), and the rest predicted to have unknown functions. The genes encoding thermostable tyrosine phenol-lyase and tryptophan indole-lyase were cloned from the genomic DNA of S. toebii and the enzymatic production of L-tyrosine and L-tryptophan was carried out with two thermostable enzymes overexpressed in recombinant E. coli.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2004

We isolated and identified culturable Arctic bacteria that had inhabited soils around the Korean Arctic Research Station Dasan located at Ny-Alsund, Svalbard, Norway $(79^{\circ}N,\;12^{\circ}E)$. The collected soils were diluted in distilled water; the diluted soil-water was spread on 3M petri-films at Dasan Station. The petri-films were transported to the laboratory at KORDI, and cultured at $4^{\circ}C$. Colonies grown on the petri-films were subsequently cultured on nutrient agar plates at $4^{\circ}C$ every 7 days. The pure colonies were inoculated into nutrient liquid media, genomic DNA was extracted, and phylogenetic analysis was performed on the basis of 165 rDNA sequences. A total of 227 strains of bacteria were isolated. Among them, 16S rDNA sequences of 185 strains were identical with those of known strains isolated in this study, and 42 strains were finally identified. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rDNA indicated that the 30 strains belonged to Pseudomonas, 7 strains to Arthrobacter, two strains to Flavobacterium, and the remaining to Achromobacter, Pedobacter, and Psychrobacter. Among the 42 strains, 14 bacteria produced protease: they were 6 strains of Pseudomonax, 4 strains of Arthrobater, an Achromobacter strain, 2 strains of Flavobacterium, and a Pedohacter strain. We expect these Arctic bacteria can be used for screening to develop new industrial enzymes that are active at low temperatures.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.73-82
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• 1999

To verify the usefulness of enzyme activity as a index for the stability or maturity of apple pomace composting. the succession of microbial populations using viable count procedure. and Vmax of ${\beta}$-glucosidase and cellobiohydrolase were measured. based on an increase in fluorescence as the nonfluorescent methylumbelliferyl substrates were enzymatically hydrolyzed, leading to the highly fluorescent methylumbelliferyl molecule 4-methylumbelliferone(MUF). The activities of these enzymes in the decomposition of carbohydrates were gradually decreased in the course of the time. Correlation between microbial population and enzyme activity was not significant with exception of fungi. and the fungi were represented in high density. This indicates that the fungi probably play a major role in composting of apple pomace.