• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.425-436
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• 2019

Botrytis cinerea, a major phytopathogenic fungus, has been reported to infect more than 200 crop species worldwide, and it causes massive losses in yield. The aim of this study was to evaluate the inhibitory abilities and effects of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens RS-25, Bacillus licheniformis MG-4, Bacillus subtilis Z-14, and Bacillus subtilis Pnf-4 and their culture filtrates and extracts against the gray mold caused by B. cinerea on postharvest tomato, strawberry, and grapefruit. The results revealed that the cells of Z-14, culture filtrate of RS-25, and cells of Z-14 showed the strongest biocontrol activity against the gray mold on the strawberry, grape, and tomato fruit, respectively. All the strains produced volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and the VOCs of Pnf-4 displayed the highest inhibition values. Based on headspace solid-phase microextraction in combination with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, esters accounted for the largest percentage of the VOCs produced by RS-25, MG-4, Z-14, and Pnf-4 (36.80%, 29.58%, 30.78%, and 36.26%, respectively). All the strains showed potent cellulase and protease activities, but no chitinase activity. RS-25, Z-14, and MG-4, but not Pnf-4, grew on chrome azurol S agar, and an orange halo was formed around the colonies. All the strains showed biofilm formation, fruit colonization, and lipopeptide production, which may be the main modes of action of the antagonists against B. cinerea on the fruit. This study provides the basis for developing natural biocontrol agents against the gray mold caused by B. cinerea on postharvest fruit.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.1157-1168
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• 2021

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different amounts of wheat bran (WB) inclusion and postbiotics form by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and phytase co-fermented wheat bran (FWB) on the growth performance and health status of broilers. Methods: Study randomly allocated a total of 300 male broilers to a control and 4 treatment groups (5% WB, 5% FWB, 10% WB, and 10% FWB inclusion, respectively) with each pen having 20 broilers and 3 pens per treatment. Results: The WB does not contain enzymes, but there are 152.8, 549.2, 289.5, and 147.1 U/g dry matter xylanase, protease, cellulase and β-glucanase in FWB, respectively. Furthermore, FWB can decrease nitric oxide release of lipopolysaccharide stimulated chicken peripheral blood mononuclear cells by about two times. Results show that 10% FWB inclusion had significantly the highest weight gain (WG) at 1 to 21 d; 5% FWB had the lowest feed conversion rate at 22 to 35 d; 10% WB and 10% FWB inclusion have the highest villus height and Lactobacillus spp. number in caecum; and both 5% and 10% FWB can increase ash content in femurs. Compared to control group, all treatments increase mucin 2, and tight junction (TJ), such as occludin, claudin-1, zonula occludens-1, and mRNA expression in ileum by at least 5 folds. In chicken peripheral blood mononuclear cells, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-oxidase-1 mRNA expression decreases from 2 to 5 times, and glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit mRNA expression also increases in all treatment groups compared to control group. The mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), nuclear factor-κB, and IL-1β, decreases in 5% and 10% FWB groups compared to control group. Conclusion: To summarize, both WB and FWB inclusion in broilers diets increase TJ mRNA expression and anti-oxidation and anti-inflammation, but up to 10% FWB groups have better WG in different stages of broiler development.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.1591-1600
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• 2021

Streptomyces coelicolor is a filamentous soil bacterium producing several kinds of antibiotics. S. coelicolor abs8752 is an abs (antibiotic synthesis deficient)-type mutation at the absR locus; it is characterized by an incapacity to produce any of the four antibiotics synthesized by its parental strain J1501. A chromosomal DNA fragment from S. coelicolor J1501, capable of complementing the abs- phenotype of the abs8752 mutant, was cloned and analyzed. DNA sequencing revealed that two complete ORFs (SCO6992 and SCO6993) were present in opposite directions in the clone. Introduction of SCO6992 in the mutant strain resulted in a remarkable increase in the production of two pigmented antibiotics, actinorhodin and undecylprodigiosin, in S. coelicolor J1501 and abs8752. However, introduction of SCO6993 did not show any significant difference compared to the control, suggesting that SCO6992 is primarily involved in stimulating the biosynthesis of antibiotics in S. coelicolor. In silico analysis of SCO6992 (359 aa, 39.5 kDa) revealed that sequences homologous to SCO6992 were all annotated as hypothetical proteins. Although a metalloprotease domain with a conserved metal-binding motif was found in SCO6992, the recombinant rSCO6992 did not show any protease activity. Instead, it showed very strong β-glucuronidase activity in an API ZYM assay and toward two artificial substrates, p-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucuronide and AS-BI-β-D-glucuronide. The binding between rSCO6992 and Zn²⁺ was confirmed by circular dichroism spectroscopy. We report for the first time that SCO6992 is a novel protein with β-glucuronidase activity, that has a distinct primary structure and physiological role from those of previously reported β-glucuronidases.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.1030-1038
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• 2022

Objective: Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of enzyme complex (EC) on the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) in corn gluten meal (60%) (CGM), soy protein concentrate (SPC), dried bovine plasma (DBP), and poultry offal meal (POM). Experiments I and II were conducted with broilers in the pre-starter (1 to 7 days of age) and starter (1 to 21 days of age) phases, respectively. Methods: The treatments consisted of a protein-free diet (PFD) containing feedstuffs either supplemented with EC (xylanase, amylase, and protease) or not. In Experiment I, a total of 360 one-day-old male Cobb-500 broiler chicks were randomly housed in 45 pens, resulting in five replicates with eight birds each, totalizing eight treatments and one PFD group. In Experiment II a total of 270 one-day-old male Cobb-500 broiler chicks were randomly housed in 45 pens, resulting in five replicates with six birds each, totalizing eight treatments and one PFD group. The PFD groups were used to assess the endogenous AA losses. The birds were slaughtered to collect the ileal content. Results: In the pre-starter phase, the SID of arginine, branched chain-aminoacids, glycine, serine, aspartate, and glutamic acid increased with EC addition. The EC improved the SID of arginine and glutamic acid of CGM; the SID of valine and cystine of SPC; the SID of leucine, glycine, and aspartate of POM and the SID of isoleucine of DBP. In the starter phase, the SID of isoleucine, phenylalanine and glycine increased in EC-supplemented diets. The EC improved the SID of isoleucine of DBP; the SID of phenylalanine of CGM and POM. The SID of AA of SPC was not influenced by the EC. Conclusion: The addition of an EC to broiler pre-starter and starter diets is efficient in increasing the SID of AA on SPC, POM, and DBP.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.117-126
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• 2022

Cystatin, a cysteine protease inhibitor found in many parasites, plays important roles in immune evasion. This study analyzed the molecular characteristics of a cystatin from Fasciola hepatica (FhCystatin) and expressed recombinant FhCystatin (rFhcystatin) to investigate the immune modulatory effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced proliferation, migration, cytokine secretion, nitric oxide (NO) production, and apoptosis in mouse macrophages. The FhCystatin gene encoded 116 amino acids and contained a conserved cystatin-like domain. rFhCystatin significantly inhibited the activity of cathepsin B. rFhCystatin bound to the surface of mouse RAW264.7 cells, significantly inhibited cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis. Moreover, rFhCystatin inhibited the expression of cellular nitric oxide, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α, and promoted the expression of transforming growth factor-β and interleukin-10. These results showed that FhCystatin played an important role in regulating the activity of mouse macrophages. Our findings provide new insights into mechanisms underlying the immune evasion and contribute to the exploration of potential targets for the development of new drug to control F. hepatica infection.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.257-273
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• 2021

Koreans consume cham-chwi (Aster scaber thunb.) as a common vegetable in a meal because of its bitter taste and rich flavor. In addition, it is the crop with the most residual pesticides detected in the last five years. Among the detected pesticides, the most common was azoxystrobin, which is a drug used primarily to prevent the leaf spot disease of A. scaber caused by Septoria sp.. We isolated the microorganisms that antifungal activity against Septoria sp.. The optimum incubation conditions (temperature, pH and growth medium) were examined for the growth of the isolates. Additionally, cellulase and protease activity and siderophore production ability were also examined. According to 16S rRNA sequencing of the isolate was affiliated to Paenibacillus polymyxa JE201. Largest inhibition zone measuring up to 9.2 mm was observed for P. polymyxa JE201 after 7 days of inoculation. P. polymyxa JE201 strain showed antifungal activity against various fungal phytopathogens Altanaria sp., Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum acutatum, Fusarium oxysporum, Phytophthora capsici, Ph. drechesleria, Rhizoctonia solani and Stemphylium sp.. Based on these observations, P. polymyxa. JE201 can be used as a promising biocontrol agent for preventing the leaf spot disease and other phytopathogens.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.61-68
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• 2022

This study aimed to investigate the hepatoprotective activities of the sea cucumber products, including extracts and hydrolysates, in vitro and in vivo. Dried sea cucumber, produced on the western coast of Korea, was boiled in water or 70% ethanol at 85℃ or 100℃ for 18 or 24 h, respectively, to extract bioactive compounds. The enzymatic hydrolysates were prepared by reacting the dried sea cucumber with pepsin or neutral protease (PNL) under optimal enzyme conditions. The anti-inflammatory effect of the samples was investigated using RAW 264.7 cells treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The amount of nitric oxide (NO) was produced from the cells treated with LPS and each sample was compared. Therefore, the pepsin hydrolysate treatment decreased NO production compared to LPS sole treatment. Furthermore, the effects of the samples on cell injury in the hepatic cell line and bisphenolA-induced hepatic injury mouse model were investigated. The water extracts and the pepsin hydrolysates of sea cucumber significantly inhibited cell injury generated in the hepatocytes without cytotoxicity (p < 0.05), whereas the ethanol extracts were cytotoxic. However, these results indicate that the extracts and the enzymatic hydrolysates derived from sea cucumber can be used as beneficial materials for inhibiting liver damage.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.389-397
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• 2019

Lysosomes are cellular organelles involved in energy metabolism and intracellular digestion in eukaryotic cells, including protease, nuclease, glycosidase, lipase, and phosphatase. Our previous studies have confirmed that egg white lysosomes had melanin decolorization and reduction activity. However, there have been few studies on skin barrier and skin regeneration as well as inhibition of melanin production by egg white lysosomes on B16F10 melanocyte cell line. In this study, we attempted to identify the effect of lysosome-related organelle extract (LOE) extracted from egg white on the melanin content change and skin barrier enhancement in cells. First, cytotoxicity evaluation was performed on B16F10 melanocyte cell line to confirm the whitening efficacy of LOE. Cytotoxicity by LOE was not observed at 20 mg/mL concentration, but cytotoxicity was observed at 40 mg/mL, and the maximum concentration value was set to 20 mg/mL in all subsequent experiments. LOE samples of 5, 10, 20 mg/mL inhibited melanin production by 61.5 ± 4.0%, 61.4 ± 7.3%, 58.3 ± 8.3%, respectivly, compared to α-MSH, a negative control in melanin contents assay. MITF mRNA expression was reduced by about 39.7 ± 3.2% compared to the α-MSH treatment group. TEER assay using HaCaT showed that LOE increased TEER resistance in a dose-dependent manner, indicating that LOE is involved in strengthening the skin barrier. LOE also increased the TEER resistance under TNF-α treatment. Skin barrier was normally restored by LOE even under the condition of inflammation. LOE had a positive effect on cell division and cell migration promotion, confirmed by the observing the effect of promoting cell migration by LOE through cell migration assay. Taken together, we expect that LOE can be developed as a cosmetic material to enhance has effects on skin regeneration and skin barrier strengthening as well as whitening function if enzyme stabilization and formulation technology are combined.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.128-133
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• 2000

A high molecular (more than 10 kDa) fraction, showing mitogenic and comitogenic activities in spleen cells of mouse, was isolated from water extract of ginseng. The crude protein substance prepared by 80% (NH$_4$)$_2$SO$_4$ precipitation from this fraction was purified and isolated by DEAE Sepharose column chromatography. Among the fractions eluted, it was found that four kinds of fractions eluted with 0 to 1 M NaCl gradient were glycoproteins, which induced proliferation of spleen cells and increased NO production in macrophages. Among them, F-2 fraction, which contained 35.9% protein,49.4% neutral sugar and 12.5% uronic acid, was found to show mitogenic activity as strong as that of LPS (lipopolysaccharide) at a concentration of 100 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml and to remarkably stimulate NO production by murine macrophages at a concentration of 500 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml. When F-2 is deproteinized, the mitogenic activity of F-2 was decreased significantly to 70.9% as compared with that of F-2. This results suggests that the protein moiety of F-2 may play an important role in immunomodulating activity of glycoprotein from the root of Panax ginseng.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.56-64
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• 2011

This study was conducted to evaluate the use of exogenous enzymes as a potential means of improving the ruminal digestion (i.e., degradability) of alfalfa hay and rice straw. Twenty six enzyme-additives were examined in terms of protein concentration and enzymic activities on model substrates. The exogenous enzymes contained ranges of endoglucanase, xylanase, ${\beta}$-glucanase, ${\alpha}$-amylase, and protease activities. Six of the enzyme additives were chosen for further investigation. The enzyme additives and a control without enzyme were applied to mature quality alfalfa hay substrate and subsequently incubated in rumen batch cultures. Five of the enzyme additives (CE2, CE13, CE14, CE19, and CE24) increased total gas production (GP) at 48 h of incubation compared to the control (p<0.05). The two additives (CE14 and CE24) having the greatest positive effects on alfalfa hay dry matter, neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) degradability were further characterized for their ability to enhance degradation of low quality forages. The treatments CE14, CE24, a 50:50 combination of CE14 and CE24 (CE14+24), and control (no enzyme) were applied to mature alfalfa hay and rice straw. For alfalfa hay, application of the two enzyme additives, alone and in combination, increased GP compared to the control at 48 h fermentation (p<0.05), whereas only CE14 and CE14+24 treatments improved GP from rice straw (p<0.05). Rumen fluid volatile fatty acid concentrations throughout the incubation of rice straw were analyzed. Acetate concentration was slightly lower (p<0.05) for CE14${\times}$CE24 compared to the control, although individually, CE14 and CE24 acetate concentrations were not different from the control. Increases (p<0.05) in alfalfa hay NDF degradability measured at 12 and 48 h of incubation occurred only for CE14 (at 12 h) and for CE14+24 (at 12 and 48 h). Similarly, ADF degradability increased (p<0.05) with CE14 and CE14+24. As for rice straw, increased DM degradability was observed at 12 and 48 h of incubation for all enzyme treatments with an exception for CE14 at 12 h. The degradability of NDF was improved by all the enzyme treatments at either incubation time, while ADF degradability was only enhanced at 48 h. Overall, the enzymes led to enhanced digestion of mature alfalfa and there was evidence of improved digestibility of rice straw, an even lower quality forage.