• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.763-771
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• 2001

Biphenyl dioxygenase (BPDO), which catalyzes the first step in the bacterial degradation of biphenyl and polychlorinated biphenyls, was characterized in Pseudomonas sp. B4. The bphA locus containing the four structural genes encoding BPDO were cloned and sequenced. A regulatory gene as well as a putative regulatory sequence were identified upstream of this locus. A transposase-like gene was found within a 1-kb region further upstream, thereby suggesting that the bphA locus may be carried on a transposable element. The three components of the BPDO enzyme have been separately overexpressed and purified from E. coli. The ferredoxin and terminal dioxygenase components showed biochemical properties comparable to those of two previously characterized BPDOs, whereas the ferredoxin reductase exhibited an unusually high lability. The substrate selectivity of BPDO was examined in vivo using resting cell assays performed with mixtures of selected polychlorinated biphenyls. The results indicated that para-substituted congeners were the preferred substrates. In vitro studies were carried out on a BPDO complex where the reductase from strain B4 we replaced by the more stable isoform from Comamonas testosteroni B-356. The BPDO enzyme had a specific activity of $0.26{\pm}0.02 {\mu}mol {min^-1}{mg^-1}\;of\;ISP_{BPH}$ with biphenyl as the substrate. The 2,3-, 4,4'-, and 2,4,4'-chlorobiphenyls were converted to single dihydrodiols, while 2,4'-dichlorobiphenyl gave rise to two dihydrodiols. The current data also indicated that 2,4,4'-trichlorobiphenyl was a better substrate than the 4,4'-dichlorinated congener.

• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.367-372
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• 2009

In this study, we showed that WAX9D, a nonspecific lipid-transfer protein found in broccoli, binds palmitate (C16) and stearate (C18) with dissociation constants of 0.56 ${\mu}M$ and 0.52 ${\mu}M$, respectively. WAX9D was fused to thioredoxin protein by genetic manipulation to enhance its solubility. The data revealed strong interaction of Trx-WAX9D with palmitate and stearate. The dissociation constants of Trx-WAX9D for palmitate and stearate were 1.1 ${\mu}M$ and 6.4 ${\mu}M$, respectively. The calculated number of binding sites for palmitate and stearate was 2.5 to 2.7, indicating that Trx-WAX9D can bind three molecules of fatty acids. Additionally, Trx-WAX9D was shown to inhibit the apoptotic effect of palmitate in endothelial cells. Our data using Trx-WAX9D provide insight into the broad spectrum of its biological applications with specific palmitate binding.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.199-206
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• 1985

Viroids are the smallest. well-characterized infectious agents presently known. and so far viroids have been found only in higher plants. The structures of viroid-molecules are single-stranded, covalently closed circular RNA molecules with a range of 240 to 380 nucleotides according to the various viroids. Viroids are remarkable not only as a new category of pathogen, which cause economically important diseases, but also as an excellent model system for biochemical and biophysical investigations because of their small size, relative stability and their self-replication. Four different patato spindle tuber viroid isolates, which express the different symptoms on the same host plant exchange only 2 to 6 nucleotides in the total number of 359 nucleotides, but now the mechanism of viroid pathogenicity is not explained fully. Viroid-melecules are replicated without any special viroid-associated proteins, and during the process of viroid replication oligomeric viroid-associated RNAs are detected at nuclei of viroid infected leaf tissue. The mechanism of viroid replication can now be illustrated according to a possible explanation of rolling-circle system. Although the rapid progress have been made in elucidation of the biochemical and biophysical properties of PSTV and other viroids, the mechanism of viroid replication and pathogenicity is less known and is still a matter of speculation. When these problems can be sufficiently explained, the viroid molecule could play an important role as an available vector in plant genetic engineering.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.389-397
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• 2002

Bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria were isolated from kimchi. One isolate producing the most efficient bacteriocin was identified and named Lactococcus lactis B2, based on the biochemical properties and 16S rDNA sequences. The B2 bacteriocin inhibited many different Gram positive bacteria including Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, and Staphylococcus, but did not inhibit Gram-negative bacteria. The bacteriocin was maximally produced at temperatures between $25^{\circ}C\;and\;30^{\circ}C$ and at the initial pH of 7.0. Ninety $\%$ of the activity remained after 10 min of heat treatment at $121^{\circ}C,\;and\;100\%$, after 1 h exposure to organic solvents. The bacteriocin was purified from culture supernatant by ammonium sulfate precipitation, CM Sepharose column chromatography, ultrafiltration, and finally, by reverse-phase HPLC. A 1.58-kb fragment was amplified from B2 chromosome by using a primer set designed from the published nisA sequence. Sequencing result showed that the fragment contained the whole nisZ and 5' portion of nisB, whose gene product was involved in postmodification of nisin. The upstream sequence, however, was completely different from those of reported nisin genes.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2008

More safe and natural food was recently needed by consumers. Antimicrobials including sodium azide, penicillin, and vancomycin were used for therapeutic agents against pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157:H7 in dairy and meat industry. These antimicrobials and preservatives were prohibited in stock farm and food because they were caused resistant strain and side effects. Bacteriocins are proteinaceous compounds that may present antimicrobial activity towards important food-borne pathogens and spoilage-related microflora. Therefore, bacteriocins were reported as an alternative of antimicrobials. Due to these properties, bacteriocin-producing strains or purified bacteriocins have a great potential of use in biologically based food preservation systems. Despite the growing number of articles regarding on the isolation of bacteriocinogenic strains, genetic determinants for production, purification and biochemical characterization of these inhibitory substances, there are only limited reports of successful application of bacteriocins to dairy and meats. This review describes bacteriocins related to dairy and meat products for the further use.

• ALGAE
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.105-121
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• 2022

Modern seaweed farming relies heavily on seedlings from natural beds or vegetative cuttings from previous harvests. However, this farming method has some disadvantages, such as physiological variation in the seed stock and decreased genetic variability, which reduces the growth rate, carrageenan yield, and gel strength of the seaweeds. A new method of seedling production that is sustainable, scalable, and produces a large number of high-quality plantlets is needed to support the seaweed farming industry. Recent use of tissue culture and micropropagation techniques in eucheumatoid seaweed production has yielded promising results in increasing seed supply and growing uniform seedlings in large numbers in a shorter time. Several seaweed species have been successfully cultured and regenerated into new plantlets in laboratories using direct regeneration, callus culture, and protoplast culture. The use of biostimulants and plant growth regulators in culture media increases the seedling quality even further. Seedlings produced by micropropagation grew faster and had better biochemical properties than conventionally cultivated seedlings. Before being transferred to a land-based grow-out system or ocean nets for farming, tissue-cultured seedlings were recommended to undergo an acclimatization process to increase their survival rate. Regular monitoring is needed to prevent disease and pest infestations and grazing by herbivorous fish and turtles during the farming process. The current review discusses recent techniques for producing eucheumatoid and other valuable seaweed farming materials, emphasizing the efficiency of micropropagation and the transition from laboratory culture to cultivation in land-based or open-sea grow-out systems to elucidate optimal conditions for sustainable seaweed production.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.357-363
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• 2012

Ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) is an economically important crop in Korea. While the consumption of the crop is gradually increasing, the yield is decreasing due to the injury of continuous cultivation or infection of soil-borne fungal pathogens such as Cylindrocarpon destructans, Fusarium solani, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia nivalis. In order to find promising biocontrol agents, we have isolated 439 soil bacteria from ginseng cultivated soil and tested their antifungal activities against ginseng rot pathogens. Among them, 3 strains were finally selected and tested for the elucidation of their genetic and biochemical properties. They were identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens using phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Moreover, all selected strains showed positive reaction for PCR detection targeting biosynthetic gene sequences of iturin A and surfactin. The results provided promising evidences that the bacterial strains isolated from ginseng cultivated soil can be novel biocontrol agents for ginseng cultivaion.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.99-104
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• 2011

Shiitake breeding requires the procedures of mating of two different parental strains and selection of hybrid strains that have good traits for the mushroom production. In this study, we tested the possibility of the use of chromogenic plate-based assay for extracellular enzyme production in order to assess and find good biochemical properties-possessed hybrid strains that were generated from genetic cross of the monokaryotic strains derived from two different parental strains of Lentinula edodes Sanjo-101ho and Sanjo-108ho. We observed that there was difference in the ability of producing ${\beta}$-glucosidase, avicelase, CM-cellulase, amylase, pectinase, xylanase, and protease among the monokaryotic strains. We could also comparatively assess that the ability of the seven extracellular enzymes production in the hybrid strains depended on the mating combination of the monokaryotic strains. Our results demonstrate that the assessment method for extracellular enzyme production using chromogenic plate assay could be usefully applied to the assessment of the hybrid strains derived from the breeding procedure of L. edodes.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.259-266
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• 2013

To isolate the fibrinolytic enzyme, 268 strains from 21 samples were morphologically isolated from Cheonggukjang collected from Korea and Japan. Among the 268 strains, protease-producing bacteria were isolated in nutrient agar medium including 1% skimmed milk. As a result of this, 22 strains were isolated. Apiweb site was used to identify these strains based on their biochemical properties. In addition, 16S rRNA sequencing was performed to identify the strain. Most of the identified strains were Bacillus subtilis and B. amyloliquefaciens. Fibrinolytic enzyme activity was measured with the fibrin plate method. Five strains were finally selected: A2-14, A2-20, C1-05, C1-09, and F2-01. Of those five strains, the A2-20 strain, which is close to B. amyloliquefaciens, showed the strongest fibrinolytic activity. The fibrinolytic enzyme produced by the A2-20 strain was partially purified from culture supernatant by gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography. The optimal pH and temperature values of the partially purified enzyme were 7.0 and $35^{\circ}C$, respectively. Purified protein analysis was carried out with SDS-PAGE and zymography. A genetic analysis was also conducted by PCR based on the consensus sequence of fibrinolytic enzyme. Corresponding genes with a partial sequence of the A2-20 strain were identified.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.479-485
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• 2021

Background: Vibrio vulnificus has been frequently detected in seawater, fish, and shellfish mainly in the coastal areas of Chungcheongnam-do Province. Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the analyzed biochemical properties, genetic characteristics, and distribution of Vibrio vulnificus isolated from environmental sources in coastal areas of Chungcheongnam-do Province from 2019 to 2020. Methods: A total of 1,510 samples were obtained from six different sites in Chungcheongnam-do Province. Isolated strains from the samples were identified by a VITEK 2 system and MALDI-TOF. Antibiotic susceptibility testing for 85 isolates was done by microdilution minimum inhibitory concentration methods, and 11 isolates were analyzed for 16s rRNA sequences in multiple alignments. Results: Among the 1,510 samples taken during the investigation period, 306 strains were isolated and the detection rate of V. vulnificus was 20.3%. One hundred eighty-eight strains (24.6%) from seawater and 118 strains (15.8%) from mud flats were isolated. It was mainly detected in July (17.3%), August (36.5%), and September (28.8%), and the proportion was 82.0%. Based on the CLSI-recommended breakpoints, V. vulnificus isolates were all susceptible to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, amikacin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. However, nonsusceptible isolates to ampicillin, ampicillin/sulbactam, cefazolin, cefoxitin, imipenem, tetracycline and chloramphenicol were identified. In the analysis of the nucleotide sequences for 16s rRNA of V. vulnificus isolates, it was confirmed that mutations frequently occurred between nucleotide number 922 and 952, and 98.2% to 100% nucleotide identities between isolates was verified. Conclusions: The results of this study can be used as a basic data for infection control and prevention of Vibrio vulnificus infection by describing the distribution and characteristics of Vibrio vulnificus strains isolated in coastal areas of Chungcheongnam-do Province.