• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.618-623
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• 2014

Sarijang, a soy sauce made from fermented black soybean (Rhynchosia nulubilis), sulfur fed duck, dried bark of Ulmus davidiana, Allium sativum, and bamboo salt, has been demonstrated to exert anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor activities. However, the antioxidant properties of Sarijang have not yet been elucidated. In this study, the antioxidant effects of Sarijang were investigated by determining total phenolic content (TPC), DPPH radical scavenging activity (DPPH RSA), total radical trapping antioxidant potential (TRAP), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and cellular antioxidant capacity (CAC). The inhibitory effects of Sarijang on oxidative stress-induced DNA damage (200 ${\mu}M$ $H_2O_2$, 250 ${\mu}M$ Fe-NTA, and 200 ${\mu}M$ HNE) in human leukocytes were evaluated by comet assay. The TPC of Sarijang was $1.04{\pm}0.01$ mg GAE/mL. DPPH RSA, TRAP, and ORAC values of Sarijang increased in a dose-dependent manner. The $IC_{50}$ for DPPH RSA of Sarijang was $11.2{\pm}0.3$ mg/mL, whereas $IC_{50}$ of TRAP was $209.5{\pm}2.0$ mg/mL. 2,2'-Azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH)-induced oxidative stress and oxidative stress-induced DNA damage in HepG2 cells were effectively abrogated by all tested concentrations of Sarijang (1~100 ${\mu}g/mL$). These results suggest that Sarijang has antioxidative activity and protective effects against oxidative DNA damage.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.43-50
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• 2017

A xylan-degrading bacterium (strain WJ-1) was isolated from soil collected from Jeju Island, Republic of Korea. Strain WJ-1 was characterized as a gram-positive, aerobic, and spore-forming bacterium. The predominant fatty acid in this bacterium was anteiso-$C_{15:0}$ (42.99%). A similarity search based on 16S rRNA gene sequences suggested that the strain belonged to the genus Streptomyces. Further, strain WJ-1 shared the highest sequence similarity with the type strains Streptomyces spinoveruucosus NBRC 14228, S. minutiscleroticus NBRC 13000, and S. glaucescens NBRC 12774. Together, they formed a coherent cluster in a phylogenetic tree based on the neighbor-joining algorithm. The DNA G+C content of strain WJ-1 was 74.7 mol%. The level of DNA-DNA relatedness between strain WJ-1 and the closest related species S. glaucescens NBRC 12774 was 85.7%. DNA-DNA hybridization, 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, and the phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics suggest that strain WJ-1 constitutes a novel subspecies of S. glaucescens. Thus, the strain was designated as S. glaucescens subsp. WJ-1 (Korean Agricultural Culture Collection [KACC] accession number 92086). Additionally, strain WJ-1 secreted thermostable endo-type xylanases that converted xylan to xylooligosaccharides such as xylotriose and xylotetraose. The enzymes exhibited optimal activity at pH 7.0 and $55^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.56-62
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• 2008

Two hundred and sixty-eight bacterial strains were isolated from pine mushroom (Tricholoma matsutake) basal soil. In the course of screening for antifungal activity against seven plant pathogenic fungi (Alternaria panax, Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum gloeosprioides, Fusarium oxysporum, Phytopthora capsici, Pythium ultimum, Rizoctonia solani) of isolates, strain KM1-15 showed strong antibiotic activity against Alternaria panax and Colletotrichum gloeosprioides. In determining its relationship on the basis of 16S rDNA sequence, KM1-15 strain was most closely related to Bacillus $koguryoae^T$ (AY904033) (99.62%). When assayed with the API 50CHE Kit, unlike Bacillus koguryoae, it is positive for utilization of L-arabinose, cellobiose, inulin, and D-turanose. Results of cellular fatty acid analysis showed that major cellular fatty acids were 15:0 anteiso (35.78%) and 17:0 anteiso (17.97%). In particular, hydroxyl fatty acids such as 13:0 iso 3-OH, 14:0 iso 3-OH, 15:0 iso 3-OH, and 17:0 iso 3-OH were only restricted to strain KM1-15. DNA G+C content was 43.7 mol% and quinone system was MK-7 (100%) in strain KM1-15.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.276-283
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• 2004

Screening was performed to isolate cellulose-producing microorganisms from the Korean traditional fermented persimmon vinegar. The resulting strain, KJ $145^{T}$, was then taxonomically investigated by phenotypic characterization, particularly chemotaxonomic, and by phylogenetic inference based on a 16S rDNA sequence analysis including other related taxa. Strain KJ $145^{T}$ was found to grow rapidly and form pale white colonies with smooth to rough surfaces on a GYC agar. Strain KJ $145^T$ also produced acetate from ethanol, and was tolerable to 10% ethanol in SM medium. In a static culture, a thick cellulose pellicle was produced, and in GYC broth, the strain grew at temperatures ranging from 28 to $40^\circ{C}$ with an optimum pH of 4.0. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain KJ $145^T$ was 61.9 mol%, and the predominant ubiquinone was Q 10 as the major quinone and Q9 as the minor quinone. The major cellular fatty acids were $C_{16:0}$ and the sum in feature 7 ($C_{18:1}$ w9c, w12t and/or w7c). A 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probe specific for strain KJ $145^T$was constructed, and the phylogenetic position of the new species was derived from a 16S rDNA-based tree. When comparing the 16S rDNA nucleotide sequences, strain KJ $145^T$ was found to be most closely related to G. hansenii LMG $1527^T$ (99.2%), although KJ $145^T$ was still distinct from G. hansenii LMG $l527^T$ and G. xylinus LMG $1515^T$ in certain phenotypic characteristics. Therefore, on the basis of 16S rDNA sequences and taxonomic characteristics, it is proposed that strain KJ $145^T$ should be placed in the genus Gluconacetobacter as a new species, Gluconacetobacter persimmonis sp. nov., under the type-strain KJ $145^T$ (=KCTC =$10175BP^T$=KCCM=$10354^T$).

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.6 no.3_4
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• pp.138-145
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• 2008

A Gram-positive, endospore-forming, rod-shaped bacterial strain was isolated from spent mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) substrates taken from the Hoamfarm located in Keyollgnam, Korea. The isolate, designated CS9, was facultatively anaerobic, motile rod and produced xylanase. The strain grew optimally at $40^{\circ}C$ and pH 6.0. The major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-$C_{15:0}$, anteiso-$C_{17:0}$, and iso-$C_{17:0}$. The genomic DNA G+C content was 45 mol%. Comparative 16S-rDNA sequence analysis showed that the isolate CS9 formed a distinct phyletic line within the genus Bacillus and was most closely related to Bacillus subtilis YB1, with 16S DNA sequence similarity of 96.8%. Sequence similarities to other type strains were 92-94%. On the based of physiological and molecular properties, the isolate CS9 was classified within the genus Bacillus as Bacillus subtilis CS9.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Bioinformatics Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.13-16
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• 2000

Microorganisms have been widely employed for the production of useful bioproducts including primary metabolites such as ethanol, succinic acid, acetone and butanol, secondary metabolites represented by antibiotics, proteins, polysaccharides, lipids and many others. Since these products can be obtained in small quantities under natural condition, mutation and selection processes have been employed for the improvement of strains. Recently, metabolic engineering strategies have been employed for more efficient production of these bioproducts. Metabolic engineering can be defined as purposeful modification of cellular metabolic pathways by introducing new pathways, deleting or modifying the existing pathways for the enhanced production of a desired product or modified/new product, degradation of xenobiotics, and utilization of inexpensive raw materials. Metabolic flux analysis and metabolic control analysis along with recombinant DNA techniques are three important components in designing optimized metabolic pathways, This powerful technology is being further improved by the genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and bioinformatics. Complete genome sequences are providing us with the possibility of addressing complex biological questions including metabolic control, regulation and flux. In silico analysis of microbial metabolic pathways is possible from the completed genome sequences. Transcriptome analysis by employing ONA chip allows us to examine the global pattern of gene expression at mRNA level. Two dimensional gel electrophoresis of cellular proteins can be used to examine the global proteome content, which provides us with the information on gene expression at protein level. Bioinformatics can help us to understand the results obtained with these new techniques, and further provides us with a wide range of information contained in the genome sequences. The strategies taken in our lab for the production of pharmaceutical proteins, polyhydroxyalkanoate (a family of completely biodegradable polymer), succinic acid and me chemicals by employing metabolic engineering powered by genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and bioinformatics will be presented.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.33-39
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• 2016

Brassicaceae consists of important species that have significant amounts of metabolites, and many studies have been carried out in order to understand the mechanism that improves the content of these metabolites. In Brassicacea, Cardamine manshurica Nakai is one of the important edible plants and is rich in oil, fiber, and various nutrients. In this study, we constructed cDNA library using leaves from 4 week-old plants and analyzed the ESTs of C. manshurica Nakai. One thousand thirty-nine ESTs were discovered which assembled to form 468 unigenes. The latter contained 116 contigs and 352 singletons. Similarity search of these ESTs with BLASTX revealed similarities with Arabidopsis thaliana 285 (31.9%), Arabidopsis lyrata 172 (19.3%), Capsella rubella 162 (18.1%), and Eutrema salsugineum 137 (15.3%). ESTs were functionally categorized into molecular function, biological process, and cellular component, and each category took 10.6%, 58.5%, and 30.9%, respectively. The functional analysis also found that 94.9% of ESTs showed at least one GO ID. Microsatellite analysis of 468 unigene sequences revealed 225 structures of which Di-, Tri-, Tetra-, Penta-repeats were 35.6% (80/225), 63.1% (142/225), 0.9% (2/225), and 0.4% (1/225), respectively. The results from our study can be a valuable resource for Cardamine research.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.163-171
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• 2008

The genus Cynodon comprises ten species. The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity of Korean bermudagrasses at the morphological, cytological and molecular levels. Morphological parameters, the nuclear DNA content and ploidy levels were observed in 43 bermudagrass ecotypes. AFLP markers were evaluated to define the genetic diversity, and chromosome counts were made to confirm the inferred cytotypes. Nuclear DNA contents were in the ranges 1.42-1.56, 1.94-2.19, 2.54, and 2.77-2.85 pg/2C for the triploid, tetraploid, pentaploid, and hexaploid accessions, respectively. The inferred cytotypes were triploid (2n = 3x = 27), tetraploid (2n = 4x = 36), pentaploid (2n = 5x = 45), and hexaploid (2n = 6x = 54), but the majority of the collections were tetraploid (81%). Mitotic chromosome counts verified the corresponding ploidy levels. The fast growing fine-textured ecotypes had lower ploidy levels, while the pentaploids and hexaploids were coarse types. The genetic similarity ranged from 0.42 to 0.94 with an average of 0.64. UPGMA cluster analysis and principle coordinate analysis separated the ecotypes into 6 distinct groups. The genetic similarity suggests natural hybridization between the different cytotypes, which could be useful resources for future breeding and genetic studies.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.8-16
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• 2013

An agar-hydrolyzing marine bacterium, strain GNUM08120, was isolated from Sargassum fulvellum collected from Yeongil bay of East Sea of Korea. The isolate was Gram-negative, aerobic, motile with single polar flagellum, and grew at 1-10% NaCl, pH 5.0-8.0, and $15-37^{\circ}C$. G+C content and the predominant respiratory quinone were 46.13 mol% and Q-8, respectively. The major cellular fatty acids were Summed feature 3 (24.5%), $C_{16:0}$ (21.7%), and $C_{18:1}{\omega}7c$ (12.5%). Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity and DNA-DNA hybridization analyses, strain GNUM08120 was identified as a novel subspecies of Alteromonas macleodii, designated Alteromonas macleodii subsp. GNUM08120. Production of agarase by strain GNUM08120 was likely repressed by the effect of carbon catabolite repression caused by glucose. The crude agarase prepared from 12-h culture broth of strain GNUM08120 exhibited an optimum pH and temperature for agarase activity at 7.0 and $40^{\circ}C$, respectively. The crude enzyme produced (neo)agarobiose, (neo)agarotetraose, and (neo)agarohexaose as the hydrolyzed product of agarose.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.16-22
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• 2005

A cDNA encoding ${\gamma}-tocopherol$ methyltransferase (${\gamma}-TMT$) from Arabidopsis thaliana was overexpressed in lettuce (Latuca sativa L.) to improve the tocopherol composition. Seven lines of lettuce ($T_0$) containing the ${\gamma}-TMT$ transgene were produced by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The inheritance and expression of the transgene were confirmed by DNA and RNA gel blot analyses as well as quantification of tocopherols and ${\gamma}-TMT$ activities. The ratio of ${\alpha}-/{\gamma}-tocopherol$ content (TR) varied from 0.6 to 1.2 in non-transformed plants, while the $T_0$ plants had ratios of 0.8 to 320. The ratio ranged from 0.4 to 544 in 41 $T_1$ progenies of the $T_0$ transgenic line gTM3, and the phenotypic segregation indicated monogenic inheritance of the transgene (i.e., 3:1 = dominant:wild-type classes). There was a tight relationship between the TR phenotype and ${\gamma}-TMT$ activity, and enzyme activities were affected by the copy number and transcript levels of the transgene. The TR phenotype was stably expressed in $T_2$ progenies of $T_1$ plants. The results from this study indicated that a stable inheritance and expression of Arabidopsis ${\gamma}-TMT$ transgene in lettuce results in a higher enzyme activity and the conversion of the ${\gamma}-tocopherol$ pool to ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ in transgenic lettuce.