• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.171-176
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• 2003

Productivity of biosurfactant (rhamnolipid) by Pseudomonas aeuginosa F722 was investigated in the several culture conditions and culture composition. Biosurfactant production by P. aeuginosa F722 was amounted to 0.78 g/l as the result of the nitrogen sources and carbon sources without investing of optimum conditions. As for that one was investigated, biosurfactant production by P. aeruginosa F722 was amounted to 1.66 g/l. Biosurfactant production increased twofold because the composition of a modified C-medium was investigated efficiently. $NE_4$Cl or $NaNO_2$ inorganic nitrogens and yeast extract or trypton organic nitrogens were effective, but others inorganic nitrogens and organic nitrogens tested were not efficient far biosurfactant production by P. aeruginosa F722. The optimum concentration of $NH_4$Cl; inorganic nitrogen and yeast extract; organic nitrogen were 0.05% and 0.1%, respectively. In various carbon sources, others with the exception of hydrophobic property substrate (n-alkane) and hydrophilic property substrate (glucose, glycol) were not found to be effective fur biosurfactant production, and 3.0% was better in yield than other concentration of glucose. This yielded C-to-N ratios between 17 and 20. In our experiment, the highest biosurfactant production by P. aeruginosa F722 were observed in 5 days cultivation, containing glucose 3.0%, $NH_4$Cl 0.05%, and yeast extract 0.1% and C-to-N ratio was 20. Optimal pH and temperature for biosurfactant production were 7.0 and $35^{\circ}C$, respectively. Under the optimal culture conditions with glucose, biosurfactant production was amounted to 1.66 g/l. Velocity of biosurfactant production and strain growth increased after nitrogen depletion. The average surface tension of 30 mN/m after the 3 days of incubation under optimal culture condition was measured by ring tensionmeter.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.79-84
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• 2008

This paper describes the application of bioluminescence stimulating agents on a genetically engineered microorganism, Pseudomonas putida mt-2 KG1206, to monitor toluene analogs using in groundwater samples from petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated sites. The maximum bioluminescent response with pure chemicals followed in the order: m-methyl benzyl alchohol > m-toluate > toluene > m-xylene > benzoate > p-xylene > o-xylene. Generally, the bioluminescence production of strain mixed with groundwater samples was dependent on the contaminated total inducer concentrations. However, few samples showed opposite results, where these phenomena may be caused by the complexicity of environmental samples. Two chemicals, SL(sodium lactate) and KNO$_3$, were tested to determine a better bioluminescence stimulant. Both chemicals stimulate the bioluminescence activity of strain KG1206, however, a slightly high bioluminescence was observed with nitrogen chemical. This selected stimulant was then tested on samples collected from contaminated groundwater samples. The bioluminescence activity of all samples mixed with the strain was stimulated with KNO$_3$ amendment. This suggests that the low bioluminescence activity exhibited by the environmental groundwater samples can be stimulated by amending the culture with a proper agent, such as nitrogen compound. These findings would be useful, especially, when strain was used to monitor the groundwater samples contaminated with low inducer contaminants. Overall, the results of this study found the ability of bioluminescence producing bacteria to biosensor a specific group of environmental contaminants, and suggest the potential for more efficient preliminary application of this engineered strain in a field-ready bioassay.

• Clean Technology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.345-356
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• 2017

The composting is a biological process that converts organic matter into useful resources such as fertilizers. It is a continuous transition of microbial communities to adapt changes in organic matter and environmental conditions (carbonation rate, temperature, humidity, oxygen supply, pH, etc.). Most of the composting plants are located in the proximity of the residential areas. It is a general scenario where government authorities receive complaints from the local residents due to release of odor from the composting, and has become a social problem in Korea. Identification of dominant microorganisms, understanding change in microbial communities and augmentation of specific microorganism for composting is vital to enhance the efficiency of composting, quality of the compost produced, and reduction of odor. In this paper, we suggest the optimum operation conditions and methods for compost depot to reduce odor generation. The selection of the appropriate microorganisms and their rapid increase in population are effective to promote composting. The optimal growth conditions of bacteria such as aeration (oxygen), temperature, and humidity were standardized to maximize composting through microbial degradation. The use of porous minerals and moisture control has significantly improved odor removal. Recent technologies to reduce odor from the composting environment and improved composting processes are also presented.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.185-195
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• 2006

Phytoremediation is an economical and environmentally friendly bioremediation technique using plants which can increase the microbial population in soil. Unlike other pollutants such as heavy metals, poly-chlorinated biphenyl, trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and so on, petroleum hydrocarbons are relatively easily degradable by soil microbes. For successful phytoremediation of soil contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons, it is important to select plants with high removal efficiency through microbial degradation. In this study, we clarified the roles of plants and rhizobacteria and identified their species effective on phytore-mediation by reviewing the papers previously reported. Plants and rhizobacteria can degrade and remove the petroleum hydrocarbons directly and indirectly by stimulating each other's degradation activity. The preferred plant species are alfalfa, ryegrass, tall fescue, poplar, corn, etc. The microorganisms with a potential to degrade hydrocarbons mostly belong to Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., and Alcaligenes spp. It has been reported that the elimination efficiency of hydrocarbons by soil microorganisms can be improved when plants were simultaneously applied. For more efficient restoration, it's necessary to understand the plant-rhizobacteria interaction and to select the suitable plant and microorganism species.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.134-141
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• 2014

As the concerns about environmental problems, climate change and limited fossil resources increase, bio-based production of chemicals and polymers from renewable resources gains much attention as one of the promising solutions to deal with these problems. To solve these problems, much effort has been devoted to the development of sustainable process using renewable resources. Recently, many chemicals and polymers have been synthesized by biorefinery process and these bio-based chemicals and plastics have been suggested as strong candidates to substitute petroleum-based products. In this review, we discuss current advances on the development of metabolically engineered microorganisms for the efficient production of bio-based chemicals and polymers.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.110-115
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• 2013

A microorganism (strain AR1) producing an extracellular lipolytic enzyme was isolated from hot springs located in Beppu, Japan. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rDNA sequence and biochemical studies indicated that AR1 belongs to the genus Geobacillus. This study focused on novel strategies to increase extracellular lipolytic enzyme production by this novel Geobacillus sp. AR1. Cultures of the AR1 strain grew within a wide temperature range (from 35 to $75^{\circ}C$); the optimum temperature was $65^{\circ}C$. The pH for optimal growth was 6.5, whereas the optimum pH for lipolytic enzyme production was 8.5. The presence of oils in the culture medium led to improvements in lipolytic enzyme activity. Soybean oil was the most efficient inducer, and it yielded better results when added in the exponential phase. On the other hand, the addition of chemical surfactants led to lipolytic enzyme production. Their addition to the culture could affect the location of the enzyme activity. The addition of Tween 20 in the stationary phase significantly increased the proportion of the extracellular enzyme activity. According to the results, following the addition of soybean oil and Tween 20 in the exponential and stationary phases, the extracellular lipolytic activity was increased 2.4-fold compared with that of a control.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.203-209
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• 2007

Soybean milk cake (SMC) was used for the solid-state fermentation by Bacillus subtilis PUL-A isolated from soybean milk cake. In the presence of 5% glutamate the maximum production of biopolymer (59.9 g/kg) was performed by fermentation at $42^{\circ}C$ for 24 hr. The recovered biopolymer was consisted of 87% $\gamma$-polyglutamic acid with molecular weight of $1.3{\times}10^6$ dalton and other biopolymer. The biopolymer solution showed the great decrease in consistency below pH 6.0, regardless of the molecular weight of PGA. Biopolymer solution has a typical pseudoplastic flow behavior and yield stress. The consistency of biopolymer solution was greatly decreased by increasing heating time and temperature in acidic condition compared to the alkaline condition. In kaolin clay suspension, the flocculating activity of biopolymer was the highest value with 15 mg/L biopolymer and 4.5 mM $CaCl_2$, but decreased greatly with $FeCl_3$. The flocculating activity of biopolymer was maximum at pH5, but decreased drastically by heating at $60{\sim}100^{\circ}C$. In particular, biopolymer with native PGA showed the efficient flocculating activity compared to that of modified biopolymer containing low molecular weight of PGA.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.475-479
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• 2011

Although the storage period of raw baechu cabbage could be 2 months at $0{\sim}2^{\circ}C$, 1 month was appropriate considering the quality of the baechu cabbage, waste ratio, and storage cost. The polyethylene container was the most efficient storage container among polypropylene box, polypropylene net and polyethylene container. pH of a brined baechu cabbage using raw baechu cabbage was 4.0~4.3 after 8 weeks and its total bacteria and lactic acid bacteria counts were $10^7$ cfu/g, and textural property (springiness) lower than 50% was at 8th week of storage at $0{\sim}2^{\circ}C$ and thus its storage period was limited to 8 weeks. When brined baechu cabbage was prepared by raw baechu cabbage stored for 1 month at $0{\sim}2^{\circ}C$, its pH, microorganism counts and springiness showed similar trends to the brined cabbage using raw baechu stored for 0 month. However, its rates of change were faster than the brined baechu cabbage using the raw baechu, and the storage period was limited to 6 weeks. Brined baechu cabbage using the raw cabbage stored for 2 months and its storage period was limited by about 4 weeks judging by its indicated quality characteristics.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.840-845
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• 2011

Degradation products of agarose are biologically active and thus used as an ingredient in pharmaceuticals or functional cosmetics. Furthermore, it has been strongly considered as a substrate for bio-ethanol fermentation. Recently, we isolated new agarase-producing microorganism, Pseudoalteromonas sp. from south sea of Korea. In this study, we aimed to separate and purify the agarase from culture broth of this strain. Separation of agarase was performed by ion- exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose resin. Equilibrium pH and volume ratio of resin to the amount of protein were optimized for the efficient adsorption of protein. 410 ${\mu}g$ of protein was completely adsorbed to 3 mL of resin at pH 7.5. The total amount of eluted protein increased as NaCl concentration increased to 400 mM at isocratic elution. Agarase was separated by linear gradient elution of NaCl (0~1,000 mM). Three major protein peaks were observed and the presence or absence of agarase in these eluted proteins was measured by Lugol's staining technique. Only six eluted protein fractions showed strong agarase activity.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.871-878
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• 2004

Pulsed electric fields(PEF) technology is one of the latest nonthermal methods of food processing for obtaining safe and minimally processed foods. This technology can be effectively explored for obtaining safe food with minimum effect on nutritional, flavor, rheological and sensory qualities of food products. The process involves the application of high voltage(typically 20 ${\sim}$ 80 kv/cm) to foods placed between two electrodes. The mode of inactivation of microorganism; by PEP processing has been postulated in term; of electric breakdown and electroporation. The extent of destruction of microorganisms in PEF processing depends mainly on the electric field strength of the pulses and treatment time. For each cell types, a specific critical electric field strength and specific critical treatment time are required depending on the cell characteristics and the type and strength of the medium where they have been present. The effect also depends on the types of microorganisms and their phase of growth. A careful combination of processing parameters has to be selected for effective processing. The potential applications of PEF technology are numerous ranging from biotechnology to food preservation. With respect to food processing, it has already been established that, the technology is non-thermal in nature, economical and energy efficient, besides providing minimally processed foods. This article gives a brief overview of this technology for food processing applications.