• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.9
• /
• pp.1555-1563
• /
• 2008

A novel $\alpha$-amylase ($\alpha$-1,4-$\alpha$-D-glucan glucanohydrolase, E.C. 3.2.1.1), ScAmy43, was found in the culture medium of the phytopathogenic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum grown on oats flour. Purified to homogeneity, ScAmy43 appeared as a 43 kDa monomeric enzyme, as estimated by SDS-PAGE and Superdex 75 gel filtration. The MALDI peptide mass fingerprint of ScAmy43 tryptic digest as well as internal sequence analyses indicate that the enzyme has an original primary structure when compared with other fungal a-amylases. However, the sequence of the 12 N-terminal residues is homologous with those of Aspergillus awamori and Aspergillus kawachii amylases, suggesting that the new enzyme belongs to the same GH13 glycosyl hydrolase family. Assayed with soluble starch as substrate, this enzyme displayed optimal activity at pH 4 and $55^{\circ}C$ with an apparent $K_m$ value of 1.66 mg/ml and $V_{max}$ of 0.1${\mu}mol$glucose $min^{-1}$ $ml^{-1}$. ScAmy43 activity was strongly inhibited by $Cu^{2+}$, $Mn^{2+}$, and $Ba^{2+}$, moderately by $Fe^{2+}$, and was only weakly affected by $Ca^{2+}$ addition. However, since EDTA and EGTA did not inhibit ScAmy43 activity, this enzyme is probably not a metalloprotein. DTT and $\beta$-mercaptoethanol strongly increased the enzyme activity. Starting with soluble starch as substrate, the end products were mainly maltotriose, suggesting for this enzyme an endo action.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.63-70
• /
• 1997

The extracts from Agastache rugosa O. Kuntze, their chloroform and hexane fractions, and estragole identified from hexane fraction were tested to investigate the effects on the growth and metabolic activities of several true fungi. The fungi used were: Aspergillus oryzae KFCC 890, Aspergillus niger KCCM 11240, Saccharomyces cerevisiae IAM 4597, Saccharomyces ellipsoideus PNU 2215. The growth of S. Cerevisiae by treatment of water extract(1%), hexane fraction (0.05%), and estragole (0.05%) were inhibited 93%, 50%, and 33% respectively, and S. ellipsoideus was also inhibited markedly with delaying the alg phase maximum 12 hrs. The growth of A. oryzae was inhibited by treatment of extracts and fractions. The echanol production by S. cerevisiae was increased more than two times in the highest value around 42 hrs incubation by water extract, but chloroform fraction inhibited its production. The glucoamylase actibities by A. niger were strongly inhibited by hexane and chloroform fractions (0.05%). The invertase activity by S. cerevisiae using estragole (0.05%) reached to 57.5% of control group. S. cerevisiae treated with the estragole was damaged the cell wall and cell membrane, leaked the protoplasm, and observed broken pieces of cell.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.31 no.7
• /
• pp.1028-1034
• /
• 2021

The effect of medium composition on enzyme and β-glucan production by Aspergillus oryzae KCCM 12698 was investigated. Brown rice, rice bran, nitrogen, and ascorbic acid are key components of the synthetic medium used in liquid-state fermentation. To determine the optimal concentrations of these components for enzyme and β-glucan production, we conducted one factor at a time experiments, which showed that the optimal concentrations were 30 g/l brown rice, 30 g/l rice bran, 10 g/l soytone, and 3 g/l ascorbic acid. Pretreatment of brown rice for 60 min prior to inoculation enhanced fungal biomass, while increasing the production of enzymes and β-glucan using solid-state fermentation. Maximum fungal biomass of 0.76 mg/g, amylase (26,551.03 U/g), protease (1,340.50 U/g), and β-glucan at 9.34% (w/w) were obtained during fermentation. Therefore, solid-state fermentation of brown rice is a process that could enhance yield and overall production of enzymes and β-glucan for use in various applications.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.46 no.1
• /
• pp.68-76
• /
• 2018

Actinobacterial strains isolated from Cow feces were studied for their antifungal attributes against phytopathogens and industrially important enzymes. A total of 30 Actinobacterial strains were obtained from 10 samples of cow feces. All the strains were belonging to the genera Streptomyces on the basis of morphological and chemotaxonomic analysis. During preliminary screening, out of 30 strains, 15 strains (50%) showed antifungal activity against five fungal phytopathogens including Aspergillus niger, Fusarium solani, Fusarium oxysporum, Macrophomina phaseolina and Rhizoctonia solani. While, isolate GBTCF-26 was found to be most active against R. solani with 62.2% inhibition of fungal mycelium, GBTCF-09 was prominent against F. solani and F. oxysporum with percent inhibition of 61.1% and 58.8%, respectively. Out of 30 strains, 19 (63.3%), 16 (53.3%), 11 (36.7%), 10 (33.3%), 4 (13.3%) and 8 (26.7%) strains were producing amylase, caseinase, gelatinase, lipase, chitinase and cellulose, respectively. The selected strains, GBTCF-09, GBTCF-21 and GBTCF-26, were identified as Streptomyces sp. on the basis of their 16S rDNA sequence. The study supports the idea that the Actinobacteria from unique niches (Cow feces) possess the production potential of industrially important enzymes including bioactive molecules.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2015.11a
• /
• pp.11-11
• /
• 2015

A total of sixty-six samples of Nuruk, a fermention starter used to make the Korean traditional rice wine, Makgeolli, were collected from central and southern regions of Korea in 2013 and 2014. We classified two groups of the Nuruk samples, "commercial" and "home-made", according to the manufacturing procedure and purpose of use. Commercial Nuruks were made in a controlled environment where the temperature and humidity are fixed and the final product is supplied to Makgeolli manufacturers. Home-made Nuruks were made under uncontrolled conditions in the naturally opened environment and were intended for use in the production of small amounts of home-brewed Makgeolli. We obtained more than five hundred isolates including filamentous fungi and yeasts from the Nuruk samples followed by identification of fungal species. Also we stored glycerol stocks of each single isolate at $-70^{\circ}C$. We identified the species of each isolate based on the sequences of ITS regions amplified with two different universal primer pairs. We also performed morphological characterization of the filamentous fungi and yeast species through observations under the microscope. We investigated the major fungal species of commercial and home-made Nuruks by counting the colony forming units (CFU) and analyzing the occurrence tendency of fungal species. While commercial Nuruks contained mostly high CFU of yeasts, home-made Nuruks showed relatively high occurrence of filamentous fungi. One of the representative Nuruk manufacturers used both domestic wheat bran and imported ones, mainly from US, as raw material. Depending on the source of ingredient, the fungal diversity was somewhat different. Another commercial Nuruk sample was collected twice, once in 2013 and again in 2014, and showed different diversity of fungal species in each year. Nuruks obtained from the southern regions of Korea and Jeju island showed high frequency of yeast such as Saccharomycopsis fibuligera and Pichia species as well as unique filamentous fungus, Monascus species. S. fibuligera was easily found in many Nuruk samples with high CFU. The major filamentous fungi were Aspergillus, Lichtheimia, Mucor and Penicillium species. In order to further our understanding of the isolates and their potential industrial applications, we assayed three enzymes, alpha amylase, glucoamylase and acid protease from 140 isolates out of about five hundred isolates and selected about 10 excellent strains with high enzyme activities. With these fungal isolates, we will perform omics analyses including genomics, transcriptomics, metabolic pathway analyses, and metabolomics followed by whole genome sequencing of unique isolates associated with the basic research of Nuruk and that also has applications in the Makgeolli making process.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.909-917
• /
• 2016

The shiitake mushroom industry has suffered from Camptomyia (gall midges) pest, which feeds on the mycelium of shiitake mushroom during its cultivation. It has been postulated that fungal damage of shiitake bed-logs is associated with infestation by the insect pest, but this is not well understood. To understand the fungal damage associated with Camptomyia pest, various Trichoderma species were isolated, identified, and characterized. In addition to two previously known Trichoderma species, T. citrinoviride and T. deliquescens, two other Trichoderma species, T. harzianum and T. atroviride, were newly identified from the pestinfested bed-log samples obtained at three mushroom farms in Cheonan, Korea. Among these four species, T. harzianum was the most evident. The results of a chromogenic media-based assay for extracellular enzymes showed that these four species have the ability to produce amylase, carboxyl-methyl cellulase, avicelase, pectinase, and ß-glucosidase, thus indicating that they can degrade wood components. A dual culture assay on PDA indicated that T. harzianum, T. atroviride, and T. citrinoviride were antagonistic against the mycelial growth of a shiitake strain (Lentinula edodes). Inoculation tests on shiitake bed-logs revealed that all four species were able to damage the wood of bed-logs. Our results provide evidence that the four green mold species are the causal agents involved in fungal damage of shiitake bed-logs infested by Camptomyia pest.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.654-662
• /
• 2024

To investigate the effect of the predominant fungal species from Korean traditional meju and doenjang on soybean fermentation, the enzymatic activity and amino acid production of twenty-two fungal strains were assessed through solid- and liquid-state soybean fermentation. Enzymatic activity analyses of solid-state fermented soybeans revealed different enzyme activities involving protease, leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), carboxypeptidase (CaP), glutaminase, γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and amylase, depending on the fungal species. These enzymatic activities significantly affected the amino acid profile throughout liquid-state fermentation. Strains belonging to Mucoromycota, including Lichtheimia, Mucor, Rhizomucor, and Rhizopus, produced smaller amounts of total amino acids and umami-producing amino acids, such as glutamic acid and aspartic acid, than strains belonging to Aspergillus subgenus circumdati. The genera Penicillium and Scopulariopsis produced large amounts of total amino acids and glutamic acid, suggesting that these genera play an essential role in producing umami and kokumi tastes in fermented soybean products. Strains belonging to Aspergillus subgenus circumdati, including A. oryzae, showed the highest amino acid content, including glutamic acid, suggesting the potential benefits of A. oryzae as a starter for soybean fermentation. This study showed the potential of traditional meju strains as starters for soybean fermentation. However, further analysis of processes such as the production of G-peptide for kokumi taste and volatile compounds for flavor and safety is needed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.317-323
• /
• 2022

Solid-state fermentation using hulled barley was carried out to produce enzymes and β-glucan. The one-factor-at-a-time experiments were carried out to determine the optimal composition of the basal medium. The modified synthetic medium composition in liquid-state fermentation was determined to be 70 g/l hulled barley, 0 g/l rice bran, 5 g/l soytone, and 6 g/l ascorbic acid. Optimal pretreatment conditions of hulled barley by solid-state fermentation were evaluated in terms of maximum production of fungal biomass, amylase, protease, and β-glucan, which were 1.26 mg/g, 31310.34 U/g, 2614.95 U/g, and 14.6% (w/w), respectively, at 60 min of pretreatment condition. Thus, the solid-state fermentation process was found to enhance the overall fermentation yields of hulled barley to produce high amounts of enzymes and β-glucan.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
• /
• v.10 no.6
• /
• pp.576-581
• /
• 2005

Phytase improves the bioavailability of phytate phosphorus in plant foods to humans and animals, and reduces the phosphorus pollution of animal waste. We have engineered the cell surface of the yeast. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, by anchoring active fungal phytase on its cell wall, in order to apply it as a dietary supplement containing bioconversional functions in animal foods and a whole cell bio-catalyst for the treatment of waste. The phytase gene (phyA) of Aspergillus niger with a signal peptide of rice amylase 1A (Ramy1A) was fused with the gene encoding the C-terminal half (320 amino acid residues from the C-terminus) of yeast ${\alpha}-agglutinin$, a protein which is involved in mating and is covalently anchored to the cell wall. The resulting fusion construct was introduced into S. cerevisiae and expressed under the control of the constitutive glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) promoter. Phytase plate assay revealed that the surface-engineered cell exhibited a catalytically active opaque zone which was restricted to the margin of the colony. Additionally, the phytase activity was detected in the cell fraction, but was not detected in the culture medium when it was grown in liquid. These results indicate that the phytase was successfully anchored to the cell surface of yeast and was displayed as its active form. The amount of recombinant phytase on the surface of yeast cells was estimated to be 16,000 molecules per cell.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.37 no.6
• /
• pp.761-766
• /
• 2008

The effects of various enzymes and emulsifiers on the loaf volume and crumb hardness of rice breads were studied. Four different enzymes [fungal ${\alpha}$-amylase (AMYL), maltogenic bacterial ${\alpha}$-amylase (NMYL), glucose oxidases (GO), and xylanase+hemicellulases (PTP)] and four emulsifiers [sorbitan monostearate (SMS), glycerol monostearate (GMS), sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL), and glycerol ester+propylene glycol ester+sucrose ester+sorbitan ester (SP)] were supplemented to rice dough. The addition of AMYL, GO, and GO+AMYL increased loaf volume of rice breads. The highest loaf volume was observed in rice bread supplemented with AMYL. Rice breads supplemented with enzymes firmed at lower rates during storage, and AMYL, NMYL, and GO considerably decreased crumb hardness of rice breads, exhibiting a significant antistaling effect. The addition of emulsifiers produced rice breads with better specific loaf volume and crumb texture, and continuously retarded crumb hardness of rice breads during storage. Especially, rice bread supplemented with SSL demonstrated the highest loaf volume and the lowest crumb hardness during storage.