• Molecules and Cells
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.252-257
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• 2007

Escherichia coli HslVU is an ATP-dependent protease consisting of two heat shock proteins, the HslU ATPase and HslV peptidase. In the reconstituted enzyme, HslU stimulates the proteolytic activity of HslV by one to two orders of magnitude, while HslV increases the rate of ATP hydrolysis by HslU several-fold. Here we show that HslV alone can efficiently degrade certain unfolded proteins, such as unfolded lactalbumin and lysozyme prepared by complete reduction of disulfide bonds, but not their native forms. Furthermore, HslV alone cleaved a lactalbumin fragment sandwiched by two thioredoxin molecules, indicating that it can hydrolyze the internal peptide bonds of lactalbumin. Surprisingly, ATP inhibited the degradation of unfolded proteins by HslV. This inhibitory effect of ATP was markedly diminished by substitution of the Arg86 residue located in the apical pore of HslV with Gly, suggesting that interaction of ATP with the Arg residue blocks access of unfolded proteins to the proteolytic chamber of HslV. These results suggest that uncomplexed HslV is inactive under normal conditions, but may can degrade unfolded proteins when the ATP level is low, as it is during carbon starvation.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2007

The majority of soil microorganisms can derive ethylene from L-methionine (L-MET), while some rhizobacteria can hydrolyze 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) due to their ACC-deaminase activity. In this study, three strains having either ACC-deaminase activity (Pseudomonas putida biotype A, $A_7$), or the ability to produce ethylene from L-MET (Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, $M_9$) or both (Pseudomonas fluorescens, $AM_3$) were used for inoculation. The highly ethylene specific bioassay of a classical 'triple' response in pea seedlings was used to investigate the effect of the inoculation with the rhizobacteria in the presence of 10 mM ACC or L-MET. The exogenous application of ACC had a concentration-dependent effect on the etiolated pea seedlings in creating the classical 'triple' response. The inoculation with P. putida diluted the effect of ACC, which was most likely due to its ACC-deaminase activity. Similarly, the application of $Co^{2+}$ reduced the ACC-imposed effect on etiolated pea seedlings. In contrast, the inoculation of A. calcoaceticus or P. fluorescens in the presence of L-MET caused a stronger classical 'triple' response in etiolated pea seedlings; most likely by producing ethylene from L-MET. This is the first study, to our knowledge, reporting on the comparative effect of rhizobacteria capable of utilizing ACC vs L-MET on etiolated pea seedlings.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.543-548
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• 2007

Low-energy processing technology, which enhances the utility of defatted soybean flour (DSF), was developed using extrusion processing. DSF was extruded at different conditions using a twin screw extruder and then, dried at $40^{\circ}C$ for 20 hr. The nitrogen solubility index (NSI), viscosity, water solubility index (WSI), and water absorption index (WAI) of DSF increased after extrusion processing. The density of DSF extrudates decreased with the decrease in water content from 53 to 33% and the increase in extrusion temperature from 110 to $160^{\circ}C$. The addition of NaOH from 1.2 to 1.8% and citric acid from 1 to 5% increased the total solubility (TS) of DSF due to the decrease of protein coiling and hydrophobic bonds formation during extrusion processing. When viscozyme was reacted first, TS, NSI, and soluble carbohydrate content of DSF hydrolysates increased about 12, 6, and 7%, respectively, compared to them reacted with protease first. The TS and NSI of DSF hydrolysates were increased about 15 and 10%, respectively, by extrusion processing at alkaline and acidic pH. Extrusion processing at alkaline and acidic pH contributed the increase of efficiency to hydrolyze DSF samples using enzyme.

• Mycobiology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.48-53
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• 2016

Lenzites betulinus, known as gilled polypore belongs to Basidiomycota was isolated from fruiting body on broadleaf dead trees. It was found that the mycelia of white rot fungus Lenzites betulinus IUM 5468 produced ethanol from various sugars, including glucose, mannose, galactose, and cellobiose with a yield of 0.38, 0.26, 0.07, and 0.26 g of ethanol per gram of sugar consumed, respectively. This fungus relatively exhibited a good ethanol production from xylose at 0.26 g of ethanol per gram of sugar consumed. However, the ethanol conversion rate of arabinose was relatively low (at 0.07 g of ethanol per gram sugar). L. betulinus was capable of producing ethanol directly from rice straw and corn stalks at 0.22 g and 0.16 g of ethanol per gram of substrates, respectively, when this fungus was cultured in a basal medium containing 20 g/L rice straw or corn stalks. These results indicate that L. betulinus can produce ethanol efficiently from glucose, mannose, and cellobiose and produce ethanol very poorly from galactose and arabinose. Therefore, it is suggested that this fungus can ferment ethanol from various sugars and hydrolyze cellulosic materials to sugars and convert them to ethanol simultaneously.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.276-283
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• 2006

The thermophilic fungus Thermoascus aurantiacus 179-5 produced large quantities of a glucosidase which preferentially hydrolyzed maltose over starch. Enzyme production was high in submerged fermentation, with a maximal activity of 30 U/ml after 336 h of fermentation. In solid-state fermentation, the activity of the enzyme was 22 U/ml at 144 h in medium containing wheat bran and 5.8 U/ml at 48 h when cassava pulp was used as the culture medium. The enzyme was specific for maltose, very slowly hydrolyzed starch, dextrins (2-7G) and the synthetic substrate (${\alpha}$-PNPG), and did not hydrolyze sucrose. These properties suggest that the enzyme is a type II ${\alpha}$-glucosidase. The optimum temperature of the enzyme was $70^{\circ}C$. In addition, the enzyme was highly thermostable (100% stability for 10 h at $60^{\circ}C$ and a half-life of 15 min at $80^{\circ}C$), and stable within a wide pH range.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.909-916
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• 2018

Previously, a cytosolic trehalase (TreH) from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius was reported; however, the gene responsible for the trehalase activity was not identified. Two genes, saci_1816 and saci_1250, that encode the glycoside hydrolase family 15 type glucoamylase-like proteins in S. acidocaldarius were targeted and expressed in Escherichia coli, and their abilities to hydrolyze trehalose were examined. Recombinant Saci_1816 hydrolyzed trehalose exclusively without any help from a cofactor. The mass spectrometric analysis of partially purified native TreH also confirmed that Saci_1816 was involved in proteins exhibiting trehalase activity. Optimal trehalose hydrolysis activity of the recombinant Saci_1816 was observed at pH 4.0 and $60^{\circ}C$. The pH dependence of the recombinant enzyme was similar to that of the native enzyme, but its optimal temperature was $20-25^{\circ}C$ lower, and its thermostability was also slightly reduced. From the biochemical and structural results, Saci_1816 was identified as a trehalase responsible for trehalose degradation in S. acidocaldarius. Identification of the treH gene confirms that the degradation of trehalose in Sulfolobus species occurs via the TreH pathway.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.219-225
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• 1989

2,6-dimethyl-4-(3'-nitrophenyl)-1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxylic acid 3-methyl 5-(2'-methylthio)ethyl ester methyl iodide salt (7a) was hydrolyzed by treatment with NaOH in aquous EtOH solution to give 2,6-dimethyl-4-(3'-nitrophenyl)-1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxylic acid mono methyl ester (2b) in 88% yield. By the same procedure, 2,6-dimethyl-4-(3'-nitrophenyl)-1,4-dihydropyridinine-3,5-dicarboxylic acid 3-mono isopropyl ester (2c), 2,6-dimethyl-4-(2'-nitrophenyl)-1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxylic acid 3-mono methyl ester (2d), 2,6-dimethyl-4-(2',3'-dichlorophenyl)-1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxylic acid 3-mono methyl ester (2e) and 2,6-dimethyl-4-(3'-nitrophenyl)-1,4-dihydropyridin-3,5-dicarboxylic acid (2f) were obtained from the methyl iodide salts in 91-98% yield.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.183-189
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• 2015

In the present study, an optimum protease was selected to hydrolyze the egg white liquid protein for the antioxidant peptides. Alcalase treatment yielded the highest amount of ${\alpha}$-amino groups (15.27 mg/mL), while the control (no enzymatic hydrolysis) showed the lowest amount of ${\alpha}$-amino groups (1.53 mg/mL). Alcalase also gave the highest degree of hydrolysis (DH) value (43.2%) and was more efficient for egg white liquid hydrolysis than the other enzymes. The Alcalase hydrolysate had the highest radical-scavenging activity (82.5%) at a concentration of 5.0 mg/mL. The conditions for enzymatic hydrolysis of egg white liquid with Alcalase were selected as substrate : water ratio of 2:1. Five percent Alacalse treatment did not show significant (P>0.05) increases of DH and ${\alpha}$-amino nitrogen content after 24 hhydrolysis. Thirty two hour-hydrolysis with 5% Alcalase is sufficient to make antioxidative egg white liquid hydrolysate from egg white liquid. DPPH and ABTS radical-scavenging activities were significantly (P<0.05) higher after enzymatic digestion. These results suggest that active peptides released from egg-white protein are effective radical-scavengers. Thus, this approach may be useful for the preparation of potent antioxidant products.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.3644-3652
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• 2010

The metallo-$\beta$-lactamases ($M{\beta}Ls$) are clinically significant enzymes which readily hydrolyze most $\beta$-lactam antibiotics. Discovering potential inhibitors for the $M{\beta}Ls$ is an expensive, time consuming endeavor. Virtual screening can sieve out inhibitor candidates with incompatible features prior to synthesis, decreasing these costs. Using Autodock 4.0, the binding locations and energies of four previously-studied potential inhibitors and four additional compounds obtained from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) database were computationally calculated. Based on the docking models of these eight compounds, we then designed several hypothetical inhibitor structures, compounds A through F, and performed their respective docking experiments. The docking results for compound F showed that it binds to the zinc containing active sites with a lowest predicted binding energy of -6.70 kcal/mol, suggesting F is the most likely potential $M{\beta}L$ inhibitor.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.191-197
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• 2005

There exist two interesting phenomena in making seafood products from surimi. When salted surimi is kept at a constant low temperature $(4\~40^{\circ}C)$, its rheological properties change from sol to gel, which is called 'setting'. Seafood processors can exploit changes that occur during setting in preparation of surimibased products, because heating at high temperatures, after the pre-heating during the setting process, enhances the gel-strength of salted surimi. Contrarily, when salted surimi or low-temperature set gel is heated at moderate temperatures $(50\~70^{\circ}C)$, a deterioration of gel is observed. The phenomenon is termed 'modori'. In the modori temperature range, heat-stable cysteine proteinases such as cathepsin B, H, Land L-Iike hydrolyze the myosins responsible for gel-formation, resulting in gel weakening modori. This article reviews molecular events occurring during gel setting that improve the quality of surimi-based products, and inhibition of modori by applying proteinase inhibitors. Application of recombinant protein technology to surimi-based products is introduced and its prospects for practical use are discussed.