• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.221-225
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• 2016

Tolaasin is a pore-forming peptide toxin produced by Pseudomonas tolaasii and causes a brown blotch disease by disrupting membrane structures of cultivated mushrooms. The mechanism and characteristics of tolaasin pore formation are not known in detail; however, tolaasin pores have been demonstrated in the artificial lipid bilayer. Since the tolaasin pore appeared less frequently and unstable in lipid bilayer, a mismatch between the length of tolaasin pore and the thickness of lipid membrane had been suggested. Therefore, tolaasin-induced hemolyses were measured by the additions of phospholipids composed of various fatty acids with different carbon numbers. When phosphatidylethanolamines made with two decanoic acids (C10:0, 1,2-didecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine; DDPE), myristic acids (C14:0, 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine), and stearic acids (C18:0, 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine) were added to the buffer containing RBCs and tolaasin peptides, DDPE facilitated the tolaasin-induced hemolysis while the other two phospholipids showed no effects. At various concentrations of DDPE, the tolaasin-induced hemolysis was stimulated as a dose-dependent manner. The phospholipids composed of mediumchain fatty acids stabilize the tolaasin pore probably by binding between the pore structure and membrane phospholipids and making the membrane thickness thinner around the pore. These results showed that tolaasin molecules make more stable pores in the membrane made with phospholipids composed of medium length fatty acids, suggesting that the length of tolaasin pore is a little shorter than the thickness of RBC membrane.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.274-287
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to examine the physiological characteristics and anti-diabetic effects of Pediococcus pentosaceus KI62. The α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of P. pentosaceus KI62 was 94.86±3.30% and 98.59±0.52%, respectively. In MRS broth containing 3% maltodextrin inoculated by P. pentosaceus KI62, the amounts of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) were propionic acid 18.05±1.85 mg/kg, acetic acid 1.12±0.07 g/100 mL, and butyric acid 2.19±0.061 g/kg, and those of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) were C8 0.262±0.031 mg/kg, C10 0.279±0.021 mg/kg, and C12 0.203±0.009 mg/kg. Compared to sixteen antibiotics, P. pentosaceus KI62 had the highest sensitivity to penicillin-G and rifampicin, as well as the highest resistance to vancomycin and ampicillin. The strain also showed higher leucine arylamidase and valine arylamidase activities than other enzyme activities, but it did not produce β-glucuronidase which is carcinogenic enzymes. The survival rate of P. pentosaceus KI62 in 0.3% bile was 91.67%. Moreover, the strain showed a 98.63% survival rate in pH 2.0. P. pentosaceus KI62 exhibits resistance to Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus at rates of 29.41%, 38.10%, 51.72%, and 50.47%, respectively. P. pentosaceus (23.31%) showed a similar adhesion ability to L. rhamnosus GG, the positive control (24.49%). These results show that P. pentosaceus KI62 has possibility as a probiotic with anti-diabetic effects.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.65-70
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• 2010

Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) are composed of 8-12 carbon atoms, and are found in coconut, cuphea, and palm kernel oil. MCFA were introduced into clinical nutrition in the 1950s for dietary treatment of malabsorption syndromes because of their rapid absorption and solubility. Recently, MCFA have been applied to Gastrointestinal Permeation Enhancement Technology (GIPET), which is one of the most important parts in drug delivery system in therapeutics. Therefore, to accumulate the MCFA in seed oil of rapeseed, much effort has been conducted by classical or molecular breeding. Laurate can be successfully accumulated up to 60 mol% in the seed oil of rapeseed by the expression of bay thioesterase (Uc FatB1) alone or crossed with a line over-expressing the coconut lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase (LPAAT) under the control of a napin seed-storage protein promoter. Also, caprylate and caprate were obtained 7 mol% and 29 mol%, respectively, from plants over-expressing of the medium-chain specific thioesterase (Ch FatB2) alone or together with the chain-length-specific condensing enzyme (Ch KASIV). Despite the success of some research in utilizing parallel classical and molecular breeding to produce MCFA, commercially available seed oils have for the most part, not been realized. Recent research in the field of developing MCFA-enriched transgenic plants has established that there is no single rate-limiting step in the production of the target fatty acids. The purpose of this article is to review some of the recent progress in understanding the mechanism and regulation of MCFA production in seed oil of rapeseed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1256-1266
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• 2004

2-Bromooctanoic acid (2-BrOA) is known to block the formation of polyhydroxyalkanoic acid (PHA) in Pseudomonasfluorescens BM07 without any influence on the cell growth when grown on fructose, but it inhibits the cell growth when grown on octanoate (OA) (Lee et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67: 4963- 4974, 2001). We investigated the role of 2-BrOA in the PHA synthesis of the bacterium grown with mixtures of fructose and fatty acids. OA, 11­phenoxyundecanoic acid (1 1-POU), and 5-phenylvaleric acid (5-PV) were selected as model substrates. When supplemented with 50 mM fructose, all these carboxylic acids suppressed the formation of PHA from fructose, however, the ~-oxidation coenzyme A monomers derived from the carboxylic acids were efficiently polymerized, but the conversion yield [(mol of carboxylate substrate converted into PHA)/(mol of carboxylate substrate in the feed)] was low (e.g., maximally $\~53\%$ for 5 mM 11-POU). Addition of 2-BrOA (up to 5 mM) to the mixed carbon sources raised the conversion yield sensitively and effectively only at low levels of the acid substrates (e.g., 2 mM 1 1-POU or 5 mM OA): For instance, $100\%$ of 2 mM ll-POU were converted into PHA in the presence of 5 mM 2-BrOA, whereas only $\~10\%$ of the 1 1-POU were converted in the absence of 2-BrOA. However, at highly saturated suppressing levels (e.g., 5 mM ll-POU), 2-BrOA inhibitor showed no significant additional effect on the conversion ($60- 70\%$ conversion irrespective of 2-BrOA level). The existence of competitive and compensative relationship between 2­BrOA and all the carboxylic acid substrates used may indicate 'Present address: Section on Brain Physiology and Metabolism, Bldg. 10, Rm. 6N202, National Institute on Agmg, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, U.S.A. that all the acid substrate-derived inhibiting species bind to the same site as the 2-BrOA inhibiting species does. We, therefore, suggest that 2-BrOA can be used for efficiently increasing the yield of conversion of expensive substituted fatty acids into PHA and then substituted 3-hydroxyacids by hydrolyzing it.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.272-277
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• 2019

The effects of medium-chain enriched diacylglycerol (MCE-DAG) oil on hepatic cholesterol homeostasis were investigated. HepG2 hepatocytes were treated with either 0.5, 1.0, or $1.5{\mu}g/mL$ of MCE-DAG for 48 h. There was no evidence of cytotoxicity by MCE-DAG up to $1.5{\mu}g/mL$. The level of proteins for cholesterol uptake including CLATHRIN and LDL receptor increased by MCE-DAG in a dose-dependent manner (p<0.05). Furthermore, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9, an inhibitor of LDLR, was dose-dependently diminished (p<0.05), indicating cholesterol clearance raised. MCE-DAG significantly increased 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase and acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase2 (p<0.05), required for cholesterol synthesis, and their transcriptional regulator sterol regulatory element-binding protein2 (p<0.05). These findings suggest that given conditions of prolonged sterol fasting in the current study activated both hepatic cholesterol synthesis and clearance by MCE-DAG. However, total intracellular level of cholesterol was not altered by MCE-DAG. Taken together, MCE-DAG has the potential to prevent hypercholesterolemia by increasing hepatic cholesterol uptake without affecting intracellular cholesterol level.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.114-119
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• 2001

Many isolates from different forest soil layers did not show appreciable growth on full strength of the conventional nutrient broth (NB medium) but grow on its 100-fold dilution (DNB medium). These isolates were divided into four types according to organic nutrient concentration in the growth medium from $1^{-1}\;to\;10^{-4}$dilution of normal NB medium. Oligotrophic bacteria were type II and type IV which grew in $10^{-4}$ dilution of NB (1 mg C/l) medium. Sixty strains were isolated for obligate oligotrophic bacteria. Chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic characteristics of eleven isolates of acetylene-reducing (nitrogen-fixing) oligotrophic bacteria from forest soil were investigated. They showed similar characteristics: the cellular fatty acid mainly consisted of straight-chain unsaturated $C_{18:1}$ (60-84% of total fatty acids). Ubiquinone Q-10 and a high guanine plus-cytosine content(61-64 mol%) were found. Eleven isolates of nitrogen-fixing oligotrophic bacteria were found to be closely related by full 16S rDNA sequence simility and many common taxonomic traits. Analysis of full 16S rDNA sequences of eleven isolates indicated that they were more closely related to Bradyrhizobium (similarity values: 98.1-98.8%), Agromonas, Nitrobacter, and Afipia.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.951-956
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• 2001

A 28-kDa extracellular lipase (pI 8.7) was purified to homogeneity from the culture supernatant of Trichosporon sp. Y- 11 by mmonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-Sephadex A-50, Bio-Gel P-30, CM- Sephadex C-50, and Bio-Gel P- 10 chromatographies. The purified enzyme exhibited a specific activity of $2,741{\;}{\mu}mol/min/mg$ based on the hydrolysis of triolein, and the optimal hydrolysis activity was dentified at pH 8.0 and $40^{\circ}C$. The enzyme activity was inhibited by $Ag^+$ and enhanced by $Fe^{2+}$, $Fe^{3+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, $Mn^{2+}$, and $Li^{+}$. The enzyme activity exhibited for the hydrolysis of both tributyrin and trilinolein. The ester synthesis of unsaturated fatty acids with various alcohols catalyzed by the purified lipase in a nonaqueous medium or microaqueous system was also investigated. The esterification activity of the lipase increased with an increase of the carbon chain length in the alcohol. The synthesis rate of linoleic acid and oleyl alcohol was the highest with an optimal temperature and pH of $40^{\circ}C$ and 8.0, respectively. The water content and agitation also affected the esterification activity of the lipase.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.459-463
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• 2015

This study evaluated the microbial conversion of coconut oil waste, a major agro-residue in tropical countries, into single cell oil (SCO) feedstock for biodiesel production. Copra cake was used as a low-cost renewable substrate without any prior chemical or enzymatic pretreatment for submerged growth of an oleaginous tropical mangrove fungus, Aspergillus terreus IBB M1. The SCO extracted from fermented biomass was converted into fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) by transesterification and evaluated on the basis of fatty acid profiles and key fuel properties for biodiesel. The fungus produced a biomass (8.2 g/l) yielding 257 mg/g copra cake SCO with ~98% FAMEs. The FAMEs were mainly composed of saturated methyl esters (61.2%) of medium-chain fatty acids (C12-C18) with methyl oleate (C18:1; 16.57%) and methyl linoleate (C18:2; 19.97%) making up the unsaturated content. A higher content of both saturated FAMEs and methyl oleate along with the absence of polyunsaturated FAMEs with ≥4 double bonds is expected to impart good fuel quality. This was evident from the predicted and experimentally determined key fuel properties of FAMEs (density, kinematic viscosity, iodine value, acid number, cetane number), which were in accordance with the international (ASTM D6751, EN 14214) and national (IS 15607) biodiesel standards, suggesting their suitability as a biodiesel fuel. The low cost, renewable nature, and easy availability of copra cake, its conversion into SCO without any thermochemical pretreatment, and pelleted fungal growth facilitating easier downstream processing by simple filtration make this process cost effective and environmentally favorable.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Postharvest Science and Technology of Agricultural Products Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.164.1-164
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• 2003

In this study, medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) metabolized in the liver for quick energy and CLA exhibited biological activity were used for synthesis of structured lipids (SLs). SLs were synthesized by acidolysis of soybean oil, capric acid (C10:0) and CLA with Chirazyme L-2 lipase as biocatalysts. The effect of enzyme load (2, 4, 6, 8, 10% w/w substrates) was investigated. Production of SL (scale-up) was performed with a 1:2:2 molar ratio (oi1/C10:0/CLA) for 24 h at 55$^{\circ}C$ in a stirred batch reactor (420 rpm). The reaction was catalyzed by Chirazyme L-2 lipase (24.48g, 4％ w/w substrates). The scale-up result showed that capric acid and total CLA were incorporated 4.9%, 4.1% (mole%), respectively, in soybean oil. Then, physio-chemical property and flavor characteristic of produced SL-soybean oil were analyzed. Therefore, SL-soybean oil containing C10:0 and CLA was successfully synthesized and may be beneficial in desirable food and nutritional applications.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.2018-2026
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• 2007

A bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa BM114, capable of accumulating a blend of medium-chain-length (MCL)- and short-chain-length (SCL)-polyhydroxyalkanoic acid (PHA), was isolated. Salicylic acid (SA), without being metabolized, was found to specifically inhibit only the accumulation of MCL-PHA without affecting cell growth. An addition of 20 mM SA selectively inhibited the accumulation of MCL-PHA in decanoate-grown cells by 83% of the control content in one-step cultivation, where overall PHA accumulation was inhibited by only ${\sim}11%$. Typically, the molar monomer-unit ratio of the PHA for 25 mM decanoate-grown cells changed from 46:4:25:25 (=[3-hydroxybutyrate]:[3-hydroxycaproate]: [3-hydroxyoctanoate]:[3-hydroxydecanoate]) at 0 mM SA (dry cell wt, 1.97 g/l; PHA content, 48.6 wt%) to 91:1:4:4 at 20 mM SA (dry cell wt, 1.85 g/l; PHA content, 43.2 wt%). Thus, the stimulation of SCL-PHA accumulation was observed. Growth of P. aeruginosa BM114 on undecanoic acid also produced a PHA blend composed of 47.4% P(3HB-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) and 52.6% P(3-hydroxyheptanoate-co-3-hydroxynonanoate-co-3-hydroxyundecanoate). Similar to the case of even-carboxylic acids, SA inhibited the accumulation of only MCL-PHA, but stimulated the accumulation of SCL-PHA. For all medium-chain fatty acids tested, SA induced a stimulation of SCL-PHA accumulation in the BM114 strain. SA could thus be used to suppress only the formation of MCL-PHA in Pseudomonas spp. accumulating a blend of SCL-PHA and MCL-PHA.