• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2006

The analysis of functional population and its dynamics on the environment is essential for understanding bioremediation in environment. Here, we report a method for oligonucleotide microarray for the monitoring of aliphatic and aromatic degradative genes. This microarray contained 15 unique and group-specific probes which were based on 100 known genes involved pathways in biodegradation. Hybridization specificity tests with pure cultures, strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa KCTC 1636 indicated that the designed probes on the arrays appeared to be specific to their corresponding target genes. It was found that the presence of 8 genes encoding alkane, naphthalene, biphenyl, pyrene (PAH ring-hydroxylating) degradation pathway could be detected in oil contaminated soil sample. Therefore, the findings of this study strongly suggest that oligonucleotide microarray is an effective diagnostic tool for evaluating biodegradation capability in oil contaminated subsurface environment.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.46 no.1
• /
• pp.109-111
• /
• 2010

Recent studies have described various microorganisms that can degrade PAH, however, there are currently limited methods available to screen for PAH-degrading microorganisms. To screen for PAH-degrading microorganisms, a sublimation method (Alley, Jeremy F. and Lewis R. Brown. 2000. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66, 439-442) was modified to produce a simple screening system. In our results, there were several bacterial species capable of pyrene degradation including genera, Coryenbacterium, Gordonia, Rhodococcus, and Streptomyces, which have been screened from 350 bacterial isolates of commercial gasoline and oil-spilled sediment by the sublimation method. The main advantage of this method is that it (i) safely deposits an even, thin and visible layer of PAH onto the agar surface without the use of solvents and (ii) the quantity of PAH sublimed onto the agar can be easily controlled. Overall, this sublimation method may be an effective and simple technique to screen for PAH-degrading microorganisms.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.712-717
• /
• 2010

Cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450s) are involved in the synthesis of a wide variety of valuable products and in the degradation of numerous toxic compounds. The P450 BM3 (CYP102A1) from Bacillus megaterium was the first P450 discovered to be fused to its redox partner, a mammalian-like diflavin reductase. Here, we report the development of a whole-cell biocatalyst using ice-nucleation protein (Inp) from Pseudomonas syringae to display a hemeand diflavin-containing oxidoreductase, P450 BM3 (a single, 119-kDa polypeptide with domains of both an oxygenase and a reductase) on the surface of Escherichia coli. The surface localization and functionality of the fusion protein containing P450 BM3 were verified by flow cytometry and measurement of enzymatic activities. The results of this study comprise the first report of microbial cell-surface display of a heme- and diflavin-containing enzyme. This system should allow us to select and develop oxidoreductases containing heme and/or flavins into practically useful whole-cell biocatalysts for extensive biotechnological applications, including selective synthesis of new chemicals and pharmaceuticals, bioconversion, bioremediation, live vaccine development, and biochip development.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.67-77
• /
• 1999

The biodegradation of algae coagulated with poly aluminum chloride(PAC) was investigated by using the thermophilic oxic process. The compositions of coagulated algae were 83.5% of water content, 24.6% of ash, 32% of organic carbon with in total solid, respectively. In present study, food waste oil was used for the increment of calorie of mixtures in order to accelate the microbial activity. As a result, the maximum temperature of mixtures was higher than $50^{\circ}C$ when the mixing ratio of food oil was over 10%. However the temperature indicated the lower than $50^{\circ}C$ when conditions of no mixing with waste food oil, and 5% of mixing ratio. Therefore, the optimum condition was 10% of the mixing ration at $217l{\cdot}m^{-3}{\cdot}min^{-1}$ of air supply rate. The conversion efficiency of carbon was highest as 92% at the optimum condition. And then water was evaluated from imxture without accumulation at 10% of mixing ratio. The thermophilic oxic process well conducted that is good process for the treatment of waste algae without effluents however it has to consider the retreatment of accumulated aluminum in the reactor.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.16-22
• /
• 2005

Many chitosanases, glycosyl hydrolases that catalyze the degradation of chitosan, have been found in microorganism. In this paper, classification of the enzyme has been described, which is based on the amino acid sequence (families) and splitting patterns (subclasses). Glycohydrolytic mechanisms such as inversion and retention of the substrate anomer are also discussed in context of the families. Interrelationship among the primary structure, clan, anomeric conversion and the splitting patterns has been suggested. In addition, advanced definition of chitosanase was introduced through the investigation of enzymatic products from partially N-acetylated chitosan as a substrate.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.105-110
• /
• 1976

In the studies of microbiological utilization of cellulosic wastes, cellulolytic fungi were isolated and screened out. At the first stage, 221 cellulolytic fungi were isolated from different sources such as soils, humus, composts and rotten wood debris by enrichment culture techniques. In the second stage, 36 strains of fungi out of those previously isolated were selected for their cellulase activities estimated by means of filter paper degradation, carboxy methyl cellulose liquefaction and cup method. Activities of C$_1$-cellulase, C$\sub$x/-cellulase and filter paper activity were adopted on the final screening stage and five different strains which are tentatively identified as Aspergillus sp.(strain No. AS-9), Penicillium sp. (strain No. KNI-1-2), Trichoderma, sp. (strain No. KI-7-2, KI-7-5, KI-4-1-1B) were selected for their high potency of C$_1$ and C$\sub$x/-cellulase activities. When rice straw milled and treated with NH$_4$OH was hydrolyzed with the crude enzyme Prepared from the culture broth of Trichoderma sp. (strain No. KI-4-1-1B), saccharification rate was obtained up to 26％.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.46-52
• /
• 2002

As a functional additive for intestinal microflora, panose ($6^2-{\alpha}$-D-glucopyranosylmaltose) was synthesized during kimchi fermentation using the glucose transferring reaction of glucansucrase from Leuconostoc mesenteroides. For the glucose transferring reaction, sucrose and maltose were added ($2\%$ each, w/v) to dongchimi-kimchi as the glucosyl donor and acceptor molecule, respectively. After five days of incubation at $10^{\circ}C$, referring to the initial phase for the production of lactic acid in kimchi, over $60\%$ (w/v) of the total sugars were converted into panose and other branched oligosaccharides. Thereafter, the kimchi was stored at $4^{\circ}C$ and the amount of panose remained at a constant level for three weeks, thereby indicating the stability of panose to microbial degradation during the period of kimchi consumption. The use of maltose as the acceptor molecule in the kimchi also facilitated a lower viscosity in the kimchi-juice by preventing the synthesis of a dextran-like polymer which caused an unfavorable taste. Accordingly, the application of this new method of simultaneous biocatalytic synthesis of oligosaccharides during lactate fermentation should facilitate the extensive development of new function-added lactate foods.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.17 no.11
• /
• pp.1772-1781
• /
• 2007

Activated sludge was sequentially adapted to benzene, toluene, and o-xylene (BTX) to study the effects on the change of microbial community. Sludge adapted to BTX separately degraded each by various rates in the following order; toluene>o-xylene>benzene. Degradation rates were increased after exposure to repeated spikes of substrates. Eleven different kinds of sludge were prepared by the combination of BTX sequential adaptations. Clustering analyses (Jaccard, Dice, Pearson, and cosine product coefficient and dimensional analysis of MDS and PCA for DGGE patterns) revealed that acclimated sludge had different features from nonacclimated sludge and could be grouped together according to their prior treatment. Benzene- and xylene-adapted sludge communities showed similar profiles. The sludge profile was affected from the point of the final adaptation substrate regardless of the adaptation sequence followed. In the sludge adapted to 50 ppm toluene, Nitrosomonas sp. and bacterium were dominant, but these bands were not dominant in benzene and benzene after toluene adaptations. Instead, Flexibacter sp. was dominant in these cultures. Dechloromonas sp. was dominant in the culture adapted to 50 ppm benzene. Thauera sp. was the main band in the sludge adapted to 50 ppm xylene, but became vaguer as the xylene concentration was increased. Rather, Flexibacter sp. dominated in the sludge adapted to 100 ppm xylene, although not in the culture adapted to 250 ppm xylene. Two bacterial species dominated in the sludge adapted to 250 ppm xylene, and they also existed in the sludge adapted to 250 ppm xylene after toluene and benzene.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.22 no.9
• /
• pp.1185-1192
• /
• 2012

This study investigated the hydrocarbonoclastic microbial community present on weathered crude oil and their ability to degrade weathered oil in seawater obtained from the Gulf St. Vincent (SA, Australia). Examination of the native seawater communities capable of utilizing hydrocarbon as the sole carbon source identified a maximum recovery of just $6.6{\times}10^1\;CFU/ml$, with these values dramatically increased in the weathered oil, reaching $4.1{\times}10^4\;CFU/ml$. The weathered oil (dominated by > $C_{30}$ fractions; $750,000{\pm}150,000mg/l$) was subject to an 8 week laboratory-based degradation microcosm study. By day 56, the natural inoculums degraded the soluble hydrocarbons (initial concentrations $3,400{\pm}700mg/l$ and $1,700{\pm}340mg/l$ for the control and seawater, respectively) to below detectable levels, and biodegradation of the residual oil reached 62% ($254,000{\pm}40,000mg/l$) and 66% ($285,000{\pm}45,000mg/l$) in the control and seawater sources, respectively. In addition, the residual oil gas chromatogram profiles changed with the presence of short and intermediate hydrocarbon chains. 16S rDNA DGGE sequence analysis revealed species affiliated with the genera Roseobacter, Alteromonas, Yeosuana aromativorans, and Pseudomonas, renowned oil-degrading organisms previously thought to be associated with the environment where the oil contaminated rather than also being present in the contaminating oil. This study highlights the importance of microbiological techniques for isolation and characterisation, coupled with molecular techniques for identification, in understanding the role and function of native oil communities.

• Food Science and Preservation
• /
• v.12 no.5
• /
• pp.417-423
• /
• 2005

To replace the traditional drying method with improving the qualities of dried squid, warm air drying method was investigated comparing with natural drying method. In respect of drying rate, about 12 hrs were taken to obtain 25% moisture content -which was considered as proper moisture content to control microbial and quality degradation- by warm air drying at 35$^{\circ}C$. However, 120 hrs were taken to obtain such moisture content by natural drying. The squid dried by warm air showed little color difference and was seemed to be raw squid meat color. TBA values were more rapidly increased but final values were lower, inversely. Free amino acid contents were higher, and cholesterol content was lower in warm air drying.