• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.919-923
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• 2004

The sk10 isolated from kimchi was identified as W. kimchii on the basis of l6s-rDNA sequencing. Studies were made to analyze the metabolic flux shift of the sk10 on glucose under aerobic growth conditions. The sk10 produced 38.2 mM acetate, 16.3 mM ethanol, and 33.2 mM lactate under aerobic conditions, but 2.4 mM acetate, 48.0 mM ethanol, and 44.1 mM lactate under anaerobic conditions. The NADH peroxidase (NADH-dependent hydrogen peroxidase) activity of sk10 grown under aerobic conditions was 11 times higher than that under anaerobic conditions. Under the low ratio of $NADH/NAD^+$, the metabolic flux toward lactate and ethanol was shifted to the flux through acetate kinase without NADH oxidation. The kinds of enzymes and metabolites of sk10 were close to those in the pathway of Leuconostoc sp., but the metabolites produced under aerobic growth conditions were different from those of Leuconostoc sp. The stoichiometric balance calculated using the concentrations of metabolites and substrate was about 97%, coincident with the theoretical values under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. From these results, it was concluded that the metabolic flux of W. kimchii sk10 was partially shifted from lactate and ethanol to acetate under aerobic conditions only.