• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.143-148
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• 1983

The occurrence of PZ-peptidase in Streptococcus sanguis and other oral bacteria was investigated utilizing washed whole cells as the enzyme source and PZ-pentapeptide as its substrate. Under the culture conditions employed in the present study. Streptococcus sanguis strains, fresh isolates as well as laboratory strains, produced a broad range of the enzyme activity (0.5-7.9 unit/mg protein). The strains of both Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli showed low levels of activity (0-0.5 unit/mg protein for S. mutans). As compared with the enzyme activities of other bacteria, a moderate range of activity was produced by the strains of Strptococcus mitis nad Strptoccus salivarius. Actinomyces strains, like those of S. sanguis, produced a varying amount of activity (0-9.8 unit/ mg protein). A possible involvement of the oral bacterial PZ-peptidase in the metabolism of human saliva proteins is discussed.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.34-43
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• 2023

Hydrolysis of whey-derived proteins using lactic acid bacteria (LAB) utilizes the mass culture method and fermentation of LAB to produce effective bioactive peptides. Whey protein has the biological potential of its precursors, but the active fragments may not be released depending on the hydrolysis method. As an alternative to these problems, the nutritional and bioactive functionality of the hydrolysis method have been reported to be improved using LAB for whey protein. Peptide fractions were obtained using a sample fast protein liquid chromatography device. Antioxidant activity was verified for each of the five fractions obtained. In vitro cell experiments showed no cytotoxicity and inhibited nitric oxide production. Cytokine (IL [interleukin]-1α, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α) production was significantly lower than that of lipopolysaccharides (+). As a result of checking the amino acid content ratio of the fractions selected through the AccQ-Tag system, 17 types of amino acids were identified, and the content of isoleucine, an essential amino acid, was the highest. These properties show their applicability for the production of functional products utilizing dietary supplements and milk. It can be presented as an efficient method in terms of product functionality in the production of uniform-quality whey-derived peptides.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.170-179
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• 1978

By the successive enrichment culture, more than 250 methanol-utilizing bacteria were isolated from various samples such as soil, waste water and sewage. Two strains of which were selected and tentatively identified as Acinetobacter sp. and Pseudomonas sp. experiments were carried out to determine the growth conditions for the higher biomass yield and to demonstrate the difference to protein composition dependent upon carbon sources of these two species. the results were as follows ; 1. the optimum pH was determined as 8 in the both species. The optimum temperature in Acinetobacter sp. was $25^{\circ}C{\sim}30^{\circ}C$ and pseudomonas sp. was $30^{\circ}C-35^{\circ}C$. The optimum initial concentration of mthanol was determined as 1-2% in Acinetobacter sp. and 2-3% in pseudomonas sp. 2. The optimum concnetrations of nitrogen source, micro-elements, and vitamins such as biotin and thiamine-HCl in Acnetobactar sp. were 1g $(NH_4)_3SO4,\;1{\sim}3mg\;Mn^{++},\;4mg\;Fe^{++},\;10{\mu}g\;biotin,\;and\;100{\mu}g$ thiamine-HCl per liter medium. In the Pseudomonas sp., 2g $(NH_4)_3SO4,\;1mg\;Mn^{++},\;trace\;amounts\;of\;Fe^{++},\;5{\mu}g\;biotin,\;and\;100{\mu}g$ thiamine HCl per liter were effective. Maximum biomass yield was 2.5g/l in Acinetobacter sp. and 4.8g/l in Pseudomonas sp. 3. Protein composition of the two strains exhibited that alkai-labile protein was higher than alkali-stable protein. In Pseudomonas sp., the contents of acid soluble fraction and alkali-stable protein of the cells grown in the methanol medium were higher than in sucrose medium. On the other hand, in Acinetobacter sp., alkalilabile protein of the cells grown in sucrose medium was higher than in methanol medium.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.63-69
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• 2010

Monofunctional biosynthetic peptidoglycan transglycosylase (MBPT) catalyzes the formation of the glycan chain in bacterial cell walls from peptidoglycan subunits: N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and acetylmuramic acid (NAM). Bifunctional glycosyltransferases such as the penicillin binding protein (PBP) have peptidoglycan glycosyltransferase (PGT) on their C terminal end which links together the peptidoglycan subunits while transpeptidase (TP) on the N terminal end cross-links the peptide moieties on the NAM monosaccharide of the peptide subunits to create the bacterial cell wall. The singular function of MBPT resembles the C terminal end of PBP as it too contains and utilizes a similar PGT domain. In this article we analyzed the infectious and non infectious protein sequences of MBPT from 31 different strains of bacteria using a variety of bioinformatic tools. Motif analysis, dot-plot comparison, and phylogenetic analysis identified a number of significant differences between infectious and non-infectious protein sequences. In this paper we have made an attempt to explain, analyze and discuss these differences from an evolutionary perspective. The results of our sequence analysis may open the door for utilizing MBPT as a new target to fight a variety of infectious bacteria.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.1321-1334
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• 2020

Beef, pork, chicken and milk are considered representative protein sources in the human diet. Since the digestion of protein is important, the role of intestinal microflora is also important. Despite this, the pure effects of meat and milk intake on the microbiome are yet to be fully elucidated. To evaluate the effect of beef, pork, chicken and milk on intestinal microflora, we observed changes in the microbiome in response to different types of dietary animal proteins in vitro. Feces were collected from five 6-week-old pigs. The suspensions were pooled and inoculated into four different media containing beef, pork, chicken, or skim milk powder in distilled water. Changes in microbial communities were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing. The feces alone had the highest microbial alpha diversity. Among the treatment groups, beef showed the highest microbial diversity, followed by pork, chicken, and milk. The three dominant phyla were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes in all the groups. The most abundant genera in beef, pork, and chicken were Rummeliibacillus, Clostridium, and Phascolarctobacterium, whereas milk was enriched with Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, and Enterococcus. Aerobic bacteria decreased while anaerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria increased in protein-rich nutrients. Functional gene groups were found to be over-represented in protein-rich nutrients. Our results provide baseline information for understanding the roles of dietary animal proteins in reshaping the gut microbiome. Furthermore, growth-promotion by specific species/genus may be used as a cultivation tool for uncultured gut microorganisms.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.24-29
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• 2002

Enoyl-Acyl Carrier Protein Reductase (Fabl) of bacteria is hem as an important target for new antibacterial drugs and plays a determinant role in completing cycles of elongation in type-H fatty acid synthase system. In this study, a fabI gene from Staphylococcus aureus 6538p cloned in pET-l4b vector and FabI protein was over-produced in Escherichaia coli BL2l (DE3). $NH_2$-terminal His-tagged FabI protein was purified by nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA) metalaffinity chromatography Purified 6xHis-tagged FabI showed a catalytic activity on tram - 2 - octenoyl - N -acethlcysteamine by utilizing NADPH as a cofactor. For the discovery of new FabI inhibitors from chemical libraries, a target-oriented screening system using a 96-well plate was developed. About 10,000 chemical libraries from Korea Chemical Bank wore tested in this screening system, and 26 chemicals (0.25%) among them showed an inhibitory activity against FabI enzyme. This result showed that a new screening system can be used for the discovery of new FabI inhibitors.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.110-114
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• 2014

The method of direct mass spectrometry profiling is reliable and reproducible for the rapid identification of clinical isolates of bacteria and fungi. This is the first study evaluating the approach of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry profiling for rapid identification of carbapenemase-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE). Proof of concept was achieved by the discrimination of CRE using MALDI Biotyper MS based on the protein. This profiling appears promising by the visual observation of consistent unique peaks, albeit low intensity, that could be picked up from the mean spectra (MSP) method. The Biotyper MSP creation and identification methods needed to be optimized to provide significantly improved differences in scores to allow for subspecies identification with and without carbapenemases. These spectra were subjected to visual peak picking and in all cases; there were pertinent differences in the presence or absence of potential biomarker peaks to differentiate isolates. We also evaluated this method for potential discrimination between different carbapenemases bacteria, utilizing the same strategy. Based on our data and pending further investigation in other CREs, MALDI-TOF MS has potential as a diagnostic tool for the rapid identification of even closely related carbapenemases but would require a paradigm shift in which Biotyper suppliers enable more flexible software control of mass spectral profiling methods.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.65-70
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• 1979

By the successive enrichment culture, methanol-utilizing bacteria of 213 strains were isolated from soil samples collected from various places. Among them one strain showing excellent growth was selected. The organism isolated was obligate methylotroph and identified as Methylomonas methanolica on the basis of its mophological and physiological characteristics of the cell. The medium have been to be collected for the maximum biomass productivity. The microorganism was capable of growing satisfactorily on a medium containing only methanol 0.8％ (v/v), ammonium sulfate 0.6％, magnesium sulfate 0.1％, phosphate salts, but did not require growth factor.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.776-783
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• 2018

The agarase gene gaa16a was identified from a draft genome sequence of Gilvimarinus agarilyticus JEA5, an agar-utilizing marine bacterium. Recently, three agarase-producing bacteria, G. chinensis, G. polysaccharolyticus, and G. agarilyticus, in the genus Gilvimarinus were reported. However, there have been no reports of the molecular characteristics and biochemical properties of these agarases. In this study, we analyzed the molecular characteristics and biochemical properties of agarases in Gilvimarinus. Gaa16A comprised a 1,323-bp open reading frame encoding 441 amino acids. The predicted molecular mass and isoelectric point were 49 kDa and 4.9, respectively. The amino acid sequence of Gaa16A showed features typical of glycosyl hydrolase family 16 (GH16) ${\beta}$-agarases, including a GH16 domain, carbohydrate-binding region (RICIN domain), and signal peptide. Recombinant Gaa16A (excluding the signal peptide and carbohydrate-binding region, rGaa16A) was expressed as a fused protein with maltose-binding protein at its N-terminus in Escherichia coli. rGaa16A had maximum activity at $55^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.0 and 103 U/mg of specific activity in the presence of 2.5 mM $CaCl_2$. The enzyme hydrolyzed agarose to yield neoagarotetraose as the main product. This enzyme may be useful for industrial production of functional neoagaro-oligosaccharides.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.46-53
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• 2004

In this study, we compared the levels of methylotrophic bacterial community diversity in the leaf, stem, grain, root and rhizosphere soil sainples of four rice cultivars collected from three regions of Korea. Thirty five pigmented and five non-pigmented isolates showing characteristic growth on methanul were obtained. When phylotypes were defined by performing numerical analysis of 42 characteristics, four distinct clusters were formed. While two clusters, I and IV diverged on the basis of nitrate and nitrite reduction, other two clusters, comprising only pink pigmented colonies, diverged on the basis of cellulase activity. Out of the two reference strains used in the analysis, Methyhbacterium extorquens AM1 diverged from all the clusters and M. fujisawaense KACC 10744 grouped under cluster III. All the isolates were positive for urease, oxidase, catalase and pectinase activity and negative for indole production, MR and VP test, $H_2S$ production, starch, and casein hydrolysis. No clusters were found to possess thermotolerant isolates, as no growth of the isolates was observed at $45^{\circ}C$. Two strains in cluster I were found to possess gelatin hydrolysis and methane utilizing properties respectively. Most of the isolates in all the four clusters utilized monosaccliarides, disaccharide and polyols as carbon source. Six isolates showed considerable nitrogenase activity ranging from 86.2 to $809.9nmol\;C_2H_4\;h^{-1}\;mg^{-1}$ protein.