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A gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-producing microorganism was isolated from jeot-gal (anchovy), a Korean fermented seafood. The isolate, A156, produced GABA profusely when incubated in MRS broth with monosodium glutamate (3% (w/v)) at 37°C for 48 h. A156 was identified as Lactobacillus sakei by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The GABA conversion yield was 86% as determined by GABase enzyme assay. The gadB gene encoding glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) was cloned by PCR. gadC encoding a glutamate/GABA antiporter was located immediately upstream of gadB. The operon structure of gadCB was confirmed by RT-PCR. gadB was overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) and recombinant GAD was purified. The purified GAD was 54.4 kDa in size by SDS-PAGE. Maximum GAD activity was observed at pH 5.0 and 55°C and the activity was dependent on pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. The Km and Vmax of GAD were 0.045 mM and 0.011 mM/min, respectively, when glutamate was used as the substrate.

The aprE2 gene with its prosequence from Bacillus subtilis CH3-5 was overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) by using plasmid pET26b(+). After IPTG induction, active and mature AprE2 was produced when cells were grown at 20°C, whereas inactive and insoluble enzyme was produced in a large amount when cells were grown at 37°C. The insoluble fraction was resuspended with 6 M guanidine-HCl and dialyzed against 2 M Tris-HCl (pH 7.0) or 0.5 M sodium acetate (pH 7.0) buffer. Then active AprE2 was regenerated and purified by a Ni-NTA column. Purified AprE2 from the soluble fraction had a specific activity of 1,069.4 ± 42.4 U/mg protein, higher than that from the renatured insoluble fraction. However, more active AprE2 was obtained by renaturation of the insoluble fraction. AprE2 was most stable at pH 7 and 40°C, respectively. The fibrinolytic activity of AprE2 was inhibited by PMSF, but not by EDTA and metal ions. AprE2 degraded Aα and Bβ chains of fibrinogen quickly, but not the γ-chain. AprE2 exhibited the highest specificity for N-succinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-pNA. The Km and kcat/Km of AprE2 was 0.56 mM and 3.10 × 10(4) S(-1) M(-1), respectively.

A Bacillus species, EMD4, with strong antibacterial activity was isolated from ganjang (soy sauce) and identified as B. subtilis. B. subtilis EMD4 strongly inhibited the growth of B. cereus ATCC14579 and B. thuringiensis ATCC33679. The antibacterial activity was stable at pH 3-9 but inactive at pH 10 and above. The activity was fully retained after 15 min at 80°C but reduced by 50% after 15 min at 90°C. The activity was completely destroyed by proteinase K and protease treatment, indicating its proteinaceous nature. The bacteriocin (BacEMD4) was partially purified from culture supernatant by ammonium sulfate precipitation, and QSepharose and Sephadex G-50 column chromatographies. The specific activity was increased from 769.2 AU/mg protein to 8,347.8 AU/mg protein and the final yield was 12.6%. The size of BacEMD4 was determined to be 3.5 kDa by Tricine SDS-PAGE. The N-terminal amino acid sequence was similar with that of Subtilosin A. Nucleotide sequencing of the cloned gene confirmed that BacEMD4 was Subtilosin A. BacEMD4 showed bactericidal activity against B. cereus ATCC14579.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from Kimchi, a Korean traditional fermented vegetable food. LAB accumulating GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) in the culture media were screened by TLC analysis. One isolate, GU240, produced the highest amount of GABA among the 3,000 isolates and identified as a Lactobacillus zymae strain. Glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) gene was cloned and over-expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3) using pET26b(+). The recombinant GAD was purified by using a Ni–NTA column. Its size was 53 kDa by SDS-PAGE. Maximum GAD activity was at pH 4.5 and 41 °C and the activity was dependent on pyridoxal 5′-phosphate. Km and Vmax of LzGAD were 1.7 mM and 0.01 mM/min, respectively, when glutamate was used as a substrate.

Bacillus subtilis CH3-5 was isolated from cheonggukjang prepared according to traditional methods. CH3-5 secreted at least four different fibrinolytic proteases (63, 47, 29, and 20 kDa) into the culture medium. A fibrinolytic enzyme gene, aprE2, encoding a 29 kDa enzyme was cloned from the genomic DNA of CH3-5, and the DNA sequence determined. aprE2 was overexpressed in heterologous B. subtilis strains deficient in extracellular proteases using a E. coli-Bacillus shuttle vector. A 29 kDa AprE2 band was observed and AprE2 seemed to exhibit higher activities towards fibrin rather than casein.

A Lactobacillus paraplantarum strain producing a bacteriocin was isolated from kimchi using the spot-on-the lawn method and named L. paraplantarum C7. The bacteriocin, paraplantaricin C7, was found to inhibit certain Lactobacillus strains, including L. plantarum, L. pentosus, and L. delbrueckii subsp. lactis. It also inhibited Enterococcus faecalis, yet did not inhibit most of the other LAB (lactic acid bacteria) tested. The maximum level of paraplantaricin C7 activity was observed under the culture conditions of 25 degrees C and a constant pH of 4.5. Paraplantaricin C7 retained 90% of its activity after 10 min of treatment at 100 degrees C and remained stable within a pH range of 2-8. Based on a culture supernatant, paraplantaricin C7 was purified by DEAE-Sephacel column chromatography and C18 reverse-phase HPLC. SDS-PAGE and activity staining were then conducted using the purified paraplantaricin C7, and its molecular mass determined to be about 3,800 Da. The 28 N-terminal amino acids from the purified paraplantaricin C7 were determined, and the structural gene encoding paraplantaricin C7, ppnC7, was cloned by PCR using degenerate primers based on the N-terminal amino acid sequence. The nucleotide sequences for ppnC7 and other neighboring orfs exhibited a limited homology to the previously reported plantaricin operon genes. Paraplantaricin C7 is a novel type II bacteriocin containing a double glycine leader sequence.