Jae-Han Bae

Isolation and characterization of a novel thermostable α-amylase from Korean pine seeds

Amylases have significant importance in broad industrial application including bio-ethanol production. Although amylases are widely distributed in microbes, plants and animals, it has been sought for new amylases from various sources with special industrial potential. In this study we firstly isolated and characterized a novel thermostable alpha-amylase from Korean pine seed. Enzyme was purified to homogeneity level with purification fold of 1286.1 using several techniques such as self-precipitation, (NH(4))(2)SO(4) fractionation, DEAE anion exchange and starch affinity chromatography. The purified alpha-amylase showed two bands in SDS-PAGE with molecular weight of 44 and 45 kDa. The apparent molecular weight of native enzyme was calculated to be 46.7 kDa. Internal peptide sequencing confirmed that the purified alpha-amylase was a novel enzyme. The optimum pH and temperature for enzyme activity were pH 4.5 and 65 degrees C, respectively. This enzyme was fully stable for 48h at 50 degrees C and retained 80% activity up to 96h. The K(m) and V(max) were 0.84 mg/ml and 3.71 micromol/min, respectively. On the basis of high thermal stability and a broad range of pH stability, the pine seed alpha-amylase showed a good prospect of industrial application.

Optimization of culture conditions for production of a novel cold-active lipase from Pichia lynferdii NRRL Y-7723.

Lipases with abnormal properties such as thermostability, alkalinity, acidity, and cold activity receive industrial attention because of their usability under restricted reaction conditions. Most microbial cold-active lipases originate from psychrotrophic and psychrophilic microorganisms found in Antarctic regions, which has led to difficulties in the practical production of cold-active lipase. Recently, a mesophilic yeast, Pichia lynferdii NRRL Y-7723, was reported to produce a novel cold-active lipase. This study focused on optimization of environmental factors, while giving particular attention to the relationships between given factors and incubation time, to maximize the production of a novel cold-active lipase from P. lynferdii NRRL Y-7723. Maximum lipase production was highly dependent on the incubation time at a given environmental factor. Lipase production varied with incubation time at a given temperature, and 20 °C was selected as the optimum temperature for lipase production. Fructose was selected as the best carbon source, and maximum lipase production was obtained when it was present at 0.7% (w/v). Yeast extract was an efficient organic nitrogen source, with maximum lipase production occurring at 0.9% (w/v). Specifically, at the optimum yeast extract level the lipase production was >10 times higher than the productivity under standard conditions. All natural oils tested showed lipase production, but their maximum productivities varied according to incubation time and oil species.

Antibacterial activity of a 7,10-dihydroxy-8(E)-octadecenoic acid against plant pathogenic bacteria

7,10-Dihydroxy-8(E)-octadecenoic acid (DOD), one of hydroxy fatty acids, was successfully produced from oleic acid and natural vegetable oils containing oleic acid by a bacterial strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PR3). However, biological properties of DOD remained unknown so far. In this study, as a trial to determine the biological properties of DOD molecule, antibacterial activities of DOD against plant pathogenic bacteria were determined qualitatively and quantitatively. DOD presented strong antibacterial activities against all the bacterial strains tested with MIC value being in the range of 125-1000μg/ml and there was no sensitivity preference detected between Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains.