Reaction pattern of Bacillus cereus D-11 chitosanase on chitooligosaccharide alcohols.

The purified endochitosanase (Mw 41 kDa) from bacterium Bacillus cereus D-11 hydrolyzed chitooligomers (GlcN)5-7 into chitobiose, chitotriose, and chitotetraose as the final products. The minimal size of the oligosaccharides for enzymatic hydrolysis was a pentamer. To further investigate the cleavage pattern of this enzyme, chitooligosaccharide alcohols were prepared as substrates and the end products of hydrolysis were analyzed by TLC and HPLC.

A new steroidal saponin, yuccalan, from the leaves of Yucca smalliana.

An extract of the leaves of Yucca smalliana Fern. (Agavaceae) showed potential antimicrobial activity. Employing a bioassay linked fractionation method, one of the active principles, namely yuccalan, was isolated as a new steroidal saponin.

Purification and characterization of exo-beta-D-glucosaminidase from Aspergillus fumigatus S-26.

An extracellular 104 kDa exo-beta-d-glucosaminidase was purified and characterized from the culture supernatant of Aspergillus fumigatus S-26, which showed exceptionally strong chitosanolytic enzyme activity. The purified enzyme showed optimum pH of 3.0-6.

Selective preparation of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and N,N'-diacetylchitobiose from chitin using a crude enzyme preparation from Aeromonas sp.

A bacterium, Aeromonas sp. GJ-18, having strong chitinolytic activity was isolated from coastal soil and used for crude enzyme preparations. This enzyme preparation contained N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase and N,N'-diacetylchitobiohydrolase.

Identification and antimicrobial activity of phenylacetic acid produced by Bacillus licheniformis isolated from fermented soybean, Chungkook-Jang.

A bacterial strain, B65-1, which showed strong antimicrobial activity, was isolated from Chungkook-Jang, a traditional Korean fermented-soybean food with antimicrobial properties. Based on carbon utilization pattern and partial 16S rRNA sequence analysis, the B65-1 strain was identified as Bacillus licheniformis. An antibiotic compound, active against bacteria and yeast such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans, was isolated by various chromatographic procedures from culture filtrates of B.