Publications by authors named "Keunsung Kim"

This study was conducted to isolate and functionally characterize a novel xylan-degrading enzyme from the microbial metagenomes of black goat rumens. A novel gene, KG42, was isolated from one of the 17 xylan-degrading metagenomic fosmid clones obtained from black goat rumens. The KG42 gene, comprising a 1107 bp open reading frame, encodes a protein composed of 368 amino acids (41 kDa) with a glycosyl hydrolase family 10 (GH10) domain, consisting of a "salad-bowl" shaped tertiary structure (a typical 8-fold α/β barrel (α/β)8) and two catalytic residues.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A novel KG51 gene was isolated from a metagenomic library of Korean black goat rumen and its recombinant protein was characterized as a bifunctional enzyme (cellulase/hemicellulase). In silico sequence and domain analyses revealed that the KG51 gene encodes a novel carbohydrate-active enzyme that possesses a salad-bowl-like shaped glycosyl hydrolase family 5 (GH5) catalytic domain but, at best, 41% sequence identity with other homologous GH5 proteins. Enzymatic profiles (optimum pH values and temperatures, as well as pH and thermal stabilities) of the recombinant KG51 bifunctional enzyme were also determined.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The various types of lignocellulosic biomass found in plants comprise the most abundant renewable bioresources on Earth. In this study, the ruminal microbial ecosystem of black goats was explored because of their strong ability to digest lignocellulosic forage. A metagenomic fosmid library containing 115,200 clones was prepared from the black-goat rumen and screened for a novel cellulolytic enzyme.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin (carbohydrate), and lignin (noncarbohydrate) polymers are the main substrates of lignocellulose-degrading enzymes. They are present in large amounts in the primary cell wall and dietary fibers of major fruits and vegetables. During processing of fruits and vegetables to the corresponding final food products, lignocellulosic substrates are hydrolyzed by different lignocellulolytic enzymes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study aimed to isolate and characterize a novel cellulolytic enzyme from black goat rumen by using a culture-independent approach. A metagenomic fosmid library was constructed from black goat rumen contents and screened for a novel cellulase. The KG37 gene encoding a protein of 858 amino acid residues (92.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), native to Europe, is commonly consumed fresh and sometimes inadequately washed before consumption in Korea. The objective of this study was to characterize isolates of spore-forming bacilli (SFB) in samples of fresh Shepherd's purse. Three genera were identified: Bacillus (9 species), Paenibacillus (3 species), and Brevibacillus (1 species).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Potential of kimchi lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolates to produce volatile phenols and factors affecting their phenolic acid decarboxylase (padA) gene expression profiles were investigated in this study. Twelve percent (12%) of 50 tested LAB isolates were found to decarboxylate hydroxycinnamic acids. All six isolates were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum and possessed the padA gene.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Many strains of Bacillus cereus cause gastrointestinal diseases, and the closely related insect pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis has also been involved in outbreaks of diarrhea. The diarrheal diseases are attributed to enterotoxins. Sixteen reference strains of B.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study deals with the utilization of agro-industrial wastes created by barley and wheat bran in the production of a value-added product, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The simple and eco-friendly reaction requires no pretreatment or microbial fermentation steps but uses barley or wheat bran as an enzyme source, glutamate as a substrate, and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) as a cofactor. The optimal reaction conditions were determined on the basis of the temperatures and times used for the decarboxylation reactions and the initial concentrations of barley or wheat bran, glutamate, and PLP.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The partial 16S rRNA, rpoB, and cpn60 genes congruently allow this study to identify all the eight isolates as the species Campylobacter showae. To our knowledge, this is the first report to reveal the interspecies and intraspecies sequence variations present in the three genes of the C. showae isolates.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Eleven clinical strains from infected wounds were found to be related to the bacteria Slackia exigua through 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis.
  • Additional tests confirmed the phenotypic characteristics of six strains, helping to identify them in comparison to known type strains.
  • The study revealed for the first time that S. exigua can be linked to infections outside the oral cavity, and it also assessed the bacteria's susceptibility to various antimicrobials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Researchers examined the prfA virulence gene cluster (pVGC) across various Listeria species and found that its priming sites are unique to Listeria monocytogenes.
  • They developed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to target the pVGC for detecting L. monocytogenes specifically.
  • The assays successfully amplified each gene of the pVGC only in L. monocytogenes, leaving other Listeria species unamplified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Three detection methods for Listeria monocytogenes in meat samples were developed, including ELISA, ICG strip tests, and IMBS systems, all showing strong reactions with Listeria and weak reactions with Staphylococcus aureus.
  • * Combining ELISA and ICG with IMBS reduced the required enrichment time from 24 hours to 14 hours, allowing for faster detection of L. monocytogenes in contaminated meat.
  • * The new methods (ELISA-IMBS and ICG-IMBS) demonstrate similar accuracy to standard methods and can detect L. monocytogenes within 15 hours, making them promising for rapid and cost-effective screening in food safety.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A response surface model was developed for predicting the growth rates of Staphylococcus aureus in tryptic soy broth (TSB) medium as a function of combined effects of temperature, pH, and NaCl. The TSB containing six different concentrations of NaCl (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10%) was adjusted to an initial of six different pH levels (pH 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10) and incubated at 10, 20, 30, and 40 degrees C. In all experimental variables, the primary growth curves were well (r2=0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The adhesion of Campylobacter jejuni to chicken skin, along with the associated morphological changes under aerobic conditions at 4, 25, and 37 degrees C and microaerobic (O2 5%, CO2 10%, N2 85%) conditions, were investigated using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), flow cytometry, and plate counting. The morphological change of C. jejuni from a spiral shape to a coccoid form or VBNC form (viable but nonculturable form) progressed rapidly under aerobic conditions at 25, 37, and 4 degrees C.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

An immunochromatography (ICG) strip test based on a monoclonal antibody for the rapid detection of L. monocytogenes in meat and processed-meat samples was developed in this study. A monoclonal antibody (MAb) specific to L.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A new two-step triplex PCR test was created to find specific methicillin resistance genes in Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and to identify the species at the same time.
  • The test showed that all 105 S. aureus isolates had femA and nuc genes, but only 44 of the clinical isolates were positive for the mecA gene, with no foodborne isolates testing positive.
  • The PCR results matched well with PBP2a latex agglutination tests and oxacillin susceptibility tests, showing a correlation of 98-99%.*
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A monoclonal antibody (mab) against the antimicrobial sulfamethazine was prepared and characterized by an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (IC-ELISA). Sulfamethazine in the range of 0.2 and 45 ng/ml could be determined with the mab by IC-ELISA.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Two main pathways for ammonium assimilation and glutamate biosynthesis in microorganisms are identified: one uses NADP-linked glutamate dehydrogenase, while the other combines glutamine synthetase and glutamate synthase.
  • Researchers cloned the large subunit of glutamate synthase (GOGAT) from Salmonella typhimurium, creating three positive expression clones that efficiently produce GOGAT in E. coli.
  • The GOGAT gene spans 4,732 bases, encodes a protein with 1,486 amino acids, and shows high sequence similarity (87-95%) with related bacteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In a previous paper, the ogdH gene that encodes 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase was isolated from Salmonella typhimurium. The catalytic N-terminal region in the enzyme was found to be very specific for the Salmonella species. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to detect S.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Alkaline extracellular protease (AEP) from Yarrowia lipolytica is synthesized as a precursor with a 157 aa prepro-region. Signal peptide cleavage was shown to occur after Ala15 by N-terminal amino acid radiosequencing of the largest intracellular AEP precursor. AEP proteolytic activity was not required for AEP processing.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF