• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.100-106
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• 2012

In this study, the metabolite profiles of three Aspergillus strains during rice koji fermentation were compared. In the partial least squares discriminant analysis-based gas chromatography-mass spectrometry data sets, the metabolite patterns of A. oryzae (KCCM 60345) were clearly distinguished from A. kawachii (KCCM 60552) and only marginal differences were observed for A. oryzae (KCCM 60551) fermentation. In the 2 days fermentation samples, the overall metabolite levels of A. oryzae (KCCM 60345) were similar to the A. oryzae (KCCM 60551) levels and lower than the A. kawachii (KCCM 60552) levels. In addition, we identified discriminators that were mainly contributing tyrosinase inhibition (kojic acid) and antioxidant activities (pyranonigrin A) in A. oryzae (KCCM 60345) and A. kawachii (KCCM 60552) inoculated rice koji, respectively. In this study, we demonstrated that the optimal inoculant Aspergillus strains and fermentation time for functional rice koji could be determined through a metabolomics approach with bioactivity correlations.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.378-381
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• 2020

Fermentation has recently re-emerged as an approach for improved functionality of food products in addition to the traditional roles such as shelf life, taste, and texture. Here, we report dynamic changes in the metabolite profiles of Achyranthes japonica Nakai by Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation, primarily, the significant increases in representative functional ingredients, 20-hydroxyecdysone and 25S-inokosterone. Additionally, untargeted metabolite profiling showed 58% of metabolites underwent significant alteration. The most dynamic change was observed in cellobiose, which showed a 56-fold increase. Others were sugar alcohols and amino acids, while lyxitol and erythritol that were among the most dynamically down-regulated.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.647-649
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• 2006

Mevinolin, a fungal metabolite, is a potent inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-methyl-3-glutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, the rate-controlling enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis. In this investigation, the optimum factors for mevinolin production by Monascus pilosus IFO 480 in soymeal fermentation were studied. The highest yield of mevinolin, 2.82 mg mevinolin per g dry weight, without citrinin (a toxic fungal secondary metabolite) was obtained after 21 days of fermentation at $30^{\circ}C$ at 65% moisture content, particle size 0.6-0.9 mm, and initial substrate pH of 6.0. Mevinolin was present in the fermentation substrate predominantly in the hydroxycarboxylate form (open lactone, 92.1-97.3%), which is currently being used as a hypocholesterolemic agent.

• Mycobiology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.353-360
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• 2014

Makgeolli is a traditional Korean alcoholic beverage. The flavor of makgeolli is primarily determined by metabolic products such as free sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and aromatic compounds, which are produced during the fermentation of raw materials by molds and yeasts present in nuruk, a Korean fermentation starter. In this study, makgeolli was brewed using the wild yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y98-5, and temporal changes in the metabolites during fermentation were analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The resultant data were analyzed by partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Various metabolites, including amino acids, organic acids, sugar alcohols, small peptides, and nucleosides, were obviously altered by increasing the fermentation period. Changes in these metabolites allowed us to distinguish among makgeolli samples with different fermentation periods (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8 days) on a PLS-DA score plot. In the makgeolli brewed in this study, the amounts of tyrosine ($463.13{\mu}g/mL$) and leucine ($362.77{\mu}g/mL$) were high. Therefore, our results indicate that monitoring the changes in metabolites during makgeolli fermentation might be important for brewing makgeolli with good nutritional quality.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.177-183
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• 2013

Bacterial blight, an important and potentially destructive bacterial disease in rice caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), has recently developed resistance to the available antibiotics. In this study, mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolite profiling and multivariate analysis were employed to investigate the correlation between timedependent metabolite changes and antimicrobial activities against Xoo over the course of Phomopsis longicolla S1B4 fermentation. Metabolites were clearly differentiated based on fermentation time into phase 1 (days 4-8) and phase 2 (days 10-20) in the principal component analysis (PCA) plot. The multivariate statistical analysis showed that the metabolites contributing significantly for phases 1 and 2 were deacetylphomoxanthone B, monodeacetylphomoxanthone B, fusaristatin A, and dicerandrols A, B, and C as identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and dimethylglycine, isobutyric acid, pyruvic acid, ribofuranose, galactofuranose, fructose, arabinose, hexitol, myristic acid, and propylstearic acid were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based metabolite profiling. The most significantly different secondary metabolites, especially deacetylphomoxanthone B, monodeacetylphomoxanthone B, and dicerandrol A, B and C, were positively correlated with antibacterial activity against Xoo during fermentation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1523-1531
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• 2012

The metabolite profile of meju during fermentation was analyzed using mass spectrometry techniques, including GC-MS and LC-MS, and the bacterial diversity was characterized. The relative proportions of bacterial strains indicated that lactic acid bacteria, such as Enterococcus faecium and Leuconostoc lactis, were the dominant species. In partial least-squares discriminate analysis (PLS-DA), the componential changes, which depended on fermentation, proceeded gradually in both the GC-MS and LC-MS data sets. During fermentation, lactic acid, amino acids, monosaccharides, sugar alcohols, and isoflavonoid aglycones (daidzein and genistein) increased, whereas citric acid, glucosides, and disaccharides decreased. MS-based metabolite profiling and bacterial diversity characterization of meju demonstrated the changes in metabolites according to the fermentation period and provided a better understanding of the correlation between metabolites and bacterial diversity.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.378-384
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• 2015

Nuruk is a fermentation agent, which has been used for the production of traditional Korean alcoholic beverages. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of temperature on nuruk fermentation. One wheat nuruk sample was fermented at $36^{\circ}C$ for 30 days (TN-A) and another at $45^{\circ}C$ for 10 days followed by $36^{\circ}C$ for 20 days (TN-B). The activities of ${\alpha}$-amylase, glucoamylase, and acidic protease, as well as metabolite contents were measured. Initially, the enzymatic activities increased rapidly regardless of the fermentation temperature. After 3 days of fermentation, the enzymatic activities were maintained in TN-A, but gradually decreased in TN-B until the end of fermentation process. Metabolite analysis using $^1H$-NMR showed that the levels of glucose, glycerol, fructose, mannitol, and lactose initially increased quickly and then decreased in TN-A. However, they initially decreased and then were maintained over the fermentation period in TN-B. The contents of glycine, proline, and serine were higher in TN-A than in TN-B. This study suggests that a constant temperature of approximately $36^{\circ}C$ is appropriate for achieving high amylolytic and proteolytic activities in the production of wheat nuruk.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.1717-1720
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• 2007

In the course of screening for nitric oxide inhibitors in activated microglial BV-2 cells, cyclo(dehydrohistidyl-L-tryptophyl) was isolated from solid-state fermentation cultures of an unidentified fungal strain, Fb956. Its structure was determined by spectroscopic methods including 2D NMR and chiral TLC analyses. Cyclo(dehydrohistidyl-L-tryptophyl) was found to have an inhibitory activity on nitric oxide production with an $IC_{50}$ of $6.5\;{\mu}M$ in activated BV-2 cells. The structure determination and biological activity of cyclo(dehydrohistidyl-L-tryptophyl) was reported for the first time in this study.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.1150-1156
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• 2017

Understanding phosphorus metabolism in photosynthetic organisms is important as it is closely associated with enhanced crop productivity and pollution management for natural ecosystems (e.g., algal blooming). Accordingly, we exploited highly time-resolved metabolic responses to different levels of phosphate deprivation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a photosynthetic model organism. We conducted non-targeted primary metabolite profiling using gas-chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometric analysis. Primarily, we systematically identified main contributors to degree-wise responses corresponding to the levels of phosphate deprivation. Additionally, we systematically characterized the metabolite sets specific to different phosphate conditions and their interactions with culture time. Among them were various types of fatty acids that were most dynamically modulated by the phosphate availability and culture time in addition to phosphorylated compounds.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.217-226
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• 2015

Metabolite profiles of seven commercial vinegars and two traditional vinegars were performed by gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry with multivariate statistical analysis. During alcohol fermentation, yeast, nuruk, and koji were used as sugars for nutrients and as fermentation substrates. Commercial and traditional vinegars were significantly separated in the principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis. Six sugars and sugar alcohols, three organic acids, and two other components were selected as different metabolites. Target analysis by ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadruple-time-of-flight mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-ion trap-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry were used to detect several metabolites having antioxidant activity, such as cyanidin-3-xylosylrutinoside, cyanidin-3-rutinoside, and quercetin, which were mainly detected in Rural Korean Black raspberry vinegar (RKB). These metabolites contributed to the highest antioxidant activity measured in RKB among the nine vinegars. This study revealed that MS-based metabolite profiling was useful in helping to understand the metabolite differences between commercial and traditional vinegars and to evaluate the association between active compounds of vinegar and antioxidant activity.