applied sciences Article Isolation and Characterization of Probiotic Bacillus subtilis MKHJ 1-1 Possessing L-Asparaginase Activity Hyeji Lim 1 , Sujin Oh 1 , Sungryul Yu 2 and Misook Kim 1,* 1 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Dankook University, Cheonan 31116, Korea;
[email protected] (H.L.);
[email protected] (S.O.) 2 Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, Semyung University, Jecheon 27136, Korea;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +82-41-550-3494 Abstract: The purpose of this study was to isolate functional Bacillus strains from Korean fermented soybeans and to evaluate their potential as probiotics. The L-asparaginase activity of MKHJ 1-1 was the highest among 162 Bacillus strains. This strain showed nonhemolysis and did not produce β-glucuronidase. Among the nine target bacteria, MKHJ 1-1 inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella sonnei, Shigella flexneri, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis resulted in MKHJ 1-1 identified as Bacillus subtilis subsp. stercoris D7XPN1. As a result of measuring the survival rate in 0.1% pepsin solution (pH 2.5) and 0.3% bile salt solution for 3 h, MKHJ 1-1 exhibited high acid resistance and was able to grow in the presence of bile salt. MKHJ 1-1 showed outstanding autoaggregation ability after 24 h. In addition, its coaggregation with pathogens was strong. Therefore, MKHJ 1-1 is a potential probiotic with L-asparaginase activity and without L-glutaminase activity, suggesting that it could be a new resource for use in the food and pharmaceutical industry.