β-glucosidase is an enzyme that hydrolyzes glycosidic bonds to generate terminal non-reducing residues in β-D-glucosides and oligosaccharides. These enzymes are used to degrade the plant cell walls of plant biomass. The 170 lactic acid bacteria isolated from beachu kimchi were examined for their β-glucosidase activity(E.C. 3.2.1.21.). Among the tested lactic acid bacteria, 48 strains utilized cellobiose as a carbon source. The highest β-glucosidase activity was 0.0537±0.0021(U/mg protein) in MSE129. MSE129 was identified to be Weissella koreenisis using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis.

• Se-Young Kwun(Research and Development Institute, Metascreen Inc.)
• Yun-Ji Cho(Research and Development Institute, Metascreen Inc.)
• Eun-Jung Kim(Research and Development Institute, Metascreen Inc.)
• Eun-Hee Park(Research and Development Institute, Metascreen Inc.)