Resourcelization of kimchi microbial genetic information for developing useful
new materials

The achievement of the Microbiology and Functionality Research Group of WiKim, “Resourcelization of kimchi microbial genetic information for developing useful new materials”, was selected as the best research result of the 2020 government-funded research institute and won the Chairman Award of the National Research Council of Science & Technology (nst).

nst annually discovers and awards outstanding research achievements of government-funded research institutes to promote the pride of scientists and encourage the creation of research results. The results were selected after the first written evaluation and the second final (non-face-to-face PT) evaluation among the research results submitted by 25 government-funded research institutes under nst. Last year, the other achievement, submitted by Microbiology and Functionality Research Group of WiKim, “Development of functional lactic acid bacteria isolated from kimchi which have effects on anti-cancer, etc.” was selected as one of the top 10 best research achievements in 2019.

Dr. Seong Woon Roh’s research team at the WiKim searched and secured microbial resources isolated from kimchi and its ingredients, identifying physiological and metabolic characteristics using microbial omics data, such as whole genome sequences. Through analysis of genome and transcriptome of lactic acid bacteria isolated from kimchi, the team identified metabolic path of kimchi fermentation. Furthermore, the origin of the lactic acid bacteria was identified by analyzing the characteristics of kimchi fermentation based on ingredients used for making kimchi.

This research have secured basic information on the characteristics of kimchi fermentation through the analysis of kimchi and its microbial community and laid the groundwork for the scientific excellence of kimchi. They are planning to strengthen the competitiveness of the kimchi industry by securing new microbial resources and sharing information.