• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.118-118
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• 2008

The phylogenetic diversity of microbial communities in calcareous mats from Spearfish Creek, a freshwater stream located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, was examined using PCR-based 16S rDNA sequence analysis. In this study, two types of calcareous mats were compared: mature mats formed on the natural substrate of rock surfaces and developing mats on an artificial substrate of glass slides. Among 63 unique isolates from a clone library of 16S rRNA genes from mature mat samples, there were 8 phyla of Bacteria represented. The predominant phylum was Proteobacteria (48%), with the $\beta$ subclass being the largest group. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of 16S rRNA genes from slide samples collected at intervals for four months showed considerable diversity of the microbial community from the earliest stages of community development. Amplicons isolated from DGGE gels and sequenced indicated that community succession has occurred without increasing microbial diversity. However, light microscopic analysis revealed a significant increase in microbial cell density throughout the community development. Scanning electron microscopy of mat samples provides evidence that diatoms are also important members of calcareous mat communities.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.414-422
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• 2019

There is accumulating evidence that microRNAs are emerging as pivotal regulators in the development and progression of neuropathic pain. MicroRNA-15a/16 (miR-15a/16) have been reported to play an important role in various diseases and inflammation response processes. However, whether miR-15a/16 participates in the regulation of neuroinflammation and neuropathic pain development remains unknown. In this study, we established a mouse model of neuropathic pain by chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerves. Our results showed that both miR-15a and miR-16 expression was significantly upregulated in the spinal cord of CCI rats. Downregulation of the expression of miR-15a and miR-16 by intrathecal injection of a specific inhibitor significantly attenuated the mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia of CCI rats. Furthermore, inhibition of miR-15a and miR-16 downregulated the expression of interleukin-$1{\beta}$ and tumor-necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ in the spinal cord of CCI rats. Bioinformatic analysis predicted that G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2), an important regulator in neuropathic pain and inflammation, was a potential target gene of miR-15a and miR-16. Inhibition of miR-15a and miR-16 markedly increased the expression of GRK2 while downregulating the activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and $NF-{\kappa}B$ in CCI rats. Notably, the silencing of GRK2 significantly reversed the inhibitory effects of miR-15a/16 inhibition in neuropathic pain. In conclusion, our results suggest that inhibition of miR-15a/16 expression alleviates neuropathic pain development by targeting GRK2. These findings provide novel insights into the molecular pathogenesis of neuropathic pain and suggest potential therapeutic targets for preventing neuropathic pain development.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.45-50
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• 2003

The diversity and change of microbial communities during kimchi fermentation at $4^{\circ}C$ were analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Kimchi samples were taken every 5 days over the fermentation periods (for 60 days) to extract total DNA for DGGE analysis. Touchdown polymerase chain reaction was performed to amplify the V3 region of 16S rRNA gene. Sequencing results of partial 16S rDNA amplicons from DGGE profiles revealed that lactic acid bacteria (LAB), especially Weissella koreensis, Lactobacillus sakei and Leuconostoc gelidum were dominants in kimchi fermentation at $4^{\circ}C$. And we knew that W. koreensis steadily existed throughout the whole fermentation period, also Lb. sakei and Leuc. gelidum appeared from 10th day and 30th day of fermentation time, respectively and then these species were to be dominant microorganisms.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.313-318
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• 2006

A thermophilic bacterium producing the extracellular cellulase was isolated from soybean paste, and the isolate WL-12 has been identified as Bacillus licheniformis on the basis on its 16S rRNA sequence, morphology and biochemical properties. A gene encoding the cellulase of B. licheniformis WL-12 was cloned and its nucleotide sequence was determined. This cellulase gene, designated celA, consisted of 1,551 nucleotides, encoding a polypeptide of 517 amino acid residues. The gene product contained catalytic domain and cellulose binding domain. The deduced amino acid sequence was highly homologous to those of cellulases of B. licheniformis, B. subtilis and B. amytoliquefaciens belonging to the glycosyl hydrolase family 5. When the celA gene was highly expressed using a strong B. subtilis promoter, the extracellular cellulase was produced up to 7.0 units/ml in B. subtilis WB700.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2006

This study was undertaken to develop PCR primers for the identification and detection of Streptococcus mutans (by)using species-specific forward and universal reverse primers. These primers targeted the variable regions of the 16S ribosomal RNA coding gene (rDNA). The primer specificity was tested against 11S. mutans strains and 10 different species (22 strains) of oral bacteria. The primer sensitivity was determined by testing serial dilutions of the purified genomic DNA of S. mutans ATCC $25175^T$. The data showed that species-specific amplicons were obtained from all the S. mutans strains tested, which was not observed in the other species. The direct and nested PCR could detect as little as 2 pg and 2 fg of the chromosomal DNA from S. mutans ATCC $25175^T$, respectively. This shows that the PCR primers are highly sensitive and applicable to the detection and identification of S. mutans.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.323-330
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• 2009

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are a major cause of opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients, making the reliable and rapid identification of NTM to the species level very important for the treatment of such patients. Therefore, this study evaluated the usefulness of the novel target genes tuf and tmRNA for the identification of NTM to the species level, using a PCRrestriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (PRA). A total of 44 reference strains and 17 clinical isolates of the genus Mycobacterium were used. The 741 bp or 744 bp tuf genes were amplified, restricted with two restriction enzymes (HaeIII/MboI), and sequenced. The tuf gene-PRA patterns were compared with those for the tmRNA (AvaII), hsp65 (HaeIII/HphI), rpoB (MspI/HaeIII), and 16S rRNA (HaeIII) genes. For the reference strains, the tuf gene-PRA yielded 43 HaeIII patterns, of which 35 (81.4%) showed unique patterns on the species level, whereas the tmRNA, hsp65, rpoB, and 16S rRNA-PRAs only showed 10 (23.3%), 32 (74.4%), 19 (44.2%), and 3 (7%) unique patterns after single digestion, respectively. The tuf gene-PRA produced a clear distinction between closely related NTM species, such as M. abscessus (557-84-58) and M. chelonae (477-84-80-58), and M. kansasii (141-136-80-63-58-54-51) and M. gastri (141-136-117-80-58-51). No difference was observed between the tuf-PRA patterns for the reference strains and clinical isolates. Thus, a diagnostic algorithm using a tuf gene-targeting PRA is a promising tool with more advantages than the previously used hsp65, rpoB, and 16S rRNA genes for the identification of NTM to the species level.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.1743-1750
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• 2007

Two Gram-negative, nonmotile, coccobacilli, SW-$3^T$ and SW-$100^T$, were isolated from sea water of the Yellow Sea in Korea. Strains SW-$3^T$ and SW-$100^T$ contained ubiquinone-9 (Q-9) as the predominant respiratory lipoquinone and $C_{18:1}\;{\omega}9c$ and $C_{16:0}$ as the major fatty acids. The DNA G+C contents of strains SW-$3^T$ and SW- $100^T$ were 44.1 mol% and 41.9 mol%, respectively. A neighbor-joining tree based on l6S rRNA gene sequences showed that the two isolates fell within the evolutionary radiation enclosed by the genus Acinetobacter. Strains SW-$3^T$ and SW-$100^T$ exhibited a l6S rRNA gene similarity value of 95.7% and a mean DNA-DNA relatedness level of 9.2%. Strain SW-$3^T$ exhibited l6S rRNA gene sequence similarity levels of 93.5-96.9% to the validly described Acinetobacter species and fifteen Acinetobacter genomic species. Strain SW-$100^T$ exhibited l6S rRNA gene sequence similarity levels of less than 97.0% to the other Acinetobacter species except Acinetobacter towneri DSM $14962^T$ (98.0% similarity). Strains SW-$3^T$ and SW-$100^T$ exhibited mean levels of DNA-DNA relatedness of 7.3-l6.7% to the type strains of some phylogenetically related Acinetobacter species. On the basis of phenotypic, phylogenetic, and genetic data, strains SW-$3^T$ and SW-$100^T$ were classified in the genus Acinetobacter as two distinct novel species, for which the names Acinetobacter marinus sp. novo (type strain SW-$3^T$=KCTC $12259^T$=DSM $16312^T$) and Acinetobacter seohaensis sp. novo (type strain SW-$100^T$=KCTC $12260^T$=DSM $16313^T$) are proposed, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.282-285
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• 2013

Microbial diversities in the 300 m and 500 m deep seawaters near Goseong, Gangwon Province (South Korea), were investigated. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes of marine microbes resulted in 19,474 reads from the 300 m deep seawaters, which consisted of Alphaproteobacteria (57.41%) and Gammaproteobacteria (38.85%), and 82,806 reads from the 500 m deep seawaters, which consisted of Gammaproteobacteria (99.64%) mostly. Rhodobacterales (57.31%) were dominant in the 300 m deep seawaters, but Alteromonadales (45.65%) and Oceanospirillales (34.61%) were dominant in the 500 m deep seawaters. On the bases of operational taxonomic units and diversity indexes (Shannon and Simpson), biodiversity of marine bacteria in the 500 m deep seawaters was shown to be higher than that in the 300 m deep seawaters.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.22-26
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• 2016

Five bacterial strains designated DY37, BS333, JJ521, BM1, and DG13-2 were assigned to the genus Deinococcus were isolated from forest soil samples collected from Deogyusan, Busan, Changwon, and Seoul of South Korea. The isolates were Gram-staining negative or positive, and pale pink- or red-pigmented, short-rod shaped. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strains DY37, BS333, JJ521, BM1, and DG13-2 were most closely related to Deinococcus aquatilis CCM $7524^T$ (with 99.0% similarity), D. ficus CC-FR2-$10^T$ (100.0%), D. grandis KS $0485^T$ (99.2%), D. roseus TDMA-$uv51^T$ (98.9%), and D. yunweiensis $YIM007^T$(100.0%), respectively. These 5 species have never been proposed in Korea; therefore 5 species of 1 genera in the family Deinococcaceae in the order Deinococcales within the class Deinococci are reported for proteobacterial species found in Korea.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.293-305
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• 2024

Various samples were collected from Korean islands in order to obtain unrecorded bacterial species in 2023. After aerobically incubating on marine agar and Reasoner's 2A agar, approximately 1,200 bacterial strains were isolated and identified using 16S rRNA gene sequences. A total of 36 strains showed ≥98.7% sequence similarity to previously published and validated bacterial species. However, these strains have not previously been reported in the Republic of Korea, indicating that they belong to Korean unrecorded bacterial species. The unrecorded bacterial species were assigned to the classes Actinomycetes, Bacilli, Bacteroidia, Flavobacteriia, Sphingobacteriia, Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria. The information we obtained by examining the strains includes details of the Gram reactions, colony and cell morphology, biochemical characteristics, and phylogenetic positions of the unrecorded species.