• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.40-49
• /
• 2003

The genes related to specific events or pathways in bacteria are frequently localized proximate to the genome of their neighbors, as with the structures known as operon, but eukaryotic genes seem to be independent of their neighbors, and are dispersed randomly throughout genomes. Although cases are rare, the findings from structures similar to prokaryotic operons in the nematode genome, and the clustering of housekeeping genes on human genome, lead us to assess the genomic association of genes as functional subunits. We evaluated the genomic association of neighboring genes on chromosomes 4 and 5 of Arabidopsis thaliana with and without respectively consideration of the scaffold/matrix­attached regions (S/MAR) loci. The observed number of functionally identical bigrams and trig rams were significantly higher than expected, and these results were verified statistically by calculating p-values for weighted random distributions. The observed frequency of functionally identical big rams and trig rams were much higher in chromosome 4 than in chromosome 5, but the frequencies with, and without, consideration of the S/MAR in each chromosome were similar. In this study, a genomic association among functionally related neighboring genes in Arabidopsis thaliana was suggested.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.115-120
• /
• 2002

Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines, the causal agent of bacterial pustule of soybean, induces hypersensitive response (HR) in a non-host plant, hot pepper (Capsicum annuum). A wild-type strain (8ra) and its non-patho-genic mutant (8-13) of X. axonopodis pv. glycines were inoculated into the pepper leaf tissues and their subcellular responses to the bacterial infections were examined by electron microscopy. Intrastructural changes related to HR were found in the leaf tissues infected with 8ra from 8 h after inoculation, characterized by separation of plasmalemma from the cell wall, formation of small vacuoles and vesicles, formation of cell wall apposition, and cellular necrosis. No such responses were observed in the tissues infected with the mutant. In 8ra, the bacterial cells were attached to the cell walls, with the cell wall material dissolved into and appearing to encapsulate the bacterial cells. The bacterial cells later became entirely embedded in the cell wall material. On the other hand, in 8-13, the bacterial cells were usually not attached tightly to the plant cell wall, and no or poor encapsulation of the bacteria by the wall material occurred, although these were encircled by rather loose wall materials at the later stages.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.113-120
• /
• 2010

Air-cathode microbial fuel cell consisted of 4 unit cells were operated under batch condition and electricity generation and microbial community structure variation were investigated, depending on separator types and cathode characteristics: A) PEM(Proton Exchange Membrane)-30% Wet proofing Carbon Cloth(WC), B) AEM(Anion Exchange Membrane-WC, C) CEM(Cation Exchange Membrane)-WC, D) PEM-No Wet proofing Carbon Cloth(NC). Maximum power densities of PEM-WC, AEM-WC and CEM-WC were 510.9, 522.1 and 504.8 $mW/m^2$, respectively. But PEM-NC showed relatively lower maximum power density of 218.3 $mW/m^2$. And PEM-WC, AEM-WC and CEM-WC showed similar internal resistances(20.0-28.2 ${\Omega}$). PCRDGGE, PCA and diversity indices showed that uncultured bacteria which reported in previous MFC studies were detected in suspended growth bacteria and attached growth bacteria would be affected not by separator type but by cathode characteristic. Thus, cathode characteristic can be one of the critical factors for power generation in air-cathode MFC using PEM, AEM, and CEM as separator.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.37 no.4 s.109
• /
• pp.406-410
• /
• 2004

The alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) of two dam reservoirs and inflowing streams were measured monthly in 2000. During summer months in 2001, the vertical profiles of APA and related parameters were also examined in one of the reservoirs. The APA was relatively high during the summer season in the epilimnion while it was almost invariable in the hypolimnion. A small increase in APA was observed at just above the bottom. The APA fluctuation was independent of the concentration of soluble reactive phosphorus. It was assumed that APA is not indicative of the phosphorus availability status. An examination of size-fractionated samples suggested that APA in reservoirs was attached to particles larger than $0.4{\mu}m$, whereas in streams it existed in a dissolved form. There was a positive significant correlation between chlorophyll a concentration and APA in the photic zone. In the aphotic zone, APA correlated positively with the colony count of heterotrophic bacteria, but not with microscopic total bacterial counts.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.449-455
• /
• 2013

The effect of recycling ratio and fixed media on nitrate and phosphate removal was investigated in a pilot-scale wastewater treatment unit using synthetic wastewater. Addition of fixed media increased nitrate removal from 45 to 58% while no noticeable change was observed for Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and phosphate removal (<5%). Nitrate removal efficiency also enhanced (Ca 7%) when the influent wastewater flow was doubled (2Q), however phosphate removal was decreased from 40.9 to 26.6% with the increasing recycling rate. The attached biomass analysis showed the presence of bacteria (73.4 $mg/cm^2$) on the surface of added media in anoxic reactor. Pseudomonas aeruginosa a common denitrifying bacterium dominated the bacterial growth (58%) in the anoxic reactor which was determined using Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) analysis.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.357-364
• /
• 2004

In this study, biodegradable organic matter was divided into a rapidly biodegradable fraction($BDOC_{rapid}$) and a slowly biodegradable fraction($BDOC_{slow}$) for various waters with different types of DOC. These fractions($BDOC_{rapid}$ and $BDOC_{slow}$) were defined by using a shaking incubation method modified from Carlson's method. Also, in this study, optimum incubation time and accuracy were investigated to determine $BDOC_{rapid}$ and $BDOC_{slow}$. When suspended bacteria obtained from raw water and BAC effluent, or attached bacteria from BAC was respectively used as an inoculum, the difference in total BDOC($BDOC_{total}$) was minimal. Therefore, total BDOC was determined in 7~8 days by the shaking method, which is comparable with Servais's method by which BDOC was determined in 28 days. In addition, the difference of BDOC between these two methods was within 7%. Although $BDOC_{rapid}$ and $BDOC_{slow}$ were effectively determined by a method defined by Klevens, the difference in optimal incubation time was significant for different water samples. However, when using the shaking method, optimal incubation time for $BDOC_{rapid}$ was found to be 3 days, therefore, the $BDOC_{rapid}$ was defined as the difference between $DOC_0$ and $DOC_{3days}$, and $BDOC_{slow}$ was defined as the difference between $BDOC_{total}$ and $BDOC_{rapid}$. As a conclusion, for determining the fraction of BDOC using the shaking method, the concentrations of an inoculurns and optimal incubation times used in this study were very effective.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.47-52
• /
• 2005

This study was carried out to identify bacterial strains adhered to human scalp hair and to investigate the antibiotic susceptibility of them. A total of 39 isolates were obtained from patients in intensive care units and healthy persons. The most common species isolated was Staphylococcus epidermidis (19 isolates), followed by S. aureus (14 isolates), S. waneri (5 isolates), and S. pasteuri (1 isolate). The susceptibility of isolates to amikacin, ampicillin, bacitracin, carbenicillin, cefazolin, cefoperazone, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, gentamicin, methicillin, nalidixic acid, neomycin, oxacillin, penicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline and vancomycin was determined by the disk diffusion method. All of the antibiotic resistant isolates were obtained from patient scalp hair. To examine the effect of conventional shampoo and detergent SDS on removing of bacteria from hair, we treated hair with culture solution of S. aureus. The bacteria attached to hair were not removed even by repeated washing with detergents. These results suggested that hair could be a source of bacterial contamination in hospital.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.48-55
• /
• 1989

The purpose of the present investigation was to improve several procedures being used in the adherence assay of Streptococcus sanguis cells to hydroxyapatite (HA) beads and to study the effect of the beads on the counting of radioactivity. The standard adhere assay involved the adherence of radiolabeled bacteria to 40mg of HA beads. The beads were mixed with ['H]thymidine-labeled bacterial cells and incubated for 60 minutes at room temperature. Unadsorbed cells were removed, the beads with adsorbed cells were dried, and the radioactivity was monitered in a scintillation spectrometer. The 30 seconds sonication of cells in a form of long chains appeared to be adequate for obtaining mostly singlet or doublet cells. Unlike the counting of S. sanguis cell suspension, bacterial cells adhered to HA or saliva-coated HA(SHA) required smaller volume (2.5ml) of scintillaton fluid for better counting. Eighteen percent quenching of counts could be attributed to the beads. Among 3 procedures commonly used to equilibrate the beads for adherence assay, no differences were found in their effectiveness. The HA beads on which the bacteria remained attached in scintillant during the counting were found to be the source of sample self-absorption representing 34.5% of the total radioactivity counts resulting from the beads dissolved in HCl solution.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.22 no.9
• /
• pp.1237-1242
• /
• 2012

The use of biological-activated carbon (BAC) processes in water treatment involves biofiltration, which maximizes the bacteria's capabilities to remove organic matter. In this study, the distribution of the bacterial community was assessed in response to different types of BAC processes applied downstream in the Nakdong River. The bacterial biomass and activity were $1.20{\sim}34.0{\times}10^7$ CFU/g and 0.61~1.10 mg-C/$m^3{\cdot}hr$ in coal-based BAC, respectively. The attachment of the bacterial biomass and the removal efficiency of the organic carbon were greatest with the coal-based activated carbon. The bacteria attached to each activated carbon material were detected in the order of Pseudomonas genus, Chryseomonas genus, Flavobacterium genus, Alcaligenes genus, Acinetobacter genus, and Spingomona genus. Pseudomonas cepacia was the dominant species in the coal-based materials, and Chryseomonas luteola was the dominant species in the wood-based material.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.21 no.11
• /
• pp.1174-1178
• /
• 2011

Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are microbial polysaccharides that are released outside of the bacterial cell wall. There have been few studies on EPS-producing lactic acid bacteria that can enhance macrophage activity and the underlying signaling mechanism for cytokine expression. In the current study, EPS-overproducing Lactobacillus (L.) paracasei KB28 was isolated from kimchi and cultivated in conditioned media containing glucose, sucrose, and lactose. The whole bacterial cells were obtained with their EPS being attached, and the cytokine-inducing activities of these cells were investigated. Gas chromatography analysis showed the presence of glucose, galactose, mannose, xylose, arabinose, and rhamnose in EPS composition. EPS-producing L. paracasei KB28 induced the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-12 in mouse macrophages. This strain also caused the degradation of $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ and phosphorylation of the major MAPKs: Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2. The use of pharmacological inhibitors showed that different signaling pathways were involved in the induction of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-6 and IL-12 by L. paracasei KB28. Our results provide information for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the immunomodulatory effect of food-derived EPS-producing lactic acid bacteria.