• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.369-374
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• 2016

Bacillus velezensis YP2 inhibited the mycelial growth of several plant pathogens including Cercespora spp., Septoria sp., Phoma sp., Botrytis cinerea and Sclerotinia scleotiorum occurring in leafy vegetables. Control efficacy for powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe cruciferarm on red leaf mustard and cheong mustard by treatment of spraying with 10-fold diluted Luria-Bertani (LB) broth of B. velezensis YP2 was 91.8% and 80.9%, respectively. When B. velezensis YP2 was treated four times with five-day interval, three times at seven-day interval and two times at ten day interval in the greenhouse test, the control effect of red leaf mustard powdery mildew was 70.6%, 65.0% and 40.9%, respectively. Also B. velezensis YP2 could promote the seed germination and plant growth of led leaf mustard. The results showed that the culture broth of B. velezensis YP2 was very effective to control the powdery mildew of leaf mustard.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.999-1010
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• 2021

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous in the environment. They are highly toxigenic and carcinogenic. Probiotic bacteria isolated from fermented foods were tested to check their ability to degrade and/or detoxify PAHs. Five probiotic bacteria with distinct morphologies were isolated from a mixture of 26 fermented foods co-cultured with benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) containing Bushnell Haas minimal broth. Among them, B. velezensis (PMC10) significantly reduced the abundance of BaP in the broth. PMC10 completely degraded BaP presented at a lower concentration in broth culture. B. velezensis also showed a clear zone of degradation on a BaP-coated Bushnell Haas agar plate. Gene expression profiling showed significant increases of PAH ring-hydroxylating dioxygenases and 4-hydroxybenzoate 3-monooxygenase genes in B. velezensis in response to BaP treatment. In addtion, both live and heat-killed B. velezensis removed BaP and naphthalene (Nap) from phosphate buffer solution. Live B. velezensis did not show any cytotoxicity to macrophage or human dermal fibroblast cells. Live-cell and cell-free supernatant of B. velezensis showed potential anti-inflammatory effects. Cell-free supernatant and extract of B. velezensis also showed free radical scavenging effects. These results highlight the prospective ability of B. velezensis to biodegrade and remove toxic PAHs from the human body and suggest that the biodegradation of BaP might be regulated by ring-hydroxylating dioxygenase-initiated metabolic pathway.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.217-232
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• 2018

Drought is a major obstacle to high agricultural productivity, worldwide. In drought, it is usually presented by the simultaneous action of high temperature and drying. Also there are negative effects of plant growth under drying conditions. In this study, the effect of Bacillus velezensis YP2 on plant growth-promotion and soil drying stress tolerance of kale plants, Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra Bailey, were investigated under two different conditions; greenhouse and field environments. Root colonization ability of B. velezensis YP2 was also analysed by using plating culture method. As a result of the greenhouse test, the YP2 strain significantly promoted the growth of kale seedlings in increasement of 26.7% of plant height and 142.2% of shoot fresh weight compared to control. B. velezensis YP2 have the mitigation effect of drying injury of kale by decreasing of 39.4% compared to control. In the field test, B. velezensis YP2 strain was also found to be effective for plant growth-promotion and mitigation of drying stress injury on kale plants. Especially, relative water contents (RWC; %) were higher in B. velezensis YP2 treated kales than in control at 7, 10, 14 day after non-watering. The root colonization ability of YP2 strain was continued at least for 21 days after soil drenching treatment of B. velezensis YP2. Our result suggested that enhancement of plant growth and drying injury reduction of kale plants were involved in kale root colonization by B. velezensis YP2, which might be contributed to increasing water availability of plants. Consequentially, the use of B. velezensis YP2 might be a beneficial influence for improving productivity of kale plants under drying stress conditions.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.897-904
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• 2023

This study was done to develope genetic markers with the unique characteristics of genes according to the genomic information of Bacillus velezensis K10. B. velezensis K10 maintained a total of 4,159,835 bps, which was found to encode 5,136 open reading frames (orfs). B. velezensis K10 was found to have much more gene migration due to external factors overall compared to standard strain B. velezensis JS25R. In order to discover genetic selection markers, orfs on the genome to be easily induced to gene mutation were surveyed such as recombinase, integrase, transposase, and phage-related genes. As a result of the investigation, 9 candidate markers were isolated with high possibility as genetic selection markers. Although a part in the various origin's areas showed specificities in comparison with homology, the selected markers were all existed in phage-related areas because they were relatively lower homologies in phage-related genes. PCR analysis was done on B. licheniformis K12, B. velezensis K10, B. subtilis, and B. cereus to establish them as inter-species candidate selection markers. As a result, it was confirmed that B. velezensis K10-specific PCR products were formed in a total of 6 primer sets such as BV3 and BV5 to 9. On the other hand, analysis at the subspecies level observed the formation of B. velezensis K10-specific PCR products in 4 primer sets such as BV3, 5, 8, and 9. Among them, since BV5 and BV8 were detected by very specific results, we suggest that BV5 and 8 can be used as B. velezensis K10 gene selection markers at the species and sub-species level.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.757-766
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• 2012

The SSH100-10 bacterial strain, which exhibits strong antifungal (anti-mold and anti-yeast) activity, was isolated from traditional korean soysauce aged 100 years. The strain was identified as Bacillus velezensis based on Gram-staining, the biochemical properties and 16S rRNA gene sequence determination. B. velezensis SSH100-10 showed strong proteinase activity and NaCl tolerance, but did not produce enterotoxin. Two-antifungal compounds from B. velezensis SSH100-10 were purified using SPE, preparative HPLC, and reverse phase-HPLC. The purified antifungal compounds were identified as $C_{14}$ and $C_{15}$ iturin through MALDI-TOF-MS and amino acid composition analysis. The stability characteristics of the antifungal compounds after temperature, pH, and enzyme treatments suggested that B. velezensis SSH100-10 produced more than two antifungal compounds; pH-stable $C_{14}$ iturin A and $C_{15}$ iturin A, and unidentified pH-unstable compounds. The results suggested that B. velezensis SSH100-10 can be used in soybean fermentation as a starter. Moreover it has potential as a biopreservative in the food and feed industry and as a biocontrol agent in the field of agriculture.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.176-183
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• 2016

Bacillus velezensis CC112 inhibited the mycelial growth of several plant pathogens, including Rhizoctonia solani, causing damping-off on ginseng. The control efficacies of B. velezensis CC112 against R. solani by seed dipping in LB and BSM broth diluted 10 times, soil dipping, and soil drenching with LB broth diluted 10 times were 65.8%, 67.1%, and 64.2%, respectively. Treatment of soil drenching with the 100 times diluted prototype of B. velezensis CC112 against R. solani and Pythium sp. by soil revealed control efficacies of 77.3% and 65.7%, respectively. These results indicate that B. velezensis CC112 is a prospective biofungicide for the biological control of ginseng damping off.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.1443-1451
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• 2024

Weizmannia coagulans can be used as a starter strain in fermented foods or as a probiotic. However, it is salt-sensitive. Here, W. coagulans genomes were compared with the genomes of strains of Bacillus species (B. licheniformis, B. siamensis, B. subtilis, and B. velezensis) that were isolated from fermented foods and show salt tolerance, to identify the basis for the salt-sensitivity of W. coagulans. Osmoprotectant uptake (Opu) systems transport compatible solutes into cells to help them tolerate osmotic stress. B. siamensis, B. subtilis, and B. velezensis each possess five Opu systems (OpuA, OpuB, OpuC, OpuD, and OpuE); B. licheniformis has all except OpuB. However, W. coagulans only has the OpuC system. Based on these findings, the opuA and opuB operons, and the opuD and opuE genes, were amplified from B. velezensis. Expression of each of these systems, respectively, in W. coagulans increased salt-tolerance. W. coagulans expressing B. velezensis opuA, opuD, or opuE grew in 10.5% NaCl (w/v), whereas wild-type W. coagulans could not grow in 3.5% NaCl. The salt resistance of B. subtilis was also increased by overexpression of B. velezensis opuA, opuB, opuD, or opuE. These results indicate that the salt-susceptibility of W. coagulans arises because it is deficient in Opu systems.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.347-356
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• 2019

Bacillus sp. BS2 showing strong fibrinolytic activity was isolated from sea squirt (munggae) jeotgal, a traditional Korean fermented seafood. BS2 was identified as B. velezensis by molecular biological methods. B. velezensis BS2 grows well at 15% NaCl and at $10^{\circ}C$. When B. velezensis BS2 was cultivated in TSB broth for 96 h at $37^{\circ}C$, the culture showed the highest fibrinolytic activity ($131.15mU/{\mu}l$) at 96 h. Three bands of 27, 35 and 60 kDa were observed from culture supernatant by SDS-PAGE, and fibrin zymography showed that the major fibrinolytic protein was the 27 kDa band. The gene (aprEBS2) encoding the major fibrinolytic protein was cloned, and overexpressed in heterologous hosts, B. subtilis WB600 and E. coli BL21 (DE3). B. subtilis transformant showed 1.5-fold higher fibrinolytic activity than B. velezensis BS2. Overproduced AprEBS2 in E. coli was purified by affinity chromatography. The optimum pH and temperature were pH 8.0 and $37^{\circ}C$, respectively. $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ were 0.15 mM and $39.68{\mu}M/l/min$, respectively, when N-succinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-pNA was used as the substrate. AprEBS2 has strong ${\alpha}$-fibrinogenase and moderate ${\beta}$-fibrinogenase activity. Considering its high fibrinolytic activity, significant salt tolerance, and ability to grow at $10^{\circ}C$, B. velezensis BS2 can be used as a starter for jeotgal.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1223-1229
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• 2009

To construct a new recombinant strain of Bacillus velezensis that has antifungal and insecticidal activity via the expression of the insecticidal Bacillus thuringiensis crystal protein, a B. thuringiensis expression vector (pHT1K-1Ac) was generated that contained the B. thuringiensis cry1Ac gene under the control of its endogenous promoter in a minimal E. coli-B. thuringiensis shuttle vector (pHT1K). This vector was introduced into a B. velezensis isolate that showed high antifungal activities against several plant diseases, including rice blast (Magnaporthe grisea), rice sheath blight (Rhizotonia solani), tomato gray mold (Botrytis cinerea), tomato late blight (Phytophthora infestans), and wheat leaf rust (Puccinia recondita), by electroporation. The recombinant B. velezensis strain was confirmed by PCR using cry1Ac-specific primers. Additionally, the recombinant strain produced a protein approximately 130 kDa in size and parasporal inclusion bodies similar to B. thuringiensis. The in vivo antifungal activity assay demonstrated that the activity of the recombinant B. velezensis strain was maintained at the same level as that of wild-type B. velezensis. Furthermore, it exhibited high insecticidal activity against a lepidopteran pest, Plutella xylostella, although its activity was lower than that of a recombinant B. thuringiensis strain, whereas wild-type B. velezensis strain did not show any insecticidal activity. These results suggest that this recombinant B. velezensis strain can be used to control harmful insect pests and fungal diseases simultaneously in one crop.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.296-305
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• 2024

Peach tree gummosis is a botanical anomaly distinguished by the secretion of dark-brown gum from the shoots of peach trees, and Botryosphaeria dothidea has been identified as one of the fungal species responsible for its occurrence. In South Korea, approximately 80% of gummosis cases are linked to infections caused by B. dothidea. In this study, we isolated microbes from the soil surrounding peach trees exhibiting antifungal activity against B. dothidea. Subsequently, we identified several bacterial strains as potential candidates for a biocontrol agent. Among them, Bacillus velezensis KTA01 displayed the most robust antifungal activity and was therefore selected for further analysis. To investigate the antifungal mechanism of B. velezensis KTA01, we performed tests to assess cell wall degradation and siderophore production. Additionally, we conducted reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis based on whole-genome sequencing to confirm the presence of genes responsible for the biosynthesis of lipopeptide compounds, a well-known characteristic of Bacillus spp., and to compare gene expression levels. Moreover, we extracted lipopeptide compounds using methanol and subjected them to both antifungal activity testing and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. The experimental findings presented in this study unequivocally demonstrate the promising potential of B. velezensis KTA01 as a biocontrol agent against B. dothidea KACC45481, the pathogen responsible for causing peach tree gummosis.