• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.813-818
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• 2004

A systematic study of microbial fuel cells comprised of thermophilic Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus thermoglucosidasius has been carried out under various operating conditions. Substantial amount of electricity was generated when a redox mediator was used. Being affected by operation temperature, the maximum efficiency was obtained at 50$^{\circ}C$ with an open circuit voltage of ca. 0.7 V. While a small change around the optimum temperature did not make much effect on the cell performance, the rapid decrease in performance was observed above 70$^{\circ}C$. It was noticeable that fuel cell efficiency and discharge pattern strongly depended on the kind of carbon sources used in the initial culture medium. In the case of B. thermoglucosidasius, glucose alone was utilized constitutively as a substrate in the microbial fuel cell irrespective of used carbons sources. When B. licheniformis was cultivated with lactose as a carbon source, best charging characteristics were recorded. Trehalose, in particular, showed 41.2% coulombic efficiency when B. thermoglucosidasius was cultured in a starch-containing medium. Relatively good repetitive operation was possible with B. thermoglucosidasius cells up to 12 cycles using glucose as a carbon source, when they were cultured with lactose as an initial carbon source. This study demonstrates that highly efficient thermophilic microbial fuel cells can be constructed by a pertinent modulation of the operating conditions and by carefully selecting carbon sources used in the initial culture medium.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.229-236
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• 2003

The 1080 epiphytic bacteria obtained from 370 samples of pome and stone fruits including apple, pear, peach, grape, apricot and Chinese quince were screened for antagonistic activity against postharvest pathogens, Penicillium expansum, Alternaria alternata and Botrytis cinerea. Among tested antagonistic bacteria, eight bacterial isolates inhibited mycelial growth of the postharvest pathogens and were identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (three strains), B. megaterium, B. subtilis var. gladioli, B. licheniformis, B. pumilus and Serratia marcescens based on biochemical characteristics and utility of carbon and nitrogen compounds (Biolog system). Eight carbohydrates were evaluated for their effect on mycelial growth and germination of the postharvest pathogen, P. expansum to select nutrients for enhancing bio-control efficacy. The growth of four selected antagonists, B. amyloliquefaciens P43-2, B. amyloliquefaciens A71-2, B. licheniformis P94-1, and S. marcescens P76-9 were also tested. As a result, 1% glucose (w/v) strongly stimulated growth of the antagonists, suppressed mycelial growth of the postharvest pathogen, and had a little comparatively stimulatory effect on germination of the the postharvest pathogen. It was confirmed that the addition of 1% glucose (w/v) greatly enhanced biocontrol effect of B. amyloliquefaciens P43-2, B. licheniformis P94-1, and S. marcescens P76-9. Application of B. amyloliquefaciens P43-2, B. licheniformis P94-1, and S. marcescens P76-9 with the addition of 1% glucose (w/v) increased the control efficacy up to 48%, 46%, 14% compared with those of the antagonists without glucose, respectively. When the antagonists were applied to control postharvest disease caused by P. expansum in apple wounds, the population of B. amyloliquefaciens P43-2 and B. licheniformis P94-1 increased until 4 days after inoculation (DAI) of the antagonists and then decreased from 10 DAI. Meanwhile the population of S. marcescens P76-9 decreased at early stage (4 DAI), but increased from 7 DAI, and finally maintained constantly until 10 DAI in apple wounds.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.398-403
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• 1993

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.359-363
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• 2019

Meju is a spontaneously fermented soybean product produced in Korea. We isolated the bacteria of the genera Bacillus, Enterococcus, and Staphylococcus from 12 meju samples collected from five regions of Korea using selective media, and we identified them based on the sequence analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA and gmk (guanylate kinase) genes. Bacillus and Enterococcus strains were identified from all samples and the numbers of Bacillus strains in the 11 samples were >15% of the total cell number. Therefore, the genus Bacillus was confirmed as the predominant bacterial group of meju. Staphylococcus strains were identified from six samples. The identified 151 Bacillus isolates predominated in the following order: B. velezensis, B. sonorensis, B. subtilis, and B. licheniformis. Among the 165 Enterococcus isolates, 163 strains were identified as E. faecium. Eighty-two Staphylococcus isolates were classified into six species of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus group and S. xylosus was the predominant species.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.55-64
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• 2009

A B cell-specific growth substance (BGS) was isolated from the slime layer of Bacillus licheniformis E1. Unlike LPS, the BGS was not affected by polymixin B, an inhibitor of LPS, or by TLR4, and resulted in the growth of B cells. When BALB/c mice were treated with the BGS, the B cell population was found to increase in both the bone marrow and the spleen, with a marked increase after 24 h in the bone marrow and after 48 h in the spleen. When using antibodies to B cell lineage-restricted surface molecules to analyze the B cell population changes resulting from treatment with the BGS, an increase in immature B cells ($IgM^+$ and $AA4.1^+$) and mature B cells ($IgM^+$ and $IgD^+$) was found in the bone marrow 24 h after treatment with the BGS, whereas a decrease in mature B cells and increase in $IgG^+$ B cells were found in the spleen. When the BGS and OVA antigen were injected into the peritoneal cavity of BALB/c mice, this resulted in a high OVA-specific antibody titer in the sera, similar to that induced by aluminum hydroxide. Therefore, it is anticipated that the mass production of the BGS by B. licheniformis E1 could be used for studies of B cells in immunology, and contribute to the development of a new adjuvant for vaccine manufacture.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.352-357
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• 1988

Twenty-five out of 35 strains isolated from fermented corn meal produced folic acid. Bacillus licheniformis strain 6 and Enterobacter cloacae strain 18 produced the largest quantities of 1830$\pm$271 ng and 1350$\pm$161 ng per 100$m\ell$ of the assay broth, respectively. B. licheniformis produced maximum yields when initial pH values were 6,7, or 8 and were incubated at 35$^{\circ}C$ for 5 days. The initial pH (range 4-8) had no effect on folic acid production by E. cloacae； 55 $^{\circ}C$ for 5 days was optimal for this bacterium. Added carbohydrates had no effect on the production of total folic acid in the bacterial cells in pure or mixed cultures. However, in their growth media, carbohydrates enhanced the production of free and total folic acid by E. cloacae and in the mixed cultures. Added carbohydrates had no significant (P < 0.05) effect on the production of free and total folic acid by B. licheniformis.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.179-190
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• 2010

The experiment was conducted to observe the effects of dried whole crop barley treated with cellulolytic microorganisms (Aspergillus niger KCCM 60357 and Bacillus licheniformis KCCM 40934) on the chemical composition, in vitro colonic fermentation and whole tract digestibility in swine. Whole crop barley were fermented with no microorganism addition (control), A. niger, B. licheniformis and co-culture of A. niger and B. licheniformis (Mixture) for 3 days at $30^{\circ}C$. In the feed chemical composition, CP contents of whole crop barley treated with A. niger (7.52%) and B. licheniformis (7.77%) were significantly higher than control (6.81%) (p<0.05). The in vitro colonic fermentation of dried whole crop barley fermented with control showed significantly higher $CH_4$ contents than A. niger, B. licheniformis and Mixture at 18h incubation (p<0.05). Dry matter (DM) digestibilities of A. niger (55%) and Mixture (57.42%) treatments were significantly higher than control (43.74%) (p<0.05). Ammonia-N was significantly increased in A. niger, B. licheniformis and Mixture relative to control at 24 hour incubation (p<0.05). Xylanase activities in A. niger, B. licheniformis and Mixture treatments were significantly higher than control at 24 hour incubation (p<0.05). Concentrations of total VFA were significantly increased in B. licheniformis (12.61 mM) at 24hour incubation (p<0.05). In vitro whole tract digestibility was significantly increased in B. licheniformis (49.61%) compared with the control (45.65%) (p<0.05). In conclusion, whole crop barley treated with cellulolytic microorganisms improved whole tract digestibility and colonic fermentation for swine.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.255-260
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• 2005

To make Chungkuk-jang with enhanced fibrinolytic and immunostimulating activities, 220 strains isolated from Chungkuk-jangs were tested, and 13 Bacillus strains with excellent proteolytic and polysaccharide-producing activities were selected and tested for their fibrinolytic and immunostimulating activities using fibrin plate method and RAW 264.7 cell line, respectively. To assess macrophage activation, contents of cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor ($TNF-{\alpha}$) and $interleukin-1{\alpha}$ and nitric oxide were measured. Three strains showing highest fibrinolytic and immunostimulating activities were identified as Bacillus licheniformis (CHKJ 1249, 1326) and Bacillus subtilis (CHKJ 1339).

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.93-98
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• 2023

Nuruk is a starter culture of Korea manufactured by spontaneous fermentation of grains. We isolated bacteria of the genera Bacillus and Staphylococcus, and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from eight commercial nuruk samples collected from four districts of Korea using selective agar media and identified them based current taxonomic standards. Bacillus was detected in all samples, but Staphylococcus or LAB were not detected in three samples. In seven samples, except one sample scored the highest cell number of LAB, Bacillus and Staphylococcus were counted as the highest and the lowest numbers, respectively. Six species of Bacillus were identified, and B. subtilis, B. velezensis, and B. licheniformis were predominant species. Nine species of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus were identified, and the predominance of S. pseudoxylosus and S. saprophyticus was confirmed. Ten species of LAB including Enterococcus, Lactobacillus and close relatives, Pediococcus, and Weissella were identified. P. pentosaceus was identified as the predominant species.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.419-426
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• 2015

The aims of this study were to isolate spore-forming Bacillus strains that exhibit high digestibility and anti-pathogenic bacteria toward feed for calves. Total 136 spore-forming strains were isolated from finished feeds and their ingredients. Among them, 93 strains were identified as Bacillus species when analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. For industrial use, three strains named as Bacillus licheniformis SHS14, B. subtilis LCB7, B. amyloliquefaciens LCB10 were selected after evaluating the industrial standards that are related with heat and acid resistance, enzyme activities, and anti-pathogenic activities against Samonella dublin ATCC15480 and E. coli K99. After each culture, 3 selected strains were mixed together at 1:1:1 (v/v/v) ratio and then prepared as the mixed starter culture for feeding. The changes in microbial community were analyzed via 16S rRNA metagenomics. The initial community ratio among three strains was maintained even after manufacturing into final products. Also, in vitro, enzymatic and anti-pathogenic activities were almost same as those when cultured in single culture, and results of anti-pathogenic activities conducted with calves showed 90% activities against lincomycin, which would be indicative of a promising feed starter.