• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.16-20
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• 2017

A new putative laccase gene (soncotA) which show 78% homology with that from Bacillus licheniformis (liccotA) was isolated from draft genome sequence of Bacillus sonorensis KCTC 13918. A 1,545 bp of PCR product corresponding 514 amino acids was cloned into NdeI-NotI site of pET21c and expressed as soluble form in E. coli. About 59 kDa size of recombinant laccase was purified into homogenity by Ni-NTA column and laccase activity was confirmed by zymography. The enzymatic properties of recombinant laccase were characterized. The specific activity of B. sonorensis laccase was 0.033 fold lower than that of Bacillus licheniformis laccase. The finding of new laccase gene broadened the enzymatic diversity of Bacillus species laccases.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1992-1998
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• 2018

In 2015, Bacillus paralicheniformis was separated from B. licheniformis on the basis of phylogenomic and phylogenetic studies, and urease activity was reported as a phenotypic property that differentiates between the two species. Subsequently, we have found that the urease activity of B. paralicheniformis is strain-specific, and does not reliably discriminate between species, as strains having the same urease gene cluster were identified in B. licheniformis and B. sonorensis, the closest relatives of B. paralicheniformis. We developed a multilocus sequence typing scheme using eight housekeeping genes, adk, ccpA, glpF, gmk, ilvD, pur, spo0A, and tpi to clearly identify B. paralicheniformis from closely related Bacillus species and to find a molecular marker for the rapid identification of B. paralicheniformis. The scheme differentiated 33 B. paralicheniformis strains from 90 strains formerly identified as B. licheniformis. Among the eight housekeeping genes, spo0A possesses appropriate polymorphic sites for the design of a B. paralichenofomis-specific PCR primer set. The primer set designed in this study perfectly separated B. paralicheniformis from B. licheniformis and B. sonorensis.

• 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.28 no.5
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• pp.663-670
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• 2018

The present study focused on the production, characterization, and in vitro prebiotic evaluation of an exopolysaccharides (EPS) from Bacillus sonorensis MJM60135 isolated from ganjang (fermented soy sauce). Strain MJM60135 showed the highest production ($8.4{\pm}0.8g/l$) of EPSs compared with other isolates that were screened for EPS production based on ropy culture morphology. Furthermore, MJM60135 was cultured in 5 L of medium and the EPS was extracted by ethanol precipitation. The emulsification activity of the EPS was higher in toluene than in o-xylene. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis showed the presence of hydroxyl and carboxyl groups and glycosidic linkages. The isolated EPS contained mannose and glucose, as observed by thin-layer chromatography analysis of the EPS hydrolysate. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and pathogenic E. coli K99 and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium were tested for their growth utilizing the EPS from B. sonorensis MJM60135 as the sole carbon source for its possible use as a prebiotic. All the tested LAB exhibited growth in the EPS-supplied medium compared with glucose as carbon source, whereas the pathogenic strains did not grow in the EPS-supplied medium. These findings indicate that the EPS from B. sonorensis MJM60135 has potential application in the bioremediation of hydrocarbons and could also be used as a prebiotic.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2016

In this study, Bacillus licheniformis which has been used as probiotics was isolated from Korean traditional fermented soybean. A total of 69 strains were presumptively identified as B. licheniformis by phenotypic methods. Based on PCR amplification and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the multilocus sequence typing of gyrA and rpoB, followed by phylogenetic analysis was performed. The isolates were distinctly differentiated and found to be closely related to B. amyloliquefaciens, B. subtilis, and B. aerius. The partial 16S rRNA gene sequences of those strains matched those of B. sonorensis (97%) and B. aerius (98%) in the phylogenetic tree. In contrast, multilocus phylogenetic analysis (MLPA) showed that only 61 (86.9%) out of 69 strains were B. licheniformis. The rest of those strains were found to be B. subtilis (5.8%), B. amyloliquefaciens (2.9%), and B. sonorensis (2.9%), respectively. Therefore, our results suggested that since the 16S rRNA gene sequencing alone was not sufficient to compare and discriminate closely related lineages of Bacillus spp., it was required to analyze the MLPA simultaneously to avoid any misleading phenotype-based grouping of these closely related species.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.447-455
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• 2021

Strains of four Bacillus spp. were respectively inoculated into sterilized soybeans and the free amino acid profiles of the resulting cultures were analyzed to discern their metabolic traits. After 30 days of culture, B. licheniformis showed the highest production of serine, threonine, and glutamic acid; B. subtilis exhibited the highest production of alanine, asparagine, glycine, leucine, proline, tryptophan, and lysine. B. velezensis increased the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentration to >200% of that in the control samples. B. sonorensis produced a somewhat similar amino acid profile with B. licheniformis. Comparative genomic analysis of the four Bacillus strains and the genetic profiles of the produced free amino acids revealed that genes involved in glutamate and arginine metabolism were not common to the four strains. The genes gadA/B (encoding a glutamate decarboxylase), rocE (amino acid permease), and puuD (γ-glutamyl-γ-aminobutyrate hydrolase) determined GABA production, and their presence was species-specific. Taken together, B. licheniformis and B. velezensis were respectively shown to have high potential to increase concentrations of glutamic acid and GABA, while B. subtilis has the ability to increase essential amino acid concentrations in fermented soybean foods.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.432-439
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• 2021

Microbial community plays important roles in the culture environment of mud crab Scylla serrata. One of the environmental management efforts for the cultivation of S.serrata is by stabilizing microorganisms involved in nitrogen cycle process. The availability of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in its culture environment under a recirculating system closely relates to the nitrogen cycle, which involves both anaerobic and aerobic bacterial activities. Anaerobically, there are two major nitrogen compound degradation processes, i.e., denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA). This study aimed to identify denitrifying and DNRA bacteria isolated from the recirculating cultivation of S. serrata. The water samples were collected from anaerobic filters called close filter system, which is anaerobically conditioned with the addition of varying physical filter materials in the recirculating mud crab cultures. The results showed that three denitrifying bacterial isolates and seven DNRA bacterial isolates were successfully identified. The phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene of the denitrifying bacteria revealed that HIB_7a had the closest similarity to Stenotrophomonas daejeonensis strain MJ03. Meanwhile, DNRA bacterial isolate of HIB_92 showed a 100% similarity to Bacillus sonorensis strain N3, Bacillus vallismortis strain VITS-17, Bacillus tequlensis strain TY5, Geobacillus sp. strain DB24, Bacillus subtilis strain A1, and Bacillus mojavensis strain SSRAI21. This study provides basic information denitrifying and DNRA bacterial isolates identity which might have the potential to be applied as probiotics in aquaculture systems in order to maintain optimal environmental conditions.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.134-140
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• 2012

Asian dust storms originating in the arid desert of China and Mongolia usually occur from late winter through spring, and more than one million tons of dust per year is transported to the Korean Peninsula by the prevalent westerly winds. We supposed that these dust particles could include bioaerosols and act as carriers of microorganisms. In order to clarify the dynamics of microorganisms moving with these particles, the concentration and composition of microorganisms associated with settled particles were compared between samples collected during Asian dust events and those under non-dust periods. From February to April 2008, settled dust particles were collected at one location in Ulsan using rainfall meter of 200 mm diameter. During this period, there was one Asian dust event in Ulsan. The bacterial concentrations were higher in samples collected during Asian dust event than those under non-dust period, whereas fungal concentrations were rather similar regardless of the Asian dust event. We analyzed 16S rRNA gene sequences of 45 bacterial isolates obtained from the settled particle samples. These isolates belonged to either genus Bacillus or genus Streptococcus and were tentatively identified as B. amyloliquefaciens, B. aryabhattai, B. atrophaeus, B. licheniformis, B. megaterium, B. methylotrophicus, B. pumilus, B. sonorensis, B. subtlis, B. vallismortis, S. epidermidis, and S. succinus. In cases of fungal isolates, genera such as Mucor, Alternaria, Cladosporium, and Aspergillus were tentatively identified from samples collected at both Asian dust and non-Asian dust periods. It appears that endospore-forming bacteria such as Bacillus sp. rather than fungal spores are more likely to be associated with Asian dust particles.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.190-196
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• 2012

In this study, a total of more than 1,000 bacteria, including 739 species of aerobic bacteria, 80 species of urease producing bacteria and 303 species of photosynthetic bacteria, were isolated from red-pepper field soils located in the Gyeongsan Province of the Republic of Korea. Amongst these, 158 species of aerobic bacteria, 70 species of urease producing bacteria and 228 species of photosynthetic bacteria were found to be auxin producing soil bacteria through quantification analysis with the Salkowski test. The latter groupings were then tested for antifungal activities to ${\beta}$-Glucanase and siderophore using CMC congo red agar and CAS blue agar media. In addition, the selected strains were examined for antifungal activity against various phytopathogenic fungi on PDN agar media. Six strains; BCB14, BCB17, C10, HA46, HA143, and HJ5, were noted for their ability to both produce auxin and act as antifungal substances. 16S rDNA sequence comparison analyses of these six strains identified them as Bacillus subtilis BCB14, B. methylotrophicus BCB17, B. methylotrophicus C10, B. sonorensis HA46, B. subtilis HA143, and B. safensis HJ5.