• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.342-347
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• 2004

A bacterial strain YC4963 with antifungal activity against Colletotrichum orbiculare, a causal organism of cucumber anthracnose was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Siegesbeckia pubescens Makino in Korea. Based on physiological and biochemical characteristics and 16S ribosomal DNA sequence analysis, the bac­terial strain was identified as Pseudomonas aurantiaca. The bacteria also inhibited mycelial growth of several plant fungal pathogens such as Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani on PDA and 0.1 TSA media. The antifungal activity was found from the culture filtrate of this isolate and the active compound was quantitatively bound to XAD adsorption resin. The antibiotic compound was purified and identified as phenazine-l-carboxylic acid on the basis of combined spectral and chemical analyses data. This is the first report on the production of phenazine-l-carboxylic acid by Pseudomonas aurantiaca.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.244-250
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• 2008

To evaluate bacteriological water quality, samples were taken from drinking water dispensers placed at S company (S-C) and U highschool (U-H) in Ulsan. The medians of heterotrophic plate counts (HPCs) were 53 CFU/ml for the 74 water samples of S-C and 80 CFU/ml for the 36 cold water samples of U-H, and 38% of the S-C and 42% of the U-H samples showed HPC bacterial concentrations higher than 100 CFU/ml. Coliform bacteria were detected from one sample of S-C. To determine the major source of bacterial contamination, water samples were taken daily for $6\sim8$ days from the bottled water containers as well as the faucets of an experimental water dispenser. While the average HPCs in the bottled water containers were 33 CFU/ml for the first and 132 CFU/ml for the 2nd analysis, the HPC concentration in the cold water samples was 1,022 CFU/ml for the 2nd analysis. These results suggest that the majority of bacteria detected in the cold water samples were originated from the biofilms on the surface of water passages within the water dispensers. There was no significant increase in HPC bacterial concentrations within the bottled water container after installation on the water dispenser. We could isolate and tentatively identify 3 genera 6 species of Gram-positive and 7 genera 7 species of Gram-negative bacteria from the plate count agar plates of U-H samples. Among the isolates, 72% were observed as Gram-positive, and Micrococcus spp. was the most abundant with 54% of the total, followed by Sphingomonas paucimobilis with 16%. It appears that most of the HPC bacteria detected in water dispensers originate from indoor airborne bacteria, which may play important roles in the formation of biofilms on the surface of water passages within the water dispensers.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.39-48
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• 2005

Pathogenicity of Vibrio tapetis, the causative bacterium of 'brown ring disease (BRD)' was evaluated in Manila clams (Ruditapes philippinarumi by artificially 0.1 $m\ell$ infection of $1.0\times10^5$cells and $1.0\times10^8$ cells at 20 $^{\circ}C$. A PCR assay based on 16S rRNA to detect the bacteria in clam tissues was established. Accumulative mortality of clams infected with $1.0\times10^7$cells and $1.0\times10^4$ cells per an individual of the bacteria was 67.5% and 7.5%, respectively. However, the deposit of brown pigment in the inner shells by accumulation of chonchiolin was not found. The bacteria were not be able to re-isolate from the infected clams by the conventional agar plate method but were easily detected by PCR assay established in this experiment. In clams artificially infected with 10 species of Vibrio, a 414bp for V. tapetis was detected in PCR assay. The specific band in the clams infected with $1.0\times10^4$cells per an individual of V. tapetis was detected only in gills one day after the infection but never be found in any tissues including gills three days after the infection. In the case of clams infected with $1.0\times10^8$cells per an individual of V. tapetis the specific band was detected in gills and intestine one day after the infection, in all tissues three days after the infection, and then in gills and adductor muscle nine days after the infection. The PCR assay was applied to detect V. tapetis in manila clam, surf clam (Mactra veneriformis), oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and Thomas' rapa whelk (Rapana venosa) taken from Taean and Gochang from April to July 2004. The infection rates were detected to 23.1% and 9.4% in the oyster and surf clam, while manila clam and Thomas' rapa whelk were not found.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.650-656
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• 2004

Oryza grandiglumis (CCDD, 2n=48), one of the wild rice species, has been known to possess fungal-,bacterial-, and insect-resistance against sheath blight, rice blast, bacterial leaf blight and brown plant hopper (Nilaparvata lugens). To rapidly isolate differentially expressed genes responding to fungal and wounding stress, wounding and yeast extract were treated to O. grandiglumis for 24 hrs. Suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) method was used to obtain differentially expressed genes from yeast extract and wounding treated plants. Seven hundreds and seventy six clones were obtained by subcloning PCR product, and colony array and screening were carried out using radio-isotope labeled cDNA probes prepared from the wounding and yeast extract treated plants. One hundred and fifteen colonies were confirmed as true positive ones. Average insert size of the clones were ranged from 400 bp to 700 bp and all the inserts were sequenced. To decide the identity of those clones, sequences were analyzed by sequence homology via GenBank database. The homology search result showed that 68 clones were matched to the genes with known function; 16 were related to primary metabolism, 5 to plant retrotransposons, 5 to defense related metallothionein-like genes. In addition to that, others were matched to various genes with known function in amino acid synthesis and processing, membrane transport, and signal transduction, so on. In northern blot analysis, induced expressions of ogwfi-161, ogwfi-646, ogwfi-663, and ogwfi-695 by wounding and yeast extract treatments were confirmed. The result indicates that SSH method is very efficient for rapid screening of differentially expressed genes.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.673-683
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• 2014

This study was conducted to establish an efficient screening method to identify cucurbits resistant to powdery mildew. Powdery mildew fungus was obtained from a single lesion of infected cucumber leaf in 2010 at Daejeon. The fungus was identified as Podosphaera xanthii race 1 based on morphological characteristics and resistance responses of four melon differentials. Development of powdery mildew caused by the fungal isolate on 34 commercial cultivars of cucumber was investigated at three plant growth stages in a greenhouse. The degree of resistance of cotyledons of each cultivar to the fungus was not correlated with that of whole plant, but powdery mildew occurrence in the first true leaf was highly correlated with resistance at the level of the whole plant. Based on these results, the first true leaf of cucurbit cultivars can be used for screening of resistance to powdery mildew. In addition, variation of resistance of commercial 12 cucumber and 26 melon cultivars to the powdery mildew fungus due to different growing seasons was tested. In the case of cucumber, the resistance response in some cultivars was influenced by growing season. The resistant cultivars showed higher resistance in the warm season than in the cool season. By contrast, the resistant melon cultivars demonstrated strong resistance in all the tested growing seasons. Interestingly, the tested powdery mildew pathogen, a member of P. xanthii race 1, was not pathogenic on seven cultivars of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus). To follow up on this, diverse race 1 isolates of P. xanthii should be collected and tested.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.35-43
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• 2016

In comparison to the numbers of such studies of fish, few studies have been carried out on the immunity, physiology and ecology of abalone, while studies on abalone disease are also extremely rare. Moreover, mass mortality of cultured abalone due to pathogenic bacteria has not been reported in the southern coast of Korea. However, Vibrio-like bacteria have been isolated from dead abalone, which indicates that a review is required in order to determine the cause of abalone mortality. Use of an antimicrobial agent to minimize the damage caused by disease in abalone farms is common, but the therapeutic effects are insignificant. Demand for probiotics has increased, but research on the development of probiotics for use in abalone culture is very rare. Therefore, the present study isolated KC16-2 from fermented kimchi soup and investigated the characteristics of the isolate as a candidate probiotic bacterium in abalone. KC16-2 was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (B. amyloliquefaciens KC16-2) based on its biochemical properties and 16S rRNA gene sequence. B. amyloliquefaciens KC16-2 showed inhibitory effects against the growth of various vibrios in vitro, and kept the numbers constant until four days after inoculation in marine water at a temperature of $15{\sim}25^{\circ}C$, indicating the possible use of KC16-2 as a probiotic, except in the winter. The growth of KC16-2 was inhibited by bile salt, but the numbers increased over time suggesting the bacteria were still alive in the abalone's digestive tract. Abalone fed with a diet including KC16-2 for 12 weeks showed good growth, but showed no significant differences from the control group. However, the mortality of the abalone supplied the probiotic diet was reduced to half that of the control group in a challenge test with Vibrio tubiashii. Therefore, we suggest that B. amyloliquefaciens KC16-2 could be used as a probiotic bacterium for control of the mortality of abalone caused by opportunistic pathogenic vibrios.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.225-232
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• 2017

This study aimed to evaluate several biological activities of Pharbitis nil and to isolate an anticancer agent from its methanol extract. Pharbitis nil seeds were extracted with methanol (PNM). Then, PNM was fractionated into solvent layers such as ethyl acetate fraction (PNE), butanol fraction (PNB), and water fraction (PNW). The biological activities of the fractions were analyzed for tyrosinase inhibition, lipase inhibition, DPPH-free radical scavenging, and cell growth inhibition. PNM showed strong growth inhibition of prostate cancer PC-3 cells. PNM was subjected to Diaion HP-20 and eluted stepwise with 50%, 80%, and 100% methanol. Then, for activity-guided fraction, each fraction was analyzed for growth inhibition of prostate cancer PC-3 cells by using an MTT assay. Because the 100% fraction showed significantly strong inhibitory activity, the fraction was further separated in the reverse phase C18, which was eluted with 80% and 90% methanol. The 90% fraction was further subjected to Sephadex LH-20 using a mobile solvent of 100% methanol. Finally, the compound PN was partially purified for HPLC analysis. PN showed cell growth inhibitory activity and induced the apoptosis and cell cycle arrest of prostate cancer PC-3 cells, as measured by flow cytometry. The results together suggest that Pharbitis nil possesses various biological activities, especially the inhibitory activity for the proliferation of prostate cancer PC-3 cells, suggesting the possibility of its use as an anticancer agent.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.141-147
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• 2012

This work describes the characteristics of $Malassezia$ $pachydermatis$ isolated from dog ear canals and the effect of essential oils on the growth of this organism. Sterile cotton swabs were used to collect specimens from the external ear canal and culture tests were performed to detect the population size of $Malassezia$ yeast. Using three different isolation media, included Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) to isolate common $M.$ $pachydermatis$, and SDA supplemented with olive oil (SDAO) and Leeming's medium (LM) to detect lipophilic yeast, $Malassezia$ spp were isolated from 14 of 18 dogs (77.8%); isolation rates were 33.3% in SDA, 72.2% in SDAO and 66.7% in LM media. All $Malassezia$ spp isolates were identified as $M.$ $pachydermatis$ according to results of PCR amplification, but gross colony morphology and SDA growth rates suggested four different subtypes. Large (LC) and medium colony (MC) types respectively describe large colony (diameter > 3 mm) and medium colony (around 2 mm) after 72 hour incubation, and small (SC) type refers to smaller colony (< 1 mm) even after 5 days incubation; lipid dependent colonies did not grow onto SDA. Large Colony type strains were isolated from 4, 11, and 11 samples, MC type strains from 2, 3 and 1 and SC type strains from 1, 2 and 1 in SDA, SDAO and LM, respectively. Lipid-dependent $M.$ $pachydermatis$ (Lipo) were isolated from 3 samples each in SDAO and LM. Anti-$M.$ $pachydermatis$ activity testing was done using disc-diffusion assays and well diffusion tests. Most essential oils inhibited the growth of $M.$ $pachydermatis$ in a range from 0.5% to 1.0% of essential oils. MIC90 and MIC50 were variable depending upon the nature of essential oils. Thyme oil was found to be highly effective in inhibiting the growth of $M.$ $pachydermatis$ in a range from 0.125% to 0.0625% while marjoram and then tea tree oil exhibited lower inhibitory capacity.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.195-207
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• 2006

Stem cells are the primordial, initial cells which usually divide asymmetrically giving rise to on the one hand self-renewals and on the other hand progenitor cells with potential for differentiation. Zygote (fertilized egg), with totipotency, deserves the top-ranking stem cell - he totipotent stem cell (TSC). Both the ICM (inner cell mass) taken from the 6 days-old human blastocyst and ESC (embryonic stem cell) derived from the in vitro cultured ICM have slightly less potency for differentiation than the zygote, and are termed pluripotent stem cells. Stem cells in the tissues and organs of fetus, infant, and adult have highly reduced potency and committed to produce only progenitor cells for particular tissues. These tissue-specific stem cells are called multipotent stem cells. These tissue-specific/committed multipotent stem cells, when placed in altered environment other than their original niche, can yield cells characteristic of the altered environment. These findings are certainly of potential interest from the clinical, therapeutic perspective. The controversial terminology 'somatic stem cell plasticity' coined by the stem cell community seems to have been proved true. Followings are some of the recent knowledges related to the stem cell. Just as the tissues of our body have their own multipotent stem cells, cancerous tumor has undifferentiated cells known as cancer stem cell (CSC). Each time CSC cleaves, it makes two daughter cells with different fate. One is endowed with immortality, the remarkable ability to divide indefinitely, while the other progeny cell divides occasionally but lives forever. In the cancer tumor, CSC is minority being as few as 3-5% of the tumor mass but it is the culprit behind the tumor-malignancy, metastasis, and recurrence of cancer. CSC is like a master print. As long as the original exists, copies can be made and the disease can persist. If the CSC is destroyed, cancer tumor can't grow. In the decades-long cancer therapy, efforts were focused on the reducing of the bulk of cancerous growth. How cancer therapy is changing to destroy the origin of tumor, the CSC. The next generation of treatments should be to recognize and target the root cause of cancerous growth, the CSC, rather than the reducing of the bulk of tumor, Now the strategy is to find a way to identify and isolate the stem cells. The surfaces of normal as well as the cancer stem cells are studded with proteins. In leukaemia stem cell, for example, protein CD 34 is identified. In the new treatment of cancer disease it is needed to look for protein unique to the CSC. Blocking the stem cell's source of nutrients might be another effective strategy. The mystery of sternness of stem cells has begun to be deciphered. ESC can replicate indefinitely and yet retains the potential to turn into any kind of differentiated cells. Polycomb group protein such as Suz 12 repress most of the regulatory genes which, activated, are turned to be developmental genes. These protein molecules keep the ESC in an undifferentiated state. Many of the regulator genes silenced by polycomb proteins are also occupied by such ESC transcription factors as Oct 4, Sox 2, and Nanog. Both polycomb and transcription factor proteins seem to cooperate to keep the ESC in an undifferentiated state, pluripotent, and self-renewable. A normal prion protein (PrP) is found throughout the body from blood to the brain. Prion diseases such as mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) are caused when a normal prion protein misfolds to give rise to PrP$^{SC}$ and assault brain tissue. Why has human body kept such a deadly and enigmatic protein? Although our body has preserved the prion protein, prion diseases are of rare occurrence. Deadly prion diseases have been intensively studied, but normal prion problems are not. Very few facts on the benefit of prion proteins have been known so far. It was found that PrP was hugely expressed on the stem cell surface of bone marrow and on the cells of neural progenitor, PrP seems to have some function in cell maturation and facilitate the division of stem cells and their self-renewal. PrP also might help guide the decision of neural progenitor cell to become a neuron.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.526-535
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• 1992

Background: The oxygen radicals released by alveolar macrophages contribute to killing of microorganisms including M. tuberculosis. Macrophages are "primrd" for enhanced oxygen radical release by macrophage activator like IFN-$\gamma$ and LPS, which do not themselves cause release of oxygen radicals. Actural production of oxygen radicals is "triggered" by phagocytosis or by exposure to chemical stimuli like PMA or FMLP. There has been debates about the priming effect of alveolar macro phages because they are exposed to usual environmental particles unlike blood monocytes. Therefore we examined priming effect of IFN-$\gamma$ in human alveolar macrophages comparing with that in blood monocytes and rat alveolar macrophages. And we observed the alterations of superoxide production in both human and rat alveolar macrophages after exposure to M. tuberculosis H37Ra bacilli itself and its lysate. Methods: Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was processed to isolate alveolar macrophages by adherence and the adherent cells were removed by cold shock method. After exposure to M. tuberculosis H37Ra strain, alveolar macrophages were incubated for 24 hours with IFN-$\gamma$. The amount of superoxide production stimulated with PMA was measured by ferricytochrome C reduction method. Results: 1) The priming effect in human alveolar macrophages was not observed even with high concentration of IFN-$\gamma$ while it was observed in blood monocytes and rat alveolar macrophages. 2) Both human and rat alveolar macrophages exposed to avirulent H37Ra strain showed triggering of superoxide release and similar results were shown with the exposure to H37Ra lysate. Conclusion: The priming effect in human alveolar macrophages is not observed because of its usual exposure to environmental particles and avirulent H37Ra strain does not inhibit the activation of alveolar macrophages.