• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.1489-1495
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• 2020

Gotjawal, Jeju Island, Korea is a lava-formed forest with low soil content that is unique in the world. Around 6 percent of the Jeju Iand is classified as a lava-based specific forest. The forest has been gradually disappearing during the last several decades, with approximately one half having been destroyed. Our study undertakes a detailed analysis of the landscape of the lava subsidence, and describes the fungi, vegetation, and soils of Cheongsu Gotjawal. Soil samples from the Gotjawal were collected, and soil analyses as well as pyrosequencing of the internal transcribed spacer gene for fungal communities were performed. Soil fungal communities are represented by Discisedars, Fusarium, Pleochaeta, and Fuscoporia genera. Endemic vegetation of the Gotjawal includes the plants Pleris critical, Machilus japonica, Quercus glauca, Arachniodes aristata, and Neocheiropteris ensata. Results of soil analysis indicate sandy loam with 31.70% organic matter, and 1.36 mg/kg of total nitrogen. This fundamental information can help understand the invaluable and unique nature of Cheongsu Gotjawal, and the necessity for more studies on Gotjawal.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.32-39
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• 2016

Coastal plant species Tetragonia tetragonoides (Pall.) Kuntze native to the Dokdo islands was sampled and then 17 endophytic fungi were purely isolated based on morphological differences. The fungal isolates were characterized by their growth properties under NaCl concentration or pH gradient. Culture filtrates of the 17 fungal isolates were treated to Waito-c rice (WR) seedlings for verifying plant growth-promoting activity. As the results, YH103 strain showed the highest plant growth-promoting activity among them. Phylogenetic analysis of the isolates was done by the maximum likelihood method based on partial internal transcribed spacer region (ITS region: contaning ITS1, 5.8S, and ITS2), beta-tubulin (BenA), and calmodulin (CaM) gene sequences. Chromatographic analysis of the strain YH103 culture filtrate showed the existence of gibberellins ($GA_4$, $GA_7$, $GA_8$, and $GA_{19}$). Finally, the strain YH103 was identified as Aspergillus tubingensis by microscopic observation and molecular analysis and, to our knowledge, this is the first report of GAs producing A. tubingensis.

• Mycobiology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.237-247
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• 2016

Aspergillus (Trichocomaceae, Eurotiales, and Ascomycota) is a genus of well-defined asexual spore-forming fungi that produce valuable compounds such as secondary metabolites and enzymes; however, some species are also responsible for diseases in plants and animals, including humans. To date, 26 Aspergillus species have been reported in Korea, with most species located in terrestrial environments. In our study, Aspergillus species were isolated from mudflats and sea sand along the western and southern coasts of Korea. A total of 84 strains were isolated and identified as 17 Aspergillus species in 11 sections on the basis of both morphological characteristics and sequence analysis of the calmodulin gene (CaM) locus. Commonly isolated species were A. fumigatus (26 strains), A. sydowii (14 strains), and A. terreus (10 strains). The diversity of Aspergillus species isolated from mudflats (13 species) was higher than the diversity of those from sea sand (five species). Four identified species-A. caesiellus, A. montenegroi, A. rhizopodus, and A. tabacinus-are in the first records in Korea. Here, we provide detailed descriptions of the morphological characteristics of these four species.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.375-381
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• 2020

This study assessed the contamination levels of total aerobic bacteria, fungi, coliforms, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus and qualitative analysis of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogens in six raw materials (beef, bean sprout, Chinese cabbage, king oyster mushroom, Korean cabbage, and sweet pumpkin) of home meal replacement (HMR) Shabu-Shabu meal kit distributed in markets. The total aerobic bacteria, fungi, and coliforms were detected as 3.98-6.50, 2.78-3.52, and 2.02-3.28 log CFU/g, respectively. Especially, beef was highly contaminated with total aerobic bacteria (6.50 log CFU/g) and coliforms (3.28 log CFU/g). Over 5 log CFU/g of total aerobic bacteria were also detected in bean sprout, Chinese cabbage, and sweet pumpkin. Less than < 2 log CFU/g of coliforms were detected in all vegetables. E. coli was not detected in any of the six samples (ND: < 1 log CFU/g). S. aureus was detected as 1.33-1.71 log CFU/g in most samples but it was not detected in beef and Korean cabbage. B. cereus was assessed as 1.15-2.01 log CFU/g in most samples but it was not detected in Korean cabbage. L. monocytogenes was qualitatively detected as 25-50% in most samples except for king oyster mushroom. Salmonella spp. were not qualitatively detected in any of the six samples. The microbial contamination levels determined in the current study may be potentially used as the basic data to execute microbial risk assessments of HMR foods such as Shabu-Shabu meal kit.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.255-269
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• 2022

Actinomycetes isolated from marine habitats represent a promising source of bioactive substances. Here, we report on the isolation, identification, productivity enhancement and application of the bioactive compounds of Streptomyces qinglanensis H4. Eighteen marine actinomycetes were isolated and tested for resistance to seven bacterial diseases. Using 16S rRNA sequencing analysis (GenBank accession number MW563772), the most powerful isolate was identified as S. qinglanensis. Although the strain produced active compound(s) against a number of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, it failed to inhibit pathogenic fungi. The obtained inhibition zones were 22.0 ± 1.5, 20.0 ± 1, 16.0 ± 1, 12.0 ± 1, 22.0 ± 1 and 24.0 ± 1 mm against Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Escherichia coli ATCC 19404, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027, Candida albicans ATCC 10231 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC6538, respectively. To maximize bioactive compound synthesis, the Plackett-Burman design was used. The productivity increased up to 0.93-fold, when S. qinglanensis was grown in optimized medium composed of: (g/l) starch 30; KNO₃ 0.5; K₂HPO₄ 0.25; MgSO₄ 0.25; FeSO₄·7H₂O, 0.01; sea water concentration (%) 100; pH 8.0, and an incubation period of 9 days. Moreover, the anticancer activity of S. qinglanensis was tested against two different cell lines: HepG2 and CACO. The inhibition activities were 42.96 and 57.14%, respectively. Our findings suggest that the marine S. qinglanensis strain, which grows well on tailored medium, might be a source of bioactive substances for healthcare companies.

• CELLMED
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.22.1-22.19
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• 2016

The biologically active compounds derived from different natural organisms such as animals, plants, and microorganisms like algae, fungi, bacteria and merine organisms. These natural compounds possess diverse biological activities like anthelmintic, antibacterial, antifungal, antimalarial, antiprotozoal, antituberculosis, and antiviral activities. These biological active compounds were acted by variety of molecular targets and thus may potentially contribute to several pharmacological classes. The synthesis of natural products and their analogues provides effect of structural modifications on the parent compounds which may be useful in the discovery of potential new drug molecules with different biological activities. Natural organisms have developed complex chemical defense systems by repelling or killing predators, such as insects, microorganisms, animals etc. These defense systems have the ability to produce large numbers of diverse compounds which can be used as new drugs. Thus, research on natural products for novel therapeutic agents with broad spectrum activities and will continue to provide important new drug molecules.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1998.11a
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• pp.174-174
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• 1998

Twelve different derivatives were synthesised from chitin/chitosan[1, 2, 3]. Their structures have been determined by different physical methods. The bioassay screening on antifungal and antibacterial activities of all these compounds showed that most of them had significant activity and they can inhibite the growth of some fungi and bacterias : E. coli, S. pyogenes, F. oxysporum, P. oryzae, that caused the spoilage of fresh fruits and foods. Furthermore, all of these compounds are non-toxic (LD$\_$50/>50g/kg) and can be applied for food preservation.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.157-163
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• 2005

The acetate kinase gene from the copepod Paracyclopina nana was cloned. The open reading frame (ORF) was 1,200 bp, and poly(A) signal sequence was located in the end of the ORF. After the molecular phylogenetic analysis of P nana acetate kinase gene, it was revealed that it formed the same branch with that of Aspergillus. Also P. nana acetate kinase showed the difference with those of other prokaryotic microorganisms but showed the same clade with those of fungi. We also confirmed that the recombinant protein of P. nana acetate kinase made approximately 50 kDa after expression of recombinant gene construct in E. coli. This may be useful to compare this protein to those of other organisms in biochemical characteristics.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.285-289
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• 2006

In screening of algicidal bacteria, we isolated a marine bacterium which had potent algicidal effects on harmful algal bloom (HAB) species. This organism was identified as a strain very close to Bacillus subtilisby 16S rRNA gene sequencing. This bacterium, Bacillus sp. SY-1, produces very active algicidal compounds against the harmful dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides. We isolated three algicidal compounds (MS 1056, 1070, 1084) and identified them by amino acid analyses, fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS), infrared spectroscopy (IR), $^1H$, $^{13}C$, and extensive two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D NMR) techniques including $^1H-^{15}N$ HMBC analysis. One of them, MS 1056, contains a b-amino acid residue with an alkyl side chain of $C_{15}$. MS 1056, 1070, and 1084 showed algicidal activities against C. polykrikoides with an $LC_{50}$ (6 hrs) of 2.3, 0.8, $0.6\;{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. These compounds also showed significant algicidal activities against other harmful dinoflagellates and raphidophytes. In contrast, MS 1084 showed no significant growth inhibition against various organisms coexisting with HAB species in natural environments, including bacteria, eukaryotic microalgae, and cyanobacteria, although it inhibited growth of some fungi and yeasts. These observations imply that algicidal bacterium Bacillus sp. SY-1 and its algicidal compounds could play an important role in regulating the onset and development of HABs in the natural environments.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1559-1565
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• 2014

Cellulase and xylanase are main hydrolysis enzymes for the degradation of cellulosic and hemicellulosic biomass, respectively. In this study, our aim was to develop and test the efficacy of a rapid, high-throughput method to screen hydrolytic-enzyme-producing microbes. To accomplish this, we modified the 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) method for microwell plate-based screening. Targeted microbial samples were initially cultured on agar plates with both cellulose and xylan as substrates. Then, isolated colonies were subcultured in broth media containing yeast extract and either cellulose or xylan. The supernatants of the culture broth were tested with our modified DNS screening method in a 96-microwell plate, with a $200{\mu}l$ total reaction volume. In addition, the stability and reliability of glucose and xylose standards, which were used to determine the enzymatic activity, were studied at $100^{\circ}C$ for different time intervals in a dry oven. It was concluded that the minimum incubation time required for stable color development of the standard solution is 20 min. With this technique, we successfully screened 21 and 31 cellulase- and xylanase-producing strains, respectively, in a single experimental trial. Among the identified strains, 19 showed both cellulose and xylan hydrolyzing activities. These microbes can be applied to bioethanol production from cellulosic and hemicellulosic biomass.