• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.334-341
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• 2011

The free residual chlorine of tap water samples, collected from 266 faucets on the water pipe network in Daegu City, was between 0.1 and 0.79 mg/L. On microorganic tests, general bacteria and the coliform goup were not detected and thus the tap water was turned out to be fit to drink. In particular, samples of which free residual chlorine was 0.1 mg/L and over were cultured in R2A agar media at $25^{\circ}C$ for 7 days, and as a result heterotrophic bacteria were detected in 65.9% of samples; (1). The closer tap water got to the faucet from the stilling basin, the lower residual chlorine concentration became but the more the bacterial count became. And, more bacteria were detected in the R2A agar medium than in the PCA medium. (2). In the case of separated strains, most colonies were reddish or yellowish. 16S rRNA sequence was identified as Methylobacterium sp. and Williamsia sp., and yellow strain was identified as Sphingomonas sp., Sphingobium sp., Novosphingobium sp., Blastomonas sp., Rhodococcus sp. and Microbacterium sp. White strain was identified as Staphylococcus sp. (3). Sterilized tap water in polyethylene bottles was inoculated with separated strain and was left as it was for 2 months. As a result, bio-film was observed in tap water inoculated with Methylobacterium sp. and Sphingomonas sp. It was found that heterotrophic bacteria increased when free residual chlorine was removed from tap water in the water pipe network. Thus, there is a need to determine a base value for heterotrophic bacteria in order to check the cleanliness of tap water in the water pipe network.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.118-123
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• 2014

It was confirmed that malodor connected with an air-conditioner in an automobile is caused by microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) produced by microorganisms getting into an air-conditioner when it is operating. Chemicals such as hydrogen sulfide, dimethyl sulfide, nbutyric acid, n-valeric acid, iso-valeric acid, n-octanol and toluene were detected above the odor threshold inside the automobile. The characteristics of a funky odor in the air blown into the automobile were due to detected sulfur compounds (hydrogen sulfide and dimethyl sulfide). Dimethyl sulfide was produced by microorganisms such as Aspergillus versicolor, Methylobacterium aquaticum, Herbaspirillum sp. and Acidovorax sp. In addition, the characteristics of a sour odor in the air blown into the automobile were due to detected organic acids (n-butyric acid, n-valeric acid and iso-valeric acid). N-valeric acid and iso-valeric acid were generated from Aspergillus versicolor, while iso-valeric acid was produced by Methylobacterium aquaticum. In addition, the odor intensity of the air blown into the automobile was affected by the concentration of detected sulfur compounds and organic acids. On the other hand, it is estimated that chemicals such as hydrogen sulfide, n-octanol and n-butyric acid detected in the air blown into the automobile were produced by non-identified species of microorganisms.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.71-75
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• 1996

A bacterium, capable of the degradation of trimethylamine(TMA), dimethylamine, and methylamine, was isolated from an enrichment culture on TMA basal mineral medium. The isolate was identified as Methylobacterium some carbon-carbon bonds compounds like malate, succinate, betaine. When the strain was immobilized to earthworm cast, the biofilter could remove the gaseous TMA of SV $30h^{-1}$, concentration of 120ppm, continuously.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.212-219
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• 2016

Forty-nine pigments were extracted from the collections of 106 pigment producing bacteria from the plant rhizosphere soil. Antibacterial activity test was performed in the subjects of the extracted pigments with plant pathogenic bacteria including Xanthomonas axonopodis and Xanthomonas campestris, and with plant pathogenic fungi including Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum acutatum, and Fusarium oxysporum. The yellow pigment by Chryseobacterium sp. RBR9 and the red pigment by of Methylobacterium sp. RI13 showed the antibacterial activities against Xanthomonas axonopodis and Xanthomonas campestris. The violet pigment by Collimonas sp. DEC-B5 showed the antibacterial activity as well as the antifungal activities against Botrytis cinerea and Fusarium oxysporum. Especially, the violet pigment inhibited the growth of Botrytis cinerea more than 65% at MIC $20{\mu}M$. Upon the HPLC analysis result for the isolation of pigment with antifungal activity, violacein (91.6%) and deoxyviolacein (8.4%) were isolated for the pigment by Collimonas sp. DEC-B5. The production amount of the pigment was increased more than 10 times higher when D-mannitol 1.5% and yeast extract 0.2% were added as the nitrogen source to SCB medium. This study suggests that produced violacein by Collimonas sp. DEC-B5 will be effective to control strawberry gray-mold rot fungi by its preventive activity.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 1989

A pink-pigmented facultative methylotrophic bacterium, Methylobacterium sp. strain SY1, was isolated from soil through methanol-enrichment culture technique. The isolate was gram-negative, slightly curved rod, and motile by a single polarly inserted flagellum. The colony was smooth, bright pink, and slimy. The guanine plus cytosine content of the KNA was 66%. The cell was obigately aerobic and exhibited both catalase and oxidase activities. Carotenoid pigment and poly-$\beta$-hydroxybutyrate were present. It was found to have three kinds of plasmid with molecular weights 45,000, 38,500 and 23,000. Growth with methanol(0.5%) was fast ($t_{d}$=6.5h) and was optimal at $30^{\circ}C$ and at pH 7.0. The isolate could grow on several sugars, organic acids, amino acids, amines, and alcohols in addition to the methanol. Methanol was found to be assimilated through the serine pathway.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.392-400
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• 2005

The genes encoding the DNA gyrase A (GyrA) and B subunits (GyrB) of Methylovorus sp. strain SS1 were cloned and sequenced. gyrA and gyrB coded for proteins of 846 and 799 amino acids with calculated molecular weights of 94,328 and 88,714, respectively, and complemented Escherichia coli gyrA and gyrB temperature sensitive (ts) mutants. To analyze the role of type II topoisomerases in the intrinsic quinolone resistance of methylotrophic bacteria, the sequences of the quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDRs) in the A subunit of DNA gyrase and the C subunit (ParC) of topoisomerase IV (Topo IV) of Methylovorus sp. strain SS1, Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 NCIB 9133, Methylobacillus sp, strain SK1 DSM 8269, and Methylophilus methylotrophus NCIB 10515 were determined. The deduced amino acid sequences of the QRDRs of the ParCs in the four methylotrophic bacteria were identical to that of E. coli ParC. The sequences of the QRDR in GyrA were also identical to those in E. coli GyrA except for the amino acids at positions 83, 87, or 95. The $Ser^{83}$ to Thr substitution in Methylovorus sp. strain SS1, and the $Ser^{83}$ to Leu and $Asp^{87}$ to Asn substitutions in the three other methylotrophs, agreed well with the minimal inhibitory concentrations of quinolones in the four bacteria, suggesting that these residues play a role in the intrinsic susceptibility of methylotrophic bacteria to quinolones.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.370-378
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• 2007

A superoxide dismutase was purified 62-fold in seven steps to homogeneity from Methylobacillus sp. strain SK1, an obligate methanol-oxidizing bacterium, with a yield of 9.6%. The final specific activity was 4,831 units per milligram protein as determined by an assay based on a 50% decrease in the rate of cytochrome c reduction. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was estimated to be 44,000. Sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis revealed two identical subunits of molecular weight 23,100. The isoelectric point of the purified enzyme was found to be 4.4. Maximum activity of the enzyme was measured at pH 8. The enzyme was stable at pH range from 6 to 8 and at high temperature. The enzyme showed an absorption peak at 280 nm with a shoulder at 292 nm. Hydrogen peroxide and sodium azide, but not sodium cyanide, was found to inhibit the purified enzyme. The enzyme activity in cell-free extracts prepared from cells grown in manganese-rich medium, however, was not inhibited by hydrogen peroxide but inhibited by sodium azide. The activity in cell extracts from cells grown in iron-rich medium was found to be highly sensitive to hydrogen peroxide and sodium azide. One mol of native enzyme was found to contain 1.1 g-atom of iron and 0.7 g-atom of manganese. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme was Ala-Tyr-Thr-Leu-Pro-Pro-Leu-Asn-Tyr-Ala-Tyr. The superoxide dismutase of Methylobacillus sp. strain SK1 was found to have antigenic sites identical to those of Methylobacillus glycogenes enzyme. The enzyme, however, shared no antigenic sites with Mycobacterium sp. strain JC1, Methylovorus sp. strain SS1, Methylobacterium sp. strain SY1, and Methylosinus trichosproium enzymes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.437-447
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• 2012

Natural and beneficial associations between plants and bacteria have demonstrated potential commercial application for several agricultural crops. The sunflower has acquired increasing importance in Brazilian agribusiness owing to its agronomic characteristics such as the tolerance to edaphoclimatic variations, resistance to pests and diseases, and adaptation to the implements commonly used for maize and soybean, as well as the versatility of the products and by-products obtained from its cultivation. A study of the cultivable bacteria associated with two sunflower cultivars, using classical microbiological methods, successfully obtained isolates from different plant tissues (roots, stems, florets, and rhizosphere). Out of 57 plant-growth-promoting isolates obtained, 45 were identified at the genus level and phylogenetically positioned based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing: 42 Bacillus (B. subtilis, B. cereus, B. thuringiensis, B. pumilus, B. megaterium, and Bacillus sp.) and 3 Methylobacterium komagatae. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis showed a broad diversity among the Bacillus isolates, which clustered into 2 groups with 75% similarity and 13 subgroups with 85% similarity, suggesting that the genetic distance correlated with the source of isolation. The isolates were also analyzed for certain growth-promoting activities. Auxin synthesis was widely distributed among the isolates, with values ranging from 93.34 to 1653.37 ${\mu}M$ auxin per ${\mu}g$ of protein. The phosphate solubilization index ranged from 1.25 to 3.89, and siderophore index varied from 1.15 to 5.25. From a total of 57 isolates, 3 showed an ability to biologically fix atmospheric nitrogen, and 7 showed antagonism against the pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. The results of biochemical characterization allowed identification of potential candidates for the development of biofertilizers targeted to the sunflower crop.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.279-285
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• 2015

This study studied samples taken off surfaces at three sites (Unit chairs, light handles, cuspidors) of 19 dental hospitals and 28 clinics located in Gyeonggi-do and Incheon, South Korea. The bacterial contamination levels of surfaces were $44.82{\times}10^3CFU/mL$ in cuspidors, higher than in unit chairs ($5.47{\times}10^3CFU/mL$) and light handles ($16.28{\times}10^3CFU/mL$). The values were statistically higher at dental hospitals than at dental clinics, the greater number of patients being associated with the higher bacterial cell count in the cuspidors. The results of identifying the strains isolated purely from surfaces at dental clinic showed Gram positive 47.3% and Gram negative 52.7%. Among Gram positive, the most numberous bacteria were Micrococcus luteus (10.9%), Bacillus pumilus (3.6%), and Staphylococcus aureus (3.6%). Among Gram negative, the most numberous bacteria were Acinetobacter ursingii (5.5%), Brevundimonas diminuta (4.5%), Chryseobacterium (Flavo.) indologenes (CDC IIb) (4.5%), and Methylobacterium sp. (4.5%). This study measures the level of bacterial contamination and identifies the strains isolated in dental clinics. It recognizes the importance of infection control, and the results of the study may be considered as the basis for establishing specific plans for prevention of infection.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.141-148
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• 2015

The presence of phenols in treated palm oil mill effluent (POME) is an environmental concern due to their phytotoxicity and antimicrobial activity. In this study, phenol-degrading bacteria, Methylobacterium sp. NP3 and Acinetobacter sp. PK1 were immobilized on oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFBs) for removal of phenols in the treated POME. The bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPS) were responsible for cell adhesion to the EFBs during the immobilization process. These immobilized bacteria could effectively remove up to 5,000 mg/L phenol in a carbon free mineral medium (CFMM) with a greater degradation efficiency and rate than that with suspended bacteria. To increase the efficiency of the immobilized bacteria, three approaches, namely activation, acclimation, and combined activation and acclimation were applied. The most convenient and efficient strategy was found when the immobilized bacteria were activated in a CFMM containing phenol for 24 h before biotreatment of the treated POME. These activated immobilized bacteria were able to remove about 63.4% of 33 mg/L phenols in the treated POME, while non-activated and/or acclimated immobilized bacteria could degrade only 35.0%. The activated immobilized bacteria could be effectively reused for at least ten application cycles and stored for 4 weeks at $4^{\circ}C$ with the similar activities. In addition, the utilization of the abundant EFBs gives value-added to the palm oil mill wastes and is environmentally friendly thus making it is attractive for practical application.