• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.739-749
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• 2013

The seasonal and spatial diversity of picocyanobacteria (Pcy) in lakes of the Great Mazurian Lakes (GLM) system was examined by DGGE analysis of molecular markers derived from the 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of the ribosomal operon and the phycocyanin operon (cpcBA-IGS). The study of nine lakes, ranging from mesotrophy to hypereutrophy, demonstrated seasonal variance of Pcy. The richness and Shannon diversity index calculated on the basis of both markers were higher in spring and lower in early and late summer. No statistically significant relationships were found between the markers and trophic status of the studied lakes or Pcy abundance. There were, however, statistically significant relationships between the diversity indices and sampling time. The analysis pointed to a different distribution of the two markers. The ITS marker exhibited more unique sequences in time and space, whereas a greater role for common and ubiquitous sequences was indicated by the cpcBA-IGS data. Examination of the Pcy community structure demonstrated that communities were grouped in highly similar clusters according to sampling season/time rather than to the trophic status of the lake. Our results suggest that time is more important than trophic status in shaping the diversity and structure of Pcy communities. The seasonal changes in picocyanobacteria and differences in diversity and community structures are discussed in the context of well-established ecological hypotheses: the PEG model, intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH), and horizontal gene transfer (HGT).

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.442-450
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• 2015

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of Psy-2A-CrtI (PAC), a genetically modified (GM) rice with enhanced ${\beta}$-carotene, on the soil microbial community. The soil used to cultivate GM rice and its wild-type, Nakdong, was analyzed for population density, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and pyrosequencing. It was found that the bacterial, fungal and actinomycetes population densities of the PAC soils were within the range of those of the non-GM rice cultivar, Nakdong. The DGGE banding patterns of the GM and non-GM soils were also similar, suggesting that the bacterial community structures were stable within a given month and were unaffected by the presence of a GM plant. The pyrosequencing result showed a temporal difference in microorganism taxon and distribution ratio, but no significant difference between GM and non-GM was found. The persistence of the transgene DNA in the plant and surrounding soil were investigated for different time periods. There were differences in the persistence within the plant depending on the gene, but they could not be detected after 5 weeks. Also the transgenes were not detected in the surrounding soil. These results indicate that soil microbial communities are unaffected by the cultivation of a PAC rice within the experimental time frame.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.37.1-37.14
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• 2021

Background: Ticks are one of the most common external parasites in dogs, and are associated with the transmission of a number of major zoonoses, which result in serious harm to human health and even death. Also, the increasing number of pet dogs and pet owners in China has caused concern regarding human tick-borne illnesses. Accordingly, studies are needed to gain a complete understanding of the bacterial composition and diversity of the ticks that parasitize dogs. Objectives: To date, there have been relatively few reports on the analysis of the bacterial community structure and diversity in ticks that parasitize dogs. The objective of this study was to investigate the microbial composition and diversity of parasitic ticks of dogs, and assessed the effect of tick sex and geographical region on the bacterial composition in two tick genera collected from dogs in China. Methods: A total of 178 whole ticks were subjected to a 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) next generation sequencing analysis. The Illumina MiSeq platform targeting the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was used to characterize the bacterial communities of the collected ticks. Sequence analysis and taxonomic assignment were performed using QIIME 2 and the GreenGene database, respectively. After clustering the sequences into taxonomic units, the sequences were quality-filtered and rarefied. Results: After pooling 24 tick samples, we identified a total of 2,081 operational taxonomic units, which were assigned to 23 phyla and 328 genera, revealing a diverse bacterial community profile. The high, moderate and low prevalent taxa include 46, 101, and 182 genera, respectively. Among them, dominant taxa include environmental bacterial genera, such as Psychrobacter and Burkholderia. Additionally, some known tick-associated endosymbionts were also detected, including Coxiella, Rickettsia, and Ricketssiella. Also, the potentially pathogenic genera Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas were detected in the tick pools. Moreover, our preliminary study found that the differences in microbial communities are more dependent on the sampling location than tick sex in the tick specimens collected from dogs. Conclusions: The findings of this study support the need for future research on the microbial population present in ticks collected from dogs in China.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.1301-1313
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• 2021

This study investigated the effects of applying cellulase and starch on the fermentation characteristics and microbial communities of Napier grass silage after ensiling for 30 d. Three groups were studied: No additives (control); added cellulase (Group 1); and added cellulase and starch (Group 2). The results showed that the addition of cellulase and starch decreased the crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and pH significantly (p < 0.05) and increased water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content (p < 0.05). The addition of additives in two treated groups exerted a positive effect on the lactic acid (LA) content, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) population, and lactic acid / acetic acid (LA/AA) ratio, even the changes were not significant (p > 0.05). Calculation of Flieg's scores indicated that cellulase application increased silage quality to some extent, while the application of cellulase and starch together significantly improved fermentation (p < 0.05). Compared with the control, both additive groups showed increased microbial diversity after ensiling with an abundance of favorable bacteria including Firmicutes and Weissella, and the bacteria including Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Acinetobacter increased as well. For alpha diversity analysis, the combined application of cellulase and starch in Group 2 gave significant increases in all indices (p < 0.05). The study demonstrated that the application of cellulase and starch can increase the quality of Napier grass preserved as silage.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.181-193
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• 2023

Distribution changes in microalgae communities were studied in the Nakdonggang River at two sampling stations (St.1 Gyeongcheongyo Bridge (GB) and St.2 Daedong Wharf (DW)) at monthly intervals from January 2021 to November 2021. A total of 83 taxa included 82 species, 1 forma, belonging to 49 genera, 32 families, 21 orders, and 8 classes. The most important groups were Bacillariophyta and Chlorophyta. The number of species ranged from 5 to 24 in GB, and from 9 to 21 taxa in DW. The contribution of Bacillariophyta to the total species richness was the highest during all survey periods, and Chlorophyta yielded the next highest value in the study area. The dominant taxa were Aulacoseira ambigua, A. ambigua f. japonica, and Ulnaria acus in this study. Cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) analysis based on Bray- Curtis similarity identified 4 major groups, which corresponded to microalgae assemblages and their characteristic species. Correlation was analyzed through the CCA analysis. It was found that there was a correlation between the microalgae and environmental factors. It was revealed that the divided groups were distinguished because of the differences by the survey period. Therefore, seasonal change was judged as a major factor affecting the distribution of microalgae communities.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.1-13
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• 2024

This study investigated the hydrogeochemical and microbiological characteristics of freshwater on Ulleung Island, a volcanic island in the Ulleung Basin on the East Coast of Korea. The shallow groundwater (CSW, NRGW) and the surface water (SISW) samples are classified as Na-HCO₃ type, reflecting an alkaline rock type and an oxidizing environment due to the influence of a highly permeable pyroclastic rock layer. In contrast, the deep groundwater sample (DMW) is classified as Ca-HCO₃ type, suggesting the influence of deep-sourced carbon dioxide and reducing conditions. Microbial communities in the water samples are generally dominated by Proteobacteria, with the relative abundance of major genera varying depending on water quality and environmental conditions. Network analysis reveals the ecological characteristics of microbial communities adapted to specific environments. The presence of pathogenic genera in the shallow groundwater suggests potential groundwater contamination, necessitating appropriate management to ensure its use as drinking water or domestic water. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the ecological characteristics of Ulleung Island's groundwater resources and can inform future groundwater management strategies.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.61-71
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• 2024

Next-generation sequencing of shiitake, oyster, and king oyster spent mushroom substrates collected from Chun-cheon, Yeo-ju, Hong-cheon, Gwang-ju, Ui-ryeong, and A-san was performed. Metabarcoding analysis using amplicon sequence variants was performed to confirm the microbial content ratio in the medium after harvesting the collected mushrooms; the ratio of the contents of various microorganisms in the medium after mushroom harvest varied depending on the materials added to produce the mushroom medium. The WPGMA analysis of the similarity between microbial communities, which was based on the β-diversity, confirmed that the microbial communities in the substrates of the different mushroom varieties were similar.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.1464-1474
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• 2024

Soil extracellular enzyme plays a vital role in changing soil nitrogen (N) mineralization of rice field. However, the effects of soil extracellular enzyme activities (EEA) and microbial community composition response to N mineralization of rice field under short-term tillage treatment needed to be further explored. In this study, we investigated the impact of short-term (8-year) tillage practices on rhizosphere soil N transformation rate, soil enzyme activities, soil microbial community structure, and the N mineralization function gene abundances in double-cropping rice field in southern China. The experiment consisted of four tillage treatments: rotary tillage with crop straw input (RT), conventional tillage with crop straw input (CT), no-tillage with crop straw retention (NT), and rotary tillage with all crop straw removed as a control (RTO). The results indicated that the rhizosphere soil N transformation rate in paddy field under the NT and RTO treatments was significantly decreased compared to RT and CT treatments. In comparison to the NT and RTO treatments, soil protease, urease, β-glucosaminidase, and arginase activities were significantly improved by the CT treatment, as were abundances of soil sub, npr, and chiA with CT and RT treatments. Moreover, the overall diversity of soil bacterial communities in NT and RTO treatments was significantly lower than that in RT and CT treatments. Soil chitinolytic and bacterial ureolytic communities were also obviously changed under a combination of tillage and crop straw input practices.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.474-481
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• 2013

Understanding the microbial community structure of agricultural soils is important for better soil management in order to improve soil quality. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis has been popularly used in determining the microbial community structure in different ecosystems. The microbial community structure of paddy soil under long-term fertilizer treatments was investigated after 45 years using PLFA analysis. Treatments were control (no fertilization, Con), compost (COM), NPK, NPK+compost (NPKC), PK, NK, and NP. Soil chemical properties were mainly affected by the addition of compost and inorganic P fertilizer. Total nitrogen and organic matter contents were significantly higher in treatments with compost while available $P_2O_5$ and exchangeable calcium were significantly higher in treatments with added inorganic P fertilizer. It was found that microbial communities were responsive to the different fertilizer treatments. PLFA results showed that the soils were dominated by gram-negative bacteria, followed by the actinomycetes, then gram-positive bacteria, and fungi. Principal component analysis of the soil chemical properties and PLFA composition proved to be a more reliable tool because it was more responsive to the changes in soil chemical properties.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.51-65
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• 2008

The increasing demand for energy in the near future has created strong motivation for environmentally clean alternative energy resources. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have opened up new ways of utilizing renewable energy sources. MFCs are devices that convert the chemical energy in the organic compounds to electrical energy through microbial catalysis at the anode under anaerobic conditions, and the reduction of a terminal electron acceptor, most preferentially oxygen, at the cathode. Due to the rapid advances in MFC-based technology over the last decade, the currently achievable MFC power production has increased by several orders of magnitude, and niche applications have been extended into a variety of areas. Newly emerging concepts with alternative materials for electrodes and catalysts as well as innovative designs have made MFCs promising technologies. Aerobic bacteria can also be used as cathode catalysts. This is an encouraging finding because not only biofouling on the cathode is unavoidable in the prolonged-run MFCs but also noble catalysts can be substituted with aerobic bacteria. This article discusses some of the recent advances in MFCs with an emphasis on the performance, materials, microbial community structures and applications beyond electricity generation.