• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.52-59
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• 2012

BACKGROUND: Cultivation of genetically modified(GM) crops rapidly has increased in the global agricultural area. Among those, herbicide resistant GM crops are reported to have occupied 89.3 million hectares in 2010. However, cultivation of GM crops in the field evoked the concern of the possibility of gene transfer from transgenic plant into soil microorganisms. In our present study, we have assessed the effects of herbicide-resistant GM Chinese cabbage on the surrounding soil microbial community. METHODS AND RESULTS: The effects of a herbicide-resistant genetically modified (GM) Chinese cabbage on the soil microbial community in its field of growth were assessed using a conventional culture technique and also culture-independent molecular methods. Three replicate field plots were planted with a single GM and four non-GM Chinese cabbages (these included a non-GM counterpart). The soils around these plants were compared using colony counting, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and a species diversity index assessment during the growing periods. The bacterial, fungal and actinomycetes population densities of the GM Chinese cabbage soils were found to be within the range of those of the non-GM Chinese cabbage soils. 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 similarities of the bacterial species diversity indices were consistent with this finding. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that soil microbial communities are unaffected by the cultivation of herbicide-resistant GM Chinese cabbage within the experimental time frame.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.341-347
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• 2009

Soil microbial community has been changed after the treatment of anaerobic fermentation using wheat bran or rice bran was applied to the soil. In the dilution plate technique, the number of anaerobic bacteria and fungi was higher in rice bran-treated soil than in non and wheat bran-treated soil, but of yeast was higher in wheat bran-treated soil than in non and rice bran-treated soil. Specially, the fungi were not detected in the wheat bran-treated soil. Identified by 16S rDNA sequencing, the number of aerobic bacteria was similar in all treatments, the dominant bacteria was the genus Bacillus. In the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) technique, both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria change slightly in all treatments for 20 days of fermentation process but, after 20day, increased rapidly in wheat or rice bran-treated soil. In conclusion, the microbial communities structure was dramatically changed after the treatment of wheat or rice bran to soil.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.349-362
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• 1999

To understand the role of protozoa in the early formation of microbial fouling community, the studies on the formation of microbial film, the succession of microbial fouling communities, and the grazing pressure on bacteria population in microbial film were carried out in the laboratory, Inchon outer port and Inchon inner harbour. Bacteria and heterotrophic flagellates formed primary microbial film on the aluminum surface within 6 hours and oligotrich ciliates were observed 2 cells $mm^{-2}$ on the same surface at 9 hours in Inchon inner harbour which had physically stagnant condition. The larvaes of Balanus albicostatus which were dominant meiobenthos in Inchon coastal area attached on the glass surface at the first day of experiment. Heterotrophic flagellates showed maximum abundance of 465 cells $mm^{-2}$ at the 13rd day and ciliates showed maximum abundance of 63 cells $mm^{-2}$ at the 11st day in the Inchon inner harbour. In the Inchon outer port which opens to the outer sea, the maximum abundance of protozoa occurred at early phase, but not so many. The dominant heterotrophic flagellates were Metrornonas simplex and Bodonids. Dominant ciliates were small tintinnids and oligotrich ciliate Strombidium sp., Large Strombidium (oligotrich ciliate) and sessile Acineta turberosa (suctorian ciliate) occurred after 10 days. The attached larvae of Balanus occurred as biofouling organism on the early surface and showed maximum abundance of 18 indiv. $cm^{-2}$ at 7th day. At that time, adult barnacles were observed on the surface and dead barnacles were observed after two days. Except barnacles, the larvaes of Anthozoa sp., Oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and Polychaeta were observed on the surface from 3rd day. 3 benthic copepods including Harpacticus sp., I isopod, 1 polychaeta and 1 gastropoda were observed as predators of the microbial film on the surface after 7 days when microbial film developed very well. Although the ingestion rates of protozoa on the bactctia of the rnicrobi31 film were relatively low, the average grazing rate of protozoa on bacteria was high of 0.058 $h^{-1}$. This implied that the grazing pressure of protozoa influences the mortality of bacteria populations on the microbial film. but protozoa cannot get enough energy from only bacteria on the microbial film.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.369-378
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• 2018

This study was conducted to evaluate effects of dietary microbial probiotics on the growth and disease resistance of olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) in a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), and the effects of the probiotic bioaugmentation on the microbial community structure and water quality. For the analysis, 80 juvenile fish (average weight, $25.7{\pm}7.6g$; average length, $15.2{\pm}1.7cm$) were fed a basal diet containing a commercial microbial product CES-AQ1 (CES; $1{\times}10^9\;CFU/kg$ diet) in an RAS for 8 weeks. Weight gain, the specific growth rate, feed efficiency, and protein efficiency ratio of the fish fed the CES diet in the RAS were 1.5~2.5 times higher than those of fish fed the basal diet alone, or the basal diet containing oxytetracycline (OTC), yeast plus bacterium, or Bacillus subtilis in a still water system. There was no significant difference in the pathogen challenge test between fish fed the OTC diet and fish fed the CES diet in the RAS, suggesting the CES-AQ1 probiotic used in the RAS as a potential replacement for antibiotics. The RAS biofilter maintained the highest microbial diversity and appeared to harbor microbial communities with ammonium oxidation, denitrification, and fish pathogen suppression functions. Ammonia, which is hazardous to fish, was significantly decreased to < 0.5 mg/L in 19 days, indicating the effectiveness of probiotic supplementation to maintain good water quality in RAS. These results suggest that the intestinal microbial communities of fish are stabilized by a probiotic-containing diet (CES) and that bioaugmentation with probiotics may be an eco-friendly and economical supplement for aquaculture of olive flounder, promoting both good water quality and fish health in an RAS.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.922-928
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• 2021

To profile the microbial compositions of Korean traditional fermented paste made from whole soybeans, Doenjang and Cheonggukjang, and compare their taxonomic differences, we analyzed the V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA of naturally fermented foods by using next generation sequencing. α-Diversity results showed that values indicating bacterial community abundances (OTUs) and richness (ACE, Chao1) were statistically significant (p=0.0001) in Doenjang and Cheonggukjang. Firmicutes was the most common phylum in both groups, representing 97.02% and 99.67% in the Doenjang and Cheonggukjang groups, respectively. Bacillus was the most dominant genus, accounting for 71.70% and 59.87% in both groups. Linear discriminant (LDA) effect size (LEfSe) analysis was performed to reveal the significant ranking of abundant taxa in different fermented foods. A size-effect threshold of 2.0 on the logarithmic LDA score was used for discriminative functional biomarkers. On the species level, Bacillus subtilis, Tetragenococcus halophilus, and Clostridium arbusti were significantly more abundant in Doenjang than in Cheonggukjang, whereas Bacillus thermoamylovorans, Enterococcus faecium, and Lactobacillus sakei were significantly more abundant in Cheonggukjang than in Doenjang. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) showed that the statistical difference in microbial clusters between the two groups was significant at the confidence level of p=0.001. This research could be used as basic research to identify the correlation between the biochemical characteristics of Korean fermented foods and the distribution of microbial communities.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.20-26
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• 2007

The microbial community properties of groundwater samples contaminated with landfill leachates were examined using Ecoplate including 31 sole carbon sources. The samples were KSG1-12 (leachate), KSG1-16 (treated leachate), KSG1-07 (contaminated groundwater), KSG1-08 (contaminated groundwater), and KSG1-13 (uncontaminated groundwater). Among the carbon sources used as substrates, 2-hydroxy benzoic acid, D,L-$\alpha$-glycerol phosphate, and D-malic acid were not utilized in any sample, while D-xylose, D-galacturonic acid, L-aspargine, tween 80, and L-serine were utilized in all 5 samples. The rest of substrates showed very different patterns among the samples. Average well color development (AWCD) analysis demonstrated that the potential activity on 31 substrates was in the order of KSG1-16 > KSG1-12 > KSG1-07 > KSG-08 > KSG1-13, which generally agrees with the degree of pollution, except KSG1-16. Principal component analysis (PCA) on similarity between samples showed two groups (KSG1-12, -07 and -08 vs KSG1-16 and -13), coinciding with contaminated and uncontaminated groups. Shannon index showed that the microbial diversities were similar among the samples.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.415-418
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• 2008

The application of sludge wastes into agricultural fields has been increasing annually in Korea. In particular, sewage sludge application has been widely accepted in decades. Sewage sludge application aid in the recycling of essential nutrients and act as a source of organic matter improving the structure and water-holding properties of the soil. The efficient use of sludge wastes, however, requires an individual assessment of waste products. This study assessed the biological characteristics of organic waste-treated lysimeter soils and develop its indicator to assess the soil health of organic waste-treated lysimeter soils. Several analytical techniques more recently developed such as restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA), and community level substrate utilization (CLSU) fingerprints allow for detailed analyses of soil microbial communities. PLFA and RFLP was, therefore, used in the study to characterize the microbial communities in soil without the need to isolate individual fungi and bacteria. PLFA, RFLP and CLSU have been utilized to assess microbial characteristics of the lysimeter soils with four different sludge wastes for eight consecutive years. Each of these methods was analyzed for a different aspect of soil microbial characteristics. The study would disclose those methods yielded highly reproductive results for each soil and allow distinguishing the soils based on the structures of specific geneand PLFA-pools more than CLSU fingerprints. PLFA methods, especially, revealed the same relative similarities of the treated soils based on cluster analysis of the biological characteristics. Pig manure compost-treated soil, however, was only the same relative resemblance among the three methods. These results indicated that PLFA easily assessed the biological soil characterization.

• Clean Technology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.345-356
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• 2017

The composting is a biological process that converts organic matter into useful resources such as fertilizers. It is a continuous transition of microbial communities to adapt changes in organic matter and environmental conditions (carbonation rate, temperature, humidity, oxygen supply, pH, etc.). Most of the composting plants are located in the proximity of the residential areas. It is a general scenario where government authorities receive complaints from the local residents due to release of odor from the composting, and has become a social problem in Korea. Identification of dominant microorganisms, understanding change in microbial communities and augmentation of specific microorganism for composting is vital to enhance the efficiency of composting, quality of the compost produced, and reduction of odor. In this paper, we suggest the optimum operation conditions and methods for compost depot to reduce odor generation. The selection of the appropriate microorganisms and their rapid increase in population are effective to promote composting. The optimal growth conditions of bacteria such as aeration (oxygen), temperature, and humidity were standardized to maximize composting through microbial degradation. The use of porous minerals and moisture control has significantly improved odor removal. Recent technologies to reduce odor from the composting environment and improved composting processes are also presented.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.75-90
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• 2024

Biochar is a solid substance with a high carbon content, as it is made out of biomass pyrolyzed under the condition of limited oxygen. This product has attracted attention as an environment-friendly soil amendment because it contributes to carbon neutrally and has improvement effects on the soil environment. This study conducted an experiment to evaluate soil physiochemical properties and microbial community changes in a melon greenhouse according to the applied amount of biochar to investigate the growth characteristics and yields of melons accordingly. In soil physical properties, an increase in the applied amount of biochar resulted in a decrease in bulk density and an increase in porosity of the soil, improving air permeability. In soil chemical properties, an increase in the applied amount of biochar led to a increasing of pH, organic matter and available phosphate content. In the growth characteristics of melons, there was a growing tendency of plant height, leaf length and leaf width according to the increasing application of biochar until 10,000 kg/ha. Moreover, melon yields also increased as the amount of biochar, 13~16% higher in 10,000 kg/ha biochar application than no treatment. Compared differences among microbial communities in the soil according to the application of biochar and found that plant beneficial bacteria dominated in biochar treatments. This study demonstrated the potential of biochar as an effective soil amendment in melon greenhouse by showing improvements in soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.1187-1196
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• 2013

Global warming will have far-reaching effects on our ecosystem. However, its effects on Antarctic soils have been poorly explored. To assess the effects of warming on microbial abundance and community composition, we sampled Antarctic soils from the King George Island in the Antarctic Peninsula and incubated these soils at elevated temperatures of $5^{\circ}C$ and $8^{\circ}C$ for 14 days. The reduction in total organic carbon and increase in soil respiration were attributed to the increased proliferation of Bacteria, Fungi, and Archaea. Interestingly, bacterial ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) genes were predominant over archaeal amoA, unlike in many other environments reported previously. Phylogenetic analyses of bacterial and archaeal amoA communities via clone libraries revealed that the diversity of amoA genes in Antarctic ammonia-oxidizing prokaryotic communities were temperature-insensitive. Interestingly, our data also showed that the amoA of Antarctic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) communities differed from previously described amoA sequences of cultured isolates and clone library sequences, suggesting the presence of novel Antarctic-specific AOB communities. Denitrification-related genes were significantly reduced under warming conditions, whereas the abundance of amoA and nifH increased. Barcoded pyrosequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene revealed that Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria were the major phyla in Antarctic soils and the effect of short-term warming on the bacterial community was not apparent.