• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.67-73
• /
• 2013

Purpose: Recently, bacterial contamination of equipment and accessories required for vision correction has become a main causal factor in ophthalmic diseases. Thus, We investigated on both the actual condition of bacterial contamination from glasses of vision correction. Methods: Investigation of microorganisms was carried out with a group of 145 glasses wearers, composed of 36 elementary school students, 37 middle school students, 38 high school students, 10 college students, and 32 aged men. Results: Seventeen species of bacteria are detected from glasses of vision correction: B. cereus, B. licheniformis, Bacillus sp., CNS, Enterococcus sp., Escherichia coli, Proteus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Serretia sp., Streptococcus sp., Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus hemolyticus,, Acinetobacter sp., Enterobacter cloacae, GNR, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Among 17 species of bacteria, there are some potential causative agents for keratitis, corneal ulcer, Acute dacryocystitis, Orbital cellulitis, Periphlebitis retinae, Marginal blepharitis, and Acute conjunctivitis. Enterobacter cloacae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus epidermidis cause keratitis. Pseudomonas sp., and Staphylococcus aureus cause corneal ulcer. Staphylococcus aureus causes acute dacryocystitis, orbital cellulitis, periphlebitis retinae, marginal belpharitis. Streptococcus hemolyticus causes acute conjunctivitis. Conclusions: In summation, it is verified that hazardous, opportunistic and infectious microorganisms exist in glasses for vision correction. Ophthalmic diseases are predicted. Therefore, supplementary research on the development of a cleaning solution to cleanse the infection and of an effective method to remove microorganisms is required.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.167-177
• /
• 2007

From the total 121,294 clinical materials submitted to the Department of Laboratory Medicine of "C" hospital from December 1, 2004 to November 30, 2006, 3,408 Pseudomonas spp. were isolated. The isolation frequencies of Pseudomonas spp. were as follows, P. aeruginosa 95.5%, P. putida 2.5%, P. fluorescens 0.8%, along with low frequencies of P. luteola, P. alcaligenes, P. stutzeri, P. oryzihabitants, P. mendocina and unidentified Pseudomonas species. The isolation rates of Pseudomonas spp. according to season and sex were evenly distributed. The isolated frequency of Pseudomonas spp. in male was two times higher than that of in female showing significantly more male patients in surgical areas and more female patients in internal areas (p<0.001). In monthly analysis, Pseudomonas spp. were the most frequently isolated in July (10.4%), but lowest in February (5.6%). Half of Pseudomonas spp. were isolated from sputum (48.2%). In the susceptibility analysis of Pseudomonas spp. by VITEK II AST cards, the Pseudomonas spp showing higher susceptibility against antimicrobial agents were piperacillin/tazobactam (82.7%) in P. aeruginosa; amikacin (84.7%), colistin (83.3%) in P. putida; and amikacin (96.3%), cefepime (87.5%), ceftazidime (87.5%) ciprofloxacin (92.3%), colistin (88.5%) gentamicin (96.2%), isepamicin (96,1%), meropenem (92.3%), netilmicin (96.0%), piperacillin/ tazobactam (95.4%) and tobramycin (92.6%) in P. fluorescens.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.50 no.2
• /
• pp.108-113
• /
• 2014

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Vibrio vulnificus are Gram-negative human pathogens, which exert their virulence through quorum sensing (QS) regulation. The infection of these pathogens have been known to be mediated by biofilm formation in many cases and this study carried out the time-course analysis of biofilm formation depending on the QS regulation in P. aeruginosa and V. vulnificus. In P. aeruginosa, our results demonstrated that QS-deficient mutant better attached to surface at initial stage of biofilm formation, but poorly proceeded to the maturation of the biofilm structure, while wild type less attached at initial stage but developed highly structured biofilm at late stage. Because of this, the quantitative comparison of biofilm formation between wild type and the QS mutant showed the reversion; the QS mutant formed more biofilm until 10 h after inoculation than wild type, but wild type formed much more biofilm after 10 h than QS mutant. V. vulnificus has been reported to form more biofilm with the mutation on QS system. When we performed the same time-course analysis of the V. vulnificus biofilm formation, the reversion was not detected even with prolonged culture for 108 h and the QS mutant always forms more biofilm than wild type. These results indicate that the QS regulation negatively affects the attachment at early stage but positively facilitates the biofilm maturation at late stage in P. aeruginosa, while the QS regulation has a negative effect on the biofilm formation throughout the biofilm development in V. vulnificus. Based on our results, we suggest that the developmental stage of biofilm and bacterial species should be considered when the QS system is targeted for biofilm control.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.46.1-46.18
• /
• 2020

Background: High concentrations of particulate matter less than 2.5 ㎛ in diameter (PM2.5) in poultry houses is an important cause of respiratory disease in animals and humans. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that can induce severe respiratory disease in animals under stress or with abnormal immune functions. When excessively high concentrations of PM2.5 in poultry houses damage the respiratory system and impair host immunity, secondary infections with P. aeruginosa can occur and produce a more intense inflammatory response, resulting in more severe lung injury. Objectives: In this study, we focused on the synergistic induction of inflammatory injury in the respiratory system and the related molecular mechanisms induced by PM2.5 and P. aeruginosa in poultry houses. Methods: High-throughput 16S rDNA sequence analysis was used for characterizing the bacterial diversity and relative abundance of the PM2.5 samples, and the effects of PM2.5 and P. aeruginosa stimulation on inflammation were detected by in vitro and in vivo. Results: Sequencing results indicated that the PM2.5 in poultry houses contained a high abundance of potentially pathogenic genera, such as Pseudomonas (2.94%). The lung tissues of mice had more significant pathological damage when co-stimulated by PM2.5 and P. aeruginosa, and it can increase the expression levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α through nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway in vivo and in vitro. Conclusions: The results confirmed that poultry house PM2.5 in combination with P. aeruginosa could aggravate the inflammatory response and cause more severe respiratory system injuries through a process closely related to the activation of the NF-κB pathway.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.129-137
• /
• 2018

Black rot disease in orchids is caused by the water mold Phytophthora palmivora. To gain better biocontrol performance, several factors affecting growth and antifungal substance production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa RS1 were verified. These factors include type and pH of media, temperature, and time for antifungal production. The results showed that the best conditions for P. aeruginosa RS1 to produce the active compounds was cultivating the bacteria in Luria-Bertani medium at pH 7.0 for 21 h at $37^{\circ}C$. The culture filtrate was subjected to stepwise ammonium sulfate precipitation. The precipitated proteins from the 40% to 80% fraction showed antifungal activity and were further purified by column chromatography. The eluted proteins from fractions 9-10 and 33-34 had the highest antifungal activity at about 75% and 82% inhibition, respectively. SDS-PAGE revealed that the 9-10 fraction contained mixed proteins with molecular weights of 54 kDa, 32 kDa, and 20 kDa, while the 33-34 fraction contained mixed proteins with molecular weights of 40 kDa, 32 kDa, and 29 kDa. Each band of the proteins was analyzed by LC/MS to identify the protein. The result from Spectrum Modeler indicated that these proteins were closed similarly to three groups of the following proteins; catalase, chitin binding protein, and protease. Morphological study under scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that the partially purified proteins from P. aeruginosa RS1 caused abnormal growth and hypha elongation in P. palmivora. The bacteria and/or these proteins may be useful for controlling black rot disease caused by P. palmivora in orchid orchards.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.113-118
• /
• 1994

A bacterial strain NS-83 isolated from soil was able to produce an extracellular thermostable protease. The strain was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa based on its morphological and physiological characteristics. A thermostable protease from this strain has been purified to homogeneity as judged by SDS-PAGE and isoelectric focusing. The purification procedures included hydrophobic interaction, ion exchange, and gel filtration chromatography. The $M_r$ and the pl of the enzyme were 32,000 and 5.9, respectively. The optimal pH at 55$^{\circ}C$ and the optimal temperature at pH 7.0 were 8.0 and 60$^{\circ}C$, respectively. The D-values of the enzyme at 60, 65, and 70$^{\circ}C$ were 22, 2.1, and 0.75 hrs, respectively. The enzyme activity was significantly inhibited in the presence of 1 mM o-phenanthroline or EDTA, suggesting that the enzyme is metalloprotease. The $K_m$, and $V_{max}$ for Hammarsten casein were found to be 3.2 mg/ml and 0.918 unit/ml, respectively. These enzymatic properties were similar to those of elastase produced from P. aeruginosa IFO 3455, but the enzyme was clearly different from the reported elastase, in respect to $Ca^{++}$ effects on enzyme-thermostability. This property, together with amino acid composition analysis, confirmed that the enzyme differs from the known P. aeruginosa elastase.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.312-318
• /
• 2016

Objectives: Bacterial resistant infections have become a global health challenge and threaten the society's health. Thus, an urgent need exists to find ways to combat resistant pathogens. One promising approach to overcoming bacterial resistance is the use of herbal products. Green tea catechins, the major green tea polyphenols, show antimicrobial activity against resistant pathogens. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of catechins, green tea extract, and methylxanthines in combination with gentamicin against standard and clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and the standard strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). Methods: The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values of different agents against bacterial strains were determined. The interactions of green tea extract, epigallate catechin, epigallocatechin gallate, two types of methylxanthine, caffeine, and theophylline with gentamicin were studied in vitro by using a checkerboard method and calculating the fraction inhibitory concentration index (FICI). Results: The MICs of gentamicin against bacterial strains were in the range of $0.312-320{\mu}g/mL$. The MIC values of both types of catechins were $62.5-250{\mu}g/mL$. Green tea extract showed insufficient antibacterial activity when used alone. Methylxanthines had no intrinsic inhibitory activity against any of the bacterial strains tested. When green tea extract and catechins were combined with gentamicin, the MIC values of gentamicin against the standard strains and a clinical isolate were reduced, and synergistic activities were observed (FICI < 1). A combination of caffeine with gentamicin did not alter the MIC values of gentamicin. Conclusion: The results of the present study revealed that green tea extract and catechins potentiated the antimicrobial action of gentamicin against some clinical isolates of S. aureus and standard P. aeruginosa strains. Therefore, combinations of gentamicin with these natural compounds might be a promising approach to combat microbial resistance.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.37 no.6
• /
• pp.480-486
• /
• 2014

Growth restriction by antibiotics is a common feature that pathogenic bacteria must overcome for survival. The struggle of bacteria to escape from growth restriction eventually results in development of antibiotic-resistance through the expression of a set of genes. Here we found that some physiologically important transcriptional regulators of Pseudomonas aeruginosa including QscR, a quorum sensing (QS) receptor, SoxR, a superoxide sensor-regulator, and AntR, a regulator of anthranilate-related secondary metabolism, are activated by various growth-restricted conditions. We generated the growth-restricted conditions by various methods, such as overexpression of PA2537 and treatment with antibiotics or disinfectants. The overexpression of PA2537, encoding an acyltransferase homologue, tightly restricted the growth of P. aeruginosa and significantly activated QscR during the growth restriction. Similarly, treatments with gentamycin, tetracycline, and ethanol also activated QscR near their minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs). Some non-QS regulators, such as AntR and SoxR, were also activated near the MICs in the same conditions. However, LasR and PqsR, other QS receptors of P. aeruginosa, were not activated, suggesting that only a specific set of transcriptional regulators is activated by growth restriction. Since paraquat, a superoxide generator, significantly activated QscR and AntR, we suggest that the oxidative stress generated by growth restriction may be partly involved in this phenomenon.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.34 no.5
• /
• pp.1040-1050
• /
• 2024

To isolate and analyze bacteria with Verticillium wilt-resistant properties from the fermentation residue of kitchen wastes, as well as explore their potential for new applications of the residue. A total of six bacterial strains exhibiting Verticillium wilt-resistant capabilities were isolated from the biogas residue of kitchen waste fermentation. Using a polyphasic approach, strain ZL6, which displayed the highest antagonistic activity against cotton Verticillium wilt, was identified as belonging to the Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Bioassay results demonstrated that this strain possessed robust antagonistic abilities, effectively inhibiting V. dahliae spore germination and mycelial growth. Furthermore, P. aeruginosa ZL6 exhibited high temperature resistance (42℃), nitrogen fixation, and phosphorus removal activities. Pot experiments revealed that P. aeruginosa ZL6 fermentation broth treatment achieved a 47.72% biological control effect compared to the control group. Through activity tracking and protein mass spectrometry identification, a neutral metalloproteinase (Nml) was hypothesized as the main virulence factor. The mutant strain ZL6ߡNml exhibited a significant reduction in its ability to inhibit cotton Verticillium wilt compared to the strain P. aeruginosa ZL6. While the inhibitory activities could be partially restored by a complementation of nml gene in the mutant strain ZL6CMߡNml. This research provides a theoretical foundation for the future development and application of biogas residue as biocontrol agents against Verticillium wilt and as biological preservatives for agricultural products. Additionally, this study presents a novel approach for mitigating the substantial amount of biogas residue generated from kitchen waste fermentation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.34 no.9
• /
• pp.1877-1889
• /
• 2024

Rhamnolipid (RL) is renowned for its efficacy in bioremediating several types of organic and metal contaminants. Nevertheless, there has been a scarcity of studies specifically examining the relationship between this substance and metals, especially in terms of their impact on RL formation and the underlying interaction processes. This study addresses this gap by investigating the RL mechanism in Cr (VI) remediation and evaluating its effect on RL production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa RW9. In this study, P. aeruginosa RW9 was grown in the presence of 10 mg l^-1 Cr (VI). We monitored RL yield, congeners distribution, and their ratios, as well as the transcriptional expression of the RL-encoded genes: rhlA, rhlB, and rhlC. Our results revealed that RL effectively reduced Cr (VI) to Cr (III), with RL yield increasing threefold, although with a slight delay in synthesis compared to control cells. Furthermore, Cr (VI) exposure induced the transcriptional expression of the targeted genes, leading to a significant increase in di-RL production. The findings confirm that Cr (VI) significantly impacts RL production, altering its structural compositions and enhancing the transcriptional expression of RL-encoded genes in P. aeruginosa RW9. This study represents a novel exploration of Cr (VI)'s influence on RL production, providing valuable insights into the biochemical pathways involved and supporting the potential of RL in Cr (VI) bioremediation.