• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.428-433
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• 1993

A strain that inhibited the growth of Pellicularia sasakii was isolated from the soil and identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa 3120. A dark brownish antibiotic, MRL3120 isolated and purified from the culture broth of P. aeruginosa 3120 was soluble in ethylacetate, chloroform and methanol, and it was active against gram-positive and negative bacteria as well as fungi. The structure of MRL3120 was identified as a chelate compound consisting of two N-methyl-N-thioformyl-hydroxylamine and a copper ion by the analysis of UV, IR, and EI-MS spectra and other physico-chemical properties and supposed to have a structure of fluopsin C related compound. Addition of $CuSO_4$ into the fermentation medium containing soybean meal increased antifungal activity but no activity was found in the presence of EDTA (0.1%, v/v). However antibiotic MRL3120 was not produced in the fermentation medium containing soytone instead of soybean meal but it was rapidly produced by the addition of $CuSO_4$.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.1046-1054
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• 2001

Bioleaching is the process in which insoluble metal sulfide is oxidized by specialized iron- and/or sulfur-oxidizing lithotrophic bacteria in acidic, metal-rich environments. Most of these processes are carried out by the genus Thiobacillus. Three novel Thiobacillus strains (Thiobacillus thiooxidans AZ11, Thiobacillus thiooxidans MET, and thiobacillus thiooxidans TAS) associated with bioleaching have been isolated from soil and sludge (Korean patent No. 1999-0073060 for T. thiooxidans AZ11, Korean patent No. 1999-0005798 for T. thiooxidans MET, and Korean patent No. 1999-0073059 for T. thiooxidans TAS). A partial sequence of 16S ribosomal RNA gene (16S rDNA) and the entire sequence of 16S/23S intergenic spacer region (ISR) were determined in the three above novel strains and in Thiobacillus ferrooxidans ATCC19859 as a reference strain. When phylogenetic analysis was performed based on G+C contents and sequence alignments, T. ferroxidans ATCC19859 was found to be closely related to previously registered T. ferrooxidans strains in a monophyletic manner, while the three novel T. thiooxidans strains were classified in a paraphyletic manner. Close examination on the base composition of 16S/23S ISR revealed that the 5\` part (nucleotide residues 21-200) was specific for the genus Thiobacillus. On the other end, the 3\` part (nucleotide residues 201-520) showed specificity in T. ferrooxidans strains, but not in T. thiooxidans strains. These results suggest that the proximal and distal halves of 16S/23S could be used as a genetic marker for the identification of the genus Thiobacillus and the species T. ferrooxidans, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.64-69
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• 2003

Pseudomonas chlororaphis HS21 was isolated from a soil sample and found to produce medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (MCL-PHAs) using palm kernel oil (PKO) as the sole carbon source. Up to 3.3 g/1 dry cell weight containing $45\%$ MCL-PHA was produced, when the strain was grown for 21 h in a jar fermentor culture containing 5 g/1 PKO. The polymer produced from PKO consisted of unsaturated monomers of $7.3\%$ 3-hydroxy-5-cis-tetradecenoate and $2.3\%$ 3-hydroxy-5,8,-cis, cis-tetradecadienoate as well as saturated even-carbon number monomers ranging from $C_6\;to\;C_14$, as determined by GC and El GC/MS The PHA was a transparent, sticky material at room temperature. A differential scanning calorimetric analysis revealed that the polymer was amorphous with a $-44^{\circ}C$ glass transition temperature. The number average molecular weight and polydispersity index of the PHA were 83,000 and 1.53, respectively. Although the PHA was practically biodegradable, its degradability was lower than that of poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) based on a comp:trison of the clear zones formed by growing PHA depolymerase-producing bacteria on an agar plate containing the respective polymers.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.476-482
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• 2002

Methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) and c-type cytochromes from marine methanol-oxidizing bacterium, Methylophaga sp. MP, were purified and characterized. The native MDH had a molecular mass of 148 kDa and its isoelectric point was 5.5. Two c-type cytochromes, $c_L\;and\;c_H$, were found, and their isoelectric points were 3.4 and 8.0, respectively. The purified MDH had higher thermal stability than that of the other soil methylotrophic bacteria. The electron flow rate from MDH to cytochrome $c_L$was higher than that from MDH to cytochrome $c_H$, indicating that the physiological primary electron acceptor for MDH is cytochrome $c_L$. The electron transfer from MDH to phenazine ethosulfate (PES, artificial electron acceptor) in the two dye (PES/DCPIP)-linked assay system was not inhibited by NaCl, whereas the electron flow from MDH to cytochrome $c_L$ in the cytochrome/DCPIP-linked assay system was suppressed significantly by NaCl. Metal chelating agents such as EDTA showed the same effects on the MDH activity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.118-126
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• 2020

Silicon and phosphorus are elements that are beneficial for plant growth. Despite the abundant availability of silicate and phosphate in the Earth's crust, crop nutritional requirements for silicon and phosphorus are normally met through the application of fertilizer. However, fertilizers are one of the major causes of heavy metal pollution. In our study, we aimed to assess silicate and phosphate solubilization by the bacteria Enterobacter ludwigii GAK2, in the presence and absence of phosphate [Ca₃(PO₄)₂] or silicate (Mg₂O₈Si₃), to counteract cadmium stress in rice (Oryza sativa L). Our results showed that the GAK2-treated rice plants, grown in soil amended with phosphate [Ca₃(PO₄)₂] or silicate (Mg₂O₈Si₃), had significantly reduced cadmium content, and enhanced plant growth promoting characteristics including fresh shoot and root weight, plant height, and chlorophyll content. These plants showed significant downregulation of the cadmium transporter gene, OsHMA2, and upregulation of the silicon carrier gene, OsLsi1. Moreover, jasmonic acid levels were significantly reduced in the GAK2-inoculated plants, and this was further supported by the downregulation of the jasmonic acid related gene, OsJAZ1. These results indicate that Enterobacter ludwigii GAK2 can be used as a silicon and phosphorus bio-fertilizer, which solubilizes insoluble silicate and phosphate, and mitigates heavy metal toxicity in crops.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.208-212
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• 1998

In order to develop an effective antifungal antibiotics, over 700 isolates of bacteria, mold and actinomytes were screened from soil, and LAM 97-44 were selected as a strain producing the strong antifungal antibiotics against Candida albicans. Morphological, cultural and physiological characteristics of LAM 97-44 were investigated for the indentification. The cell size of LAM 97-44 was $2{\sim}3{\times}1{\sim}1.5\;{\mu}m$, and the shape of spore was of ellipsoidal. As a carbon source, LAM 97-44 utilized fructose, glucose, glycerol, maltose and raffinose but did not utilize arabinose, cellulose and xylose. The fatty acids of the cells included various iso-type and anteiso-type. Conclusively, the strain LAM 97-44 was proved to be Bacillus subtilis.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.356-360
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• 1988

The alkaline protease producing bacteria isolated from soil and identified as Bacillus subtilis. The optimum medium for alkaline protease production from the microorganism was as follows; soluble starch, 1.5% ; proteose peptone, 0.5% ; $K_2HPO_4$, 0.1% ; $MgSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O$, 0.02% and sodium carbonate, 1.0%. The optimum temperature for alkaline protease production was $35^{\circ}C$, and the initial pH of medium was pH 10.5. The alkaline protease activity was about 2,300 U per ml of culture broth by Casein-Folin Method. A 9.2 fold purification of alkaline protease was obtained from culture broth. The recovery was 14% and purified enzyme was identified as single band, and its molecular weight was about 19,000. The optimum temperature for enzyme reaction was $70^{\circ}C$, and optimum pH was 12. The activity of purified enzyme was inhibited by metal ion ($Fe^{++}$), and Phenylmethylsulfonyl Fluoride, a serine protease inhibitor.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.94-100
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• 2006

To isolate a bacterium that produces plant growth promoting hormone, a total of 29 bacteria were obtained from the soil in Gyeongsan, Korea. Among these, 14 strains were selected by their positive reaction on Salkowski to produce auxin. All of these were then tested for their property to produce siderophore using CAS (chrome azurol S) blue agar, and one was chosen for its ability to produce both, auxin and siderophore. This strain, denoted, AHl8, showed 1.5 times higher adventitious root induction rates than controls, using mung-beans. The strain also showed efficient biocontrol properties towards Fusarium-wilt of tomatoes in artificial pot assays. The strain was identified as Bacillus subtilis by 16s rDNA comparison and Biolog analyses. Growth and media conditions for Bacillus subtilis AH1 8 to highly produce siderophore were also investigated.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.1293-1303
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• 2013

Antibiotic resistance of soilborne Acinetobacter species has been poorly explored. In this study, norfloxacin resistance of a soil bacterium, Acinetobacter oleivorans DR1, was investigated. The frequencies of mutant appearance of all tested non-pathogenic Acinetobacter strains were lower than those of pathogenic strains under minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). When the quinolone-resistance-determining region of the gyrA gene was examined, only one mutant (His78Asn) out of 10 resistant variants had a mutation. Whole transcriptome analysis using a RNA-Seq demonstrated that genes involved in SOS response and DNA repair were significantly up-regulated by norfloxacin. Determining the MICs of survival cells after norfloxacin treatment confirmed some of those cells were indeed persister cells. Ten colonies, randomly selected from among those that survived in the presence of norfloxacin, did not exhibit increased MIC. Thus, both the low mutation frequency of the target gene and SOS response under norfloxacin suggested that persister formation might contribute to the resistance of DR1 against norfloxacin. The persister frequency increased without a change in MIC when stationary phase cells, low growth rates conditions, and growth-deficient dnaJ mutant were used. Taken together, our comprehensive approach, which included mutational analysis of the target gene, persister formation assays, and RNA sequencing, indicated that DR1 survival when exposed to norfloxacin is related not only to target gene mutation but also to persister formation, possibly through up-regulation of the SOS response and DNA repair genes.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.262-266
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• 2009

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are beneficial native soil bacteria that colonize plant roots and result in increased plant growth. The objective of this study was to determine the plant growth promotion in canola plants by selected PGPR strain 13-1 under low temperature condition. The seed treatment of strain 13-1 was enhanced plant height and root elongation on canola plant at low temperature condition. This result determined that a selected strain of PGPR can enhance plant growth and root propagation under extremely low temperature conditions. Thus, this PGPR strain extends their role on plant growth promotion on canola until low temperature condition for practical applications.