• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.1613-1621
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• 2006

Isolation and identification of algal lytic bacteria were carried out. Nine strains of algal lytic bacteria were isolated by the double-layer method using Anabaena flos-aquae as a sole nutrient. The isolate, AFK-13, showing the highest algal lytic activity was identified as Sinorhizobium kostiense based on the l6S rDNA sequence. The algal lytic experiments of the culture supernatants of AFK-13 demonstrated that the bacterial cell growth reached a maximum at 36-h culture, but the supernatant of 72-h culture exhibited the highest activity. Components among the extracellular products in the crude enzyme of the supernatant from S. kostiense AFK-13 culture were responsible for degradation of cell walls of Anabaena flos-aquae. Algal lytic assay tests of the culture supernatants suggest that the main substances for algal lytic activity could be proteinaceous. The activity of glucosidase was observed highly by polysaccharolytic analysis using the crude enzyme from S. kostiense AFK-13, whereas activities of galactosidase, mannosidase, rhamnosidase, and arabinosidase were also detected in low levels. The molecular weights (MW) of ${\alpha}-\;and\;{\beta}$-glucosidases were estimated to be approximately 50-100 kDa by the ultrafiltration method.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.745-752
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• 2007

A $\beta$-glucosidase from the algal lytic bacterium Sinorhizobium kostiense AFK-13, grown in complex media containing cellobiose, was purified to homogeneity by successive ammonium sulfate precipitation, and anion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatographies. The enzyme was shown to be a monomeric protein with an apparent molecular mass of 52 kDa and isoelectric point of approximately 5.4. It was optimally active at pH 6.0 and $40^{\circ}C$ and possessed a specific activity of 260.4 U/mg of protein against $4-nitrophenyl-\beta-D-glucopyranoside$(pNPG). A temperature-stability analysis demonstrated that the enzyme was unstable at $50^{\circ}C$ and above. The enzyme did not require divalent cations for activity, and its activity was significantly suppressed by $Hg^{+2}\;and\;Ag^+$, whereas sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS) and Triton X-100 moderately inhibited the enzyme to under 70% of its initial activity. In an algal lytic activity analysis, the growth of cyanobacteria, such as Anabaena flos-aquae, A. cylindrica, A. macrospora, Oscillatoria sancta, and Microcystis aeruginosa, was strongly inhibited by a treatment of 20 ppm/disc or 30 ppm/disc concentration of the enzyme.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.382-390
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• 2006

Various microorganisms were isolated from the surface waters and sediments of eutrophic lakes and reservoirs in Korea to enable an investigation of bacteria having algal lytic activities against Anabaena flos-aquae when water blooming occurs and to study enzyme profiles of algal lytic bacteria. Two bacterial strains, AFK-07 and AFK-13, were cultured, characterized and identified as Acinetobacter johnsonii and Sinorhizobium sp., respectively. The A. johnsonii AFK-07 exhibited a high level of degradatory activities against A. flos-aquae, and produced alginase, caseinase, lipase, fucodian hydrolase, and laminarinase. Moreover, many kinds of glycosidase, such as ${\beta}-galactosidase,\;{\beta}-glucosidase,\;{\beta}-glucosaminidase,\;and\; {\beta}-xylosidase$, which hydrolyzed ${\beta}-O-glycosidic$ bonds, were found in cell-free extracts of A. johnsonii AFK-07. Other glycosidases such as ${\alpha}-galactosidase,\;{\alpha}-N-Ac-galactosidase,\;{\alpha}-mannosidase,\; and\;{\alpha}-L-fucosidase$, which cleave ${\alpha}-O-glycosidic$ bonds, were not identified in AFK-07. In the Sinorhizobium sp. AFK-13, the enzymes alginase, amylase, proteinase (caseinase and gelatinase), carboxymethyl-cellulase (CMCase), laminarinase, and lipase were notable. No glycosidase was produced in the AFK-13 strain. Therefore, the enzyme system of A. johnsonii AFK-07 had a more complex mechanism in place to degrade the cyanobacteria cell walls than did the enzyme system of Sinorhizobium sp. AFK-13. The polysaccharides or the peptidoglycans of A. flos-aquae may be hydrolyzed and metabolized to a range of easily utilized monosaccharides or other low molecular weight organic substances by strain AFK-07 of. A. johnsonii, while the products of polysaccharide degradation or peptidoglycans were more likely to be utilized by Sinorhizobium sp. AFK-13. These bacterial interactions may offer an alternative effective approach to controlling the water choking effects of summer blooms affecting our lakes and reservoirs.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.14-19
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• 2000

Algal lytic enzyme, an extracellular enzyme, was purified from the culture filtrate of Penicillium oxalicum(HCLF-34) by ultrafiltration, gel filtration chromatography, and anion exchange chromatography. The enzyme has a molecular mass of approximately 22 kDa, an it is a monomer by renaturation SDS-PAGE. The amino acid sequences of the enzyme was revealed to be NH2-Glu-Ser-Tyr-Ser-Ser-Asn-Ala-Ala-Gly-Ala-Val-Leu-Ile---, had about 84% identity with the mature light chain of aspergillopepsin II precursor and 81% identity with the mature protein of the acid proteinase EapC precursor.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.37 no.2 s.107
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• pp.241-247
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• 2004

Isolation and identification of alga-lytic bacteria were carried out. Fifteen isolates of alga-lytic bacteria were screened by the double layer method using A. cylindrica NIES-19 as a sole nutrient and four isolates among them were compared with their alga-lytic activity. The isolate AK-05 exhibiting the highest alga-lytic activity was identified as Acidovorax temperans base on its 16S rDNA sequence. The culture supernatant of the isolate AK-05 was reliable for the alga-lytic. Alga-lytic activity assays of culture supernatant revealed that the major substances for alga-lytic activity were non-proteins and heat stable. The highest alga-Iytic activity was practical under alkaline conditions and at 25${\sim}$$30^{\circ}C$. It is indicating an advantage for the application of water blooms by cyanobacteria in eutrophic lakes where the pH is generally in alkaline region.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.194-202
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• 2003

To isolate alga-lytic bacteria, a number of samples were collected from Lake of Sukchon and Pal'tang reservoir where cyanobacteria blooming occurred. HY0210-AK1, which exhibited high alga-lytic activity, was isolated using Anabaena cylindrica lawn. The morphological and biochemical characteristics of the isolate HY0210-AK1 were very similar to that of the genus Rhizobium. Taxonomic identification including 16S rDNA base sequencing and phylogenetic analysis indicated that the isolate Hy0210-AK1 had a 99.1% homology in its 16S rDNA babe sequence with Sphingobium herbicidovorans. A. cylindrica NIES-19 was susceptible to the alga-lytic bacterial attack. The growth-inhibiting offset of the bacterium was not different on A. cylindrica NIES-19 when Sphingobium herbicidovorans HY0210-AK1 was in the lag, exponential, and stationary growth phase, although the alga-Iytic effect of S. herbici-dovorans HY0210-AK1 that in stationary growth phase was somewhat pronounced at the first time of inoculation. When S. herbicidovorans HY0210-AK1 was inoculated was inoculated with $1\times 10^{8}$ CFU $ml^{-1}$ together with A cylindrica NIES-19, the bacterium proliferated and caused algal lysis. A. cylindrica NIES-19 died when S. herbicidovorans HY0210 AKl was added to the algal culture but not when duly the filtrates from the bacterial culture was added. This suggests that extracellular substances are not responsible for inhibition of A. cylindrica NIES-19 and that algal Iysis largely attributed to direct interaction between S. herbicidovorans HY0210-AK1 and A. cylindrica NIES-19. The alga-lytic bacterium HY0210-AK1 caused cell lysis and death of three strain of Micro-cystis aeruginosa, but revealed no alga-Iytic effects on the Stephanodiscus hantzschii.

• ALGAE
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.355-360
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• 2003

A Gram (-), rod-shaped bacterium in size of 1.6-2.8 $\times$ 0.4 μm was isolated from a eutrophic reservoir, which exhibited growth-inhibiting effect against a bluegreen alga (Anabaena cylindrica). This isolate showed positive reactions for catalase and oxidase, and optimal conditions of 35-40°C and pH 9.0. This isolate was designated AC-1 in this manuscript. In a mixed-culture of A. cylindrica and AC-1, their growth patterns were inversely correlated and the bluegreen algal vegetative cells completely disappeared within 24-36 hours. AC-1 showed similar lytic activity in natural water as in an artificial medium. The lytic activity of AC-1 was dependent on the photosynthetic activity of A. cylindrica. When observed under phase contrast microscope, the isolate lysed vegetative cells of A. cylindrica in scattered state in a liquid medium, whereas heterocysts have not been lysed.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.36 no.2 s.103
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• pp.108-116
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• 2003

To investigate bacteria with algal Iytic activities against Anabaena cylindrica when water blooming occurs and to study enzyme profiles of alga-Iytic bacteria, various bacterial strains were isolated from surface waters and sediments in eutrophic lakes or reservoirs in Korea. Abacterial strain AK-07 was characterized and identified as Acinetobacter johnsonii based on its16S rDNA base sequence. When AK-07 was co-cultivated with A. cylindrica, bacterial cells propagated to $8\;{\times}\;10^8$ cfu $ml^{-1}$ and Iyses algal cells. However, culture filtrates of AK-07 did not exhibit algal Iytic activities. That suggesting the enzymes on the surfaces of the bacterium might be effective algal Iytic agents to cause Iyses of cells. Acinetobacter johnsonii AK-07 exhibited high degradation activities against A. cylindrica, and formed alginase, caseinase, lipase, fucodian hydrolase, and laminarinase. Moreover, glycosidases for example ${\beta}$-galatosidase, ${\beta}$-glucosidase, ${\beta}$-glucosaminidase, and ${\beta}$-xylosidase, which hydrolyzed ${\beta}$-0-glycosidic bonds, were found in cell-free extracts of A. johnsonii AK-07. Other glycosidase such as ${\alpha}$-galctosidases, ${\alpha}$-N-Ac-galctosidases, ${\alpha}$-mannosidases, and ${\alpha}$- L-fuco-sidases, which cleavage ${\alpha}$-0-glycosidic bondsare not detected. In the results, enzyme systemsof A. johnsonii AK-07 were very complex to do-grade cell walls of cyanobacteria. The polysaccharides or peptidoglycans of A. cylindrica maybe hydrolyzed and metabolized to a range of easily utilizable monosaccharides or other low molecular weight organic substances by strain AK-07 of A. johnsonii.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2006

Harmful algal blooms (HABs or red tides), caused by uncontrolled proliferation of marine phytoplankton, impose a severe environmental problem and occasionally threaten even public health. We sequenced the genome of an EPS-producing marine bacterium Hahella chejuensis that produces a red pigment with the lytic activity against red-tide dinoflagellates at parts per billion level. H. chejuensis is the first sequenced species among algicidal bacteria as well as in the order Oceanospirillales. Sequence analysis indicated a distant relationship to the Pseudomonas group. Its 7.2-megabase genome encodes basic metabolic functions and a large number of proteins involved in regulation or transport. One of the prominent features of the H. chejuensis genome is a multitude of genes of functional equivalence or of possible foreign origin. A significant proportion (${\sim}23%$) of the genome appears to be of foreign origin, i.e. genomic islands, which encode genes for biosynthesis of exopolysaccharides, toxins, polyketides or non-ribosomal peptides, iron utilization, motility, type III protein secretion and pigment production. Molecular structure of the algicidal pigment was determined to be prodigiosin by LC-ESI-MS/MS and NMR analyses. The genomics-based research on H. chejuensis opens a new possibility for controlling algal blooms by exploiting biotic interactions in the natural environment and provides a model in marine bioprospecting through genome research.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1621-1629
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• 2008

Harmful algal blooms (HABs), commonly called red tides, are caused by some toxic phytoplanktons, and have made massive economic losses as well as marine environmental disturbances. As an effective and environment-friendly strategy to control HAB outbreaks, biological methods using marine bacteria capable of killing the harmful algae or algicidal extracellular compounds from them have been given attention. A new member of the $\gamma$-Proteobacteria, Hahella chejuensis KCTC 2396, was originally isolated from the Korean seashore for its ability to secrete industrially useful polysaccharides, and was characterized to produce a red pigment. This pigment later was identified as an alkaloid compound, prodigiosin. During the past several decades, prodigiosin has been extensively studied for its medical potential as immunosuppressants and antitumor agents, owing to its antibiotic and cytotoxic activities. The lytic activity of this marvelous molecule against Cochlodinium polykrikoides cells at very low concentrations ($\sim$l ppb) was serendipitously detected, making H. chejuensis a strong candidate among the biological agents for HAB control. This review provides a brief overview of algicidal marine bacteria and their products, and describes in detail the algicidal characteristics, biosynthetic process, and genetic regulation of prodigiosin as a model among the compounds active against red-tide organisms from the biochemical and genetic viewpoints.