• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 1990

Two macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B (MLS) antibiotic resistance genes, one expressed inducibly and the other expressed constitutively were recognized from a single Staphylococcus aureus DH1 strain. The inducible MLS resistance gene was isolated and cloned from the R-plasmid pDE1(7.4kb) and the constitutive gene was from chromosomal DNA. Base sequence of the inducible MLS resistance gene (1.2kb) was determined and found as same that of pE194. The restriction map of the cloned constitutive MLS resistance gene was compared with that of the inducible gene. Two genes have same restriction map except leader region. In the constitutive gene there is no leader region which is doing major role in inducible expression.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1214-1220
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• 2005

Decreased porin-mediated outer membrane penetration of hydrophilic antibiotics is a common mechanism of antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria. This study was undertaken to determine whether a null mutation in Pseudomonas putida would suppress porin synthesis, and therefore reduce the susceptibility of the organism to streptomycin, norfloxacin, and tetracycline. Inverse PCR amplification and double-stranded DNA sequencing were used to identify chromosomal genes carrying TnphoA'-1 inserts. Genome database available was used to identify putative homologue genes, one of which encodes protein with homology to domains of the MutS of P. putida, suggesting a crucial role in the multidrug resistance. Increased resistance to streptomycin, norfloxacin, and tetracycline might be due to accumulation of compensatory mutations. Either no growth or slow growth was observed in P. putida KH1027 when grown in minimal medium containing gluconate, glucose, or citrate; however, it is not clear whether the growth patterns contributed to the multidrug resistance.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.397-403
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• 2018

We determined the resistance rates of pathogenic bacteria isolated from cultured olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus to erythromycin (Em), antibiotic typically used in aquaculture and analyzed the genotypes of resistant bacteria using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We isolated and utilized 160 isolates of Streptococcus parauberis, 1 of S. iniae, 66 of Edwardsiella tarda, 56 of Vibrio sp. and 23 of unidentified bacteria from presumed infected olive flounder from Jeju Island from March 2016 to October 2017. Of the 306 isolated strains, Em-resistant strains included 33 of S. parauberis, 39 of E. tarda and 2 of Vibrio sp. We conducted PCR to assess the resistance determination of Em-resistant strains. Five different types of Em-resistance genes were detected in the 74 Em-resistant strains: erm (A), erm (B), erm (C), mef (A) and mef (E); erm (A) and erm (B) were detected in 1 (3%) and 24 (72.7%) S. parauberis isolates, respectively. In E. tarda, erm (B) was detected in five isolates (12.8 %) and no Em-resistance genes were detected in the two Vibrio sp. isolates.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.134-136
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• 2017

Lactobacillus salivarius KLW001, a species of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), was isolated from a weaning piglet in a swine farm, South Korea, to develop an antimicrobial probiotic strain for piglets. Herein, we report the draft genome sequence of the strain. The genome contains 2,326,706 bp with a G+C content of 33.0% in 166 contigs (${\geq}500bp$). From the genome, we found out 4 genes related to antibiotic resistance, 36 genes for phages, 3 genes for bile hydrolysis, and 27 CRISPR spacers.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.214-216
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• 2023

Meropenem-resistant Pseudomonas peli CJ30 was isolated from the Han River, South Korea. The genome of strain CJ30 comprising 4,919,106 bp with a G + C content of 60.0% was assembled to nine contigs. The draft genome sequence contained 5,411 protein-coding genes, 18 rRNA genes, and 70 tRNA genes. Strain CJ30 contained bla_SFC-3 and ampC β-lactamase gene.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.1101-1108
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• 2024

Earlier studies have validated the isolation of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Salmonella (ESBL-Sal) strains from food. While poultry is recognized as a reservoir for Salmonella contamination, pertinent data regarding ESBL-Sal remains limited. Consequently, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has isolated Salmonella spp. from retail meat and evaluated their antibiotic susceptibility and genetic characteristics via whole-genome sequencing. To further elucidate these aspects, this study investigates the prevalence, antibiotic resistance profiles, genomic characteristics, and homology of ESBL-Sal spp. obtained from livestock-derived products in South Korean retail outlets. A total of 653 Salmonella spp. were isolated from 1,876 meat samples, including 509 beef, 503 pork, 555 chicken, and 309 duck samples. The prevalence rates of Salmonella were 0.0%, 1.4%, 17.5%, and 28.2% in the beef, pork, chicken, and duck samples, respectively. ESBL-Sal was exclusively identified in poultry meat, with a prevalence of 1.4% in the chicken samples (8/555) and 0.3% in the duck samples (1/309). All ESBL-Sal strains carried the bla_CTX-M-1 gene and exhibited resistance to ampicillin, ceftiofur, ceftazidime, nalidixic acid, and tetracycline. Eight ESBL-Sal isolates were identified as S. Enteritidis with sequence type (ST) 11. The major plasmid replicons of the Enteritidis-ST11 strains were IncFIB(S) and IncFII(S), carrying antimicrobial resistance genes (β-lactam, tetracycline, and aminoglycoside) and 166 virulence factor genes. The results of this study provide valuable insights for the surveillance and monitoring of ESBL-Sal in South Korean food chain.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.255-265
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• 2016

Objectives: Mobile phones have become one of the most essential accessories in daily life. However, they may act as reservoir of infectious pathogens if they are used without hygienic practices in their handling. Therefore, this study aimed to isolate food-borne pathogens from mobile phones and investigate the characteristics of toxin genes and antibiotic susceptibility patterns. Methods: A total of 146 mobile phones were collected from 83 middle- and 63 high-school students in Busan. The surfaces of the mobile phones were aseptically swabbed. Results: Among the food-borne pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli were detected in 26 (17.8%), 20 (13.7%) and four (2.7%) samples, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences according to school level, gender or phone type. None of four E. coli strains had pathogenic toxic genes. All of the B. cereus strains carried at least three different toxin genes among the nine enterotoxin and emetic toxin genes. Three out of 20 B. cereus strains (15%) possessed emetic toxin genes, which are rarely detected in food-poisoning cases in Korea. Among the 26 strains of S. aureus, the detection rate of staphylococcal enterotoxin genes, toxic shock syndrome toxin (tsst) and factors essential for methicillin resistance (femA) were 84.6%, 7.7% and 100%, respectively. In the antibiotic susceptibility test, there was no methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA). Conclusion: The results show that students' mobile phones in Busan were contaminated by food-borne pathogens which carried various toxic genes. Therefore, regular phone disinfection and hand hygiene is important in order to reduce cross-contamination.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.53-59
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• 2018

The objective of this study was to investigate the plasmid profiling of multi-drug resistant (MDR) Vibrio in influent (inflow) and effluent (discharged) water samples of fish farms in Jeju, South Korea. MDR isolates identified through disc diffusion susceptibility tests, were subjected to plasmid profiling. One hundred fifty Vibrio isolates were obtained from each influent and effluent water sample. All MDR isolates were subjected to plasmid profiling. Greater number of bacteria were enumerated from effluents (61%) comparing to influents (39%). High incidence of neomycin, sulfamethoxazole, amoxicillin and oxytetracycline resistance was observed among the isolates, which was higher in effluent samples. In contrast, Vibrio isolates were more susceptible to florfenicol, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, and nalidixic acid. Among 99 (influent 39 and effluent 60) MDR isolates, a total of 58 (influent 38 and effluent 20) were found to bear plasmids ranging from 1.7 kb to >10 kb and showed 19 different antibiograms according to the size of plasmids. MDR isolates showed six and four distinct plasmid profiles in influent and effluent, respectively. Effluent samples contained more plasmid-carrying MDR Vibrio isolates with more diverse plasmid profiles and antibiograms, suggesting that fish farm tanks may serve as a reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes. The presence of plasmid-carrying MDR Vibrio isolates in fish farm effluent water may contribute to the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes to the environments, which ultimately poses threat to human health.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1460-1469
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• 2019

The extensive distribution of multidrug-resistant (MDR) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) poses a threat to healthcare worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the MDR and molecular patterns of MRSA isolates in children admitted to the two biggest tertiary care pediatric hospitals in northern and southern Vietnam. A total of 168 MRSA strains were collected to determine antibiotic susceptibility by minimum inhibitory concentration tests. Antibiotic-resistant genes, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing, and multilocus sequence typing were used for the molecular characterization of MRSA. Among the total strains, the MDR rate (51.8%) was significantly higher in the northern hospital than in the southern hospital (73% vs. 39%, p < 0.0001). The MDR-MRSA with the highest rates were "ciprofloxacin-erythromycin-gentamicintetracyclines" (35.6%), followed by "erythromycin-tetracycline-chloramphenicol" (24.1%), and "ciprofloxacin-erythromycin-gentamicin" (19.5%), showing an accumulative total of 79.3%. The most susceptible antibiotics were rifampicin (100%) and vancomycin (100%), followed by doxycycline (94.0%), meropenem (78.0%), and cefotaxime (75.0%). The SCCmecII strains showed greater resistance to gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, meropenem and cephalosporins compared with the other strains. The SCCmecII strains exhibited the highest rate in the tested genes (aacA/aphD: 55.2%, ermA/B/C: 89.7%, and tetK/M: 82.8%). ST5-SCCmecII was the predominant clone in the northern hospital, whereas SCCmecIVa was more pronounced in the southern hospital. In conclusion, our results raised concerns about the predominant MDR-MRSA strains in the pediatric hospitals in Vietnam. The north-south difference in the antibiotic resistance patterns and genetic structure of MRSA suggests different MRSA origins and various uses of antimicrobial agents between the two regions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.329-338
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• 2023

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a foodborne pathogen that produces attaching and effacing lesions on the large intestine and causes hemorrhagic colitis. It is primarily transmitted through the consumption of contaminated meat or fresh produce. Similar to other bacterial pathogens, antibiotic resistance is of concern for EHEC. Furthermore, since the production of Shiga toxin by this pathogen is enhanced after antibiotic treatment, alternative agents that control EHEC are necessary. This study aimed to discover alternative treatments that target virulence factors and reduce EHEC toxicity. The locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) is essential for EHEC attachment to host cells and virulence, and most of the LEE genes are positively regulated by the transcriptional regulator, Ler. GrlA protein, a transcriptional activator of ler, is thus a potential target for virulence inhibitors of EHEC. To identify the GrlA inhibitors, an in vivo high-throughput screening (HTS) system consisting of a GrlA-expressing plasmid and a reporter plasmid was constructed. Since the reporter luminescence gene was fused to the ler promoter, the bioluminescence would decrease if inhibitors affected the GrlA. By screening 8,201 compounds from the Korea Chemical Bank, we identified a novel GrlA inhibitor named Grlactin [3-[(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)methyl]-4-(3-methylbut-2-en-1-yl)-4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-one], which suppresses the expression of LEE genes. Grlactin significantly diminished the adhesion of EHEC strain EDL933 to human epithelial cells without inhibiting bacterial growth. These findings suggest that the developed screening system was effective at identifying GrlA inhibitors, and Grlactin has potential for use as a novel anti-adhesion agent for EHEC while reducing the incidence of resistance.