• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.405-412
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• 2010

This study was focused on finding the potential of hot water extract of bamboo shoot (Sasa borealis Makino) on the fermentation of Kimchi made with Chinese cabbage. The properties of Kimchi were examined up to 28 days of storage. The pH and acidity decreased regardless of treatments and showed no significant difference between treatments. There was a decreasing tendency of both total and reducing sugars in kimchi but the addition of bamboo extract did not affect the soluble sugar levels. Interestingly, bamboo extracts affected the lactic acid fermentation and ripening, resulting in the increase of lactic acid in bamboo extract treatment. Number of total bacterial cell of additive group is higher than control one, probably due to the stimulative effect of bamboo extract on bacterial growth. Level of lactic acid bacteria was also higher in the additive group, thus, it is considered that bamboo extract appeared to enhance the proliferation of lactic acid bacteria. The acceptability of treated Kimchi was higher in general. And results of intensity evaluation in color and texture were higher as well by addition of bamboo extract.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.383-388
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• 2004

The conversion of a cellulose-producing cell ($Cel^+$) from Gluconacetobacter hansenii PJK (KCTC 10505 BP) to a non-cellulose-producing cell ($Cel^-$) was investigated by measuring the colony forming unit (CFU). This was achieved in a shaking flask with three slanted baffles, which exerted a strong shear stress. The addition of organic acid, such as glutamic acid and acetic acid, induced the conversion of microbial cells from a wild type to $Cel^-$ mutants in a flask culture. The supplementation of $1\%$ ethanol to the medium containing an organic acid depressed the con-version of the microbial cells to $Cel^-$ mutants in a conventional flask without slanted baffles. The addition of ethanol to the medium containing an organic acid; however, accelerated the conversion of microbial cells in the flask with slanted baffles. The $Cel^+$ cells from the agitated culture were not easily converted into $Cel^-$ mutants on the additions of organic acid and ethanol to a flask without Slanted baffles, but some portion of the $Cel^+$ cells were converted to $Cel^-$ mutants in a flask with slanted baffles. The conversion ratio of $Cel^+$ cells to $Cel^-$ mutants was strongly re-lated to the production of bacterial cellulose independently from the cell growth.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.139-143
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• 2006

Jopock (Jpk) has previously been ascertained that induces both bacterial and mammalian cell death. The Escherichia coli cells expressing Glutathion S-transferase (GST) fused Jpk showed elongated phenotype and inhibited cell growth which led eventual cell death. In an attempt to search the genetic suppressor of the lethal protein Jpk in bacterial cells, we constructed a unidirectional protein expression vector inserting tac promoter next to the C-terminus Jpk in pGEX-Jpk. The function of additional tac promoter was confirmed by substituting lac promoter in Plac-TOPO plasmid. The cells harboring plac- TOPO, which regulates $lacZ{\alpha}$ gene expression under lac promoter, formed blue colonies in 5-bromo-4-3 $indolyo-{\beta}-D-galactoside$ (X-gal) plate. When lac promoter was changed to tac promoter, same results were observed. Since the addition of tac promoter did not affect the toxic effect of Jpk, the pGEX-Jpk-ptac could be a useful vector for the screening of suppressor(s) for Jpk, in which GST-Jpk and a putative Jpk-suppressing protein are coexpressing from two unidirectional tac promoters, which response to the same inducer, $isopropyl-{\beta}-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG)$.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.268-277
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• 1998

The production of Korean ginseng, one of the most important medicinal root crops, is limited by many factors including soil sickness, root rots in fields as well as during storage prior to consumption. Although much research has been conducted on the diseases in field condition, little information is available on the control of postharvest roots rots. To obtain better management strategy of postharvest root rots in ginseng, biological control using antagonistic bacteria was attempted. Of 208 bacteria obtained form suppressive soil samples, 4 were selected based on the inhibitory effect on mycelial growth of two major causal fungi for postharvest root rots in ginseng, Botrytis cinerea and Fusarium solani. The culture filtrates of these bacterial antagonists greatly inhibited the conidial germination of both pathogenic fungi and produced abnormal morphology such as swollen germ tubes in F. solani and vacuolation of nongerminated conidia in B. cinerea. The population levels of bacterial antagonists on the ginseng roots were gradually increased up to 8 days of incubation. Postharvest root rots of ginseng caused by f. solani and B. cinerea were controlled in dipping tests in the ranges of 60∼80% by antagonistic Bacillus spp. obtained from suppressive soil. These results suggest that biological control using these antagonistic bacteria would be an alternative strategy to control postharvest root rots in ginseng.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.446-450
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• 2013

The ascomycete fungus Fusarium graminearum is a major causal agent for Fusarium head blight in cereals and produces mycotoxins such as trichothecenes and zearalenone. Isolation of the fungal strains from air or cereals can be hampered by various other airborne fungal pathogens and saprophytic fungi. In this study, we developed a selective medium specific to F. graminearum using toxoflavin produced by the bacterial pathogen Burkholderia glumae. F. graminearum was resistant to toxoflavin, while other fungi were sensitive to this toxin. Supplementing toxoflavin into medium enhanced the isolation of F. graminearum from rice grains by suppressing the growth of saprophytic fungal species. In addition, a medium with or without toxoflavin exposed to wheat fields for 1 h had 84% or 25%, respectively, of colonies identified as F. graminearum. This selection medium provides an efficient tool for isolating F. graminearum, and can be adopted by research groups working on genetics and disease forecasting.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.418-426
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• 2013

Pseudomonas isolates from different crop plants were screened for in vitro growth inhibition of Phytophthora capsici and production of biosurfactant. Two in vivo experiments were performed to determine the efficacy of selected Pseudomonas strains against Phytophthora blight of pepper by comparing two fungicide treatments [acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM) and ASM + mefenoxam]. Bacterial isolates were applied by soil drenching ($1{\times}10^9$ cells/ml), ASM ($0.1{\mu}g$ a.i./ml) and ASM + mefenoxam (0.2 mg product/ml) were applied by foliar spraying, and P. capsici inoculum was incorporated into the pot soil three days after treatments. In the first experiment, four Pseudomonas strains resulted in significant reduction from 48.4 to 61.3% in Phytophthora blight severity. In the second experiment, bacterial treatments combining with olive oil (5 mL per plant) significantly enhanced biological control activity, resulting in a reduction of disease level ranging from 56.8 to 81.1%. ASM + mefenoxam was the most effective treatment while ASM alone was less effective in both bioassays. These results indicate that our Pseudomonas fluorescens strains (6L10, 6ba6 and 3ss9) that have biosurfactant-producing abilities are effective against P. capsici on pepper, and enhanced disease suppression could be achieved when they were used in combination with olive oil.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.296-301
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• 1998

Flavobacterium species are nonfastidious, oxidase-positive gram-negative rods that do not ferment glucose. These organism are widely distributed in nature and in hospital environments. In past, one of flavobacteria, Flavobacterium indologenes, was treated with non-pathogenic organism. Recently, several investigators have demonstrated the infection of this organism in human. Nowadays, the growth of F. indologenes in specimen should be considered a potential pathogen in infectious patients including neonate, especially in the setting of malignancy and with use of invasive procedures. The resistance of this organism to multiple antibiotics and the high incidence of polymicrobial bacteremia make it difficult to determine optimal therapeutic options. We experienced a case of neonatal bacterial meningitis causing by F. indologenes. So we report this case to evoke more concerns about the infections of this organism in human.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.703-708
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• 2006

During infection, the common respiratory tract pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae encounters several environmental conditions, such as upper respiratory tract, lung tissue, and blood stream, etc. In this study, we examined the effects of blood on S. pneumoniae protein expression using a combination of highly sensitive 2-dimensional electrophoresis (DE) and MALDI-TOF MS and/or LC/ESI-MS/MS. A comparison of expression profiles between the growth in THY medium and THY supplemented with blood allowed us to identify 7 spots, which increased or decreased two times or more compared with the control group: tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase, lactate oxidase, glutamyl-aminopeptidase, L-lactate dehydrogenase, cysteine synthase, ribose-phosphate pyrophosphokinase, and orotate phosphoribosyltransferase. This global approach can provide a better understanding of S. pneumoniae adaptation to its human host and a clue for its pathogenicity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1364-1368
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• 2009

Lysosomes, as a cell organelle type, are safe biological control agents that may be possible replacements for chemical antimicrobial agents because they are simply isolated from egg white. In this study, it was found that the lysosomes isolated from egg white exhibited pH-dependent antimicrobial activity, with the optimal activity found at pH 6.0. The efficiency of lysosomes in inhibiting bacterial growth and activity was evaluated over a 12-h treatment period. Seven different microorganisms were used as bacterial strains, and the lysosomes showed a significant antimicrobial effect against all strains. In addition, the antimicrobial activity was maintained for 100 days, and there did not appear to be any resistance of E. coli to the lysosomal activity up to the eighth culture. However, the lysosomes did not affect the viability of mammalian cells, suggesting the biocompatibility of lysosomes. These highly effective lysosomes have a bright future in the application of novel antimicrobial sources as a cell organelle type.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.353-365
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• 2000

After their first appearance on Earth, bacteria have exerted significant influence on geochemical behavior of elements. Numerous evidence of their control on geochemistry through geologic history has been observed in a variety of natural environments. They have mediated weathering rate, formation of secondary minerals, redox transformation of metals and metalloids, and thus global cycling of elements. Such ability of bacteria receives so considerable attention from microbiologists, mineralogists, geologists, soil scientists, limnologists, oceanographers, and atmospheric scientists as well as geochemists that a new and interdisciplinary field of research called 'geomicrobiology' is currently expanding. Some recent subjects of geomicrobiology which are studied extensively are as follows: 1) Functional groups distributed on bacterial cell walls adsorb dissolved cations onto cell surfaces by electrostatic surface complexation, which is followed by hydrous mineral formation. 2) Dissimilatory metal reducing bacteria conserve energy to support growth by oxidation of organic matter coupled to reduction of some oxidized metals and/or metalloids. They can be effectively used in remediating environments contaminated with U, As, Se, and Cr. 3) Bacteria increase the rate of mineral dissolution by excreting proton and ligands such as organic acids into aqueous system. 4) Thorough investigation on the effects of biofilm on geochemical processes is needed, because most bacteria are adsorbed on solid substrates and form biofilms in natural settings.