• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.79-86
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• 2016

BACKGROUND: This study was initiated to quantitatively evaluate the effects of five heavy metals on the growth and P removal efficiencies of Alcaligenes sp., known as the Phosphorus Accumulating Organisms (PAOs). It was cultivated in the batch system with five heavy metals, such as Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb and Ni, added in single and binary mixtures, respectively.METHODS AND RESULTS: IC₅₀ (half of inhibition concentration of bacterial growth) and EC₅₀ (half of effective concentration of phosphorus removal Efficiencies) were used to quantitatively evaluate the effects of heavy metals on the growth and phosphorus removal Efficiencies of Alcaligenes sp. In addition, Additive Index Value (A.I.V.) method was used to evaluate the interactive effects between Alcaligenes sp. and heavy metals. As a result, as the five heavy metals were singly added to Alcaligenes sp., the greatest inhibitory effects on the growth and P removal efficiencies of each bacteria was observed in the cadmium (Cd). In the binary mixture treatments of heavy metals, the treatments of lowest IC₅₀ and EC₅₀ were the Cd + Cu treatment. Based on the IC₅₀ and EC₅₀ of the binary mixtures of heavy metals treatments, most interactive effects between the heavy metals were found to be antagonistic.CONCLUSION: Based on the results obtained from this study, it appears that they could provide the basic information about the toxic effects of the respective treatments of single and binary mixtures of heavy metals on the growth and P removal efficiencies of Alcaligenes sp. through further study about the characterization of functional proteins involved in toxic effects of heavy metals.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1173-1178
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to isolate an agar-degrading marine bacterium and characterize its agarase. Bacterium BK-1, from Gwanganri Beach at Busan, Korea, was isolated on Marine 2216 agar medium and identified as Agarivorans sp. BK-1 by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The extracellular agarase, characterized after dialysis of culture broth, showed maximum activity at pH 6.0 and $50^{\circ}C$ in 20 mM Tris-HCl buffer. Relative activities at 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and $70^{\circ}C$ were 67, 93, 97, 100, 58, and 52%, respectively. Relative activities at pH 5, 6, 7, and 8 were 59, 100, 95, and 91%, respectively. More than 90% of the activity remained after a 2 hr exposure to 20, 30, or $40^{\circ}C$; about 60% of the activity remained after a 2 hr exposure to $50^{\circ}C$. Almost all activity was lost after exposure to 60 or $70^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. Zymography revealed three agarases with molecular weights of 110, 90, and 55 kDa. Agarose was degraded to neoagarobiose (46.8%), neoagarotetraose (39.7%), and neoagarohexaose (13.5%), confirming the agarase of Agarivorans sp. BK-1 as a ${\beta}$-agarase. The neoagarooligosaccharides generated by this agarase could be used for moisturizing, bacterial growth inhibition, skin whitening, food treatments, cosmetics, and delaying starch degradation.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.198-204
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• 1999

Asymbiotic bacterium with highly effective toxins was isolated from entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema glaseri which has been widely used against various soil-inhabiting pests. The symbiont of S. glaseri was identified as Xenorhabdus nematophilus sp. by using several biochemical and physiological tests. When this strain was released into the hemolymph of insect larva, it produced highly toxic substances and killed the larva within 2 days. Two colony forms that differed n some biochemical characteristics were observed when cultures in vitro. Phase l colonies were mucid and difficult to be dispersed in liquid. Phase II was not mucoid and was easily dispersed in liquid. It did not adsorb neutral red or bromothymol blue. Rod-shaped cell size was highly variable between two phases, ranging 2-10 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$. It was also found that only infective-stage nematodes can carry only primary-phase Xenorhabdus in their intestine.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.393-398
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• 1996

In order to develop a lactic acid bacterial powder which can be used as a probiotic for human and animal, a lactic acid bacteria which has high resistance against low pH and ox-gall, and shows a good growth inhibition against E. coli, was isolated from an animal intestine and characterized. The isolated strain was identified as Enterococcus faecium. It had more than 90% of survival at low pH for 2 hours and almost 100% of survival in the presence of 0.3% ox-gall. When co-cultured with E. coli in MRS broth, all of the E. coli cells were killed within 24 hours. The final powdered product of the isolated strain was manufactured after a freeze drying process using an industrial media, and then checked its stability. Its storage stability was 80% for 11 months at 18$\circ$C.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.242-248
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• 2011

Several soil bacteria were found to degrade N-Acylhomoserine lactones (NAHLs), thereby interfering with the bacterial quorum sensing system. In this research, fifteen strains of NAHL degrading rhizobacteria were isolated from potato rhizosphere. Based on phenotypic characteristics and 16S rDNA sequence analyses, the strains were identified as members of genera Bacillus, Streptomyces, Arthrobacter, Pseudomonas and Mesorhizobium. All tested isolates were capable to degrade both synthetic and natural NAHL produced by Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (Pcc) strain EMPCC. In quorum quenching experiments selected isolates, especially Mesorhizobium sp., were markedly reduced the pathogenicity of Pcc strain EMPCC in potato tubers and totally suppressed tissue maceration on potato tubers. These led to consider the latter as a useful biocontrol agent against Pectobacterium spp.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.869-877
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• 2017

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are used as fermentation starters in vegetable and dairy products and influence the pH and flavors of foods. For many centuries, LAB have been used to manufacture fermented foods; therefore, they are generally regarded as safe. LAB produce various substances, such as lactic acid, ${\beta}$-glucosidase, and ${\beta}$-galactosidase, making them useful as fermentation starters. Existing functional substances have been assessed as fermentation substrates for better component bioavailability or other functions. Representative materials that were bioconverted using LAB have been reported and include minor ginsenosides, ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid, equol, aglycones, bioactive isoflavones, genistein, and daidzein, among others. Fermentation mainly involves polyphenol and polysaccharide substrates and is conducted using bacterial strains such as Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Bifidobacterium sp. In this review, we summarize recent studies of bioconversion using LAB and discuss future directions for this field.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.428-433
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• 2007

To clarify the pioneer group in the development of biofilms in high chlorine residual water, a semi-pilot model system was operated and 16S rDNA V3 targeted PCR-DGGE was submitted. Biofilm formation occurred rapidly in the model of a drinking water distribution system. It reached $10^3\;CFU/cm^2$ or more on the surface of stainless steel, PVC, and galvanized iron in chlorinated (1.0 mg/l) water within a week. Within a week, uncultured Proteobacteria- and Bacillales group-like sequences were detected and Sphingomonas-like sequences were identified from all season and all pipe materials tested. Hence Sphingomonas species were regarded as the potential pioneer group in the development of biofilm in drinking water and this results would be useful for the prevention of biofilm formation and safety of drinking tap water.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.441-447
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• 1998

A bacterial strain No. 43 was isolated from soil samples as a levan-assimiating microorganism producing an extracellular levanase and hydrolying levan to levanbiose. According to the taxonomic characteristics of its morphological and physiological properties, the strain was idenified as Pseudomonas sp. No. 43. The optimum culura medium was composed of 10g levan, 5g(NH4)2SO4, 3g NH4Cl, 3g polypepton, 1g K2HPO4, 0.5gMgSO4.7H2O, and 0.2g MnCl2.4H2O per liter. The cultivation for levanase was carried out in pH 7.0 at 4$0^{\circ}C$ for 28hr. The reaction product was a kind of oligosaccharide and it was purified by chilled ethanol precipitation and gel filtration for evalluation of degree of polymerization (DP). The purified product was determined as levanbiose of MW 342 and DP2 by HPLC and FAB-MS.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.243-247
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• 2011

It is important to identify the bacteria in snakes because they can cause disease; importantly, bacteria such as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris etc. could be pathogens especially in hospitalized, debilitated hosts, and immunocompromised patients. To analyze the distribution of snakes' bacteria in petting zoo, samples from 20 snakes were collected from 2002 to 2008. Nine bacteria species were isolated from both oral and cloaca while four and six species were identified only from oral and cloaca, respectively. Except for Actinobacter sp., all of the identified strains are opportunistic pathogens, and most of them can cause nosocomial infections in humans. Present results indicate that prevalence of various zoonotic bacterial strains in snakes could be involved in potential transfer of these bacteria into caretakers and other animals. Therefore, it needs to examine the antibiotic resistance of these pathogens to prevent outbreaks.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.41-44
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• 2013

We developed a poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) indicator plate and isolated a marine bacterial colony capable of biodegrading PBS based on the appearance of a clear zone. Growth of the PBS-2 isolate was observed over 4 days of culture at $37^{\circ}C$ in PBS-tryptone basal liquid medium, but not in PBS-deprived control medium. The PBS-2 isolate was named Paenibacillus sp. PBS-2 based on 16S rDNA gene sequencing. The PBS-biodegrading marine bacterium isolated in this study will contribute to the effective management of PBS waste problems in marine environments.