• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.166-169
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• 2012

In several biotechnological applications of living bacterial cells with inducible gene expression systems, the extent of overexpression and the specificity to the inducer are key elements. In the present study, we established the concentration ranges of $Zn^{2+}$, $Ni^{2+}$, $Co^{2+}$, ${AsO_2}^-$, and $Cd^{2+}$ ions that caused significant activation of the respective promoters of Synechocystis sp. without concomitant unspecific stress responses. The low expression levels can be increased up to 10-100-fold upon treatments with $Cd^{2+}$, ${AsO_2}^-$, $Zn^{2+}$, and $Co^{2+}$ ions and up to 800-fold upon $Ni^{2+}$ treatment. These results facilitate the development of conditional gene expression systems in cyanobacteria.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.275-281
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• 2014

Aim of this study was to investigate biofilms attached in pipeline of water reuse from the MBR system treating sewage without chlorination in correlation to the outflow water quality. Two general pipe materials: polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene (PE) were employed in the experiment. The peak growths were found at week 4 in both pipes. The maximum biofilms in PE pipe was $33mgVSS/cm^2$ with the growth rate of $4.75mgVSS/cm^2-d$ which was significant higher than that of PVC pipe. Biofilms examined by PCR-DGGE technique revealed five bacterial species in PE biofilms namely Sinorhizobium medicae WSM419, Sinorhizobium fredii NGR234, Geobacter sp. M18, Parachlamydia acanthamoebae UV-7, and Mycobacterium chubuense NBB4. The VSS concentrations in outflow had directly correlated to the biofilm attachment and detachment. High COD concentrations of outflow appeared during biofilm detaching phase. In summary, water quality of reuse water corresponded to the biofilms attachment and detachment in the pipeline.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.155-159
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• 2021

This study aimed to develop strain-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers to detect Fusobacterium hwasookii KCOM 1249^T, F. hwasookii KCOM 1253, F. hwasookii KCOM 1256, F. hwasookii KCOM 1258, and F. hwasookii KCOM 1268 on the basis of nucleotide sequences of a gene specific to each strain. The unique genes for each F. hwasookii strain were determined on the basis of their genome sequences using Roary. The strain-specific PCR primers based on each strain-specific gene were designed using PrimerSelect. The specificity of each PCR primer was determined using the genomic DNA of the 5 F. hwasookii strains and 25 strains of oral bacterial species. The detection limit and sensitivity of each strain-specific PCR primer pair were determined using the genomic DNA of each target strain. The results showed that the strain-specific PCR primers correspond to F. hwasookii KCOM 1249^T, F. hwasookii KCOM 1253, F. hwasookii KCOM 1258, F. hwasookii KCOM 1256/F. nucleatum subsp. polymorphum KCOM 1260, or F. hwasookii KCOM 1268/Fusobacterium sp. oral taxon 203 were developed. The detection limits of these strain-specific PCR primers ranged from 0.2 to 2 ng of genomic DNA for each target strain. The results suggest that these strain-specific PCR primers are valuable in quality control for detecting specific F. hwasookii strains.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.121-128
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• 2022

L-asparaginase (ASNase) is a therapeutic enzyme used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Currently, the most widely used ASNases are originated from bacteria. However, owing to the adverse effects of bacterial ASNases, new resources for ASNase production should be explored. Fungal enzymes are considered efficient and compatible resources of natural products for diverse applications. In particular, fungal species belonging to the genus Trichoderma are well-known producers of several commercial enzymes including cellulase, chitinase, and xylanase. However, enzyme production by marine-derived Trichoderma spp. remains to be elucidated. While screening for extracellular ASNase-producing fungi from marine environments, we found four strains showing extracellular ASNase activity. Based on the morphological and phylogenetic analyses using sequences of translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1α), the Trichoderma isolates were identified as T. afroharzianum, T. asperellem, T. citrinoviride, and Trichoderma sp. 1. All four strains showed different ASNase activities depending on the carbon sources. T. asperellem MABIK FU00000795 showed the highest ASNase value with lactose as a carbon source. Based on our findings, we propose that marine-derived Trichoderma spp. are potential candidates for novel ASNase production.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.721-727
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• 2023

This study was conducted to evaluate the level of microbial contamination in smoked salmon products sold in hypermarkets in major metropolitan cities in Korea. Listeria monocytogenes is the primary cause of smoked and raw salmon product recalls. Here, we used L. monocytogenes as a bacterial hygiene indicator and investigated the microbial contamination level of frozen/refrigerated smoked salmon products collected from hyper markets. Contamination levels were analyzed by seasons, manufacturers, and consumption regions. For hygiene indicator bacteria, total bacteria count, coliforms, and Escherichia coli were examined according to the food code established by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to detect Listeria sp. The highest contamination level was observed in spring in Busan among five consumption regions. Listeria was detected at a level of 2.1% among all samples collected. And especially L. monocytogenes was detected in two cases from the samples collected from Daegu and Daejeon. Sanitary standards and specifications should be established according to the contamination level of smoked salmon products investigated in this study, and continuous monitoring is necessary.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.854-862
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• 2013

We examined the quality characteristics and functionalities of Korean and Japanese spring Baechu cabbages and the kimchi prepared with them. To study the physiochemical properties of the cabbages and the kimchis, we measured their water content, pH, acidity, microbial counts, and springiness. On the third week of the kimchi fermentation at $5^{\circ}C$, their sensory properties and in vitro DPPH radical scavenging and anticancer activities using AGS human gastric cancer cells were determined. The Japanese Baechu contained 97.1% water, and the Korean Baechu, 92.4%. The comparison of the textures of the raw Baechu and the brined Baechu showed that the Korean Baechu had higher springiness scores than the Japanese Baechu. After four-week fermentation, the springiness score of the kimchi with Korean Baechu was 53.5%, significantly higher than the 41.4% of the kimchi with Japanese Baechu. The kimchi prepared with Korean Baechu had a low total bacterial count but higher Lactobacillus sp. and Leuconostoc sp. counts than the kimchi with Japanese Baechu. The kimchi prepared with Korean Baechu had the highest overall acceptability score in the sensory evaluation test. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of the kimchi with Korean Baechu was 83.2%, and that of the kimchi with Japanese Baechu, 46.1%. When the AGS human gastric cancer cells were treated with the kimchis, the kimchi prepared with Korean Baechu showed a 45% cancer cell growth inhibition rate, and the kimchi with Japanese Baechu, 26%, at 1 mg/mL of methanol extracts. At the 2 mg/mL concentration, the kimchis with Korean Baechu and Japanese Baechu showed 97% and 74% inhibition, respectively. The Korean Baechu showed better quality than the Japanese Baechu, and the kimchi prepared with the Korean Baechu showed better kimchi quality and functionality than the Japanese Baechu.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.58-63
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• 2013

A taxonomic study was carried out to assess the phylogenetic characteristics of isolate JJM57 from marine red algae Laurencia sp. collected from intertidal zone in Jeju Island, South Korea. Comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence shows that this isolate belongs to the genus Oceanisphaera. It shows 98.02% and 97.7% sequence similarity with Oceanisphera litoralis DSM $15406^T$ and Oceanisphera donghaensis KCTC $12522^T$, respectively. Strain JJM57 is a Gram-negative, aerobic, moderately halophilic bacterium able to grow in different NaCl concentration ranges from 0.5 to 8.0% and at varying temperatures from 4 to $37^{\circ}C$. Sharing some of the physiological and biochemical properties with O. litoralis and O. donghaensis, JJM57 strain differs in the utilization of ethanol, proline, and alanine. The G+C contents of the strain JJM57 is 61.94 mol% and it is rich in $C_{16:1}$ ${\omega}7c$ and/or iso-$C_{15:0}$ 2-OH, $C_{16:0}$, and $C_{18:1}$ ${\omega}7c$ fatty acids. The DNA-DNA relatedness data separates the strain JJM57 from other species such as O. litoralis and O. donghaensis. On the basis of these polyphasic evidences, present study proposed that strain JJM57 (=KCTC 22371 =AM983543 =CCUG 60764) represents a novel bacterial species of Oceanisphaera.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.694-705
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• 2017

The aim of this study was to isolate and identify marine bacterium with anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) activity, and to purify the anti-MRSA compound, as well as to determine its activity and synergistic effects. Among the marine bacteria isolated in this study, the YJ-1 isolate had the strongest anti-MRSA activity. The YJ-1 isolate was identified on the basis of its biochemical characteristics and an analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences. The YJ-1 isolate showed over 99.2% homology with Pseudomonas stutzeri, and was designated as a Pseudomonas sp. YJ-1. The optimal culture conditions were $25^{\circ}C$ and initial pH 7.0. For the purification of the anti-MRSA compounds, the YJ-1 was cultured in Pa PES-II medium, and the culture filtrates were extracted by ethyl acetate, hexane, and 80% MeOH. The 80% MeOH fraction was separated by a $C_{18}$ ODS column, silica gel chromatography and a reverse phase HPLC, to yield three anti-MRSA agents, the MR1, MR2, and MR3 compounds. When the MR1 compound of $250{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$ concentration was applied to the MRSA cells, over 95% of bacterial cells was killed within 48 hr. Compared with vancomycin and ampicillin, the MR1 compound showed significant anti-MRSA activity. In addition, the anti-MRSA activity was increased by dose and time dependent manners. Furthermore, the combination of an MR1 compound with vancomycin produced a more rapid decrease in the MRSA cells than did the MR1 compound alone. Taken together, our results suggest that the Pseudomonas sp. YJ-1 and its anti-MRSA compounds could be employed as a natural antibacterial agent in MRSA infections.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.14
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• pp.225-250
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• 1981

The investigation of air fungal population in the storages to keep papers and textiles that are designated as important folk life materials or treasures was carried out from Dec. 17 to. 23, 1980. Isolation media was used for malt extract agar with chloramphnicol to prevent bacterial contamination. Isolation and identification of air fungi from the four preserved rooms were Cladosporium cladosporioides, Alternaria chlamydospora, Aspergillus fumigatus, A. versicolor, Eurotium chevalieri, Penicillium charlesii var. rapidum, P. oxalicum. P. viridicatum, Trichoderma viride, Acremomium sp., Mucor sp. and Yeast. It was found that nine species in eight genera was isolated. Among them, underscribed species in Korea was two species ; Eurotium chevalieri and Penicillium visidicatum. The fungal population of four storages was showed to be dominant species such as Cladosporium cladosporioides and the order was Acremonium, Penicillium, Aspergillus, Trichoderma, Alternaria and Eurotium. Eurotium chevalieri was ascomycetous fungi including distinctive ascospores in cleistothecia, the filamentous fungi was directly isolated from the papers and cellulose materials showing to be fourteen species in eight genera. The most species of the fungi isolated was also Cladosporium cladosporioides and the other fungi were found as Acremonium, Penicillium, Aspergillus and Trichoderma. It was confirmed that underscribed fungi were two species ; Mucor racemosus and Penicillium spinulosvm. The effect of four antifungal agents, benzoic acid, sorbic acid, dehydroacetic acid and thymol was also examined on eight species of Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium. and Tricoderma. this results were shown that more than 0.5% concentration of thymol inhibited the grow of all fungalspecies and other three chemicals appeared various inhibition zones of fungal growth depending in their different concentrations.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.227-234
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• 2019

This study was performed to investigate the effect of heat-stressed environment on rumen microbial diversity in Holstein cows. Rectal temperature and respiration rate were measured and rumen fluid was collected under normal environment (NE; Temperature humidity index (THI)=64.6) and heat-stressed environment (HE; THI=87.2) from 10 Holstein cows (60±17.7 months, 717±64.4 kg) fed on the basis of dairy feeding management in National Institute of Animal Science. The rumen bacteria diversity was analyzed by using the Illumina HiSeq^TM 4000 platform. The rectal temperature and respiratory rate were increased by 1.5℃ and 53 breaths/min in HE compared to that in NE, respectively. In this study, HE exposure induced significant changes of ruminal microbe. At phylum level, Fibrobacteres were increased in HE. At genus level, Ruminococcaceae bacterium P7 and YAD3003, Butyrivibrio sp. AE2032, Erysipelotrichaceae bacterium NK3D112, Bifidobacterium pseudolongum, Lachnospiraceae bacterium FE2018, XBB2008, and AC2029, Eubacterium celulosolvens, Clostridium hathewayi, and Butyrivibrio hungatei were decreased in HE, while Choristoneura murinana nucleopolyhedrovirus, Calothrix parasitica, Nostoc sp. KVJ20, Anabaena sp. ATCC 33047, Fibrobacter sp. UWB13 and sp. UWB5, Lachnospiraceae bacterium G41, and Xanthomonas arboricola were increased in HE. In conclusion, HE might have an effect to change the rumen microbial community in Holstein cows.