• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1773-1781
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• 2015

Environmental security is one of the major concerns for the safety of living organisms from a number of harmful pollutants in the atmosphere. Different initiatives, legislative actions, as well as scientific and social concerns have been discussed and adopted to control and regulate the threats of environmental pollution, but it still remains a worldwide challenge. Therefore, there is a need for developing certain sensitive, rapid, and selective techniques that can detect and screen the pollutants for effective bioremediation processes. In this perspective, isolated enzymes or biological systems producing enzymes, as whole cells or in immobilized state, can be used as a source for detection, quantification, and degradation or transformation of pollutants to non-polluting compounds to restore the ecological balance. Biosensors are ideal for the detection and measurement of environmental pollution in a reliable, specific, and sensitive way. In this review, the current status of different types of microbial biosensors and mechanisms of detection of various environmental toxicants are discussed.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.269-276
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• 2001

The objective of this study was to investigate the biodegradation of ethylene in an biofilter inoculated with ethylene-oxidizing microorganisms. The biofilter performance was monitored in terms of ethylene removal efficiency and carbon dioxide production. The biofilter was capable of achieving the ethylene removal efficiency as much as 100% at a residence time of 14 min and an inlet concentration of 290 ppm. Under the same conditions, carbon dioxide with a concentration of up to 546 ppm was produced. It was found that carbon dioxide was produced at a rate of 87 mg/day, which corresponded to a volume of 0.05 L/day. Observable features of the ethylene-oxidizing microorganisms, meaning microbial activity occurrence in the biofilter, were investigated with the microscopy analysis.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.259-264
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• 1993

Rice straw treated with anhydrous ammonia and/or sulphur dioxide was incubated with rumen liquor for 24 hours and 48 hours to investigate the changes in cell wall structure caused by the treatments and bacterial degradation using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A less significant tissue loss of untreated rice straw was inspected after incubated for 24 hours and 48 hours. Sulphuration decreased the thickness of sclerenchyma and apparently removed parenchyma tissues. Ammoniation degraded the phloem, and the lignified inner portion of the cell wall was completely, however, little collapsed epidemis and vascular bundles. Ammonia and Sulphur dioxide combined treatment removed the inner layer from outer layer. The extent of apparent degradability following combination treatment was the largest due to the enhanced microbial degradation of sclerenchyma and parenchyma cells.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.12-17
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• 1990

A mutant of Mycobacterium sp. has been isolated which is capable of degrading cholesterol and plant sterol to androst-4-ene-3, 17-dione and 9-hydroxyandrostene-3, 17-dione. Also this mutant hydroxylated the steroidal nucleus at the 9 $\alpha$ position. No ring degradation inhibitory agents are required for these processes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.34-37
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Fiber Society Conference
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• 2003.10b
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• pp.209-210
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• 2003

The durability and anti-microbial stability of plastics, which have been thought to be favorable characteristics, cause ecoloical problems due to non-degradation after disposal. For a possible solution of these ecological and environmental problems, the biodegradable polymers. especially aliphatic polyesters, have been widely investigated. Poly(tetramethylene succinate)(PTMS) is one of the most promising biodegradable polyesters. (omitted)

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.1001-1007
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• 2003

Metal ions contamination may inhibit microorganisms involved in the biodegradation of organic compounds and affect biodegradation rates. Therefore, it is likely that bioremediation of xenobiotics-contaminated soils and waste will require inoculation with efficient biodegrading microbial communities, with capabilities of being resistant to heavy metals as well. Two different transconjugants (Pseudomonas sp. KMl2TC and P. aeruginosa TC) were constructed by conjugation experiments. Results on MIC, induction and growth inhibition strongly indicated that arsenic-resistant plasmid, pKM20, could be mobilized, and the newly acquired phenotype of pKM20 was not only expressed but also well regulated, resulting in newly acquired resistances to $As^{5+},\;As^{3+},\;and\;Sb^{3+} in\;addition\;to\;Cd^{2+},\;Zn^{2+},\;and\;Hg^{2+}$. The phenol- degradation efficiencies of Pseudomonas sp. KMl2TC were maintained significantly even at high heavy metal concentrations at which these efficiencies of P. aeruginosa TC were completely impaired. The results in this study on the effects of heavy metals on phenol degradation, especially after conjugation, are the first ever reported. All the results described in this study encourage to establish a goal of making "designer biocatalysts" which could degrade certain xenobiotics in the area contaminated with multiple heavy metals.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.520-526
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• 1997

Bacterial strains which degrade Arabian Light crude oil were isolated by enrichment culture from oil-spilled soil. The strain A54 was finally selected after testing emulsifying activity and oil conversion rate. Strain A54 was identified as a Acinetobacter sp. based on the morphological, biochemical and physiological characteristics. It appears to be highly specialized for growth on Arabian Light crude oil in minimal salts medium since it showed preference for oil or degradation products as substrates for growth. It was found that it could grow on at least fifteen different hydrocarbons. The optimum cultural and environmental conditions were as follows; 25$\circ$C for temperature, 7,5 for pH, 2.0% for NaCl concentration and 2.0% for crude oil concentration. Additionally, the optimal concentration of NH$_{4}$NO$_{3}$, and K$_{2}$HPO$_{4}$, were 12.5 mM and 0.057 mM, respectively. Cell growth and emulsifying activity as a function of time were also determined. Crude oil degradation and the reduction of product peaks were identified by the analysis of remnant oil by gas chromatography. Approximately 63% of crude oil were converted into a form no longer extractable by mixed organic solvents.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.126-134
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• 1982

When $^{14}C-2$, 6-Diethylaniline (2, 6-DEA) was incubated aerobically in soil, $^{14}CO_2$ evolved from non-sterile soil A and B was 6.5 and 10.1%, respectively, in the 21st week. Methanol could extract 3.1 and 13.5% of the radioactivity from soil A and B, respectively, 2, 6-Diethylacetanilide was detected as a degradation product in soil. Chaetomium globosum produced 2, 6-diethyl-p-benzoquinone as a degradation product in pure culture. A possible pathway was proposed to include p-hydroxylation of 2, 6-DEA, formation of quinoneimine, and the subsequent hydrolysis with the release of ammonia.

• 한국환경농학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.07a
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• pp.128-135
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• 2011

Consortia demonstrated the high capacities of anaerobic degradation of various aromatic compounds, which were successfully enriched from gley paddy soils under different conditions. Phenol and cresol was decomposed anaerobically using nitrate, ferric oxide or sulfate as electron acceptors. Biphenyl was degraded to $CO_2$, especially without addition of external electron acceptor. Alkylphenols with middle length of alkyl chain, were co-metaboliocally degraded with the presence of hydroxylbenzoate as the co-substrate under nitrate reducing conditions. The microorganisms responsible for the anaerobic co-metabolism was Thauera sp. Reductive dechlorination activity was also observed for polychlorophenols, fthalide, polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins with the presence of lactate, formate or $H_2$ as electron donor. The fthalide dechlorinator was classified as Dehalobacter sp. Coupling of two physiologically-distinct anaerobic consortia, aromatic ring degrader and reductive dechlorinator, resulted in the mineralization of pentachlorophenol under anaerobic conditions. These results suggested that gley paddy soils harbored anaerobic microbial community with versatile capacity degrading aromatic compounds under anaerobic conditions.