• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.9
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• pp.1593-1604
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• 2016

Recently, bacterial quorum quenching (QQ) has been proven to have potential as an innovative approach for biofouling control in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for advanced wastewater treatment. Although information regarding the microbial community is crucial for the development of QQ strategies, little information exists on the microbial ecology in QQ-MBRs. In this study, the microbial communities of biofilm were investigated in relation to the effect of QQ on anoxic/oxic MBRs. Two laboratory-scale MBRs were operated with and without QQ-beads (QQ-bacteria entrapped in beads). The transmembrane pressure increase in the QQ-MBRs was delayed by approximately 100-110% compared with conventional- and vacant-MBRs (beads without QQ-bacteria) at 45 kPa. In terms of the microbial community, QQ gradually favored the development of a diverse and even community. QQ had an effect on both the bacterial composition and change rate of the bacterial composition. Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were the most dominant phyla in the biofilm, and the average relative composition of Proteobacteria was low in the QQ-MBR. Thiothrix sp. was the dominant bacterium in the biofilm. The relative composition of Thiothrix sp. was low in the QQ-MBR. These findings provide useful information that can inform the development of a new QQ strategy.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.51-57
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• 2024

The removal of phosphorus, especially phosphate-form phosphorus, is necessary in wastewater treatment. Biofouling induced by the quorum sensing mechanism is also a major problem in membrane bioreactor (MBR), which reduces membrane flux. This study introduces lanthanum-doped quorum quenching (QQ) beads into MBR, confirming their inhibitory effect on biofouling due to Rhodococcus sp. BH4 and their capacity for phosphorus removal through lanthanum adsorption. A batch test was conducted to access the phosphate adsorption of lanthanum-QQ (La-QQ) beads and lab-scale MBR to verify the effect of inhibition. The study aimed to identify distinctions among the MBR, QQ MBR, and La-QQ MBR. In the batch test, the phosphate removal rate increased as the volume of beads increased, while the unit volume removal rate of phosphate decreased. In the lab-scale MBR, the phosphate removal rates were below 20% in the control MBR and QQ MBR, whereas the La-QQ MBR achieved a phosphate removal rate of 74%. There was not much difference between the ammonia and total organic carbon (TOC) removal rates. Regarding the change in transmembrane pressure(TMP), 3.7 days were taken for the control MBR to reach critical pressure. In contrast, the QQ-MBR took 9.8 days, and the La-QQ MBR took 6.1 days, which confirms the delay in biofouling. It is expected that La-QQ can be used within MBR to design a more stable MBR process that regulates biofouling and enhances phosphate removal.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.263-267
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• 2021

Periodontal disease is primarily associated with bacterial infection such as dental plaque. Dental plaque, an oral biofilm harboring a complex microbial community, can cause various inflammatory reactions in periodontal tissue. In many cases, the local bacterial invasion and host-mediated immune responses lead to severe alveolar bone destruction. To date, plaque control, non-surgical, and surgical interventions have been the conventional periodontal treatment modalities. Although adjuvant therapies including antibiotics or supplements have accompanied these procedures, their usage has been limited by antibiotic resistance, as well as their partial effectiveness. Therefore, new strategies are needed to control local inflammation in the periodontium and host immune responses. In recent years, target molecules that modulate microbial signaling mechanisms, host inflammatory substances, and bone immune responses have received considerable attention by researchers. In this review, we introduce three approaches that suggest a way forward for the development of new treatments for periodontal disease; (1) quorum quenching using quorum sensing inhibitors, (2) inflammasome targeting, and (3) use of FDA-approved anabolic agents, including Teriparatide and sclerostin antibody.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.2159-2170
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• 2016

Many plant-pathogenic bacteria are dependent on quorum sensing (QS) to evoke disease. In this study, the population of QS and quorum quenching (QQ) bacteria was analyzed in a consecutive monoculture system of Pseudostellaria heterophylla. The isolated QS strains were identified as Serratia marcescens with SwrIR-type QS system and exhibited a significant increase over the years of monoculture. Only one QQ strain was isolated from newly planted soil sample and was identified as Bacillus thuringiensis, which secreted lactonase to degrade QS signal molecules. Inoculation of S. marcescens to P. heterophylla root could rapidly cause wilt disease, which was alleviated by B. thuringiensis. Furthermore, the expression of lactonase encoded by the aiiA gene in S. marcescens resulted in reduction of its pathogenicity, implying that the toxic effect of S. marcescens on the seedlings was QS-regulated. Meanwhile, excess lactonase in S. marcescens led to reduction in antibacterial substances, exoenzymes, and swarming motility, which might contribute to pathogensis on the seedlings. Root exudates and root tuber extracts of P. heterophylla significantly promoted the growth of S. marcescens, whereas a slight increase of B. thuringiensis was observed in both samples. These results demonstrated that QS-regulated behaviors in S. marcescens mediated by root exudates played an important role in replanting diseases of P. heterophylla.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.141-142
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• 2009

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.552-560
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• 2017

Quorum quenching (QQ) bacteria entrapped in a polymeric composite hydrogel (QQ medium) have been successfully applied in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for effective biofouling control. However, in order to bring QQ technology closer to practice, the physical strength and lifetime of QQ media should be improved. In this study, enforcement of physical strength, as well as an extension of the lifetime of a previously reported QQ bacteria entrapping hollow cylinder (QQ-HC), was sought by adding a dehydration procedure following the cross-linking of the polymeric hydrogel by inorganic compounds like $Ca^{2+}$ and boric acid. Such prepared medium demonstrated enhanced physical strength possibly through an increased degree of physical cross-linking. As a result, a longer lifetime of QQ-HCs was confirmed, which led to improved biofouling mitigation performance of QQ-HC in an MBR. Furthermore, QQ-HCs stored under dehydrated condition showed higher QQ activity when the storage time lasted more than 90 days owing to enhanced cell viability. In addition, the dormant QQ activity after the dehydration step could be easily restored through reactivation with real wastewater, and the reduced weight of the dehydrated media is expected to make handling and transportation of QQ media highly convenient and economical in practice.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.279-284
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• 2018

Membrane biofouling is a critical operational problem that hinders the rapid commercialization of MBRs. Quorum quenching (QQ) has been investigated widely to control membrane biofouling and is accepted as a promising anti-fouling strategy. Various QQ strategies based on bacterial and enzymatic agents have been identified and applied successfully. Whereas, this study aimed to compare indigenously isolated QQ strain i.e., Enterobacter cloaca with well reported Rhodococcus sp. BH4. Both bacterial species were immobilized in polymeric beads and introduced to two different MBRs keeping the overall beads to volume ratio as 1%. Efficiencies of these strains were monitored in terms of prolonging the membrane filtration cycle of MBR, release of extra-cellular polymeric substances, membrane resistivity measurements and mineralization of signal molecules and permeate quality. Indigenous strain (Enterobacter cloaca) was added to $QQ-MBR_E$ while Rhodococcus sp. BH4 was introduced to $QQ-MBR_R$. QQ bacterial embedded beads showed enhanced filtration cycles up to 1.4 and 2.3 times for $QQ-MBR_E$ and $QQ-MBR_R$ respectively as compared to control MBR (C-MBR). Soluble EPS concentration of 52 mg/L was observed in C-MBR while significantly lower EPS concentration of 20 and 10 mg/L was witnessed in $QQ-MBR_E$ and $QQ-MBR_R$, respectively. Therefore, substantial reduction in biofouling showed the effectiveness of indigenous strain.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.128-136
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• 2014

Acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) lactonase has been proved to be the AHL-degrading enzyme with the highest substrate specificity for AHL molecules and has shown a considerable potential as low-cost and efficient quorum quenching (QQ) technique. However, few studies focused on its inhibitory effect on biofilm formation which is also a quorum sensing (QS)-regulated phenomenon. In this study, QQ activity of six isolates from biofouled reverse osmosis membranes was studied using Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and Agrobacterium tumefaciens NTL4 as biosensors under various conditions. All of the isolates belonged to the genus Bacillus and showed QQ activity regardless of the acyl chain length or substitution of AHL molecule. The isolates were capable of significantly inhibiting biofilm formation (46.7-58.3%) by Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and produced heat-sensitive extracellular QQ substances. The LC-MS analysis of the QQ activity of a selected isolate, RO1S-5, revealed the degradation of N-(3-oxododecanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone (3-oxo-C12 AHL) and the production of corresponding acyl homoserine (3-oxo-C12-HS), which indicated the activity of AHL lactonase. The broad AHL substrate range and high substrate specificity suggested that the isolate would be useful for the control of biofilm-related pathogenesis and biofouling in industrial processes.

• 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.21 no.10
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• pp.1001-1011
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• 2011

To explore bacterial diversity for elucidating genetic variability in acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) lactonase structure, we screened 800 bacterial strains. It revealed the presence of a quorum quenching (QQ) AHL-lactonase gene (aiiA) in 42 strains. These 42 strains were identified using rrs (16S rDNA) sequencing as Bacillus strains, predominantly B. cereus. An in silico restriction endonuclease (RE) digestion of 22 AHL lactonase gene (aiiA) sequences (from NCBI database) belonging to 9 different genera, along with 42 aiiA gene sequences from different Bacillus spp. (isolated here) with 14 type II REs, revealed distinct patterns of fragments (nucleotide length and order) with four REs; AluI, DpnII, RsaI, and Tru9I. Our study reflects on the biodiversity of aiiA among Bacillus species. Bacillus sp. strain MBG11 with polymorphism (115Alanine > Valine) may confer increased stability to AHL lactonase, and can be a potential candidate for heterologous expression and mass production. Microbes with ability to produce AHL-lactonases degrade quorum sensing signals such as AHL by opening of the lactone ring. The naturally occurring diversity of QQ molecules provides opportunities to use them for preventing bacterial infections, spoilage of food, and bioremediation.