• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.325-343
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• 2016

A total stress-based bounding surface model is developed to predict the undrained behaviour of saturated soft clays under cyclic loads based on the anisotropic hardening modulus field and bounding-surface theories. A new hardening rule is developed based on a new interpolation function of the hardening modulus that has simple mathematic expression and fewer model parameters. The evolution of hardening modulus field is described in the deviatoric stress space. It is assumed that the stress reverse points are the mapping centre points and the mapping centre moves with the variation of loading and unloading paths to describe the cyclic stress-strain hysteresis curve. In addition, by introducing a model parameter that reflects the accumulation rate and level of shear strain to the interpolation function, the cyclic shakedown and failure behaviour of soil elements with different combinations of initial and cyclic stresses can be captured. The methods to determine the model parameters using cyclic triaxial compression tests are also studied. Finally, the cyclic triaxial extension and torsional shear tests are performed. By comparing the predictions with the test results, the model can be used to describe undrained cyclic stress-strain responses of elements with different stress states for the tested clays.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.547-552
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• 1990

We have been searching microorganisms which produce highly active raw starch saccharifying enzyme and also have a good cultivation characters in submerged culture. About 170 strains of molds isolated from soil and compost were tested for their amylase productivity on plate contained 2% raw corn meal. Thirty-four strains out of 170 strains produced clearance on the plates, and were tested for their raw starch saccharifying activity. Then, 4 strains which had shown relatively high levels of saccharifying activity were selected. Among them, Strain No. 55 was found to have highest level of raw starch saccharifying activity, and selected for the further studies. In this paper, the morphological, physiological and cultural characteristics of Strain No. 55 were described. Based on the results obtained in these experiments, Strain No. 55 was identified to be a similar species to Aspergillus niger.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.1740-1746
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• 2006

Enrichment techniques led to the isolation of a Pseudomonas sp. strain P2 from municipal waste-contaminated soil sample, which could utilize different isomers of a commercial mixture of 4-nonylphenol when grown in the presence of phenol. The isolate was identified as Pseudomonas sp., based on the morphological, nutritional, and biochemical characteristics and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The ${\beta}$-ketoadipate pathway was found to be involved in the degradation of phenol by Pseudomonas sp. strain P2. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis of the culture media indicated degradation of various major isomers of 4-nonylphenol in the range of 29-50%. However, the selected ion monitoring mode of analysis of biodegraded products of 4-nonylphenol indicated the absence of any aromatic compounds other than those of the isomers of 4-nonylphenol. Moreover, Pseudomonas sp. strain P2 was incapable of utilizing various alkanes individually as sole carbon source, whereas the degradation of 4-nonylphenol was observed only when the test organism was induced with phenol, suggesting that the degradation of 4-nonylphenol was possibly initiated from the phenolic moiety of the molecule, but not from the alkyl side-chain.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.1638-1644
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• 2007

The effect of carbon sources on tacrolimus production by a mutant strain of Streptomyces clavuligerus CKD 1119, an isolate from soil, was examined. Among the carbohydrates and oils tested in this work, a mixed carbon source of soluble starch and com oil was the best. An analysis of the culture kinetics also showed that, in contrast to the carbohydrates, the com oil was consumed later in the antibiotic production phase, implying that the oil substrate was the principal carbon source for the biosynthesis of tacrolimus, and this was directly proven by experiments using $^{14}C$-glucose and $^{14}C$-oleate substrates. Furthermore, com oil induced the formation of lipase by the mutant strain, whereas the addition of glucose significantly repressed lipase activity. The lipase activity exhibited by the FK-506-overproducing mutants was also observed to be directly proportional to their tacrolimus yield, indicating that a high lipase activity is itself a crucial factor for tacrolimus production. A feasibility study with a 200-1 pilot-scale fermentor and the best strain (Tc-XII-15322) identified in this work revealed a high volumetric and specific productivity of about 495 mg/l and 0.34 mg/mg dry mycelium, respectively.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.41-45
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• 2007

Polaromonas naphthalenivorans CJ2, responsible for naphthalene degradation at a coal tar contaminated site, was isolated on MSB agar media supplied with naphthalene vapor as the sole carbon source at $10^{\circ}C$. The strain is not isolated under the same isolation condition using the same soil sediment at $20^{\circ}C$ although its optimum temperature is about $20^{\circ}C$. In this work we explored the reason why strain CJ2 could not have been isolated on MSB agar with naphthalene vapor at $20^{\circ}C$. Dispersed CJ2 cells in PBS buffer formed colonies on MSB agar with naphthalene vapor at $10^{\circ}C$ with low naphthalene vapor pressure, but not at $20^{\circ}C$ with high naphthalene vapor pressure. However, streaked cells without resuspension grew on MSB agar with naphthalene vapor at $10^{\circ}C,\;20^{\circ}C$, and even $25^{\circ}C$. Investigation of scanning electron microscopy showed that CJ2 cells formed extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) capsules, which were released easily from CJ2 cells by just dispersion. Therefore, it is concluded that strain CJ2 is able to overcome the naphthalene toxicity by forming a capsule-type barrier around the cells although it is susceptible to naphthalene toxicity at high temperature.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.890-894
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• 2002

A xylanase-producing Trichoderma strain was isolated from soil. Xylanase from Trichoderma strain SY was purified 21-fold to an apparent homogeneity, with a $17.4\%$ yield. The optimum pH and temperature were determined to be 5.5 and $50^{\circ}C$, respectively, and its molecular weight was 21-kDa by SDS-PAGE. The corresponding gene, named xyl, was cloned by RT-PCR. DNA blot analysis of xyl showed that this gene is present as a single copy. The amino acid sequence of the Xyl protein showed similarity to those of other xylanases derived from various fungi. mRNA of xyl was highly expressed when this fungus was grown on cellulose or xylan as a sole carbon source, but undetectable when grown on sucrose. Extracts of Escherichia coli cells expressing xyl were found to have xylanase activity. It was confirmed that xyl from this isolate encodes xylanase.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.678-686
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• 1996

To improve the preservation of Kimchi, we isolated Lactobacillus plantarum lytic enzyme-producing strain from soil, and the enzyme was purified and characterized. From the observation of cultural and morpho- logical characteristics, the isolated strain was identified as Metarrisium anisopliae (Metschn.) Sorok. The enzyme was purified to 75-folds with 40% yields through affinity adsorption and CM-Sephadex C-50 column chromatog- raphy. The optimum pH and temperature for lytic activity are 4.0 and 40$\circ$C, respectively, and the enzyme acitvity is stable between pH 3.0 and 9.0, and up to 50$\circ$C. The enzyme is a monomeric protein with molecular weight of 40,000 daltons by SDS-PAGE and gel filtration. The enzyme is endopeptidase which breaks the peptide linkage of Lactobacillus plantarum peptidoglycan. The lytic action spectra confirmed that Leuconostoc mesenteroides, a useful strain for the fermentation of Kimchi, is not lysed by the enzyme. The enzyme activity is inhibited by N-bromosuccinimide (NBS), which probably indicates the involvement of tryptophan residue in active site of the enzyme, and also inhibited by Ag$^{+}$. The amino acid composition analysis showed that the enzyme contains more acidic amino acids than basic ones, and composition of alanine, glycine, proline and tyrosines was very high.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.419-423
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• 2012

A xylanolytic bacterial strain, MX47, was isolated from rotting plant matter in soil. The strain was aerobic and gram positive, and grew between pH 6.0 and 11.0. Cells were susceptible to thiostrepton and chloramphenicol. The major fatty acids (>3%) comprised 64.55% of iso-$C_{15:0}$, 22.76% of anteiso-$C_{15:0}$, and 3.92% of iso-$C_{17:0}$. The G/C content of the DNA was 44.15 mol%. The predominant respiratory quinone was menaquinone 7 (MK-7). Searches for 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity as well as phylogenetic analyses strongly suggested that the strain should be classified to the genus Bacillus. However, its biochemical characteristics, including acid production and enzyme activities, are different from those of other Bacillus strains in the same clade, and therefore, we propose the name Bacillus sp. MX47.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.154-158
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• 1995

We isolated Streptomyces spry. from Korean soil, which showed high cytotoxicity against tumor cell lines, L1210 and P388Dl. Among 30 strains, three strains (DKM 104, DKM 128, DKM 409) were appeared to possess plasmid. Strain DKM 104 and DKM 128 had two CCC(Covalently Closed Circular) form plasmid, about 20 Kb in size and about 1 Kb compared with λ Hind III DNA size marker. And strain DKM 409 had three plasmids, among which two plasmic were CCC form about 20 Kb and about 20 Kb compared with same size marker. To find out whether plasmid involved in production of antitumor agent or not, we performed to curing experiment. Comparing cytotoxicity between culture filtrate of plasmid-containing strains and cured strains, we knew that only the cytotoxic activity of the strain DKM 128 was involved in plasmid.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.161-165
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• 2007

Cultivation of a biocontrol agent on a certain medium often results in reduced biocontrol efficacy and alters physiological state. In our previous study, Burkholderia gladioli strain B543 with long-term subculture on tryptic soy agar resulted in significantly reduced biocontrol ability against cucumber damping-off caused by P. ultimum. Therefore, we investigated the influence of laboratory culturing media on biocontrol activity and physiological state of Burkholderia gladioli strain B543 by using long-term repeated culture on a certain medium. When isolate B543 were successionally cultured on King's B agar (KBA), tryptic soy agar, nutrient agar (NA), or soil extract agar more than 20 times, the isolate cultured on KBA or NA showed a significantly enhanced biocontrol efficacy and higher population density in the rhizosphere of cucumber compared to that of the others. However, the isolates cultured on KBA more than 20 times showed the lowest production of protease, siderophore, or antifungal substance(s), measured by skim milk agar, Chrome-Azurol-S agar, and potato dextrose agar amended with 10% of the culture filtrate, respectively. Our results suggest that adaptation to proper culturing medium can alter biocontrol ability and physiological state, and we must consider laboratory media in optimizing the use of biocontrol agents.