• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.262-267
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• 2003

Chestnut (Casranea crenata S. et Z.) leaves and flowers were extracted with 80% methanol and then fractionated with ethylacetate, methanol and water. Their antimicrobial activities in each fraction were investigated. Methanol fraction of the chestnut leaves and flower showed strong antimicrbial activities against both of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The ethylacetate and water fraction, however, showed only weak antimicrobial activities when the antimicrobial activities were occurred. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the methanol extracts of the chestnut leaves and flowers against 5 strains of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria were at $60\;{\mu}g/disc$. The extracts of the chestnut leaves and flowers inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis at 0.5% (w/w) concentration. In order to investigate the effect of extraction methods on the B. subtilis, scanning electron microscope was used. The B. subtilis was damaged when the methanol extracts of the chestnut leves and flowers were at 500 ppm.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.180-185
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• 2006

Invasive Pseudomonas infections most often occur in the immunocompromised patients and are associated with high mortality rate. Rarely this disease may develop in healthy infants and children. We report two cases of invasive Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections that were diagnosed in otherwise healthy infants. The first case was a previously healthy 5-month-old infant with ecthyma gangrenosum and septicemia. She presented with fever, swelling of left periorbital area and multiple erythronodular skin lesions. Each skin lesion formed a black eschar surrounded by an erythematous areola over time. Cultures of blood, urine and discharge from skin lesions grew P. aeruginosa. On the day of visit, she showed pancytopenia which was normalized after 10 days. The patient responded well to the management with ceftazidime and tobramycin. The other case was a previously healthy 9-month-old infant with community-acquired pneumonia. He was referred from an outside hospital with fever and cough. Chest x-ray revealed pneumonic infiltrations on both lower lungs with pleural effusion on the right side. Cultures of blood and pleural fluid grew P. aeruginosa. Chest CT performed on the ninth day demonstrated pneumatoceles, lung abscess and necrosis of lung parenchyma. He was managed with ceftazidime and amikacin for 50 days. No residual pulmonary complications were noted during the three month follow-up. Laboratory results to evaluate immunologic defects of phagocytic cells, complement components and T- and B-lymphocytes were all within normal range in both patients. It should be kept in mind that Pseudomonas can be, though uncommon, a cause of community-acquired invasive infections in the previously healthy infants.

• Korean Journal of Weed Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.42-53
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• 1996

The tolerant and susceptible rice cultivars to oxyfluorfen were selected from 400 rice cultivars in a laboratory, and tested in comparison with barnyardgrass, a typical oxyfluorfen susceptible weed. The responses to oxyfluorfen in the different levels of calli, cells and protoplasts of the rice cultivars were investigated. $I_{50}$ value of the tolerant rice cultivars was about $10^{-4}M$, whereas that of the susceptible rice cultivars and barnyardgrass was about $10^{-6}M$, showing significant difference between the two groups. The growth rate of calli segregated from the tolerant rice cultivars was higher than that from the susceptible rice cultivars and barnyardgrass by treatment of oxyfluorfen to the calli. The growth rate of suspension-cultured cells of the tolerant rice cultivars was higher than that of the susceptible rice cultivars and barnyardgrass after treatment of oxyfluorfen. The viability of protoplasts from the tolerant rice cultivars was higher than that from the susceptible rice cultivars and barnyardgrass after one or two hours of oxyfluorfen treatment. The intactness of protoplasts from the tolerant rice cultivars was also higher than that form the susceptible rice cultivars and barnyardgrass.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.303-307
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• 2013

The cultivation of Poria cocos on tree-stumps and logs, was first described at the beginning of the 13th century. Poria cocos has been used for medicinal purposes to treat physical and mental recuperation, promote diuresis, forgetfulness and physical weakening. The artificial cultivation techniques of P. cocos was reported in China in 1957. are reported. The basic study on morphological characteristics and artificial cultivation method of Poria cocos with pine tree log buried under ground were initiated by Rural Development Administration. To widen the utilization of harvested sclerotia of Poria cocos as new food stuffs, powder of the sclerotia were used for producing new soft drinks and supplemented to wheat flour to make functional bread. Last 30 years, the supply of P. cocos in Korea through cultivation could not meet the domestic demand, Korea collected P. cocos in the mountainous areas and also import the sclerotia from China. Since the domestic demand of the sclerotia in China increased, the price of imported sclerotia of P. cocos also increased. Recently, high-quality and high-yielding cultivation methods were developed in Gyeongbuk Agricultural Research and Extension Services (GARES). The new cultivation methods of P. cocos developed by GARES was to change traditional cultivation method from under ground to above ground cultivation house, and shortened cultivation period by half, and improved the quality of the sclerotia. Therefore, it is suggested that advanced new technology for production of sclerotia of P. cocos from under ground and above ground must be developed for fullfil the domestic demand of the sclerotia.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.313-319
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• 2004

The distribution and characteristics of acidotolerant heterotrophic and naphthalene-degrading bacteria were investigated in two forest areas, one near Ulsan petrochemical industrial complex (Sunam) and the other in countryside (Daeam). Average values of soil pH at Sunam and Daeam were 3.8 and 4.6, respectively. When het­erotrophic and naphthalene-degrading bacteria were enumerated by most probable number (MPN) procedures at Sunam, the median values of heterotrophs growing at pH 7.0 and pH 4.0 were $5.3{\times}10^7\;and\;3.3{times}10^7$ MPN/g, whereas those of naphthalene-degraders were $5.6{\times}10^4\;and\;4.0{times}10^5$ MPN/g, respectively. While the medians of heterotrophs at Daeam were larger than those at Sunam, the concentrations of naphthalene-degraders were higher at Sunam compared to those at Daeam. From the MPN tubes and enrichment cultures, we obtained 17 isolates of naphthalene-degraders which were identified as Sphingomonas paucimobilis, Brevundimonas vesic­ularis, Burkholderia cepacia, Ralstonia pickettii, Pseudomanas fluorescens, and Chryseomonas luteola. Among them, 6 isolates showed higher naphthalene-degrading activity on minimal media of pH 4 compared to pH 7, whereas the extent of growth was not greater at pH 4 than at pH 7 when they were inoculated on nutrient-rich media. It is plausible that the pH may affect naphthalene-degrading activity of the isolates by changing fatty acid composition of bacterial membrane.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.193-200
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• 2007

Indoor airborne bacterial and fungal concentrations were examined at classrooms and corridors of 3 elementary schools in Ulsan. Airborne microorganisms were collected with an impaction-type air sampler using plate count agar and dichloran rose bengal chloramphenicol agar. During the semester, concentrations of bacteria ranged $168{\sim}3,887 MPN/m^3$ at classrooms and $168{\sim}6,339 MPN/m^3$ at corridors, while those of fungi ranged $34{\sim}389 MPN/m^3$ at classrooms and $91{\sim}507 MPN/m^3$ at corridors. The bacterial concentrations showed larger variations between situations and schools compared to those of fungi. When airborne bacteria were isolated and identified, 84% were observed as Gram-positive, and Micrococcus spp. was the most abundant group with 61% of tested isolates, followed by genus Staphylococcus with 10%. The Micrococcus spp. isolates, of which 75% were identified as M. luteus, appeared to be from human origins. The protective pigments and substantial cell wall of Micrococcus may provide selective advantage for their survival in the air. We also isolated and identified 15 genera of filamentous fungi. The most common culturable fungi were Cladosporium, Aspergillus and Penicillium, and these 3 genera were 69% of fungal isolates. Genus Stachybotrys, of which S. chartarum is a well known producer of many potent mycotoxins, was also detected from one of the schools. further systematic studies are necessary with an emphasis on species identification and mycotoxin production of isolated fungal genera, including Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Stachybotrys.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.175-179
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• 2012

Adenoviruses are an important cause of respiratory tract infections, particularly in infants, young children, and immuno-compromised patients. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of adenoviruses isolated from outpatients with acute respiratory illness in Gyeonggi province of South Korea during 2009-2011. Adenoviruses were detected in 102 of 1,622 (6.3%) specimens by using PCR or real-time PCR with viral specific primers. 76 isolates were obtained from 102 specimens using the A549 cells. Serotypic distributions of isolated adenovirus were analyzed by sequencing of hexon gene. Six different serotypes were identified, which included adenovirus serotypes 1-6. Adenovirus 3 (n=40, 52.6%) was the predominant serotype. The predominant types of adenovirus every year were serotypes 1 and 3 in 2009, serotype 3 in 2010, and serotype 5 in 2011, respectively. Adenoviruses 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 were isolated sporadically throughout the study period. Adenovirus 3 was present both during outbreaks and in sporadic cases. These results indicate that adenovirus 3 played major causative agent of adenovirus outbreaks in Gyeonggi province of South Korea during 2009-2011. Continuous surveillance for specific serotypes of adenovirus that can cause outbreaks is important.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.268-274
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• 2009

A photosynthetic cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis, well known for health food supplement, was studied as a target species for atmospheric $CO_2$ removal as well as biomass production. Although the biomass of A. platensis was massively produced in many countries, the recovery cost of its biomass is still high. The purpose of this study was to develop the A. platensis mutant strains which have enhanced growth rate and floatation activity to reduce the recovery cost. A. platensis KCTC AG20590 was treated with 0.24% ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) for 20 min at room temperature. The mutant strain A. platensis M20CJK3 was finally selected by its morphological and physiological features. The morphology of the mutant A. platensis M20CJK3 was changed from loose-coiled form to tight-coiled form showing short pitch. The growth and $CO_2$ uptake rate of A. platensis M20CJK3 were improved about 15% and 17% compared with A. platensis KCTC AG20590, respectively. The floatation activity of A. platensis M20CJK3 was enhanced in 2-fold compared with that of A. platensis KCTC AG20590. Soluble proteins extracted from two strains were analyzed by two dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and MALDI-TOF MS/MS. Among 15 protein spots induced in 2-DE analysis, two spots were the proteins related to photosynthesis and electron transfer system of the other cyanobacteria. As a consequence, it seems that the tight-coiled mutant A. platensis M20CJK3 has an advantage of high growth rate and floatation activity which are beneficial for the mass cultivation and recovery.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.85-92
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• 2008

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic human pathogen, causing a wide variety of infections including cystic fibrosis, microbial keratitis, and burn wound infections. The cell-to-cell signaling mechanism known as quorum sensing (QS) plays a key role in these infections and the QS systems of P. aeruginosa have been most intensively studied. While many literatures that introduce the QS systems of P. aeruginosa have mostly focused on two major acyl-homo serine lactone (acyl-HSL) QS signals, N-3-oxododecanoyl homoserine lactone (3OC12) and N-butanoyl homoserine lactone (C4), several new signal molecules have been discovered and suggested for their significant roles in signaling and virulence of P. aeruginosa. One of them is PQS (Pseudomonas quinolone signal; 2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone), which is now considered as a well-characterized major signal meolecule of P. aeruginosa. In addition, recent researches have also suggested some more putative signal molecules of P. aeruginosa, which are diketopiperazines (DKPs) and pyocyanin. DKPs are cyclic dipeptides and structurally diverse depending on what amino acids are involved in composition. Some DKPs from the culture supernatant of P. aeruginosa are suggested as new diffusible signal molecules, based on their ability to activate Vibrio fischeri LuxR biosensors that are previously considered specific for acyl-HSLs. Pyocyanin (1-hydroxy-5-methyl-phenazine), one of phenazine derivatives produced by P. aeruginosa is a characteristic blue-green pigment and redox-active compound. This has been recently suggested as a terminal signaling factor to upregulate some QS-controlled genes during stationary phase under the mediation of a transcription factor, SoxR. Here, details about these newly emerging signaling molecules of P. aeruginosa are discussed.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.593-596
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• 1997

In the course of search antagonistic fungi from soil in green house, four kind of fungi (AF1, AF2, AF3, AF4) were isolated, which have activities against Phytophthora capsici, Botrytis cinera, Rhizoctonia solani, Pythium ultimum and Fusarium oxysporum. The AF2 was identified according to the morphological description of Aspergillus terreus. This antagonistic fungus inhibiting various plant pathogens was effective to reduce disease incidence of cucumber seedlings caused by mixed inoculum of Rhizoctonia solani, Pythium ultimum and Fusarium oxysporum. Antifungal compound I was isolated and purified by fresh chromatography from A. terreus. The $^1H$ and $^{13}C$ assignment of compound I was achieved from two-dimensional $^1H-^1H\;COSY$, HMQC, HMBC with the add of homonuclear and heteronuclear double resonance experiment. The compound I was identified butyrolactone I (${\alpha}$-oxo-${\beta}$-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-${\gamma}$-(p-hydroxy-m-3,3-dimethyl-allylbenzyl)-${\gamma}$-methoxycarbonyl-${\gamma}$-butyrolactone, $C_{24}H_{24}O_7$, M.W.=424).