• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.208-217
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• 2018

In this study, samples were collected from the leaves and stems of healthy wild Pistachio trees (Pistacia atlantica L.) from various locations of Baneh and Marivan regions, Iran. In total, 61 endophytic bacteria were isolated and grouped according to phenotypic properties. Ten selected isolates from each group were further identified by partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Based on the results, isolates were identified as bacteria belonging to Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Bacillus, Pantoea and Serratia genus. The ability of these isolates was evaluated to phytohormone production such as auxin and gibberellin, siderophore production, phosphate solubilization, atmospheric nitrogen fixation, protease and hydrogen cyanide production. All strains were able to produce the plant growth hormone auxin and gibberellin in different amounts. The majority of strains were able to solubilize phosphate. The results of atmospheric nitrogen fixation ability, protease and siderophore production were varied among strains. Only Ba66 could produce a low amount of hydrogen cyanide. The results of biocontrol assay showed that Pb78 and Sp15 strains had the highest and lowest inhibition effects on bacterial plant pathogens, Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae Pss20 and Pseudomonas tolaasii Pt18 under in vitro condition. Pb3, Pb24 and Pb71 strains significantly promote root formation on carrot slices. To our knowledge this is the first report of the isolation of endophytic bacterial strains belonging to Pantoea, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Serratia and Stenotrophomonas genus from wild pistachio trees with plant growth promoting potential and biocontrol activity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.815-820
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• 2004

A bacterum containing antitumor activity was isolated from traditional korean food, Jeotgal. Through the 16s rRNA sequence analysis, the bacterium was identitied as a strain of Bacillus subtilis SW-l. The best culture condition for antitumor activity of the bacterium is 3% of soluble starch and 1 % of yeast extract as corbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. Cytotoxicitic concentrations of the culture supernatant of B. subtilis SW-1 against cancer cell lines, A549 and SK-OV3 were 30 ul/ml and 40 ul/ml, respectively, as $IC_{50}$/ values. In DNA fragmentation assay, the culture supernatant showed the programmed cell death (apoptosis) to cause degrading the chromosomal DNA like ladder. Taken together, the culture supernatant of the B. subtilis SW-1 has some possibility to be used as an antitumor agent.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.291-297
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• 2012

Ginsenoside (ginseng saponin), the principal component of ginseng, is responsible for the pharmacological and biological activities of ginseng. We isolated lactic acid bacteria from Kimchi using esculin agar, to produce ${\beta}$-glucosidase. We focused on the bio-transformation of ginsenoside. Phylogenetic analysis was performed by comparing the 16S rRNA sequences. We identified the strain as Lactobacillus (strain 6105). In order to determine the optimal conditions for enzyme activity, the crude enzyme was incubated with 1 mM ginsenoside Rb1 to catalyse the reaction. A carbon substrate, such as cellobiose, lactose, and sucrose, resulted in the highest yields of ${\beta}$-glucosidase activity. Biotransformations of ginsenoside Rb1 were analyzed using TLC and HPLC. Our results confirmed that the microbial enzyme of strain 6105 significantly transformed ginsenoside as follows: Rb1${\rightarrow}$gypenoside XVII, Rd${\rightarrow}$F2 into compound K. Our results indicate that this is the best possible way to obtain specific ginsenosides using microbial enzymes from 6105 culture.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.68-74
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• 2012

Biocontrol microbes have mainly been screened among large collections of microorganisms $via.$ nutrient-rich $in$ $vitro$ assays to identify novel and effective isolates. However, thus far, isolates from only a few genera, mainly spore-forming bacilli, have been commercially developed. In order to isolate field-effective biocontrol microbes, we screened for more than 200 oligotrophic bacterial strains, isolated from rhizospheres of various soil samples in Korea, which induced systemic resistance against the soft-rot disease caused by $Pectobacterium$ $carotovorum$ SCC1; we subsequently conducted in $planta$ bioassay screening. Two oligotrophic bacterial strains were selected for induced systemic disease resistance against the $Tobacco$ $Mosaic$ $Virus$ and the gray mold disease caused by $Botrytis$ $cinerea$. The oligotrophic bacterial strains were identified as $Pseudomonas$ $manteilii$ B001 and $Bacillus$ $cereus$ C003 by biochemical analysis and the phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA sequence. These bacterial strains did not exhibit any antifungal activities against plant pathogenic fungi but evidenced several other beneficial biocontrol traits, including phosphate solubilization and gelatin utilization. Collectively, our results indicate that the isolated oligotrophic bacterial strains possessing induced systemic disease resistance could provide useful tools as effective biopesticides and might be successfully used as cost-effective and preventive biocontrol agents in the field.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.20-31
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• 2012

Endophytic bacterial communities of tidal flat plants antagonistic to oomycete plant pathogens were studied by the isolation of 256 root colonizing endophytic bacteria from surface-disinfected root tissues of six plants ($Rosa$ $rugosa$, $Suaeda$ $maritima$, $Vitex$ $rotundifolia$, $Carex$ $scabrifolia$, $Glehnia$ $littoralis$ and $Elymus$ $mollis$) growing in a tidal flat area of Namhae Island, Korea. To understand the antagonistic potential, an $in$ $vitro$ antagonistic assay was performed to characterize and identify strains that were antagonistic to the oomycete plant pathogens $Phytophthora$ $capsici$ and $Pythium$ $ultimum$ from the total population. Nine percent of the total number of isolated bacteria exhibited in vitro inhibitory activity against target plant pathogenic oomycetes. Taxonomic and phylogenetic placement of the antagonistic bacteria was investigated by analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences. The sequence analysis classified the antagonistic strains into four major classes of the domain bacteria ($Firmicutes$, ${\alpha}-Proteobacteria$, ${\gamma}-Proteobacteria$ and $Actinomycetes$) and 10 different genera. Further production of secondary metabolites, hydrolytic enzymes and plant growth promoting traits were determined for the putative new species of antagonistic endophytic bacteria. These new strains could not be identified as known species of ${\alpha}-Proteobacteria$, and so may represent novel bacterial taxa. The unexpected high antagonistic bacterial diversity associated with the tidal flat plants may be indicative of their importance in tidal flat plants as a promising source of novel antimicrobial compounds and biocontrol agents.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.49-58
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• 2012

Batch experiments using indigenous and commercialized adventive microorganisms were performed to investigate the feasibility of the biodegradation process for the diesel contaminated soil, which was taken in US Military Camp 'Hialeah', Korea. TPH concentration of the soil was determined as 3,819 mg/kg. Four indigenous microorganisms having high TPH degradation activity were isolated from the soil and by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, they were identified as Arthrobacter sp., Burkholderia sp., Cupriavidus sp. and Bacillus sp.. Two kinds of commercialized solutions cultured with adventive microorganisms were also used for the experiments. Various biodegradation conditions such as the amount of microorganism, water content and the temperature were applied to decide the optimal bioavailability condition in the experiments. In the case of soils without additional microorganisms (on the natural attenuation condition), 35% of initial TPH was removed from the soil by inhabitant microorganisms in soil for 30 days. When the commercialized microorganism cultured solutions were added into the soil, their average TPH removal efficiencies were 64%, and 54%, respectively, which were higher than that without additional microorganisms. When indigenous microorganisms isolated from the contaminated soil were added into the soil, TPH removal efficiency increased up to 95% (for Bacillus sp.). According to the calculation of the average biodegradation rates for Bacillus sp., the remediation goal (87% of the removal efficiency: 500 mg/kg) for the soil would reach within 24 days. Results suggested that TPH removal efficiency of biodegradation by injecting indigenous microorganisms is better than those by injecting commercialized adventive microorganisms and only by using the natural attenuation.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.41-51
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• 2017

Microbial processes that bind heavy metals and form minerals are widespread, and they represent a basic aspect of biogeochemistry. Some microorganisms can crystallize minerals by secreting a specific enzyme. In particular, calcite ($CaCO_3$) precipitation is an important part of biomineralization, and has been studied extensively because of its wide application in civil engineering technology. This process provides an effective way to stabilize heavy metals within a relatively stable crystal phase. In this study, biomineralization of calcite by three urea-hydrolyzing indigenous bacterial strains was investigated by microbiological analyses. Three bacterial strains were isolated from the sludge of B mine in Mexico and each bacterial strain was identified by the cellular fatty acid composition and 16S rRNA partial sequencing analysis. The results of the identification analysis showed that these strains were closest to Sporosarcina pasteurii, Kurthia gibsonii, and Paenibacillus polymyxa. We found that the optimum conditions for growth of these indigenous bacteria were $30-40^{\circ}C$ and pH range of 7-8. Microbiological analyses showed the possibility that the bioaccumulated heavy metals ions were deposited around the cell as crystalline carbonate minerals under the optimum conditions. The findings of our study suggest that the indigenous bacterial strains play an important role in heavy metal immobilization.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.201-209
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• 2016

Many atmospheric pollutants including chemical agents, house dust, and microorganisms cause building-related illnesses through respiration in humans. This study was conducted to analyze the profiles of microbial pollutants in air purifiers used in home, office and playschool. Dominant eleven species of microorganisms were isolated and identified in environmental air and air purifiers. Among them, Staphylococcus sp., Micrococcus sp. and Bacillus sp. are the most dominant species. By phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene, the dominant bacteria were identified as Staphylococcus epidermidis, Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus epidermidis, respectively. It has been known that these bacterial species are closely related with food spoilage and human infectious disease. Thus, these results indicate that microbial pathogens related with human illnesses through respiration will be contaminated in air purifiers and also need to develop a method to control those of pathogens for human health.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.69-76
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• 2000

Members of the genus Acinetobacter are recognized as newer pathogens of the nosocomial infection with an increasing frequency in recent years. Strains that belonged to A. calcoaceticus A. baumannii complex (genomic species 1, 2, 3, and 13TU) were major groups associated with nosocomial infection. Phenotypic identification was unreliable and laborious method to classify Acinetobacter strains into 19 genomic species. Rapid and reliable identification of clinical isolates is essential to diagnosis and epidemiology of Acinetobacter. We investigated the suitability of amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) to identify genomic species of 131 Acinetobacter isolates. The 16S rRNA genes (ribosomal DNA) were enzymatically amplified and the amplified PCR products were restricted independently with the enzymes, AluI, CfoI, and MboI. Genomic species of Acinetobacter was classified by the combinations of restriction patterns. The analysis was showed that restriction profiles were characteristic for each genomic species. One hundred fourteen isolates were identified as A. baumannii, twelve were identified as genomic species 13TU, and one was identified as genomic species 3. Four isolates were found to be unknown organisms. All of the isolates which were identified to A. baumannii by phenotypic tests were completely discriminated into A. baumannii and genomic species 13TU by ARDRA. This study demonstrates that ARDRA is a rapid and simple techniques for the identification of Acinetobacter species according to the genomic species.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.491-498
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• 2017

Objective: Bacterial abundance and community compositions have been examined in Asian dust events, clarifying their impacts on public health. This study aims to determine the bacterial community compositions and viable bacteria in Asian dust particles in the Asian dust or non-Asian dust event of March 2016. Methods: The dust samples were collected using the high volume air sampler or high volume cascade impactor, and bacterial 16S rRNA genes were amplified using PCR, followed by pyrosequencing. Bacterial diversity index, richness estimate and community composition in the particles were analyzed from the sequencing data using Mothur software. Results: The results showed that the diversity and richness during Asian dust events were higher than them in non-Asian dust events. The total bacterial community analysis showed that at the phylum Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes were the most dominant of Asian dust events and non-Asian dust events. In addition, the bacterial colony counts were higher during Asian dust event, comparing with non-Asian dust event. Conclusions: This study showed that bacterial community and richness of Asian dust samples was more complex and higher than non-Asian dust samples in Gyeonggi-do, Korea, which could affect public health and environment. Thus, the continuous monitoring of Asian dust could be an alternative for managing airborne bacteria.