• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.205-210
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• 2006

The widespread use and distribution of chloroethylene organic compounds is of serious concern owing to their carcinogenicity and toxicity to humans and wildlife. In an effort to develop active bacterial consortia that could be useful for bioremediation of chloroethylene-contaminated sites in Africa, 16 combinations of 5 dichloroethylene (DCE)-utilizing bacteria, isolated from South Africa and Nigeria, were assessed for their ability to degrade cis- and trans- DCEs as the sole carbon source. Three combinations of these isolates were able to remove up to 72% of the compounds within 7 days. Specific growth rate constants of the bacterial consortia ranged between 0.465 and $0.716\;d^{-1}$ while the degradation rate constants ranged between 0.184 and $0.205\;d^{-1}$ with $86.36{\sim}93.53\;and\;87.47{\sim}97.12%$ of the stoichiometric-expected chloride released during growth of the bacterial consortia in cis- and trans-DCE, respectively. Succession studies of the individual isolates present in the consortium revealed that the biodegradation process was initially dominated by Achromobacter xylosoxidans and subsequently by Acinetobacter sp. and Bacillus sp., respectively. The results of this study suggest that consortia of bacteria are more efficient than monocultures in the aerobic biodegradation of DCEs, degrading the compounds to levels that are up to 60% below the maximum allowable limits in drinking water.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.232-239
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• 2006

The microbial activity and bacterial community structure of activated sludge reactors, which treated free cyanide (FC), zinc-complexed cyanide (ZC), or nickel-complexed cyanide (NC), were studied. The three reactors (designated as re-FC, re-ZC, and re-NC) were operated for 50 days with a stepwise decrease of hydraulic retention time. In the re-FC and re-ZC reactors, FC or ZC was almost completely removed, whereas approximately 80-87% of NC was removed in re-NC. This result might be attributed to the high toxicity of nickel released after degradation of NC. In the batch test, the sludges taken from re-FC and re-ZC completely degraded FC, ZC, and NC, whereas the sludge from re-NC degraded only NC. Although re-FC and re-ZC showed similar properties in regard to cyanide degradation, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of the 16S rRNA gene of the bacterial communities in the three reactors showed that bacterial community was specifically acclimated to each reactor. We found several bacterial sequences in DGGE bands that showed high similarity to known cyanide-degrading bacteria such as Klebsiella spp., Acidovorax spp., and Achromobacter xylosoxidans. Flocforming microorganism might also be one of the major microorganisms, since many sequences related to Zoogloea, Microbacterium, and phylum TM7 were detected in all the reactors.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.433-449
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• 2020

Nine fish and one clam species were collected from freshwater environments in Korea, including four lakes, two streams, and the Nakdong River, to investigate the host-associated bacteria. Hundreds of bacterial strains were isolated from the samples using a cell sorter and a dilution plating method. After identification of the bacterial strains using 16S rRNA gene sequences, 42 strains with greater than 98.7% sequence similarity with validly published species were determined to be unrecorded bacterial species in Korea. These strains were phylogenetically diverse and assigned to four phyla, six classes, 17 orders, 27 families, and 32 genera. At the genus level, the unrecorded species were classified as Corynebacterium, Mycobacterium, Mycolicibacterium, Gordonia, Williamsia, Modestobacter, Brachybacterium, Sanquibacter, Arthrobacter, and Mycolicibacterium of the class Actinobacteria; Empedobacter, and Flavobacterium of the class Flavobacteriia; Fictibacillus, Psychrobacillus, Cohnella, Paenibacillus, Rummeliibacillus, Enterococcus, and Vagococcus of the class Bacilli; Aquamicrobium, Paracoccus, and Sphingomonas of the class Alphaproteobacteria; Achromobacter, Delftia, and Deefgea of the class Betaproteobacteria; and Aeromonas, Providencia, Yersinia, Marinomonas, Acinetobacter, and Pseudomonas of the class Gammaproteobacteria. The 42 unrecorded species were subjected to further taxonomic characterization using gram staining, cellular and colony morphological determination, biochemical analyses, and phylogenetic analyses. This paper provides detailed descriptions of the 42 previously unrecorded bacterial species.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.116-124
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• 2019

The rapid development of the poultry industry has led to the production of large amounts of manure, which produce substances like hydrogen sulfide ($H_2S$) that contribute to odor pollution. $H_2S$ is a highly undesirable gas component and its removal from the environment is therefore necessary. Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) are widely known to remove contaminating $H_2S$ due to their ability to oxidize reduced sulfur compounds. In this study, three potential SOB (designated AH18, AH25, and AH28) that were previously isolated from a hot spring in Malaysia were identified by 16S rRNA gene analysis. Laboratory-scale biological deodorization experiments were conducted to test the performance of the three isolates-in the form of pure or mixed cultures, with the cells immobilized onto alginate as a carrier-in reducing the $H_2S$ from chicken manure. On the basis of 16S rRNA phylogenetic analysis, isolate AH18 was identified as Pseudomonas sp., whereas isolates AH25 and AH28 were identified as Achromobacter sp. The most active deodorizing isolate was AH18, with an $H_2S$ reduction rate of 74.7% (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the reduction rates for isolates AH25 and AH28 were 54.2% and 60.8% (p > 0.05), respectively. However, the $H_2S$ removal performance was enhanced in the mixed culture, with a reduction rate of 81.9% (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the three potential SOB isolates were capable of reducing the $H_2S$ from chicken manure in the form of a pure culture immobilized on alginate, and the reduction performance was enhanced in the mixed culture.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.165-176
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• 1997

Water samples collected from marine fish culture system in Korea were compared for their capability to reduce the infectivity titers of HRV (rhabdovirus olivaceus), FBV(flounder birnavirus) and RVS(retrovirus of salmonid). In addition, interaction between viruses and microorganisms present in the rearing seawater was examined. The titer of HRV and RVS were reduced at $15^{\circ}C$ to less than detectable limits within 3 to 5 days using untreated samples of seawater. No reduction of infectivity was noted in bacteria-free water treated by filtration or autoclaving. Bacteria (Pseudomonas and Vibrio sp.) isolated from the water collected from a flounder culture system showed the inactivation activity of HRV.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.158-164
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• 1998

Crystal structural analyses of the API-TLCK complex revealed that the ${\epsilon}$-amino group (NZ) of the lysyl part of TLCK forms hydrogen bonds with OD1 of $Asp^225$ which is a substrate specificity determinant of API, OG of $Ser^214$, O of $Ser^214$, OG1 of $Thr^189$, and O of $Thr^189$ l89/. The ${\beta}$-carboxyl oxygen of $Asp^225$ forms hydrogen bonds with the NE1 of $Trp^182$. From these observations, it is thought that besides $Asp^225$, $Thr^189$, $Ser^214$, and $Trp^182$ may also contribute to the steric specificity for lysine and high proteolytic activity of API. The side-chain hydroxyl groups of $Thr^189$ and $Ser^214$ were removed to elucidate the role of these hydrogen bonds in the $S_1$-pocket. The $k_{cat}$/$K_m$ of T189V, S214A, and T189V.S214A were decreased to 1/4, 1/3, and 1/46, respectively, of the value for native API. The decreased activities were mainly due to the increase of $K_m$. The CD and fluoroscence spectra of the three mutants were similar to those of wild-type API. With regards to the kinetic parameters ($K_i\;and\;k_2$) of mutants for the reaction involving TLCK and DFP, $k_2$decreased by increase of $K_1$ only. These results suggest that the decreased catalytic activity of these mutants is caused by the partial loss of the hydrogen bond network in the $S_1$-pocket. On the other hand, the similarity of enzymatic properties between W182F and the native enzyme suggests that the hydrogen bond between OD2 of $Asp^225$ and NE1 of $Trp^182$ is not directly related to the reaction of $Asp^225$ with the substrate.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.165-170
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• 1981

Recently an unknown microbial desease and some parasitic crustaceans are prevailing in the sea-weed farms of Uudaria pinnatifida along the south-eastern coast of Korea.(1) Green spots probably caused by the microbial pathogens were found on the fronds of Undaira Pinnatifide. Particularly they were densely distributed on the distal half of the fronds. The tissues of the green spot area rot off, and small holes with green colored margin are formed. The holes at the distal part of the fronds are enlarged and they finally coalesced each other. Then this process accelerates decaying of the distal ends of the fronds.. The fronds growing in the central part of the farms are usually severely damaged, whereas in the marginal area of the farm toward the open sea side the damage is less serious. An examination revealed that the deseased fronds bore a number of viable bacteria, $6.8\times10^5\;to\;1.2\times10^6$ per gram at $15^{\circ}C$, whereas the healthy fronds $1.1\times10^4$. Twenty-six kinds of colonies, 247 strains of bacteria, were isolated from deseased fronds, belonging to Moraxella, Achromobacter, Vibrio, Flavobacterium, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, etc. (2) Pinholes occurred in one series on the frond. They were probably caused by a harpacticoid copepod, Thalestris sp. Seven years ago when the disease was first found to occur the copepod was observed on the fronds from March of the year. Recently, however, they have been found as early as December of the previous year. (3) A gammarid amphipod, Ceinina iaponica, invades the pith of the midrib through holdfast of thalli. This rarely causes the longitudinal seperation of the entire frond through the midrib as they bore a tunnel in the pith. Sometimes holdfasts of tile heavy damaged thalli make the frond departed from the substrate.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.114-120
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• 2002

A 1,989-bp genomic region encoding nickel resistance genes was isolated from Legionella pneumophila, a pathogen for legionellosis. From a sequencing and computer analysis, the region was found to harbor two structural genes, a nreB-like protein gene (1,149 bp) and a nreA-like protein gene (270 bp), in a row. Both genes exhibited a significant degree of similarity to the corresponding genes from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 ($54\%$ amino acid sequence identity) and Achromobacter xylosoxidans 31A ($76\%$). The gene was successfully expressed in E. coli MG1655 and conferred a nickel resistance of up to 5 mM in an LB medium and 3 mM in a TMS medium including gluconate as the sole carbon source. E. coli harboring the nickel resistance gene also exhibited a substantial resistance to cobalt, yet no resistance to cadmium or zinc. Since the extracellular concentration of nickel remained constant during the whole period of cultivation, it was confirmed that the nickel resistance was provided by an efflux system like the $Ni^2＋$permease (nrsD) of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803. Since polyphosphate (poly-P) is known as a global regulator for gene expression as well as a potential virulence factor in E. coli, the nickel resistance of a ppk mutant of E. coli MG 1655 harboring the nickel resistance gene from L. pneumophila was compared with that of its parental strain. The nickel resistance was significantly attenuated by ppk inactivation, which was more pronounced in an LB medium than in a TMS medium.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.304-309
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• 2006

In order to examine the antimicrobial effect on dairy processing facilities and products, Prunus mume extinct (PME) was applied to the pilot plant system of dairy industry and yogurt, PME showed thermal and pH stability in the wide spectrum of temperature ($40{\sim}150^{\circ}C$) and pH ($4{\sim}10$) and remarkable antimicrobial activities against dairy spoilage microorganisms. As the result of aseptic treatment of dairy processing facilities with PME microbial colony including coliform bacteria was not detected canpore to those detected in the control. In the level of PME concentration which inhibit the growth of putrefactive microorganisms we could produce yogurt with good scores of sensory evaluation.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.97-104
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• 2016

Background: Rhizobacteria play an important role in plant defense and could be promising sources of biocontrol agents. This study aimed to screen antagonistic bacteria and develop a biocontrol system for root rot complex of Panax notoginseng. Methods: Pure-culture methods were used to isolate bacteria from the rhizosphere soil of notoginseng plants. The identification of isolates was based on the analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequences. Results: A total of 279 bacteria were obtained from rhizosphere soils of healthy and root-rot notoginseng plants, and uncultivated soil. Among all the isolates, 88 showed antagonistic activity to at least one of three phytopathogenic fungi, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani, and Phoma herbarum mainly causing root rot disease of P. notoginseng. Based on the 16S rRNA sequencing, the antagonistic bacteria were characterized into four clusters, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetesi. The genus Bacillus was the most frequently isolated, and Bacillus siamensis (Hs02), Bacillus atrophaeus (Hs09) showed strong antagonistic activity to the three pathogens. The distribution pattern differed in soil types, genera Achromobacter, Acidovorax, Brevibacterium, Brevundimonas, Flavimonas, and Streptomyces were only found in rhizosphere of healthy plants, while Delftia, Leclercia, Brevibacillus, Microbacterium, Pantoea, Rhizobium, and Stenotrophomonas only exist in soil of diseased plant, and Acinetobacter only exist in uncultivated soil. Conclusion: The results suggest that diverse bacteria exist in the P. notoginseng rhizosphere soil, with differences in community in the same field, and antagonistic isolates may be good potential biological control agent for the notoginseng root-rot diseases caused by F. oxysporum, Fusarium solani, and Panax herbarum.