• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.391-402
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• 2021

Earthworms play an important role in soil fertilization, interacting continually with microorganisms. This study aims to demonstrate the existence of beneficial microorganisms living in the earthworm's immune system, the coelomic fluid. To achieve this goal, a molecular identification technique was performed, using cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) barcoding to identify abundant endogenic earthworms inhabiting the temperate zone of Rabat, Morocco. Then, 16S rDNA and ITS sequencing techniques were adopted for bacteria and fungi, respectively. Biochemical analysis, showed the ability of bacteria to produce characteristic enzymes and utilize substrates. Qualitative screening of plant growth-promoting traits, including nitrogen fixation, phosphate and potassium solubilization, and indole acetic acid (IAA) production, was also performed. The result of mitochondrial COI barcoding allowed the identification of the earthworm species Aporrectodea molleri. Phenotypic and genotypic studies of the sixteen isolated bacteria and the two isolated fungi showed that they belong to the Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Bacillus, Buttiauxella, Enterobacter, Pantoea, and Raoultella, and the Penicillium genera, respectively. Most of the isolated bacteria in the coelomic fluid showed the ability to produce β-glucosidase, β-glucosaminidase, Glutamyl-β-naphthylamidase, and aminopeptidase enzymes, utilizing substrates like aliphatic thiol, sorbitol, and fatty acid ester. Furthermore, three bacteria were able to fix nitrogen, solubilize phosphate and potassium, and produce IAA. This initial study demonstrated that despite the immune property of earthworms' coelomic fluid, it harbors beneficial microorganisms. Thus, the presence of resistant microorganisms in the earthworm's immune system highlights a possible selection process at the coelomic fluid level.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 2016

Since April 2012, doctor fish in the breeding tank and in the quarantine tank in Hanwha Aquaplanet Yeosu Aquarium have been dying, accompanied by diffuse bleeding around the mouth, in the chin, and at the bottom of the abdomen. In this study, the cause of death would be examined through the bacteriological study of doctor fish and the rearing water quality in the aquarium. The water quality and the bacterial counts of the rearing water in the exhibit tank and in the quarantine tank were analyzed once a week, starting from August to November 2014. Water quality was measured based on the following data: temperature was in the range of 24.5~26.8℃, pH at 6.77~7.94, DO at 6.15~8.61 ppm, ammonia at 0~0.93 ppm, nitrite at 0.009~0.075 ppm, and nitrate at 1.1~40.9 ppm. Studies revealed that the differences in these water quality factors were not related to the death of doctor fish. Bacterial counts in the rearing waters of Garra rufa slightly increased to 10³~10⁴ CFU/ml, just before the death of the doctor fish. Twelve strains of bacteria were isolated from the dead fish and rearing waters. The isolates were identified as Aeromonas veronii, Citrobacter freundii, Pseudorhodoferax aquiterrae, Shewanella putrefaciens, and Vibrio anguillarum on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences. The most dominant species was C. freundii, which showed medium sensitivity to florfenicol and norfloxacin, and was resistant to amoxacillin, doxycycline, oxytetracycline, tetracycline, and trimethoprim. Ten isolates were confirmed to be pathogenic to the doctor fish. Doctor fish infected with C. freundii and S. putrefaciens showed high mortality in the experimental groups. These results indicate that the variation in bacterial numbers in the rearing water was related to the death of doctor fish. C. freundii and S. putrefaciens were directly implicated in causing the death of doctor fish in the aquarium.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.619-624
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• 1999

This work was to study the potential health food use of germinated colored rice after germinating and drying using microwave under vacuum. Colored rice was soaked in water at $15^{\circ}C$ for 2 days and then germinated at $25^{\circ}C$ for $3{\sim}4\;days$. The germinated colored rice was dried by different drying methods: microwave vacuum drying 1, microwave vacuum drying $2\;(drying{\rightarrow}crushing{\rightarrow}drying)$, hot air drying, vacuum drying and freeze drying. Each drier except freeze drier was set to maintain the sample temperature at $60^{\circ}C$. During microwave vacuum drying 1 or 2, the sample reached $60^{\circ}C$ much faster (within 5 min) and was dried much faster ($2{\sim}3\;hrs$ than the other drying methods. The initial drying rate of microwave vacuum drying was ten times faster than that of hot air drying. The microwave vacuum drying 2 retained the highest ${\alpha}-amylase$ activity, followed by microwave vacuum drying 1, freeze drying, vacuum drying, and hot air drying.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.633-638
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• 2012

The aim of this study was to investigate the growth of aerobic bacteria in fresh-cut salad during short-term temperature abuse ($4{\sim}30^{\circ}C$temperature for 1, 2, and 3 h) for 72 h and to develop predictive models for the growth of total viable cells (TVC) based on Predictive food microbiology (PFM). The tool that was used, Pathogen Modeling program (PMP 7.0), predicts the growth of Aeromonas hydrophila (broth Culture, aerobic) at pH 5.6, NaCl 2.5%, and sodium nitrite 150 ppm for 72 h. Linear models through linear regression analysis; DMFit program were created based on the results obtained at 5, 10, 20, and $30^{\circ}C$ for 72 h ($r^2$ >0.9). Secondary models for the growth rate and lag time, as a function of storage temperature, were developed using the polynomial model. The initial contamination level of fresh-cut salad was 5.6 log CFU/mL of TVC during 72 h storage, and the growth rate of TVC was shown to be 0.020~1.083 CFU/mL/h ($r^2$ >0.9). Also, the growth tendency of TVC was similar to that of PMP (grow rate: 0.017~0.235 CFU/mL/h; $r^2=0.994{\sim}1.000$). The predicted shelf life with PMP was 24.1~626.5 h, and the estimated shelf life of the fresh-cut salads with short-term temperature abuse was 15.6~31.1 h. The predicted shelf life was more than two times the observed one. This result indicates a 'fail safe' model. It can be taken to a ludicrous extreme by adopting a model that always predicts that a pathogenic microorganism will grow even under conditions so strict as to be actually impossible.