• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.668-677
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• 2017

Embryo implantation is the crucial step for a successful pregnancy. Diverse factors, including adhesion molecules, growth factors, and cytokines are important for embryo implantation through improving endometrial receptivity. Benzoic acid (BA), a component of various plants, has been shown to have antifungal and antioxidant effects. However, the effect of BA on embryo implantation remains unknown. Here, we showed the contribution of BA for the enhancement of endometrial receptivity through the leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF)-dependent increase of integrin ${\alpha}V$, ${\beta}3$, and ${\beta}5$ expression. Furthermore, in vivo study using a mifepristone-induced implantation failure model showed that BA definitely improves the numbers of implantation embryos. Taken together, we suggest that BA has a novel function for embryo implantation through the up-regulation of LIF-mediated integrins, and may be a candidate for therapeutic medicine to increase the pregnancy rate.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.106-107
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• 2003

The effect of biological control agent Bacillus sp. (BAC03-3-1, BAC03-3-2, BAC02-4) on pre- and postemergence Sclerotinia rot of perilla (Perilla frutescens var. japonica) caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum was determined from greenhouse field trials. The ability of this antagonist to reduce germination of sclerotia of S. sclerotiorum was also evaluated. In the greenhouse, suspension of BAC03-3-1 application as root drench of perilla, which provided as little as 10$\^$7/ cells/ $m\ell$ per gram of soil, significantly increased plant stand in pathogen-infested soil over that in the untreated control. All three isolates reduced the germination of sclerotia of S. sclerotiorum in loamy sand soils in the greenhouse. In loamy sand amended with rice bran the sclerotial germination was inversely correlated (r = -0.79) with perilla stand in the greenhouse. However, a higher rate of bacterial suspension with rice bran(Ig dwt./100g soil) than that applied with bacterial suspensions only was necessary to achieve a comparable reduction in sclerotial germination. In field study, all three isolates added to soil to provide 10$\^$7/ cells/$m\ell$ per gram significantly prevented Sclerotinia rot (73-85％) after 35 days of growth. The isolate BAC02-4, BAC03-3-1 and BAC03-3-2 gave final stands of 65 to 75, 60 to 70, and 55 to 60％, respectively. The addition of rice bran(1 ％) to loamy sand in the field resulted in a 10-fold increase in propagule numbers of the three isolates within 10 days of application.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.103.1-103
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• 2003

An antagonistic bacteria, Stenotrophomonas maitophilia BW-13 strain which was effectively inhibited mycerial growth of Bottom rot pathogen, Rhizoctonia solani PY-1 strain was isolated from the rhizosphere of the lettuce in Uiryeong-Gun, Gyeongsangnam-Do from 2002 to 2003. For the biological control, the most suitable inoculum and its density of pathogen, PY-1 strain ware tested prior biological control test, For the pathogenicity test, A inoculum (wheat bran)sawdust+rice bran+PDB) showing disease incidence of 100％ was selected as the most suitable inoculum, which showed more effective than B inoculum (sawdust＋rice bran＋DW) and mycelial disc. also, In selection of the amount of inoculum (40g, 50g, 60g, 70g, 80g), most suitable amount of inoculum of pathogen determined as 40g showing disease incidence of 80％. For the selection of effective microorganism to control bottom rot on lettuce, about 200 isolates were isolated from the diseased soil and lettuce leaves, and examined their antifungal activity to the pathogen on PDA. As the pots assay, BW-13 strain showed the highest control value as 90％, and followed by R-13 and R-26 strain as 80％ and 60％, respectively. Selected BW-13 isolates identified as 5. maltophilia (GeneBank accession no. AJ293473.1, 99％) by 16S rRNA sequencing. This is the first report on the biological control using by S. maltophilia to the bottom rot pathogen, Rhizoctonia solani PY-1 strain.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.397-406
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• 2014

Maize is a socioeconomically important crop in many countries. Recently, a high incidence of stalk rot disease has been reported in several maize fields in Gangwon province. In this report, we show that maize stalk rot is associated with the fungal pathogens Fusarium subglutinans and F. temperatum. Since no fungicides are available to control these pathogens on maize plants, we selected six fungicides (tebuconazole, difenoconazole, fluquinconazole, azoxystrobin, prochloraz and kresoxim-methyl) and examined their effectiveness against the two pathogens. The in vitro antifungal effects of the six fungicides on mycelial growth and colony formation were investigated. Based on the inhibition of mycelial growth, the most toxic fungicide was tebuconazole with 50% effective concentrations ($EC_{50}$) of < $0.1{\mu}g/ml$ and $EC_{90}$ values of $0.9{\mu}g/ml$ for both pathogens, while the least toxic fungicide was azoxystrobin with $EC_{50}$ values of 0.7 and $0.5{\mu}g/ml$ for F. subglutinans and F. temperatum, respectively, and $EC_{90}$ values of > $3,000{\mu}g/ml$ for both pathogens. Based on the inhibition of colony formation by the two pathogens, kresoxim-methyl was the most toxic fungicide with complete inhibition of colony formation at concentrations of 0.1 and $0.01{\mu}g/ml$ for F. subglutinans and F. temperatum, respectively, whereas azoxystrobin was the least toxic fungicide with complete inhibition of colony formation at concentrations > $3,000{\mu}g/ml$ for both pathogens.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.909-912
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• 2005

In the course of screening for selective growth inhibitors against the mycelial form of Candida albicans, we isolated a Streptomyces sp. A6792 from soils. The inhibitor was isolated from the above bacterium and identified through several spectral analyses with UV and mass spectrophotometries, and various NMR. The compound was determined to be a macrocyclic dilactone antibiotic, IKD-8344 (molecular weight: 844, molecular formula: $C_{48}H_{76}O_{12}$). The compound selectively inhibited the growth of mycelial form of C. albicans with an MIC of 6.25 ${\mu}g/ml$. It also exhibited strong inhibitory effect preferentially on the mycelial form of various Candida spp. including C. krusei, C. tropicalis, and C. lusitaniae, with MICs ranging from 1.56 to 25 ${\mu}g$/ml. Furthermore, the compound showed no significant toxicity against SPF ICR mice up to 60 mg/kg. These results suggest that IKD-8344 is a useful lead compound for the development of novel antifungal agents, based on the preferential growth inhibition against Candida spp.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.482-490
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• 2018

Candida albicans infections are often problematic to treat owing to antifungal resistance, as such infections are mostly associated with biofilms. The ability of C. albicans to switch from a budding yeast to filamentous hyphae and to adhere to host cells or various surfaces supports biofilm formation. Previously, the ethanol extract from Paeonia lactiflora was reported to inhibit cell wall synthesis and cause depolarization and permeabilization of the cell membrane in C. albicans. In this study, the P. lactiflora extract was found to significantly reduce the initial stage of C. albicans biofilms from 12 clinical isolates by 38.4%. Thus, to assess the action mechanism, the effect of the P. lactiflora extract on the adhesion of C. albicans cells to polystyrene and germ tube formation was investigated using a microscopic analysis. The density of the adherent cells was diminished following incubation with the P. lactiflora extract in an acidic medium. Additionally, the P. lactiflora-treated C. albicans cells were mostly composed of less virulent pseudohyphae, and ruptured debris was found in the serum-containing medium. A quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that P. lactiflora downregulated the expression of C. albicans hypha-specific genes: ALS3 by 65% (p = 0.004), ECE1 by 34.9% (p = 0.001), HWP1 by 29.2% (p = 0.002), and SAP1 by 37.5% (p = 0.001), matching the microscopic analysis of the P. lactiflora action on biofilm formation. Therefore, the current findings demonstrate that the P. lactiflora ethanol extract is effective in inhibiting C. albicans biofilms in vitro, suggesting its therapeutic potential for the treatment of biofilm-associated infections.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.462-467
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• 2009

Cyclosporin A (CyA) produced by Tolypocladium inflatum is a promising drug owing to its immunosuppressive and antifungal activities. From an industrial point of view, the necessity to obtain a suitable and economic medium for higher production of CyA was the aim of this work. The present study evaluated the effect of different fermentation parameters in solid state fermentation, such as selection of solid substrate, hydrolysis of substrates, initial moisture content, supplementation of salts, additional carbon, and nitrogen sources, as well as the inoculum age and size, on production of CyA by Tolypocladium inflatum MTCC 557. The fermentation was carried out at $25{\pm}2^{\circ}C$ for 9 days. A combination of hydrolyzed wheat bran flour and coconut oil cake (1:1) at 70% initial moisture content supported a maximum production of $3,872{\pm}156\;mg$ CyA/kg substrate as compared with $792{\pm}33\;mg/kg$ substrate before optimization. Furthermore, supplementation of salts, glycerol (1% w/w), and ammonium sulfate (1% w/w) increased the production of CyA to $5,454{\pm}75\;mg/kg$ substrate. Inoculation of 5 g of solid substrate with 6 ml of 72-h-old seed culture resulted in a maximum production of $6,480{\pm}95\;mg$ CyA/kg substrate.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.167-171
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• 2007

Itraconazole is one of the most potent antifungal agents available in the market today. However, the low bioavailability due to its poor-water solubility calls for an alternative formulation to the current oral type. A topical itra-conazole-containing formulation may be of use for several reasons including the opportunity to reduce adverse events and generate high local tissue levels, more rapid drug delivery, and lower systemic exposure. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the vehicles for topical skin delivery of itraconazole. The effect of formulations on the hairless mouse skin permeation and deposition of itraconazole was determined using Franz diffusion cells at $37^{\circ}C$. Benzyl alcohol in micro-emulsion significantly increased the solubility of itraconazole, thereby increasing the skin permeation rate. However, lipo-some formulation showed the lowest solubility and permeation rate of itraconazole. Although the solubility of itraconazole in hydrogel formulation was lower than that in microemulsion, skin permeation rate was significantly higher probably due to its adhesive property. Therefore, microemulsion-based hydrogel formulation is expected to synergistically increase the skin permeation rate and skin deposition of itraconazole.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.369-374
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• 2016

Bacillus velezensis YP2 inhibited the mycelial growth of several plant pathogens including Cercespora spp., Septoria sp., Phoma sp., Botrytis cinerea and Sclerotinia scleotiorum occurring in leafy vegetables. Control efficacy for powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe cruciferarm on red leaf mustard and cheong mustard by treatment of spraying with 10-fold diluted Luria-Bertani (LB) broth of B. velezensis YP2 was 91.8% and 80.9%, respectively. When B. velezensis YP2 was treated four times with five-day interval, three times at seven-day interval and two times at ten day interval in the greenhouse test, the control effect of red leaf mustard powdery mildew was 70.6%, 65.0% and 40.9%, respectively. Also B. velezensis YP2 could promote the seed germination and plant growth of led leaf mustard. The results showed that the culture broth of B. velezensis YP2 was very effective to control the powdery mildew of leaf mustard.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.77-84
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• 2003

Chitinase was purified from an antagonistic bacterium Bacillus sp. 7079 by ammonium sulfate precipitation, QAE-Sephadex anion exchange chromatography, Sephadex G-100 gel filtration, and SP-Sephadex cation exchange chromatography. The molecula. weight of purified chitinase (PC-1) was approximately 66.5 kDa on SDS-PACE. PC-1 exhibited optimum pH and temperature of pH 7.5 and $45^{\circ}C$, respectively. More than $80\%$ of PC-1 was stable at pH 5.0 to 9.0, and more than $90\%$ at $40^{\circ}C$. $Fe^2+\;and\;Ca^2+$ inhibited the chitinase activity about $20\%$, and EDTA and p-CMB by about $30\%$, whereas $Ag^+$ inhibited the activity up to $65\%$. The $K_m$ value of PC-1 was 1.215 mg/ml with colloidal chitin as a substrate. We also investigated the effect of PC-1 treated chitin (PCTC) on the pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression in macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. The expression of IL-$1{\alpha}$ and IL-$1{\beta}$ mRNA gene was investigated using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). IL-$1{\alpha}$ and IL-$1{\beta}$ mRNA were induced by the treatment of PCTC and chitin only in RAW 264.7 cells. These expressions were induced as early as 2 h and sustained up to 24 h in RAW 264.7 cells. IL-$1{\alpha}$ and IL-$1{\beta}$ mRNA were more strongly expressed by the treatment of PCTC than chitin treatment alone in RAW 264.7 cells.