• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1381-1385
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• 2013

The centipede Scolopendra subpinipes mutilans is a medicinally important arthropod species. However, its transcriptome is not currently available and transcriptome analysis would be useful in providing insight into a molecular level approach. Hence, we performed de novo RNA sequencing of S. subpinipes mutilans using next-generation sequencing. We generated a novel peptide (scolopendrasin II) based on a SVM algorithm, and biochemically evaluated the in vitro antimicrobial activity of scolopendrasin II against various microbes. Scolopendrasin II showed antibacterial activities against gram-positive and -negative bacterial strains, including the yeast Candida albicans and antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria, as determined by a radial diffusion assay and colony count assay without hemolytic activity. In addition, we confirmed that scolopendrasin II bound to the surface of bacteria through a specific interaction with lipoteichoic acid and a lipopolysaccharide, which was one of the bacterial cell-wall components. In conclusion, our results suggest that scolopendrasin II may be useful for developing peptide antibiotics.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 1987

This study was conducted to determine the microorganisms inhabitating in cow genitalia and their antimicrobial drug susceptibility. During the period between July, 1985 and February, 1986, a total of 111 cow genitalia, 58 from Korean native and 53 from dairy cow, were sampled at three abattoirs. Gross pathological examination and bacterial isolation and identification were performed from the genital samples. In addition antimicrobial drug susceptibility test for the microorganisms isolated, some synergistic activity among drugs were examined on the major organism isolated from the cases of endometritis and pyometra. The results are summerized as follows: 1. Among the bacteria isolated from the genitalia, Staphylococcus spp., C. pyogenes, E. coli, Proteus spp., Streptococcus spp., Bacillus spp. were most frequently isolated whereas the genera of Pasteurella, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella and Yersina were detected far less frequently. 2. In Korean native cow the genera of Straphylococcus and Steptococcus were more isolated than dairy cow while in dairy cow the genera of Corynebacterium, Proteus, Escherichia were more of ten isolated than Korean native cow. 3. From cow genital organs showing lesions of endometritis and prometra, C. pyogenes was most frequently isolated, the isolation rate being 60 percent, and follow by Staphylococcus spp., Proteus spp., E. coli and Pasteurella spp. in the order. 4. Antimicrobial drug susceptibility test conducted on the major organisms isolated showed that all the isolates were susceptible to gentamicin, cephalosporin and sulfisoxazole, but resistant to tetracycline and penicillin. 5. Twenty-nine isolates of C. pyogenes were submitted to the synergistic activity test of cephalosporin, kanamycin and streptomycin with penicillin. Synergists were demonstrated in 90 percent, 31 percent and 27 percent of isolates examined by the combined use of penicillin and cephalosporin, penicillin and kanamycin, penicillin and streptomycin, respectively. About 10 percent of the isolates were found to be indifferent by the synergism test.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.269-274
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• 2008

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most common nosocomial pathogens. It is associated with hospitals is now being isolated in the community. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial effect of photodynamic therapy using Photogem and 630 nm LED on MRSA and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). The broth cultured MRSA and MSSA incubated with various concentrations of Photogem (500,50,5 and $0.5{\mu}g/mL$) for 4 h. Then 630 nm LED was given at $9\;J/cm^2$, $20{\mu}l$ of the exposed bacteria solution was inoculated onto agar plate. Plates were incubated for 24 hand colonies were counted. The PDT group was effective in killing MRSA and MSSA at the Photogem dose of $50{\mu}g/mL$. But MSSA is more sensitive than MRSA in photodynamic effect. Other groups (light only, sensitizer only, or no treatment) observed no bacterial cell killing. These results raise the possibility of using PDT with or without antimicrobial drugs to eradicate MRSA and MSSA. In order to confirm this result, we need to further study bacterial death mechanism and in vivo study.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.160-164
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• 2011

The purpose of this investigation was to extract the bioactive agents from Alpinia officinarum Hance. The methanol with ethylacetate extracts alone and combined were examined for their activities against VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococci) and pathogenic yeast in vitro. The incidence of infections caused by VRE and other pathogenic microorganisms and the importance of using novel synergistic drug combinations has become important. Previously, we reported the antimicrobial effects of the butanol extract from Lonicera japonica and have evaluated combinations of solvent extracts, with a focus on the MeOH and EtOAc extracts from A. officinarum. In the present study, enhanced inhibitory effects were achieved by employing a combination of the two solvent extracts. The MeOH and EtOAc combination was especially effective against four VRE strains: E. faecalis (K-10-22), E. faecaium (K-11-212), E. faecalis (K-10-57) and E. faecalis (K-10-361) with MIC values of 12.5, 12.5, 6.25 and 25 ${\mu}g/ml$, respectively. Thus, the combination was more effective than other antibiotics such as kanamycin, gentamicin or tetracycline against bacteria including E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Micrococcus luteus. In addition, the combination was effective against yeasts such as Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis and Cryptococcus neoformans.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.193-201
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• 2022

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) are major causes of hospital- and community-acquired infections. The treatment of biofilm-related infections caused by these bacteria is a global healthcare challenge. Therefore, the development of alternative therapeutics is required. An essential oil extracted from Curcuma zedoaria (CZ) Rosc, also known as white turmeric, has been reported to possess various antimicrobial activities. In the present study, we evaluated the antibiofilm activities of an ethanolic extract of the CZ rhizome against MRSA and MSSA. The results showed that the CZ extract with the highest sub-minimum inhibitory concentration (sub-MIC), 1/2 MIC (0.312 mg/ml), significantly inhibited biofilm production by up to 80-90% in both tested strains. Subsequently, we evaluated the ability of the CZ extract to prevent cell-surface attachment to a 96-well plate and extracellular DNA (eDNA) release from the biofilm. The CZ extract demonstrated an inhibitory effect on bacterial attachment and eDNA release from the biofilm biomass. The CZ extract may inhibit biofilm formation by preventing eDNA release and cell-surface attachment. Therefore, this CZ extract is a potential candidate for the development of alternative treatments for biofilm-associated MRSA and MSSA infections.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.614-621
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• 2014

This study was conducted to isolate and characterize bacteriocin-producing bacteria against Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) from domestic animals to determine their usefulness as probiotics. Bacteriocin-producing bacteria were isolated from pig feces by the spot-on-lawn method. A total of 1,370 bacterial stains were isolated, and six were tentatively selected after identifying the inhibitory activity against the pathogenic indicator C. perfringens KCTC 3269 and KCTC 5100. The selected strains were identified as Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) by 16s rRNA sequencing. Most of the isolated bacterial strains were resistant to 0.5% bile salts for 48 h and remained viable after 2 h at pH 3.0. Some E. faecalis also showed strong inhibitory activity against Listeria monocytogenes KCTC 3569, KCTC 3586 and KCTC 3710. In the present study, we finally selected E. faecalis AP 216 and AP 45 strain based on probiotic selection criteria such as antimicrobial activity against C. perfringens and tolerance to acid and bile salts. The bacteriocins of E. faecalis AP 216 and AP 45 strains were highly thermostable, showing anticlostridial activities even after incubation at $121^{\circ}C$ for 15 min. These bacteriocin-producing bacteria and/or bacteriocins could be used in feed manufacturing as probiotics as an alternative to antibiotics in the livestock industry.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 1984

Twenty two cultures of pathogenic bacteria were isolated from cultured eels(Anguilla japonica) from Asan Hatchery. The bateria were characterized by their biochemical properties, serological relationships, infectivity to gold fish and susceptibility to various antimicrobial compounds. Fourteen of 22(64%) cultures were identified as Edwardsiella tarda, five (23%) as Aeromonas hydrophila and three (14%) as Vibro anguillarum. Edwardisiella tardo isolates proved to be the main cause of the disease in cultured eels. They were serologically homogeneous and their virulency to gold fish was higher than any of the other groups of bacteria tested. The virulence of 3 isolates were low in gold fish exposed to the bacteria by the waterborn route. Ten strains were tested for their susceptibility to 12 antimicrobial compounds and were resistant to from one to six drugs: in particular, tetracycline derivatives and sulfisoxazole.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.26-35
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• 1997

Background : Glycopeptide antibiotics are the only drugs for treatment of infections due to beta-lactam-resistant Gram-positive bacteria. As the incidence of infection and colonization with vancomycin-resistant enterococci(VRE) rapidly increases, the hospital infection control practices advisory committee(HICPAC) recommends prudent vancomycin use to detect, prevent and control infection and colonization with VRE. Methods : The inpatients admitted from September to December, 1996 in Pusan National University Hospital, with Gram-positive bacterial infections were evaluated retrospectively to see whether the administrations of glycopeptide antibiotics were appropriate or not, upon comparison with the recommendations for preventing the spread of vancomycin resistance by HICPAC. Results : Teicoplanin has been chosen more frequently than vancomycin of the glycopeptide antibiotics. The indications of administration of glycopeptides in patients with pneumonia, wound infections, sepsis, and in febrile or neutropenic patients with malignancies were appropriate, but the use of glycopeptides for elimination of merely colonized bacteria in the oral cavity could not be excluded. Inappropriate use of glycopeptides was 10.6%, and inappropriately long-term use without positive culture for beta-lactam-resistant Gram-positive organisms was about 40% of total days of drug use. Conclusion : It seems essential for the quality assurance committee to make a plan in teaching the HICPAC recommendations to the medical practitioners who prescribed the glycopeptides inappropriately or used for irrelevantly long to his patient, monitor and survey their use of glycopeptides prospectively and periodically, and if there are repeated inappropriate prescriptions, a certain penalty would be given to the practitioners.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.634-640
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• 2010

The principal objective of this study was to screen and select acid-tolerant Lactobacillus strains from chicken feces, feeds, and other sources. Fourty six strains evidencing acid tolerance (pH 3.5) were isolated in this study. Among them, nine strains exhibited marked immunostimulatory effects. Therefore, nine candidate strains were characterized for probiotic use. In order to evaluate macrophage activation, NO production was measured using RAW 264.7 cells. In particular, three strains (FC812, FC222, and FC113) evidenced the highest levels of NO production measured at $38.39{\pm}20.01,\;35.06{\pm}27.73$, and $33.88{\pm}15.99{\mu}M$, respectively, at a concentration of $10^{8}CFU/mL$. The majority of strains, with the exception of strain FC322, evidenced marked resistance to artificial gastric juice (pH 2.5 with 1%(w/v) pepsin). Additionally, strains FC222, FC421, FC511, and FC721 were highly resistant to artificial bile acid (0.1%(w/v) oxgall), whereas strains FC113, FC322, FC422, FC621, and FC812 were the least resistant to bile. All nine strains exerted antimicrobial effects against chickenrelated pathogens. Additionally, all nine strains were found to be resistant to several antibiotics. The isolated strains, except for strain FC322, were tentatively identified as Lactobacillus salivarius, using an API 50 CHL kit. These results demonstrate that some probiotic organisms may potentially probiotic properties, and thus may serve as an effective alternative to antibiotics in animal applications.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.6-10
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• 2010

Bacterial pathogens were isolated from dogs with urinary tract infection (UTI) in local animal hospitals between August 2003 and December 2009. Bacteria were isolated from urine of 47 dogs. The isolated pathogens were Escherichia coli (n = 27), Streptococcus spp. (n = 7), Staphylococcus spp. (n = 5), Enterobacter spp. (n = 3), Proteus spp. (n = 2), other species were 3 strains, respectively. E. coli were susceptible to imimpenem, polymyxin B, amikacin, cephalosporins, aztreonam, amoxicillin clavulate, cephalosporins, tricarcillin, and amoxicillin clavulate, while were resistant bacitracin, erythromycin, lincomycin, oxacillin, penicillin, and novobiocin. Streptococcus spp. were susceptible to bacitracin, imimpenem, and trimethoprime-sulfa, while were highly resistant amikacin, cefotaxim, cefoxitin, cloxacillin, gentamicin, lincomycin, oxacillin, penicillin, streptomycin, and tobramycin. Staphylococcus spp. were susceptible to cefoxitin, doxycycline, enrofloxacin, imimpenem, and tobramycin, but were resistant aztreonam and tetracycline.