• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.1076-1083
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• 2023

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a biodegradable and biocompatible bioplastic. Effective PHB degradation in nutrient-poor environments is required for industrial and practical applications of PHB. To screen for PHB-degrading strains, PHB double-layer plates were prepared and three new Bacillus infantis species with PHB-degrading ability were isolated from the soil. In addition, phaZ and bdhA of all isolated B. infantis were confirmed using a Bacillus sp. universal primer set and established polymerase chain reaction conditions. To evaluate the effective PHB degradation ability under nutrient-deficient conditions, PHB film degradation was performed in mineral medium, resulting in a PHB degradation rate of 98.71% for B. infantis PD3, which was confirmed in 5 d. Physical changes in the degraded PHB films were analyzed. The decrease in molecular weight due to biodegradation was confirmed using gel permeation chromatography and surface erosion of the PHB film was observed using scanning electron microscopy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on B. infantis showing its excellent PHB degradation ability and is expected to contribute to PHB commercialization and industrial composting.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.597-604
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• 2020

In the present study, the application of sequential biological and photocatalytic process was evaluated as a feasible process for the degradation of imidacloprid (IMI) in soil. Photocatalysis was carried out as a post and pre-treatment to the biological process as Microbial Photocatalytic (MP) and Photocatalytic Microbial (PM), respectively, to enhance the degradation and mineralization of IMI in soil. By both the processes, there was an enhancement in the percentage degradation of IMI i.e 86.2% for PM and 94.6% for MP process. The obtained results indicate that MP process is apparently more efficient in degradation of IMI which was observed with 15 days of biological treatment followed by 18 h of photocatalytic degradation (15 d + 18 h). The present work also reveals that though the difference in terms of the degradation of IMI after 5 d + 18 h, 10 d + 18 h & 15 d+ 18 h of MP process is not drastic, yet significant variation has been observed in terms of mineralization that truly signifies the removal of IMI from the soil. The LC analysis has shown that the intermediates formed during MP process are more and smaller in comparison to PM process, which further provides evidence that MP process is better than PM process for effective degradation of IMI in soil.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.2119-2128
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• 2017

Citrinin (CIT) is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by fungi belonging to the Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Monascus spp. This toxin has been detected in many agricultural products. In this study, a strain Y3 with the ability to eliminate CIT was screened and identified as Cryptococcus podzolicus, based on the sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region. Neither uptake of CIT by cells nor adsorption by cell wall was involved in CIT elimination by Cryptococcus podzolicus Y3. The extracellular metabolites of Cryptococcus podzolicus Y3 stimulated by CIT or not showed no degradation for CIT. It indicated that CIT elimination was attributed to the degradation of intracellular enzyme(s). The degradation of CIT by C. podzolicus Y3 was dependent on the type of media, yeast concentration, temperature, pH, and initial concentration of CIT. Most of the CIT was degraded by C. podzolicus Y3 in NYDB medium at 42 h but not in PDB medium. The degradation rate of CIT was the highest (94%) when the concentration of C. podzolicus Y3 was $1{\times}10^8cells/ml$. The quantity of CIT degradation was highest at $28^{\circ}C$, and there was no degradation observed at 3$5^{\circ}C$. The study also showed that acidic condition (pH 4.0) was the most favorable for CIT degradation by C. podzolicus Y3. The degradation rate of CIT increased to 98% as the concentration of CIT was increased to $20{\mu}g/ml$. The toxicity of CIT degradation product(s) toward HEK293 was much lower than that of CIT.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.96-102
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• 2017

The lignocellulose that is a major component of spent coffee ground was degraded and saccharified. To implement the spent coffee, after several pre-treatments, inoculation of Phanerochaete chrysosporium and solid-state fermentation were conducted. The optimal temperature of the enzymes (lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase, xylanase, laccase, and cellulase) for degradation of lignocellulose by P. chrysosporium was found. We also measured the maximum activity of enzymes (lignin peroxidase 0.15 IU/mL, manganese peroxidase 0.90 IU/mL, laccase 0.11 IU/mL, cellulase 5.87 IU/mL, carboxymethyl cellulase 9.52 IU/mL, xylanase 1.16 IU/mL) used for the process. As a result, 4.73 mg/mL of reduced sugar was obtained and 61.02% of lignin was degraded by solid state fermentation of P. chrysosporium on spent coffee ground.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1943-1950
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• 2016

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are commonly present xenobiotics in natural and contaminated soils. We studied three (phenanthrene, naphthalene, and biphenyl) xenobiotics, catabolism, and associated proteins in Sphingobium chungbukense DJ77 by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) analysis. Comparative analysis of the growth-dependent 2-DE results revealed that the intensity of 10 protein spots changed identically upon exposure to the three xenobiotics. Among the upregulated proteins, five protein spots, which were putative dehydrogenase, dioxygenase, and hydrolase and involved in the catabolic pathway of xenobiotic degradation, were induced. Identification of these major multifunctional proteins allowed us to map the multiple catabolic pathway for phenanthrene, naphthalene, and biphenyl degradation. A part of the initial diverse catabolism was converged into the catechol degradation branch. Detection of intermediates from 2,3-dihydroxy-biphenyl degradation to pyruvate and acetyl-CoA production by LC/MS analysis showed that ring-cleavage products of PAHs entered the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and were mineralized in S. chungbukense DJ77. These results suggest that S. chungbukense DJ77 completely degrades a broad range of PAHs via a multiple catabolic pathway.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.237-241
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• 1997

Two isolated strains, Comamonas testosteroni CPW301 and Arthrobacter ureafaciens CPR706, were able to use 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) as a sole carbon and energy source. CPW301 was found to degrade 4-CP via a meta-cleavage pathway in which the chloro-substituent was eliminated even when 4-chlorocatechol was cleaved by the catechol 2, 3-dioxygenase. In contrast, CPR706 removed chloride from 4-CP prior to the ring-fission reaction, producing hydroquinone as a transient intermediate during 4-CP degradation. CPR706 exhibited much higher tolerance for 4-CP than CPW301, which was indicated by the maximum degradable concentration and degradation rate.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.1530-1543
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• 2024

With an increase in the commercialization of bioplastics, the importance of screening for plastic-degrading strains and microbes has emerged. Conventional methods for screening such strains are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Therefore, we suggest a method for quickly and effectively screening plastic-degrading microbial strains through dual esterase assays for soil and isolated strains, using p-nitrophenyl alkanoates as substrates. To select microbe-abundant soil, the total amount of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) included in each soil sample was analyzed, and esterase assays were performed for each soil sample to compare the esterase activity of each soil. In addition, by analyzing the correlation coefficients and sensitivity between the amount of PLFAs and the degree of esterase activity according to the substrate, it was confirmed that substrate pNP-C2 is the most useful index for soil containing several microbes having esterase activity. In addition, esterase assays of the isolated strains allowed us to select the most active strain as the degrading strain, and 16S rRNA results confirmed that it was Bacillus sp. N04 showed the highest degradation activity for polybutylene succinate (PBS) as measured in liquid culture for 7 days, with a degradation yield of 99%. Furthermore, Bacillus sp. N04 showed degradation activity against various bioplastics. We propose the dual application of p-nitrophenyl alkanoates as an efficient method to first select the appropriate soil and then to screen for plastic-degrading strains in it, and conclude that pNP-C2 in particular, is a useful indicator.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.157-161
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• 2006

The performance of abiotic degradation of oxadiazon was investigated by applying zerovalent iron(ZVI), potassium permanganate($KMnO_4$) and titanium dioxide($TiO_2$) in the contaminated water. Experimental conditions allowed the disappearance of oxadiazon in the abiotic system. The degradation of this herbicide was monitored in buffer solutions having pH 3, 5 and 7 in the presence of iron powder in which the maximum degradation rate was achieved at acidic condition(pH 3) by 2% of ZVI treatment. The oxidative degradation of oxadiazon was observed in aqueous solution by $KMnO_4$ at pH 3, 7 and 10 in which the highest disappearance rate was found at neutral pH when treated with 2% of $KMnO_4$. The catalytic degradation of oxadiazon in $TiO_2$ suspension was obtained under dark and UV irradiation conditions. UV irradiation enhanced the degradation of oxadiazon in aquatic system in the presence of $TiO_2$. Conclusively, the remediation strategy using these abiotic reagents could be applied to remove oxadiazon from the contaminated water.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 1997

Three strains capable of degrading a chlorophenol were isolated by selective enrichment from soils contaminated with industrial wastewater. A Pseudomonas solanacearum TCP114 could use 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) as sole carbon and energy source, while two strains of Pseudomonas testosteroni CPW301 and Arthrobacter ureafaciens CPR706 could use 4-CP. All isolates also grew well on phenol. The degradation of one component by a pure strain was strongly affected by the presence of other compounds in the medium, CPW301 and CPR706 entirely lost the ability to degrade 4-CP and phenol in the presence of TCP. TCP114 also lost the ability to degrade phenol when 4-CP was added to the culture medium. These restrictions on the degradability could be overcome by employing defined mixed cultures (TCP114 and one strain of 4-CP degrading strains). All three components were successfully degraded by defined mixed cultures through their cooperative activities. It was also demonstrated that defined mixed cultures could be immobilized by using calcium alginate for the semi-continuous degradation of the three component mixture. Immobilization could not only accelerate the degradation rate, but also allowed the reuse of the cell mass several times without loss of the cells' degrading capabilities.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.27-36
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• 2022

Ever since bioplastics were globally introduced to a wide range of industries, the disposal of used products made with bioplastics has become an issue inseparable from their application. Unlike petroleum-based plastics, bioplastics can be completely decomposed into water and carbon dioxide by microorganisms in a relatively short time, which is an advantage. However, there is little information on the specific degraders and accelerating factors for biodegradation. To elucidate a new strain for biodegrading poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), we screened out one PHB-degrading bacterium, Microbulbifer sp. SOL03, which is the first reported strain from the Microbulbifer genus to show PHB degradation activity, although Microbulbifer species are known to be complex carbohydrate degraders found in high-salt environments. In this study, we evaluated its biodegradability using solid- and liquid-based methods in addition to examining the changes in physical properties throughout the biodegradation process. Furthermore, we established the optimal conditions for biodegradation with respect to temperature, salt concentration, and additional carbon and nitrogen sources; accordingly, a temperature of 37℃ with the addition of 3% NaCl without additional carbon sources, was determined to be optimal. In summary, we found that Microbulbifer sp. SOL03 showed a PHB degradation yield of almost 97% after 10 days. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the potent bioplastic degradation activity of Microbulbifer sp., and we believe that it can contribute to the development of bioplastics from application to disposal.