• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.83-91
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• 2012

Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-to-cell communication system, which is used by many bacteria to regulate diverse gene expression in response to changes in population density. Bacteria recognize the differences in cell density by sensing the concentration of signal molecules such as N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHL) and autoinducer-2 (AI-2). In particular, QS plays a key role in biofilm formation, which is a specific bacterial group behavior. Biofilms are dense aggregates of packed microbial communities that grow on surfaces, and are embedded in a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). QS regulates biofilm dispersal as well as the production of EPS. In some bacteria, biofilm formations are regulated by c-di-GMP-mediated signaling as well as QS, thus the two signaling systems are mutually connected. Biofilms are one of the major virulence factors in pathogenic bacteria. In addition, they cause numerous problems in industrial fields, such as the biofouling of pipes, tanks and membrane bioreactors (MBR). Therefore, the interference of QS, referred to as quorum quenching (QQ) has received a great deal of attention. To inhibit biofilm formation, several strategies to disrupt bacterial QS have been reported, and many enzymes which can degrade or modify the signal molecule AHL have been studied. QQ enzymes, such as AHL-lactonase, AHL-acylase, and oxidoreductases may offer great potential for the effective control of biofilm formation and membrane biofouling in the future. This review describes the process of bacterial QS, biofilm formation, and the close relationship between them. Finally, QQ enzymes and their applications for the reduction of biofouling are also discussed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1656-1664
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• 2009

Bioaugmentation of bioreactors focuses on the removal of numerous organics, with little attention typically paid to the maintenance of high and stable nitrite accumulation in partial nitrification. In this study, a bioaugmented membrane bioreactor (MBR) inoculated with enriched ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) was developed, and the effects of dissolved oxygen (DO) and temperature on the stability of partial nitrification and microbial community structure, in particular on the nitrifying community, were evaluated. The results showed that DO and temperature played the most important roles in the stability of partial nitrification in the bioaugmented MBR. The optimal operation conditions were found at 2-3 mgDO/l and $30^{\circ}C$, achieving 95% ammonia oxidization efficiency and nitrite ratio ($NO_2^-/{NO_x}^-$) of 0.95. High DO (5-6 mg/l) and low temperature ($20^{\circ}C$) had negative impacts on nitrite accumulation, leading to nitrite ratio drop to 0.6. However, the nitrite ratio achieved in the bioaugmented MBR was higher than that in most previous literatures. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were used to provide an insight into the microbial community. It showed that Nitrosomonas-like species as the only detected AOB remained predominant in the bioaugmented MBR all the time, and coexisted with numerous heterotrophic bacteria. The heterotrophic bacteria responsible for mineralizing soluble microbial products (SMP) produced by nitrifiers belonged to the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides (CFB) group, and $\alpha$-, $\beta$-, and $\gamma$- Proteobacteria. The fraction of AOB ranging from 77% to 54% was much higher than that of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (0.4-0.9%), which might be the primary cause for the high and stable nitrite accumulation in the bioaugmented MBR.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.31-40
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• 2016

In this study, mesophilic anaerobic digestion of source separated food waste was carried out by leachate recirculation system and methane gas was produced. Two systems - system A and B were fabricated and placed within water bath to maintain $36^{\circ}C$. Each system was comprised of an anaerobic bioreactor and a leachate tank. Leachate in bioreactor was separated through the screen located at 30 mm above the bottom and a pump was installed to transfer collected leachate to the leachate tank. Everyday, 2.5 L of the leachate was pumped from the bioreactor to the leachate tank for 30 min and transferred leachate was pumped back to the top of the bioreactor for 30min, sequentially. Source separated food waste used for this experiment was washed by water before transferring to the laboratory. Transferred food waste was warmed to $36^{\circ}C$ before being fed to bioreactors. System A was fed to 49.1 g VS (Volatile Solids) and System B was fed to 54.0 g VS at every two weeks, respectively. $NH_4{^+}-N$ and salinity were monitored to see the inhibition toward anaerobic bioreaction and it was found that concentrations of these materials were not high enough to affect the bioreaction. Although the food waste was fed biweekly for 112 days and 140 days at system A and B, respectively, there was no sludge withdrawal from each system. Average methane productions rates were 0.439 L $CH_4/g$ VS and 0.368 L $CH_4/g$ VS for system A and B, respectively.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.3799-3804
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• 2014

In sea water, microalgae are exposed to a range of critical environmental conditions. Microalgae are protected from UV-A radiation due to the presence of mycosporine like amino acids(MAAs). Owing to the UV-A absorption properties of MAAs, they are used widely as a UV protecting ingredient in cosmetics. Therefore, there is a need to increase the production yield of MAAs. This study investigated the production yield of MAAs in transformed microalgae by radiofrequency(RF) exposure. Initially, the Glut-1 gene was transformed to Chlamydomonas hedleyi microalgae as a glucose transporter. The biomass was enhanced after Glut-1 gene transformation. In addition, the MAAs production yield was increased during large scale production in bioreactors due to the RF treatment. Therefore, purified extracts of MAAs can be used as a sun block material in the cosmetic industrial field.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.185-199
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• 2017

Methane, which is emitted from natural and anthropogenic sources, is a representative greenhouse gas for global warming. Methanotrophs are widespread in the environment and play an important role in the biological oxidation of methane via methane monooxygenases (MMOs), key enzymes for methane oxidation with broad substrate specificity. Methanotrophs have attracted attention as multifunctional bacteria with promising applications in biological methane mitigation technology and environmental bioremediation. In this review, we have summarized current knowledge regarding the biodiversity of methanotrophs, catalytic properties of MMOs, and high-cell density cultivation technology. In addition, we have reviewed the recent advances in biological methane mitigation technologies using methanotrophs in field-scale systems as well as in lab-scale bioreactors. We have also surveyed information on the dynamics of the methanotrophic community in biological systems and discussed the various challenges pertaining to methanotroph-related biotechnological innovation, such as identification of suitable methanotrophic strains with better and/or novel metabolic activity, development of high-cell density mass cultivation technology, and the microbial consortium (methanotrophs and non-methanotrophs consortium) design and control technology.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.66-73
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• 2001

Ivlain objectives of this work arc to investigate basic fouling characteristics and emxts of backpulsing on the fouJing control in the free-end membrane module uo

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.190-195
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• 2018

Sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] represents an attractive starch crop that can be used to facilitate solving global food and environmental problems in the $21^{st}$ century. It can be used as industrial bioreactors to produce various high value-added materials, including bio-ethanol, functional feed, antioxidants, as well as food resources. The non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) announced sweetpotato as one of the ten 'super foods' for better health, since it contains high levels of low molecular weight antioxidants such as vitamin-C, vitamin-E and carotenoids, as well as dietary fiber and potassium. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) also reported that sweetpotato is the best bioenergy crop among starch crops on marginal lands, that does not affect food security. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that world population in 2050 will be 9.7 billion, and require approximately 1.7 times more food than today. In this respect, sweetpotato will be a solution to solving problems such as food, energy, health, and environment facing the globe in the $21^{st}$ century. In this paper, the current status of resources, and cultivation of sweetpotato in the world was first described. Development of a new northern route of the sweetpotato and its prior tasks of large scale cultivation of sweetpotato, were also described in terms of global food security, and production of high-value added biomaterials.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.1433-1442
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• 2010

Parameters related to dissolved oxygen for the production of pullulan by Aureobasidium pullulans HP-2001 were optimized in 7 l and 100 l bioreactors. The optimal concentrations of glucose and yeast extract for the production of pullulan were 50.0 and 2.5 g/l, respectively, and its conversion rate from glucose was 37% at a flask scale. The optimal initial pH of the medium and temperature for cell growth were 7.5 and $30^{\circ}C$, whereas those for the production of pullulan were 6.0 and $25^{\circ}C$. The optimal agitation speed and aeration rate for cell growth were 600 rpm and 2.0 vvm in a 7 l bioreactor, whereas those for the production of pullulan were 500 rpm and 1.0 vvm. The production of pullulan with an optimized agitation speed of 500 rpm and aeration rate of 1.0 vvm was 18.13 g/l in a 7 l bioreactor. Maximal cell growth occurred without inner pressure, whereas the optimal inner pressure for the production of pullulan was 0.4 kgf/$cm^2$ in a 100 l bioreactor. The production of pullulan under optimized conditions in this study was 22.89 g/l in a 100 l bioreactor, which was 1.38 times higher than that without inner pressure.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1199-1208
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• 2005

Abatement of greenhouse gas emitted from ruminants and promotion of biogas energy from animal effluent were comprehensively examined in each anaerobic fermentation reactor and animal experiments. Moreover, the energy conversion efficiency of biomass energy to power generation were evaluated with a gas engine generator or proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). To mitigate safely rumen methanogenesis with nutritional manipulation the suppressing effects of some strains of lactic acid bacteria and yeast, bacteriocin, $\beta$1-4 galactooligosaccharide, plant extracts (Yucca schidigera and Quillaja saponarea), L-cysteine and/or nitrate on rumen methane emission were compared with antibiotics. For in vitro trials, cumulative methane production was evaluated using the continuous fermented gas qualification system inoculated with the strained rumen fluid from rumen fistulated Holstein cows. For in vivo, four sequential ventilated head cages equipped with a fully automated gas analyzing system were used to examine the manipulating effects of $\beta$1-4 galactooligosaccharide, lactic acid bacteria (Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides), yeast (Trichosporon serticeum), nisin and Yucca schidigera and/or nitrate on rumen methanogenesis. Furthermore, biogas energy recycled from animal effluent was evaluated with anaerobic bioreactors. Utilization of recycled energy as fuel for a co-generator and fuel cell was tested in the thermophilic biogas plant system. From the results of in vitro and in vivo trials, nitrate was shown to be a strong methane suppressor, although nitrate per se is hazardous. L-cysteine could remove this risk. $\beta$1-4 galactooligosaccharide, Candida kefyr, nisin, Yucca schidigera and Quillaja saponarea are thought to possibly control methanogenesis in the rumen. It is possible to simulate the available energy recycled through animal effluent from feed energy resources by making total energy balance sheets of the process from feed energy to recycled energy.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2004

The seeding sources and concentration of ammonia on anaerobic digestion were investigated by batch culture bioreactors. The sources of seeding on anaerobic digestion were from swine wastewater collection pit of a hog raising farm and from anaerobic digestion sludge of a municipal sewage treatment plant. The inhibition of ammonia on anaerobic microorganisms was initiated at ammonia concentration of $1,500\;mgNH_4-N/L$ and it's effect was increased by increased by increasing ammonia concentration up to $3,500\;mgNH_4-N/L$ regardless the sources of seeding as evidenced by decreases in COD removal efficiencies and biogas yields. The inhibition occurred to not only methanogens but also acidogens since the concentration of volatile fatty acids was maintained at 50 mg/L The COD removal efficiency and biogas yield were Maintained constantly while increasing ammonia concentration up to $3,500\;mgNH_4-N/L$ when swine wastewater collection pit was used as a seeding; however, those were decreased while increasing ammonia concentration when anaerobic digestion sludge was used as a seeding. The results indicate that the seeding acclimated to high concentrations of ammonia for long time was easy in adaptation to high ammonia concentration and less subjective to ammonia inhibitory effects.