• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 1995

One hundred and thirty bacterial isolates with high chitinolytic activity on chitin agar media were isolated and identified. Most of the isolates were Aeromonas hydrophila (110 isolates), and the others were Serratia marcescens (11 isolates), Aeromonas caviae (3 isolates), Chromobacterium violaceum strain C-61 (2 isolates), Chromobacterium violaceum strain C-72 (1 isolate) and unknown species (3 isolates). Among them, C. violaceum strain C-61 had highest chitinolytic activity and fungal growth inhibition on PDA. This bacterium also inhibited the growth of Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotinia scelrotiorum, Phytophthora capsici and Pythium ultimum, but it didn't inhibit the growth of Fusarium oxysprum and Fusarium solani. C. violaceum strain C-61 suppressed damping-off of eggplant caused by R. solani. Populations of the chitinolytic bacteria such as Aeromonas hydrophila, Serratia marcescens, Aeromonas caviae, Chromobacterium violaceum strain C-61 and Chromobacterium violaceum strain C-72 introduced into R. solani-infested soil were continuously decreased until 20 days after treatment, but their populations except A. caviae were not changed significantly and maintained over 5$\times$104 CFU per g of soil thereafter.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.258-264
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• 1995

Production and some properties of chitinolytic enzymes were investigated by 80% ammonium sulfate precipitates (crude enzymes) from culture supernatant of antagonistic bacteria, Chromobacterium violaceum strain C-61 and strain C-72, Aeromonas hydrophila, Aeromonas caviae, and Serratia marcescens. The maximum production of chitinase was obtained from the 3-day culture at 28$^{\circ}C$ in C. violaceum stains, the 6-day culture in S. marcescens, and the 2-day culture in A. hydrophila and A. caviae. In the optimum culture periods, chitinase activity of C. violaceum strains C-61 was 1.5, 5.5, 12.0 and 11.3 times higher than those of strain C-72, S. marcescens, A. hydrophila and A. caviae, respectively. However, N,N'-diacetylchitobiase activity was 3.2 times higher in S. marcescens than in C. violaceum strain C-61, and that of Aeromonas spp.was very low. On gels containing glycol chitin, chitinase of C. violaceum strains showed four isoforms of 54-, 52-, 50- and 37-kDa, whereas there were four isoforms of 58-, 52-, 48- and 38-kDa in S. arcescens, three isoforms of 70-, 58- and 54-kDa in A. hydrophila and six isoforms of 90-, 79-, 71-, 63-, 58- and 38-kDa in A. caviae. The chitinase of C. violaceum strain C-61 was most active at pH 7.0 and at 5$0^{\circ}C$ and was stable in ranges of pH 5.0~10.0 for 2 hours and of 0~5$0^{\circ}C$ for 30 min.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.304-311
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• 1995

To determine whether chitinolytic enzymes from Chromobacterium violaceum C-61 play an important role in the suppression of Rhizoctonia damping-off, Tn5 insertion mutants deficient in chitinolytic activity (Chi a- mutants) were selected and their chitinolytic and disease suppression were compared with those of the parental strain. Four Chi a- mutants selected from about 2,000 transconjugants did not inhibit mycelial growth of Rhizoctonia solani on nutrient agar-potato dextrose agar (BA-PDA) and their abilities to suppress Rhizoctonia damping-off were much lower than the parental strain. However, population density in the eggplant rhizosphere did not differ significantly between the parental strain and four Chi a- mutants. The crude enzyme of the parental strain inhibited growth of R. solani on NA-PDA and its chitinase activity was much higher than that of Chi a- mutants. But the N,N' -diacetylchitobiase activity between these isolates were not significantly different. The chitinase of Chi a- mutants was defective in 2 isoforms of 52- and 37-kDa among four isoforms of 54-, 52-, 50- and 37-kDa. A Tn5 element was inserted into one site of 10 kb EcoRI fragment of chromosomal DNA in three Chi- mutants, C61-C1, -C2, and -C3. In C61-C4 mutant, a Tn5 element was inserted into two sites of 10 kb and 4.4 kb EcoRI fragments. These results suggest that the chitinase of C. violaceum C-61 play an important role in the suppression of Rhizoctonia damping-off of cucumber and eggplant.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.367-372
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• 2002

Cytosine deaminase (cytosine aminohydrolase, EC 3.5.4.1) stoichiometrically catalyzes the hydrolytic deamination of cytosine and 5-fluorocytosine to uracil and 5-fluorouracil, respectively. Optimal medium compositions for production of cytosine deaminase from Chromobacterium violaceum YK 391 were 0.75% soluble starch, 1.5% peptone, 0.1% meat extract, 0.1% yeast extract, 0.01% NaCl, 0.01% $MgCl_2{\cdot}7H_2O$ and 0.05% $K_2HPO_4$. The optimal pH of medium and incubation temperature were 7.0 and $30^{\circ}C$, respectively. C. violaceum reached stationary phase after 30 hr, and produced a maximum cytosine deaminase (120 units/ml) after 72 h in batch culture.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.357-366
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• 2015

Quorum sensing (QS) is involved in the process of cell-to-cell communication and as a gene regulatory mechanism, which has been implicated in bacterial pathogenicity. Bacteria use this QS system to control a variety of physiological processes. In this study, pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) peel extract (PPE) was first screened for its ability to inhibit QS in bio-reporter strains (Chromobacterium violaceum and C. violaceum CV026). Next, the ability of PPE to inhibit swimming motility and biofilm formation was examined in Y. enterocolitica. Additionally, changes in the expression of specific genes involved in the synthesis of the N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs; yenI and yenR) and in the flagellar regulon (fliA, fleB and flhDC) were evaluated by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. The results show that PPE specifically inhibited and reduced QS-controlled violacein production by 78.5% in C. violaceum CV026, and decreased QS-associated biofilm formation and swimming motility in Y. enterocolitica without significantly affecting bacterial growth. These inhibitory effects were also associated with the down-regulation of gene expression involved in the synthesis of AHLs and in motility. Our results suggest that PPE could be a potential therapeutic agent to prevent enteropathogens in humans, as well as highlight the need to further investigate the in vivo properties of PPE for clinical applications.

• CELLMED
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.26.1-26.9
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• 2014

Reactive oxygen species are known to mediate various pathological conditions associated with malaria. In this study, the antioxidant potential of Clerodendrum violaceum leaf extracts, an indigenous antimalarial remedy, was evaluated. Total phenol, flavonoid, selenium, vitamins C and E contents of Clerodendrum violaceum leaf extracts were determined. The free radical scavenging activities of the extracts against DPPH, superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide coupled with their reducing power were also evaluated in vitro. Moreover, responses of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) in a rodent malaria model to a 4-day administration of Clerodendrum violaceum leaf extracts were also evaluated. The methanolic extract was found to contain the highest amounts of antioxidant compounds/element and also demonstrated the highest free radical scavenging activity in vitro. The results showed a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in SOD and CAT activities with a concurrent significant (p < 0.05) increase in GPx and GR activities in both erythrocytes and liver of untreated Plasmodium berghei NK65-infected animals compared to the uninfected animals. The extracts were able to significantly increase (p < 0.05) SOD and CAT activities and significantly reduce (p < 0.05) GPx and GR activities in both the liver and erythrocytes compared to those observed in the untreated infected animals. The results suggest the augmentation of the antioxidant system as one of the possible mechanisms by which Clerodendrum violaceum extract ameliorates secondary effects of malaria infection, alongside its antiplasmodial effect in subjects.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 1997

A bacterium, strain YK 391 producing extracellular cytosine deaminase, has been isolated from soil sample collected near Taegu City and identified. The strain YK 391 was observed to be a motile Gram-negative rod, and did not produced capsule nor spore. The bacterium produced acid from glucose and trehalose, not from arabinose. Esculine was nto hydrolyzed. The isolate could grow anaerobically at 37$\circ $C, but not at 4$\circ $C. Palmitoleic and palmitic acids comprised over 80% of the fatty acid composition of the strain. The strain. The strain YK 391 was identified as Chromobacterium violaceum YK 391 based on its morphological and physiolohical characteristics, and on the fatty acid composition. The extracellular cytosine deaminase produced by Chromobacterium violaceum YK 391 is believed to be unique because it was active not only on cytosine and 5-fluorocytosine but also on cytidine.

• Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.231-246
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• 1996

In order to elucidate the human impact on the distribution of cellular slime molds, samples were collected from 3 types of forest ; natural forests(Mt. Deogyu and Mt. Tsukuba), semi-natural forests(Seoul Great Zoo and Tama Zoo), artificial forests(Seoul National University and Tokyo Gakugei University) .The distribution of cellular slime molds in mountains was different from that of zoo and universities. In mountains, endemic species was occurred and species diversity was higher than in zoo and universities. In zoo and universities disturbed by human, Dictyostelium sphaerocephalum was occurred with higher importance value than in mountains. 6 species were selected to investigate the effect of temperature on froctification; Polysphondylium canlidum, D. delicatum. D. firmibasis, D. sphaerocephalum P. violaceum, D. purpureum. P. violaceum and D. purpureum had an optimum temperature for fructification around 25~3O˚C but the others around 22~23˚C. The degree of sensitivity to temperature was as follows; P. candidum >D. lelicatum > D. firmibasis > D. sphaerocephalum > P. violaceum > D. purpureum. Key words: Human impact, Cellular slime molds, Occurrence and distribution, fructification, Dictylostelium delicatum. Dictyostelium sphaerocephalum.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.180-185
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• 2005

Cytosine deaminase (cytosine aminohydrolase, EC 3.5.4.1) stoichiometrically catalyzes the hydrolytic deamination of cytosine and 5-fluorocytosine to uracil and 5-fluorouracil, respectively. Amino acid residues located in or near the active sites of the intracellular cytosine deaminase from chromobacterium violaceum YK 391 were identified by chemical modification studies. The enzymic activity was completely inhibited by chemical modifiers, such as 1mM NBS, chloramine-T, $\rho-CMB,\;\rho-HMB$ and iodine, and was strongly inhibited by 1mM PMSF and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. This chemical deactivation of the enzymic activity was reversed by a high concentration of cytosine. Furthermore, the deactivation of the enzymic activity by $\rho-CMB$ was also reversed by 1mM cysteine-HCI, DTT and 2-mercaptoethanol. These results suggested that cysteine, tryptophan and methionine residues might be located in or near the active sites of the enzyme, while serine and lysine were indirectly involved in the enzymic activity. The intracellular cytosine deaminase from C violaceum YK 391 was assumed to be a thiol enzyme.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1182-1189
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• 2004

Cytosine deaminase (cytosine aminohydrolase, EC 3.5.4.1) stoichiometrically catalyzes the hydrolytic deamination of cytosine and 5-fluorocytosine to uracil and 5-fluorouracil, respectively. The intracellular cytosine deaminase from Chromobacterium violaceum YK 391 was purified to apparent homogeneity with 272.9-fold purification with an overall yield of $13.8\%$. The enzyme consisted of dimeric polypeptides of 63 kDa, and the total molecular mass was calculated to be approximately 126 kDa. Besides cytosine, the enzyme deaminated 5-fluorocytosine, cytidine, 6-azacytosine, and 5-methylcytosine, but not 5-azacytosine. Optimum pH and temperature for the enzyme reaction were 7.5 and $30^{\circ}C$, respectively. The enzyme was stable at pH 6.0 to 8.0, and at 30T for a week. About $70\%$ of the enzyme activity was retained at $60^{\circ}C$ for 5 min. The apparent $K_{m}$ values for cytosine, 5-fluorocytosine, and 5-methylcytosine were calculated to be 0.38 mM, 0.87 mM, and 2.32 mM, respectively. The enzyme activity was strongly inhibited by 1 mM $Hg^{2+},\;Zn^{2+},\;Cu^{2+},\;Pb^{2+},\;and\;Fe^{3+}$, and by o-phenanthroline, $\alpha,\;{\alpha}'$-dipyridyl, p-choromercuribenzoate, N-bromosuccinimide, and cWoramine­T. In addition, the enzyme activity was strongly inhibited by I mM 2-thiouracil, and weakly inhibited by 2-thiocytosine, or 5-azacytosine. Finally, intracellular and extracellular cytosine deaminases from Chromobacterium violaceum YK 391 were found to have a different optimum temperature, apparent $K_{m}$ value, and molecular mass.