• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1035-1037
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• 2009

In this study we analyzed the dynamic changes in microbiota composition during kochujang fermentation at $30^{\circ}C$. During fermentation, the viable cell counts slowly increased and reached $3.2{\times}10^7$ for aerobic bacteria, $8.3{\times}10^3$ for yeast, and $1.4{\times}10^3$ CFU/mL for fungi after 60 days. Bacilli were found to be the most dominant microorganisms throughout the fermentation process. Using the culture dependent method Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, and Bacillus amyloquefaciens were found to be the main species during the early stages of fermentation; however, Bacillus pumilus and Bacillus stearothermophilus became the most dominant species during the late stage of fermentation. In contrast, when the polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) method was used Bacillus ehimensis was found to be the dominant species during the early stage of fermentation and Bacillus megaterium, B. pumilus, B. subtilis, and B. licheniformis were dominant in the ate stages. These results indicate various other Bacillus species rather than just B. subtilis and B. licheniformis might be involved in the fermentation of kochujang.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.651-657
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• 2009

Shifts in the activity and diversity of microbes involved in aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon degradation in contaminated soil were investigated. Subsurface soil was collected from a gas station that had been abandoned since 1995 owing to ground subsidence. The total petroleum hydrocarbon content of the sample was approximately 2,100 mg/kg, and that of the soil below a gas pump was over 23,000 mg/kg. Enrichment cultures were grown in mineral medium that contained hexadecane (H) or naphthalene (N) at a concentration of 200 mg/l. In the Henrichment culture, a real-time PCR assay revealed that the 16S rRNA gene copy number increased from $1.2{\times}10^5$to $8.6{\times}10^6$with no lag phase, representing an approximately 70-fold increase. In the N-enrichment culture, the 16S rRNA copy number increased about 13-fold after 48 h, from $6.3{\times}10^4$to $8.3{\times}10^5$. Microbial communities in the enrichment cultures were studied by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and by analysis of 16S rRNA gene libraries. Before the addition of hydrocarbons, the gas station soil contained primarily Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria. During growth in the H-enrichment culture, the contribution of Bacteriodetes to the microbial community increased significantly. On the other hand, during N-enrichment, the Betaproteobacteria population increased conspicuously. These results suggest that specific phylotypes of bacteria were associated with the degradation of each hydrocarbon.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.1339-1347
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• 2010

In this study, the identity and distribution of plants and the structure of their associated rhizobacterial communities were examined in an oil-contaminated site. The number of plant species that formed a community or were scattered was 24. The species living in soil highly contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) (9,000-4,5000 mg/g-soil) were Cynodon dactylon, Persicaria lapathifolia, and Calystegia soldanella (a halophytic species). Among the 24 plant species, the following have been known to be effective for oil removal: C. dactylon, Digitaria sanguinalis, and Cyperus orthostachyus. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profile analysis showed that the following pairs of plant species had highly similar (above 70%) rhizobacterial community structures: Artemisia princeps and Hemistepta lyrata; C. dactylon and P. lapathifolia; Carex kobomugi and Cardamine flexuosa; and Equisetum arvense and D. sanguinalis. The major groups of rhizobacteria were Beta-proteobacteria, Gamma-proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteria, and unknown. Based on DGGE analysis, P. lapathifolia, found for the first time in this study growing in the presence of high TPH, may be a good species for phytoremediation of oil-contaminated soils and in particular, C. soldanella may be useful for soils with high TPH and salt concentrations. Overall, this study suggests that the plant roots, regardless of plant species, may have a similar influence on the bacterial community structure in oil-contaminated soil.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.106-117
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• 2013

Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is one of the most economical and efficient methods for extending the life of production wells in a declining reservoir. Microbial consortia from Wafra oil wells and Suwaihat production water, Al-Wusta region, Oman were screened. Microbial consortia in brine samples were identified using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and 16S rRNA gene sequences. The detected microbial consortia of Wafra oil wells were completely different from microbial consortia of Suwaihat formation water. A total of 33 genera and 58 species were identified in Wafra oil wells and Suwaihat production water. All of the identified microbial genera were first reported in Oman, with Caminicella sporogenes for the first time reported from oil fields. Most of the identified microorganisms were found to be anaerobic, thermophilic, and halophilic, and produced biogases, biosolvants, and biosurfactants as by-products, which may be good candidates for MEOR.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.3-7
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• 2010

To better understand the ecology of tetrade forming organisms (TFOs) floating in a large amount of dairy wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent (sequencing batch reactor [SBR]) during the inefficient phosphorus (P) removal process of an enhanced biological P removal system, the TFOs from the effluent of a full scale WWTP were separated and attempts made to culture the TFOs in presence/absence of oxygen. The intact TFOs only grew aerobically in the form of unicellular short-rods. Furthermore, to identify the intact TFOs and unicellular short-rods the DNAs of both were extracted, analyzed using their denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE)-profiles and then sequenced. The TFOs and unicellular short-rods exhibited the same banding pattern in their DGGE-profiles, and those sequencing data resulted in their identification as Acinetobacter sp. The intact TFOs appeared in clumps and packages of tetrade cells, and were identified as Acinetobacter sp., which are known as strict aerobes and efficient P-removers. The thick layer of extracellular polymeric substance surrounding Acinetobacter sp. may inhibit phosphate uptake, and the cell morphology of TFOs might subsequently be connected with their survival strategy under the anaerobic regime of the SBR system.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.327-334
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• 2003

This study employed two PCR-based 16S rDNA approaches, amplified rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), to characterize the bacterial community structure in groundwater. Samples were collected from groundwater for the use by private residences, as well as for industrial and agricultural purposes, in Ansan City. Each PCR product was obtained by PCR with eubacteria 16S rDNA and variable V3 region specific primer sets. After amplification, the 16S rDNA PCR products were digested with 4-base site specific restriction endonucleases, and the restriction pattern analyzed. The genetic diversity and similarity of the groundwater bacterial community was analyzed by eubacteria universal primer sets for the amplification of variable V3 regions of the bacterial 16S rDNA. The result of the bacterial community analysis, by ARDRA and DGGE, revealed the same pattern. The highest diversity was found in groundwater from site G1, which was used in residences. In the DGGE profile, a high intensity band was sequenced, and revealed to be Pseudomonas sp. strain P51.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.892-894
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• 2008

During dongchimi fermentation at 5 and $25^{\circ}C$, the pH lowered slowly and reached 4.03 at $5^{\circ}C$ after 30 days, whereas it lowered dramatically and reached 3.59 at $25^{\circ}C$ after 2 days. The predominant bacteria were Leuconostoc (Leu.) mesenteroides at $25^{\circ}C$ until day 2 which changed into Lactobacillus (Lb.) plantarum at day 3, analyzed by a culture dependent method with partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing, whereas Leu. mesenteroides occupied predominantly at $5^{\circ}C$ until day 7. In a culture-independent method using a polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) with partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing, Lb. algidus was predominant at $5^{\circ}C$ until day 7 and Lb. plantarum occupied predominantly at $25^{\circ}C$ until day 3, which is different from the results of the culture based method, indicating the both methods need to be combined for accuracy. Based on the culture-dependent method, Leu. mesenteroides might be responsible for the early and mid-phase of dongchimi fermentation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.76-84
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• 2013

A polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) technique followed by sequencing of the 16S rDNA fragments eluted from the bands of interest on denaturing gradient gels was used to monitor changes in the bacterial microflora of two commercial kimchi, salted cabbage, and ingredient mix samples during 30 days of fermentation at $4^{\circ}C$ and $10^{\circ}C$. Leuconostoc (Lc.) was the dominant lactic acid bacteria (LAB) over Lactobacillus (Lb.) species at $4^{\circ}C$. Weissella confusa was detected in the ingredient mix and also in kimchi samples throughout fermentation in both samples at $4^{\circ}C$ and $10^{\circ}C$. Lc. gelidum was detected as the dominant LAB at $4^{\circ}C$ in both samples. The temperature affected the LAB profile of kimchi by varing the pH, which was primarily caused by the temperature-dependent competition among different LAB species in kimchi. At $4^{\circ}C$, the sample variations in pH and titratable acidity were more conspicuous owing to the delayed growth of LAB. Temperature affected only initial decreases in pH and initial increases in viable cell counts, but affected both the initial increases and final values of titratable acidity. The initial microflora in the kimchi sample was probably determined by the microflora of the ingredient mix, not by that of the salted cabbage. The microbial distributions in the samples used in this study resembled across the different kimchi samples and the different fermentation temperatures as the numbers of LAB increased and titratable acidity decreased.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.221-229
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• 2006

The effects of ultrasonication on phytoplankton were investigated in two ponds in which physicochemical and biological water quality was similar, one as a treatment and the other as a control. The samples were collected from August 18 to September 30 in 2003. Traditional morphological analysis showed that Bacillariophyceae dominated phytoplankton community in both ponds. The abundance of Cyanophyceae was lower in the phytoplankton community of the sonicated pond than that of control pond. We used DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) to analyze the diversity and change of phytoplankton community in two ponds. The DGGE banding patterns of 16S rRNA gene and sequence analysis demonstrated that Oscillatoria acuminata and CFB (Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides) group bacterium appeared in the treated pond, and the control pond was dominated by Synechococcus sp. and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae. Especially, Pseudanabaena sp. dominated during the ultrasonic cessation in the treated pond. The DGGE profiles of 18S rRNA gene and sequence analysis showed that the treated pond was dominated by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and the control pond by C. reinhardtii and Pteromonas protracta. In conclusion, the ultrasonication affected the reduced growth of cyanobacteria, particularly Pseudanabaena.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.543-549
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• 2007

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of disodium fumarate on the in vitro rumen fermentation profiles of different substrates and microbial communities. In experiment 1, nine diets (high-forage diet (forage:concentrate, e.g. F:C = 7:3, DM basis), medium-forage diet (F:C = 5:5, DM basis), low-forage diet(F:C = 1:9, DM basis), cracked corn, cracked wheat, soluble starch, tall elata (Festuca elata), perennial ryegrass and rice straw) were fermented in vitro by rumen microorganisms from local goats. The results showed that during 24 h incubations, for all substrates, disodium fumarate increased (p<0.05) the gas production, and tended to increase (p<0.10) the acetate, propionate and total VFA concentration and decrease the ratio of acetate to propionate, whereas no treatment effect was observed for the lactate concentration. The apparent DM loss for tall elata, perennial ryegrass and rice straw increased (p<0.05) with the addition of disodium fumarate. With the exception of tall elata, perennial ryegrass and rice straw, disodium fumarate addition increased the final pH (p<0.05) for all substrates. In experiment 2, three substrates (a high-forage diet, a medium-forage diet and a high concentrate diet) were fermented by mixed rumen microbes in vitro. A polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) technique was applied to compare microbial DNA fingerprints between substrates at the end of 24 h incubation. The results showed that when Festuca elata was used as substrate, the control and disodium fumarate treatments had similar DGGE profiles, with their similarities higher than 96%. As the ratio of concentrate increased, however, the similarities in DGGE profiles decreased between the control and disodium fumarate treatment. Overall, these results suggest that disodium fumarate is effective in increasing the pH and gas production for the diets differing in forage: concentrate ratio, grain cereals and soluble starch, and in increasing dry matter loss for the forages (tall elata, perennial ryegrass and rice straw) in vitro, whereas its effect on changes of ruminal microbial community may largely depend on the general nature of the substrate.