• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 2001

Biological Treatment of Wastewater Containing Chlorinated Phenols by a Mixed Culture. Lee, Wan-Seok1, Sang-Wook Jung, Chan-Sun Park, Byung-Dae Yoon, Jang-Eok Kim\ and Hee-Mock Oh*. Environmental Bioresources Laboratory, Korea Research Institute of Biosicence and Biotechnology, Taejon, Korea, 1 Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Kyungpool< National University, Taegu, Korea - The biodegradation of chlorinated phenols in an artificial wastewater was investigated using a mixed culture. The mixed culture was composed of 8 microorganisms isolated from the soil contaminated with various chlorinated phenols. Pseudomonas sp. BM as a main constituent of a mixed culture was Gram-negative, catalase- and oxidase-positive, and rod-shaped, and did not grow at 41°C. It degraded 99% of initial 500 mg!1 of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in the minimal salts medium as a sole source of carbon and energy within 3 days. The degradation efficiency of Pseu.domon.as sp. BM was not affected by the other organic carbon and nitrogen compounds. Pseudomonas sp. BM was able to grow in a broad range of pH 5 - 8, and degrade 2,000 mg/1 PCP. In the experiment with an artificial wastewater containing chlorinated phenols, the degradation efficiency of the mixed culture was the range of 73% (2,4-dichlorophenol) -96% (2-chlorophenol) during an incubation of 7 days. In a continuous culture experiment, the degradation efficiency of mixed culture plus activated sludge was about 2 times higher than that of the control containing only activated sludge. These results indicate that it is possible to apply the mixed culture to other wastewaters containing chlorinated phenols. Key words: Biodegradation, chlorinated phenols, pentachlorophenol, Pseudomonas sp. BM

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.70-76
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• 1992

A field experiment was conducted to find out the influence of cropping systems under rotation of paddy-upland soil on soil microorganisms with specific reference to cations concentration in the soil. The results obtained was summarized as follows. 1. The number of soil bacteria and actinomycetes increased in fallow, continuous cultivation of rice and soybean while the number of fungi decreased. 2. Gram negative bacteria as Pseudomonas spp. and Rhizobium spp. remarkably incerased with increasing Gram positive bacteria of Bacillus subtilis in continuous cultivatio of soybean. 3. The relative population of soil born plant pathogen such as Fusarium spp. Rhizoctionia spp. and Phoma spp. to the total soil fungi was high in cultivation of potato and Chinese cabbage. The ratio of soil plant pathogen to the total soil fungi was high in cultivation of potato with Chinese cabbage. 4. The number of bacteria and actinomycetes was positively correlated with ratio of Ca＋Mg/K in soil while negatively correlated with soil fungi.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.70-78
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• 1989

This experiment was carried out to develop the preparation method of chitosan which has strong antimicrobial activity, and also tried to investigate as a natural food preservative with this chitosan. The antimicrobial activity of chitosan was the strongest when deacetylation of chitin was conducted at $146^{\circ}C$ for 8 hours with $50\%$ sodium hydroxide. The growth of Escherichia coil was completely inhibited by adding this low molecular weight chitosan (M. W, 35,000) at the level of concentration of 75ppm to the medium. The antimicrobial activity was strong enough against such Gram positive bacteria as Staphylococcus sp. and Bacillus sp.. The growth of these strains was inhibited by the concentration of 50ppm but it was varied in its kinds against Gram negative bacteria. The concentration of chitosan re-quired for growth inhibition of microorganisms was 100ppm against Pseudomonas sp. and Vibrio sp., 2,000ppm against Salmonella sp.. The growth of Saccharomyces sp. was inhibited by the concentration of 100ppm, but Hansenula sp., Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp. and Mu-cor sp. did not inhibited by even more than the concentration of 5,000ppm. The shelf life of Mulkimchi (pickle type Kimchi), containing $0.2\%$ chitosan was 10 days longer than control stored at $5^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.261-269
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• 2012

In this study, 18 kinds of Korean medicinal herb extracts were examined for anti-microbial activities against pathogenic microorganisms. The methanol (MeOH) extracts from Schizandra chinensis, Rhus javanica and Caesalpinia sappan exhibited antimicrobial activities against most pathogenic microorganisms at concentrations of 5 mg/mL, whereas the other 15 extracts exhibited anti-microbial activities at concentrations of 30 mg/mL. The minimum concentration at which Schizandra chinensis extracts inhibited for S. epidermidis and Bor. bronchiseptica was 0.6 mg/mL. The MeOH extracts from Schizandra chinensis, Caesalpinia sappan, Rhus javanica and Seutellaria baicalensis which had higher anti-microbial activities were subsequently fractionated using 5 different solvents, and further screened for anti-microbial activities. The inhibitory effects of ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extracts on microbial growth were greater compared to any other solvent extracts. In order to investigate the inhibitory effect of Korean medicinal herbs with high anti-microbial activities on microbial proliferation, the MeOH extracts at concentrations of 0, 100, 300 and 500 ppm were added to the media. No addition of extracts caused rapid growth of microbes after 12 hours incubation. As the concentration of extracts from Rhus javanica and Caesalpinia sappan increased, the growth-inhibiting effect on gram-positive bacteria including S. aureus, S. epidermidis, and L. monocytogenes was prominent. Rhus javanica extracts exhibited growth-inhibiting activity for gram-negative bacteria including Sal. Pullorum and Sal. Choleraesuis. The low concentration of extracts from Rhus javanica and Caesalpinia sappan exhibited the growth of Bor. bronchiseptica and E. coli serotype $O_8$. However, the higher concentration of extracts from Rhus javanica and Caesalpinia sappan exhibited a strong inhibitory effect on microbial proliferation.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.495-500
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• 2013

This study was performed to identify safe natural food preservatives from medicinal herbs and to evaluate the antimicrobial effects of medicinal plants against microorganisms. Medicinal herbs were extracted 3 times with methanol at $45^{\circ}C$ for 3 h and fractionated with n-hexane. The antimicrobial effects of the fractions were determined by measuring the diameter of the inhibition zone by using an agar-well diffusion assay. The MIC of fractions for the inhibition of microorganisms was determined using a microplate reader. The antimicrobial effects of fractions were greater against gram positive bacteria than against gram negative bacteria, but the difference was not significant. The antimicrobial effects of fractions were concentration dependent. While these results have implications, the underlying mechanisms of microbial inactivation need to be further elucidated. The results showed the possibility of developing safer food preservatives.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.67-72
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• 2024

In this study, we investigated the microbial community of oyster mushrooms at different growth stages at the species level. Gram-positive bacteria were predominant in the presterilized medium. On the other hand, Gram-negative bacteria were predominant in the culture-completed medium, post-harvest medium, and fruiting bodies. In addition, Pseudomonas tolaasii, which is known to cause disease in mushrooms, was confirmed in the cultured medium, post-harvest medium, and fruiting bodies, and it was determined that the mycelium culture stage was contaminated, and the reason why no disease occurred was Sphingobacterium psychroaquaticum. It was confirmed that this was because the growth of Pseudomonas tolaasii was suppressed by producing a component called tolacin. As a result of confirming the diversity of microorganisms, it was confirmed that the presterilization medium contains a variety of microorganisms compared to other growth stages, and the diversity decreases in the order of culture completion medium, fruiting body, and post-harvest medium. showed a trend. As a result of microbial similarity analysis, it was confirmed that the cultured medium and the post-harvest medium showed similar microbial communities, and in the case of fruiting bodies, there were some similarities but overall differences.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.121-125
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• 2009

We measured the influence of antifungal antagonists Bacillus subtilis AH18 and Bacillus licheniformis K11 on soil microbial community in microcosms. Both antifungal antagonists were confirmed to suppress hot pepper phytophthora blight. Phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) were analyzed to investigate the soil microbial community. B. subtilis AH18 changed the total PLFA composition and bio-indicators of PLFA, compared with other treatments. B. subtilis AH18 decreased the proportion of bacteria and gram negative/gram positive bacteria, and increased the fungi/bacteria and anaerobic/aerobic microorganisms. In addition cy19:0/18:$1{\omega}7c$, which means adaptation to unfavorable environmental conditions, was increased by the application of B. subtilis AH18. On the other hand the inoculation of B. licheniformis K11 or combined inoculation of both antifungal strains did not affect soil microbial community. The suppression of phytophthora blight and preservation of indigenous soil microbial community may be achieved by the combined application of B. subtilis AH18 and B. licheniformis K11.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.495-502
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• 2010

Purpose : Sepsis is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the newborn, particularly in preterm. The objective of this study was to analyze the incidence rate, causative pathogens and clinical features of neonatal sepsis in one neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for 6 years. Methods : This study was retrospectively performed to review the clinical and laboratory characteristics including sex, gestational age, birth weight, Apgar score, length of hospitalization, length of total parenteral nutrition, presence of central venous catheter, underlying diseases, laboratory findings, microorganisms isolated from blood culture, complications and mortality in 175 patients between January 2003 and December 2008. Results : 1) Sepsis was present in 175 of 3,747 infants for 6 years. There were more gram-positive organisms. 2) The gram-negatives were more prevalent in preterm. There were no significant differences of other clinical features between two groups. 3) Underlying diseases were found in 73.7%, and the most common disease was cardiovascular disease. The most common organisms of gram-positives and gram-negatives were methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Serratia marcescens. 4) There was statistically significant difference on platelet counts between two groups (P<0.05). 5) Complications were found in 18.3% and septic shock was the most common. MRSA was the most common pathogen in sepsis with complication. 6) The mortality rate was 7.4%. 7) There were differences in monthly blood stream infection/1,000 patient-days. Conclusion : The studies about the factors that can influence neonatal sepsis will contribute to decrease the infection rates in NICUs.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1259-1268
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• 2016

In this study, we investigated antimicrobial peptide from the acidified muscle extract of Mytilus coruscus, which mostly inhabits China, Japan, and Korea, to develop a natural product-derived antibiotics substitution in terms of its abuse and restriction. Antimicrobial peptide was purified by $C_{18}$ reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and was detected as having a molecular mass of 6,701 Da by MALDI-TOF/MS. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified peak was obtained from edman degradation, and 20 identified residues shown 100% identity with the N-terminus region of sperm-specific protein and protamine-like PL-II/PL-IV precursor of Mytilus californianus. We also identified 60 open-reading frame (ORF) encoding amino acids with 183 bp of purified peptide based on the obtained amino acid residues. The amino acid sequence of ORF showed 100% and the nucleotide sequence revealed 97.2% identity with the protamine-like PL-II/PL-IV precursor of Mytilus californianus. Synthesized antimicrobial peptide showed antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria, including Bacillus cereus (minimal effective concentration [MEC], $20.8{\mu}g/ml$), Bacillus subtilis (MEC, $0.2{\mu}g/ml$), Streptococcus mutans (MEC, $0.2{\mu}g/ml$), gram-negative bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MEC, $5.7{\mu}g/ml$), Escherichia coli (MEC, $2.6{\mu}g/ml$) and fungi, Candida albicans (MEC, $56.3{\mu}g/ml$). In addition, synthesized peptide showed stable activities under heat and salt conditions against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, but was inhibited by salt against only C. albicans. With these results, isolated peptide from M. coruscus could be an alternative agent to antibiotics for defending against pathogenic microorganisms, and helpful information to understand the innate immune system of marine invertebrates.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.86-94
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• 2023

Climate change is more rapid in the Arctic than elsewhere in the world, and increased precipitation and warming are expected cause changes in biogeochemical processes due to altered microbial communities and activities. It is crucial to investigate microbial responses to climate change to understand changes in carbon and nitrogen dynamics. We investigated the effects of increased temperature and precipitation on microbial biomass and community structure in dry tundra using two depths of soil samples (organic and mineral layers) under four treatments (control, warming, increased precipitation, and warming with increased precipitation) during the growing season (June-September) in Cambridge Bay, Canada (69°N, 105°W). A phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis method was applied to detect active microorganisms and distinguish major functional groups (e.g., fungi and bacteria) with different roles in organic matter decomposition. The soil layers featured different biomass and community structure; ratios of fungal/bacterial and gram-positive/-negative bacteria were higher in the mineral layer, possibly connected to low substrate quality. Increased temperature and precipitation had no effect in either layer, possibly due to the relatively short treatment period (seven years) or the ecosystem type. Mostly, sampling times did not affect PLFAs in the organic layer, but June mineral soil samples showed higher contents of total PLFAs and PLFA biomarkers for bacteria and fungi than those in other months. Despite the lack of response found in this investigation, long-term monitoring of these communities should be maintained because of the slow response times of vegetation and other parameters in high-Arctic ecosystems.