• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.523-531
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• 2020

This study focused on the isolation and characterization of wild yeasts in Korea. The yeasts were identified by phylogenetically analyzing the D1/D2 domains of the 26S rDNA regions. Consequently, we identified seven strains, NNIBRFG856, NNIBRFG3732, NNIBRFG3734, NNIBRFG3738, NNIBRFG3739, NNIBRFG5497, and NNIBRFG6049, which were confirmed to be Kabatiella microsticta, Pichia membranifaciens, Candida vartiovaarae, Candida sake, Debaryomyces hansenii, Candida railenensis, and Schwanniomyces polymorphus, respectively, all of them being new in Korea. Morphological and cultural characteristics of these yeast species were investigated. None of the strains formed ascospores or pseudomycelia. Moreover, these yeasts grew in a pH range of 4-8. NNIBRFG3732, NNIBRFG3738, NNIBRFG3739, NNIBRFG5497, and NNIBRFG6049 were halotolerant or halophilic, and NNIBRFG3732, NNIBRFG3734, and NNIBRFG6049 grew in vitamin-free medium. NNIBRFG3732, NIBRFG3739, and NNIBRFG6049 grew at 35 ℃, but not at 40 ℃.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.844-849
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• 2022

The pathogenic Vibrio genus denotes halophilic bacteria that are distributed in aquatic environments, including both sea and freshwater. V. cholerae, V. vulnificus, and V. parahaemolyticus are the main species that can be potent human pathogens and the leading cause of septicemia, wound infections, and seafood borne gastroenteritis. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of pathogenic Vibrios in seawater. We obtained a total of 80 seawater samples from the Geum River estuary area in the west coast of Korea from April to December 2021. Pathogenic Vibrios was determined using a combination of the most probable number-polymerase chain reaction (MPN-PCR) methods. The detection levels of V. cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus, and V. vulnificus in the seawater samples were 7.5%, 68.8%, and 30.0%, respectively. The quantitative results were as follows: 3.6-3.6 MPN/100 mL in V. cholerae, 3.6-3,400 MPN/100 mL in V. parahaemolyticus, and 3.6-4,300 MPN/100 mL in V. vulnificus. Overall, these results provide novel insight into the necessity for seawater sanitation in the Geum River estuary area, and could help reduce the risk of seafood-borne outbreaks caused by pathogenic Vibrios.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.515-522
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• 2021

Jeotgal is a salty and fermented traditional Korean fish sauce. Unlike most other previous studies that investigated samples purchased from retail markets, this study focused on samples of jeotgal with traceable history to Yeonggwang, a timehonored fishing village in Korea. Three jeotgal samples, which were made from small yellow croakers, largehead hairtail, and miscellaneous fish, were selected based on information obtained from interviews with local craftsmen and literature reviews. Bacterial community profiles of the three jeotgal samples were investigated to identify indicator (and potentially core) bacteria for jeotgal ripening. The 16S rRNA gene-based metagenomic analysis revealed that the dominant phyla and classes, (Gammaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Bacilli, and Clostridia) of the three different jeotgal were identical, albeit with different composition ratios. Diversification was evident beginning at the order level. Interestingly, each dominant order was mainly comprised of single members even at the genus level. The dominant genera included Halomonas, Tetragenococcus, Halanaerobium, Pseudomonas, Massilia, and Lentibacillus. This observed genus-level heterogeneity suggests that there are diverse bacterial signatures in jeotgal and that these can be used as indicators for jeotgal ripening and/or as starters to increase its sensory quality and functionality.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.252-265
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• 2022

Kocuria salsicia can survive in extreme environments and cause infections, including catheter-related bacteremia, in humans. Here, we investigated and evaluated the characteristics of nine K. salsicia strains (KS1-KS9) isolated from cheese brine from a farmstead cheese-manufacturing plant in Korea from June to December, 2020. Staphylococcus aureus American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 29213 was used as a positive control in the growth curve analysis and biofilm-formation assays. All K. salsicia isolates showed growth at 15% salt concentration and temperatures of 15℃, 25℃, 30℃, 37℃, and 42℃. KS6 and KS8 showed growth at 5℃, suggesting that they are potential psychrotrophs. In the biofilm-formation analysis via crystal violet staining, KS6 exhibited the highest biofilm-forming ability at various temperatures and media [phosphate buffered saline, nutrient broth (NB), and NB containing 15% sodium chloride]. At 25℃ and 30℃, KS3, KS6, and KS8 showed higher biofilm-forming ability than S. aureus ATCC 29213. The antimicrobial resistance of the isolates was evaluated using the VITEK^® 2 system; most isolates were resistant to marbofloxacin and nitrofurantoin (both 9/9, 100%), followed by enrofloxacin (7/9, 77.8%). Five of the nine isolates (5/9, 55.6%) showed multidrug resistance. Our study reports the abilities of K. salsicia to grow in the presence of high salt concentrations and at relatively low temperatures, along with its multidrug resistance and tendency to form biofilms.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.534-536
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• 2002

A halophilic archaeon, Halobacterium salinarum, exhibits phototactic behaviors, by which the organism is guided to red-orange light and evades shorter wavelengths of light. The phototaxis is mediated by two retinal proteins, sensory rhodopsin I and II (SRI and SRII), whose structures are analogous to the cognate protein bacteriorhodopsin, a light-driven proton pump. SRI mediates both attractant and repellent swimming behaviors to orange light and near- UV light, respectively. The two different signaling through the single photoreceptor have been ascribed to the presence of two active structures of SRI (S$\_$373/ and P$\_$520), which are produced upon orange light illumination of SRI and upon subsequent near-UV illumination of S$\_$373/, respectively. In the present study, we have measured the difference FTIR spectra of S$\_$373/ and P$\_$520/ states. In P$\_$520/, the isomeric structure of the chromophore is assignable to all-trans, and the Schiff base of the chromophore is protonated with concomitant deprotonation of Asp76, a combination which allows for the formation of a salt bridge between them. It was suggested that the way of interaction between the Schiff base and the counterion, which is different among SRI$\_$587/, S$\_$373/ and P$\_$520/ and which has been shown to drive the conformational changes in the cognate protein, bacteriorhodopsin, is the key to controlling conformational changes for the attractant and the repellent signaling by SRI.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.457-464
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• 2008

An extracellular enzyme (RMEBE) possessing ${\alpha}-(1{\rightarrow}4)-(1{\rightarrow}6)$-transferring activity was purified to homogeneity from Rhodothermus marin us by combination of ammonium sulfate precipitation, Q-Sepharose ion-exchange, and Superdex-200 gel filtration chromatographies, and preparative native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified enzyme had an optimum pH of 6.0 and was highly thermostable with a maximal activity at $80^{\circ}C$. Its half-life was determined to be 73.7 and 16.7 min at 80 and $85^{\circ}C$, respectively. The enzyme was also halophilic and highly halotolerant up to about 2M NaCl, with a maximal activity at 0.5M. The substrate specificity of RMEBE suggested that it possesses partial characteristics of both glucan branching enzyme and neopullulanase. RMEBE clearly produced branched glucans from amylose, with partial ${\alpha}-(1{\rightarrow}4)$-hydrolysis of amylose and starch. At the same time, it hydrolyzed pullulan partly to panose, and exhibited ${\alpha}-(1{\rightarrow}4)-(1{\rightarrow}6)$-transferase activity for small maltooligosaccharides, producing disproportionated ${\alpha}-(1{\rightarrow}6)$-branched maltooligosaccharides. The enzyme preferred maltopentaose and maltohexaose to smaller maltooligosaccharides for production of longer branched products. Thus, the results suggest that RMEBE might be applied for production of branched oligosaccharides from small maltodextrins at high temperature or even at high salinity.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.146-149
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• 2013

Bacteria of genus Vibrio are Gram-negative, curved, halophilic, nonspore-forming bacteria, autochthonous inhabitans of the marine and estuarine environments. Some of the Vibrio species such as V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, and V. cholerae are associated with human disease. Each year many people have been suffering from food-borne disease caused by the ingestion of seafood. In this study, we have monitored antibiotic resistance of this microorganism in 6 coastal areas of West Sea by sampling shellfish monthly. Vibrio spp. were detected from 23.3% of 120 samples analyzed using TCBS agar plates as well as API 20E kit. Among 16 antibiotics tested, resistance to vancomycin and ampicillin was observed in 82.1% of the isolates, and Vibrio spp. resistant to rifampin (71.4%) and cephalothin (53.6%) were also high. Most of the isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol (92.9%), sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (92.9%), and tetracycline (96.4%). About 71.4% of the isolates showed multiple drug resistance toward 3 antibiotics including vancomycin and ampicillin.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.133-142
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• 2018

Objectives: The pathogenic Vibrios genus denotes halophilic bacteria that are distributed in aquatic environments, including both sea and freshwater. Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio vulnificus, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus are the most important species since they can be potent human pathogens and leading causes of septicemia, wound infections, and seafood borne gastroenteritis. The recent emergence of a potential pandemic clone, V. cholera serotype O1 and the cholera outbreak in South Korea in 2016 indicates the importance of consistent surveillance of pathogenic Vibrio genus within coastal areas. Methods: The present study was undertaken to determine where and how vibrios live in the aquatic environment adjacent to coastal areas of South Korea. For this survey, a total of 838 samples were obtained at 35 different sites in South Korean coastal areas during the period from January 2016 to December 2016. Pathogenic vibrios was determined using the real-time PCR method, and its clones were isolated using three selective plating media. We also monitored changes in seawater and atmospheric temperature, salinity, turbidity, and hydrogen ion concentration at the collection points. Results: The total isolation rates of V. vulnificus, V. cholera (non-pathogenic, non-O1, non-O139 serogroups), and V. parahaemolyticus from seawater specimens in 2016 were 14.2, 13.48, and 67.06%, respectively. Conclusions: The isolation rates of pathogenic vibrios genus showed a positive correlation with temperature of seawater and atmosphere but were negatively correlated with salinity and turbidity.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.193-198
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• 1992

Environmental parameters and physiological characteristics of heterotrophic bacterial isolates were compared by factor analysis to investigate the influences of river barrage construction on the ecosystem of Naktong River Estuary. Aftcr the construction of river barrage, the influence of seawater was no longer significant. ant1 the influences of nutrients loading were increased from 50.7% to 77.1% of the environmental variances before and after the construction, respectively. The interpretations of features of bacterial physiological characteristics were closely related to environmental parameters as the results of factor analysis. But. differing from the environmental variances. it was found that the halophilic feature was the third factor of bacterial characteristics after the construction of river barrage. This suggests that the stability of Naktong estuarine ecosystem and heterotrophic bacterial characteristics are not established till now.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.355-361
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• 1986

Vibrio vulnificus, a halophilic Vibrio has gained worldwide attention as a cause of severe and frequently fatal wound infections and life-threatening septicemia. For this reason V. vulnificus is thought to produce extreme hemoconcentration and rapid death after infection, and because V. vulnificus is thought to be less susceptible to bactericidal activity of normal human serum, the present study was undertaken to assess the susceptibility of V. vulnificus to human serum bactericidal activity with that of V. parahemolyticus and V. cholerae and to assess the effect of Vibrio species, Salmonella typhimurium and E. coli on hematocrit values in experimentally infected mice. Serum bactericidal activity against both V. vulnificus and V. cholerae was higher than against V. parahemoltyicus. Survival of the test strains in heat-inactivated human serum was greater than that in heat-uninactiveted serum. Both V. parahemolyticus and V. cholerae produced slight hemoconcentration within 2 to 6 hr after intraperitoneal injection of $10^7$ viable bacteria into mice. In contrast, V. vulnificus, S. typhimurium and E. coli produced hemodilution rather than hemoconcentration after 4 or 6 hr after infection. With these results the author can conclude that V. vulnificus is more susceptible to serum bactericidal activity than other Vibrio species, and V. vulnificus did not produce hemoconcentration.