• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.345-354
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• 2001

The effects on arsenic geochemistry of indigenous microorganisms isolated from an area contaminated with high concentration of arsenic were investigated. Arsenite exerted higher inhibitory effects on the microbes' growth than arsenate. During incubation of the microbes in an arsenate-spiked medium over 24 hours, decrease in microbial growth was observed as arsenate content increased. Arsenate of 150 mM or over apparently inhibited cell growth. However, further incubation for up to 4 days in the high arsenate concentration medium resulted in cell growth, implying that the microorganisms adjusted their biochemical functions to detoxify arsenic and maintain growth. Two types of microbes were observed during 20 hours to reduce arsenate to arsenite in solution through a detoxification mechanism. As well, decrease in the total arsenic content occurred over a 4-day incubation with the same microbes in an arsenate-spiked medium. Therefore it is suggested that microorganisms can influence arsenic speciation in natural settings and this may be applied to efficient bioremediation of arsenic-contaminated sites.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research Conference
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• 2013.10a
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• pp.46-47
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• 2013

We prepared biostimulant balls using sea sediment mixed with biostimulants viz acetate, nitrate and sulfate. The Biostimulant balls were coated with Cellulose Acetate (CA) and Polysulfone (PS) to control the release of the biostimulants. SEM images showed that CA coating was porous and irregular in the inside and very uniform and tight like beehive while PS coating was the same in the inside and outside and not porous. Biostimulants release was found to be high in sea water compared to distilled water. The release of nitrate was higher compared to sulfate. In turbulent environment the release of bionutrients was 50% higher than static environment.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.320-326
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• 1996

To analyze the effects of host versus plasmid on survival of 2, 4-degrading bacteria in environmental samples, strains Pseudomonas cepacia/pJP4, Alcaligenes JMP228/pJP4, P. cepacia/p712, and Alcaligenes JMP228/p712 were separately inoculated into samples of field soil, paddy soil, lake water, and river water, and then the changes of their populations were measured. The strains used contained a 2, 4-D degradative plasmid, either pJP4 conferring fast-growing property to the host or p712 conferring slow-growing property, and were resistant to antibiotics such that the inoculated strains could be enumerated against the indigenous microbial populations. In sterile environmental samples, these strains were stably maintained at the levels used for inoculation, except in sterile paddy soil where Alcaligenes JMP228 strains died drapidly. In natural soil samples for four strains declined steadily with time, but in naturla water samples their polulations fell rapidly at the early phase and then remained almost constant. When the environmentla samples were treated with 2, 4-D, P. cepacia/pJP4 and P. cepacia/p712 maintained significant numbers, while Alcaligenes JMP228/pJP4 and Alcaligenes JMP228/p712 declined significantly in most of the samples. The results indicated that the survivability of genetically modified microorganisms could vary depending on the environments and that their abundance in the environments under s2, 4-D selection was markedly influenced by the nature of the 2, 4-D degradative plasmid as well as type of the host strain.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.312-316
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• 2004

In oder to select the powerful rhizophere-dorminatable biocontrol agent, we had isolated an indigenous antagonistic bacterium which produced antibiotic and siderophore from a disease suppressive local field soil of Gyungsan, Korea. And we could select the Pseudomosp. 4059 which can strongly antagonize against Fusarium oxysporum and Phytophthora capsici by two kinds of antifungal mechanism that can be caused by the antibiotic of Phenazin, a siderophore and a auxin like subThe selected strain was identified as Pseudomonas fluorescens (biotype A) 4059 by biochemical tests, API $\textregistered$ test, MicroLog TM system and 16S rDNA analysis. The selected antagonistic microorganism, Pseudomosp. 4059 had an antifungal mechanism of antifungal antibiotic and sidrophore. And we were confirmed the antagonistic activity of P fluorescens 4059 with in vitro antifungal test against Phytophthora capsici and in vivo by red-pepper.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.1-10
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• 2019

Recently, groundwater contamination by mixed occurrence of arsenic (As) and nitrate ($NO_3{^-}$) has been a serious environmental issue all around world. In this study, we investigated the microbial As(III) oxidation characteristic under denitrification process to examine the feasibility of the microbial consortia in wetland sediment to simultaneously treat these two contaminants. The detail objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of $NO_3{^-}$ on the oxidation of As(III) in anaerobic environments and observe the microbial community change during the As oxidation under denitrification process. Results showed that the As(III) was completely and simultaneously oxidized to As(V) under denitrification process, however, it occurred to a much less extent in the absence of sediment or $NO_3{^-}$. In addition, the significant increase of As(III) oxidation rate in the presence of $NO_3{^-}$ suggested the potential of As oxidation under denitrification by indigenous microorganisms in wetland sediment. Genera Pseudogulbenkiania, and Flavisolibacter were identified as predominant microbial species driving the redox process. Conclusively, this study can provide useful information on As(III) oxidation under denitrifying environment and contribute to develop an effective technology for simultaneous removal of As(III) and $NO_3{^-}$ in groundwater.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.295-301
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• 2010

Sheath rot and dry rot disease caused by Pseudomonas marginalis and Fusarium oxysporum were serious problems in garlic farmland. In this study, total of 160 indigenous antagonistic bacteria were isolated from 16 farmlands in Yeongcheon, Korea. Among these, 15 strains were able to inhibited P. marginalis and F. oxysporum. The 16s rDNA genes of the selected 15 strains were amplified and sequenced. The strains has strong antagonistic ability against garlic pathogens was achieved Bacillus subtilis YC82, B. vallismortis YC84, B. amyloliquefaciens YC240. The selected 3 strains tested for investigation of antifungal mechanisms further analyses; 3 strains of these validated for production of siderophore, ${\beta}$-glucanase and chitinase using CAS (chrome azurol S) blue agar, CMC-congo red agar and DNS method. The 3 strains were able to utilized insoluble phosphate as dertermined by vanado-molybdate method. The 3 strains verified for production of auxin and gibberellic acid using Salkowski test and holdbrook test. Also, 3 strains showed stimulation germination, stem growth promoting activity on the in vivo test. The 3 strains were able to effectively suppress P. marginalis and F. oxysporum causing sheath rot and dry rot diseases on the in vivo pot test.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.80-89
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• 2015

Nitrate is on the most seriou pollutant encountered in shallow groundwater aquifer in agricultural area. There are various remediation technologies such as ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and biological denitrification to recover from nitrate contamination. Biological denitrification by indigenous microorganism of the technologies has been reviewed and applied on nitrate contaminated groundwater. In this work, we selected the site where the annual nitrate (NO₃⁻) concentration is over 105 mg/L and evaluated denitrification process with sampled soil and groundwater from 3 monitoring wells (MW4, 5, 6). In the results, the nitrate degradation rate in each well (MW 4, 5, and 6) was 25 NO₃⁻ mg/L/day, 6 NO₃⁻ mg/L/day, and 3.4 NO₃⁻ mg/L/day, respectively. Nitrate degradation rate was higher in batch system treated with 2 times higher fumarate as carbon source than control batch system (0.42M fumrate/1M NO₃⁻), comparing with batch system with soil sample. This result indicates that increase of carbon source is more efficient to enhance denitrification rate than addition of soil sample to increase microbial dynamics. In this work, we also confirmed that monitoring method of functional genes (nirK and nosZ) involved in denitrification process can be applied to evaluated denitrifcation process possibility before application of field process such as in-situ denitrification by push-pull test.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.62-69
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• 2014

In the results of monitoring nitrate concentration in more than 8,000 groundwater wells around agro-livestock, the average and maximum nitrate concentration was 9.4 mg/L and 101.2 mg/L, respectively. Since about 31% of the monitoring wells was exceed the quality standard for drinking water, nitrate control such as remediation or source regulation is required to conserve safe-groundwater in South Korea. Typical nitrate-treatment technologies include ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and biological denitrification. Among the treatment methods, biological denitrification by indigenous microorganism has environmental and economic advantages for the complete elimination of nitrate because of lower operating costs compared to other methods. Major mechanism of the process is microbial reduction of nitrate to nitrite and nitrogen gas. Three functional genes (nosZ, nirK, nirS) that encode for the enzyme involved in the pathway. In this work, we tried to develop simple process to determine possibility of natural denitrification reaction by monitoring the functional gene. For the work, the functional genes in nitrate-contaminated groundwater were monitored by using PCR with specific target primers. In the result, functional genes (nosZ and nirK) encoding denitrification enzymes were detected in the groundwater samples. This method can help to determine the possibility of natural-nitrate degradation in target groundwater wells without multiplex experimental process. In addition, for field-remediation application we selected nitrate-contaminated site where 200~600 mg/L of nitrate is continuously detected. To determine the possibility of nitrate-degradation by stimulated-natural attenuation, groundwater was sampled in two different wells of the site and nitrate concentration of the samples was 300 mg/L and 616 mg/L, respectively. Fumarate for different C/N ratio was added into microcosm bottles containing the groundwater to examine denitrification rate depending on carbon concentration. In the result, once 1.5 times more than amount of fumarate stoichiometry required was added, the 616 mg/L of nitrate and 300 mg/L of nitrate were completely degraded in 8 days and 30 days. The nitrite, byproduct of denitrification process, was also completely degraded during the experimental period.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.176-183
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• 2021

In this study, the anti-inflammatory activity of an extract of the fruiting body of the Tuber himalayense (TH) truffle collected from oak growing areas in Korea was investigated. The extract was not cytotoxic at concentrations below 100 ㎍/mL in an experiment evaluating inflammation inhibitory effect in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE₂) production was inhibited by the extract in a concentration-dependent manner. Western blot assay results indicated that the anti-inflammatory activity of TH extract was likely caused by the reduced production of NO and PGE₂ via suppression of induced NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 gene expression. In addition, TH extract effectively inhibited the production of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 by macrophages. Thus, TH extract effectively inhibits the overexpression of various inflammatory mediators and could be valuable in formulating anti-inflammatory foods and medicines that target these components.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.1562-1570
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• 2007

This experiment was conducted to develop fertilizer which promotes plant growth as well as suppressing pathogenic fungi. The fertilizer was made from the mixture of Ju-Back (Korean rice wine cake) and indigenous rhizosphere-bacterium. The main ingredients of Ju-Back were investigated as 6.04% total nitrogen, 42.59% total carbohydrate, 1.01% available phosphate, 73.42% organic matter, 7.72% potassium oxide, 1.35% calcium oxide, 0.53% magnesium oxide. The enzyme activities of Ju-Back were estimated to be 980 units/g for ${\alpha}-amylase$, 300 units/g for glucoamylase, and 1800 units/g for acid pretense. Indigenous rhizosphere bacteria which produced antifungal agent were isolated from soil, and was selected KMU-13 strain which can antagonize against various plant pathogenic fungi (Botrytis cinerea KACC 40573, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum KACC 41065, Fusairum oxysporum KACC 40052, Pythium aphanidermatum KACC 40156, Phytophthora capsici KACC 40476 and Glomerella cingulata KACC 40299). KMU-13 strain was identified as Bacillus subtilis KMU-13 by biochemical and 16s rDNA analysis. The organic fertilizer was made as prototype which was composed 20% Ju-Back, 70% carrier, 9.7% microorganism cultivated solution, 0.3% trace-element. We also investigated an application of fertilizer using Ju-Back for cultivating lettuce (Lactuca sativar) which were grown in three soil conditions that had chemical fertilizer, barnyard manure, lime power, urea, potassium chloride and superphosphate as a control, the whole quantity (80 kg/10a) of posted fertilizer with the control and the half quantity (40 kg/10a) with the control. The growth characteristics were examined and analysed with several weeks interval from 3 weeks to 8 weeks on head length (cm), head width (cm/head), number of leaf and fresh weight (g/plant). The results are summarized as follows. The head width and fresh weight of lettuce were the highest at posted fertilizer 1 (whole quantity) was applied chemical, organic matter (Ju-Back) and carrier. The head length was the highest at posted fertilizer 2 (whole quantity) was applied Ju-Back only.