• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.510-519
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• 2021

The pathological impact of haze upon the phyllosphere microbiota awaits investigation. A moderate degree of haze environment and a clean control were selected in Chengdu, China. Artemisia argyi, a ubiquitously distributed and extensively applied Chinese herb, was also chosen for experiment. Total genome DNA was extracted from leaf samples, and for metagenome sequencing, an Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform was applied. The results showed that the gene numbers of phyllosphere microbiota derived from haze leaves were lower than those of the clean control. The phyllosphere microbiota derived from both haze and clean groups shared the same top ten phyla; the abundances of Proteobacteria, Actinomycetes and Anorthococcuso of the haze group were substantially increased, while Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes decreased. At the genus level, the abundances of Nocardia, Paracoccus, Marmoricola and Knoelia from haze leaves were markedly increased, while the yeasts were statistically decreased. KEGG retrieval demonstrated that the functional genes were most annotated to metabolism. An interesting find of this work is that the phyllosphere microbiota responsible for the synthesis of primary and secondary metabolites in A. argyi were significantly increased under a haze environment. Relatively enriched genes annotated by eggNOG belong to replication, recombination and repair, and genes classified into the glycoside hydrolase and glycosyltransferase enzymes were significantly increased. In summary, we found that both structure and function of phyllosphere microbiota are globally impacted by haze, while primary and secondary metabolites responsible for haze tolerance were considerably increased. These results suggest an adaptive strategy of plants for tolerating and confronting haze damage.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.13.1-13.8
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• 2023

Importance of accurate molecular diagnosis and quantification of particular disease-related pathogenic microorganisms is highlighted as an introductory step to prevent and care for diseases. In this study, we designed a primer/probe set for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) targeting rgpA gene, known as the specific virulence factor of periodontitis-related pathogenic bacteria 'Porphyromonas gingivalis', and evaluated its diagnostic efficiency by detecting and quantifying relative bacterial load of P. gingivalis within saliva samples collected from clinical subjects. As a result of qRT-PCR, we confirmed that relative bacterial load of P. gingivalis was detected and quantified within all samples of positive control and periodontitis groups. On the contrary, negative results were confirmed in both negative control and healthy groups. Additionally, as a result of comparison with next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based 16S metagenome profiling data, we confirmed relative bacterial load of P. gingivalis, which was not identified on bacterial classification table created through 16S microbiome analysis, in qRT-PCR results. It showed that an approach to quantifying specific microorganisms by applying qRT-PCR method could solve microbial misclassification issues at species level of an NGS-based 16S microbiome study. In this respect, we suggest that P. gingivalis-specific primer/probe set introduced in present study has efficient applicability in various oral healthcare industries, including periodontitis-related microbial molecular diagnosis field.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.42-47
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• 2024

The value of silkworms as functional health food materials has increased, as has the interest in its disease control for stable production, and in the economic value of entomopathogenic microorganisms. In this study, we isolated and identified disease-causing fungi from white muscardine silkworms, and confirmed whether this strain could produce white muscardine silkworms. For the analysis of the cause of white muscardine disease in the infected silkworms, the fungi and prokaryotes causing the disease were identified, isolated, and identified using metagenome analysis. Metagenomic analysis detected a large amount of the fungus Metarhizium rileyi in silkworms, and a large amount of the bacterium Enterococcus mundtii, which was presumed to be the causative agent of the disease. For accurate identification of the fungi, these were purified by culture medium, and sequencing and phylogenetic tree analyses were performed using an internal transcribed spacer. As a result, M. rileyi, Cladosporium cladosporioides, and C. tenuissimum were identified. In general, M. rileyi is known to form green conidia, but in this study, white-yellow conidia were formed, indicating that the exact causative agent of the fungal disease cannot be estimated by diagnosing the symptoms. Thus, a diagnostic method is necessary for the continuously collection of required pathogens, and identifying their morphological and genetic characteristics.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.118-124
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• 2009

Esterase EM2L8 gene isolated from deep sea sediment was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) and the esterase activity of the cell-free extract was assayed using p-nitrophenyl butyrate-spectrophotometric method. Its optimum temperature was $40-45^{\circ}C$ and 45% activity of the maximum activity was retained at $15^{\circ}C$. The activation energy at $15-45^{\circ}C$ was calculated to be 4.9 kcal/mol showing that esterase EM2L8 was a typical cold-adapted enzyme. Enzyme activity was maintained for 6 h and 4 weeks at $30^{\circ}C$ and $4^{\circ}C$, respectively. When each ethanol, methanol, and acetone was added to the reaction mixture to 15% concentration, enzyme activity was maintained. In the case of DMSO, enzyme activity was kept up to 40% concentration. (S)-4-Chloro-3-hydroxy butyric acid is a chiral intermediate for the synthesis of Atorvastatin, a hyperlipemia drug. When esterase EM2L8 (40 U) was added to buffer solution (1.2 mL, pH 9.0) containing ethyl-(R,S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutyrate (38 mM), it was hydrolyzed into 4-chloro-3-hydroxy butyric acid with a rate of $6.8\;{\mu}mole/h$. The enzyme hydrolyzed (S)-substrate more rapidly than (R)-substrate. When conversion yield was 80%, e.e.s value was 40%. When DMSO was added, hydrolysis rate increased to $10.4\;{\mu}mole/h$. The plots of conversion yield vs e.e.s in the presence or absence of DMSO were almost same, implying that the reaction enantioselectivity was not changed by the addition of DMSO. Taken together, esterase EM2L8 had high activity and stability at low temperatures as well as in various organic solvents/aqueous solutions. These properties suggested that it could be used as a biocatalyst in the synthesis of useful pharmaceuticals.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.63-70
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• 2017

A functional screen of 60,672 fosmid metagenomic clones amplified from marine sediment obtained from the Dokdo islets in Korea identified the gene EstES1, whose product, EstES1, displayed lipolytic properties on tributyrin-supplemented media. EstES1 is a 576 amino acid protein with a predicted molecular weight of 59.4 kDa including 37 N-terminal leader amino acids. EstES1 exhibited the highest sequence similarity (44%) to a carboxylesterase found in Haliangium ochraceum DSM14365. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that EstES1 belongs to a currently uncharacterized family of lipases. Within the conserved domain, EstES1 retains the catalytic triad that consists of the consensus penta-peptide motif, GESAG. EstES1 demonstrated a broad substrate specificity toward the long acyl group of ethyl esters (C2-C12), and its optimal activity was recorded toward p-Nitrophenyl butyrate (C4) at pH 9.0 and $40^{\circ}C$ (specific activity of 255.4 U/mg). The enzyme remained stable in the ranges of $60-65^{\circ}C$ and pH 9.0-10.5 and in the presence of methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, and dimethyl sulfoxide. Therefore, EstES1 has potential for use in industrial applications involving high temperature, organic solvents, and/or alkaline conditions.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.437-446
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• 2012

A metagenomic library of cow rumen in the pCC1FOS phage vector was screened in $E.$ $coli$ EPI300 for cellulase activity on carboxymethyl cellulose agar plates. One clone was partially digested with $Sau$3AI, ligated into the $Bam$HI site of the pBluescript II SK+ vector, and transformed into $E.$ $coli$ $DH5{\alpha}$. We obtained a 1.5 kb insert DNA, designated $cel$5C, which hydrolyzes carboxymethyl cellulose. The cel5C gene has an open reading frame (ORF) of 1,125 bp encoding 374 amino acids. It belongs to the glycosyl hydrolase family 5 with the conserved domain LIMEGFNEIN. The molecular mass of the Cel5C protein induced from $E.$ $coli$ $DH5{\alpha}$, as analyzed by CMC SDS-PAGE, appeared to be approximately 42 kDa. The enzyme showed optimum cellulase activity at pH 4.0, and $50^{\circ}C$. We examined whether the $cel$5C gene comes from the 49 identified cow rumen bacteria using PCR. No PCR bands were identified, suggesting that the $cel$5C gene came from the unidentified cow rumen bacteria.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.738-747
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• 2018

Objective: In a previous study, analysis of Illumina sequenced metagenomic DNA data of bacteria in Vietnamese goats' rumen showed a high diversity of putative lignocellulolytic genes. In this study, taxonomy speculation of microbial community and lignocellulolytic bacteria population in the rumen was conducted to elucidate a role of bacterial structure for effective degradation of plant materials. Methods: The metagenomic data had been subjected into Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLASTX) algorithm and the National Center for Biotechnology Information non-redundant sequence database. Here the BLASTX hits were further processed by the Metagenome Analyzer program to statistically analyze the abundance of taxa. Results: Microbial community in the rumen is defined by dominance of Bacteroidetes compared to Firmicutes. The ratio of Firmicutes versus Bacteroidetes was 0.36:1. An abundance of Synergistetes was uniquely identified in the goat microbiome may be formed by host genotype. With regard to bacterial lignocellulose degraders, the ratio of lignocellulolytic genes affiliated with Firmicutes compared to the genes linked to Bacteroidetes was 0.11:1, in which the genes encoding putative hemicellulases, carbohydrate esterases, polysaccharide lyases originated from Bacteroidetes were 14 to 20 times higher than from Firmicutes. Firmicutes seem to possess more cellulose hydrolysis capacity showing a Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio of 0.35:1. Analysis of lignocellulolytic potential degraders shows that four species belonged to Bacteroidetes phylum, while two species belonged to Firmicutes phylum harbouring at least 12 different catalytic domains for all lignocellulose pretreatment, cellulose, as well as hemicellulose saccharification. Conclusion: Based on these findings, we speculate that increasing the members of Bacteroidetes to keep a low ratio of Firmicutes versus Bacteroidetes in goat rumen has resulted most likely in an increased lignocellulose digestion.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.304-312
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• 2020

Agarase can be used in the field of basic science, as well as for production of agar-derived high-functional oligosaccharides and bioenergy production using algae. In 2012, we summarized the classification, origin, production, and applications of agar. In this paper, we briefly review the literature on the recombinant expression of agarases from 2012 to the present. Agarase genes originated from 19 genera, including Agarivorans, Flammeovirga, Pseudoalteromonas, Gayadomonas, Catenovulum, Microbulbifer, Cellulophaga, Saccharophagus, Simiduia, and Vibrio. Of the 47 recombinant agarases, there were only two α-agarases, while the rest were β-agarases. All α-agarases produced agarotetraose, while β-agarases yielded many neoagarooligosaccharides ranging from neoagarobiose to neoagarododecaose. The optimum temperature ranged between 25 and 60℃, and the optimum pH ranged from 3.0 to 8.5. There were 14 agarases with an optimum temperature of 50℃ or higher, where agar is in sol state after melting. Artificial mutations, including manipulation of carbohydrate-binding modules (CBM), increased thermostability and simultaneously raised the optimum temperature and activity. Many hosts and secretion signals or riboswitches have been used for recombinant expression. In addition to gene recombination based on the amino acid sequence after agarase purification, recombinant expression of the putative agarase genes after genome sequencing and metagenome-derived agarases have been studied. This study is expected to be actively used in the application fields of agarase and agarase itself.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.8.1-8.10
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• 2020

The explosive growth of next-generation sequencing data has resulted in ultra-large-scale datasets and ensuing computational problems. In Korea, the amount of genomic data has been increasing rapidly in the recent years. Leveraging these big data requires researchers to use large-scale computational resources and analysis pipelines. A promising solution for addressing this computational challenge is cloud computing, where CPUs, memory, storage, and programs are accessible in the form of virtual machines. Here, we present a cloud computing-based system, Bio-Express, that provides user-friendly, cost-effective analysis of massive genomic datasets. Bio-Express is loaded with predefined multi-omics data analysis pipelines, which are divided into genome, transcriptome, epigenome, and metagenome pipelines. Users can employ predefined pipelines or create a new pipeline for analyzing their own omics data. We also developed several web-based services for facilitating downstream analysis of genome data. Bio-Express web service is freely available at https://www. bioexpress.re.kr/.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1883-1895
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• 2018

Alcohol dependence is a global public health problem, yet the mechanisms of alcohol dependence are incompletely understood. The traditional view has been that ethanol alters various neurotransmitters and their receptors in the brain and causes the addiction. However, an increasing amount of experimental evidence suggests that gut microbiota also influence brain functions via gut-to-brain interactions, and may therefore induce the development of alcohol use disorders. In this study, a rat model of alcohol dependence and withdrawal was employed, the gut microbiota composition was analyzed by high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and the metagenome function was predicted by PICRUSt software. The results suggested that chronic alcohol consumption did not significantly alter the diversity and richness of gut microbiota in the jejunum and colon, but rather markedly changed the microbiota composition structure in the colon. The phyla Bacteroidetes and eight genera including Bacteroidales S24-7, Ruminococcaceae, Parabacteroides, Butyricimonas, et al were drastically increased, however the genus Lactobacillus and gauvreauii in the colon were significantly decreased in the alcohol dependence group compared with the withdrawal and control groups. The microbial functional prediction analysis revealed that the proportions of amino acid metabolism, polyketide sugar unit biosynthesis and peroxisome were significantly increased in the AD group. This study demonstrated that chronic alcohol consumption has a dramatic effect on the microbiota composition structure in the colon but few effects on the jejunum. Inducement of colonic microbiota dysbiosis due to alcohol abuse seems to be a factor of alcohol dependence, which suggests that modulating colonic microbiota composition might be a potentially new target for treating alcohol addiction.