• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.83-91
• /
• 2012

Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-to-cell communication system, which is used by many bacteria to regulate diverse gene expression in response to changes in population density. Bacteria recognize the differences in cell density by sensing the concentration of signal molecules such as N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHL) and autoinducer-2 (AI-2). In particular, QS plays a key role in biofilm formation, which is a specific bacterial group behavior. Biofilms are dense aggregates of packed microbial communities that grow on surfaces, and are embedded in a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). QS regulates biofilm dispersal as well as the production of EPS. In some bacteria, biofilm formations are regulated by c-di-GMP-mediated signaling as well as QS, thus the two signaling systems are mutually connected. Biofilms are one of the major virulence factors in pathogenic bacteria. In addition, they cause numerous problems in industrial fields, such as the biofouling of pipes, tanks and membrane bioreactors (MBR). Therefore, the interference of QS, referred to as quorum quenching (QQ) has received a great deal of attention. To inhibit biofilm formation, several strategies to disrupt bacterial QS have been reported, and many enzymes which can degrade or modify the signal molecule AHL have been studied. QQ enzymes, such as AHL-lactonase, AHL-acylase, and oxidoreductases may offer great potential for the effective control of biofilm formation and membrane biofouling in the future. This review describes the process of bacterial QS, biofilm formation, and the close relationship between them. Finally, QQ enzymes and their applications for the reduction of biofouling are also discussed.

• Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.129-134
• /
• 2012

Research was focused on the improvement of poor drainage problems on golf course fairway which had not been performed soil test or properly amended during the course construction. The analysis of the drainage problem basically was caused by a deterioration of soil physical properties by the top layer compaction. The soil hardness reached about 3,000 Kpa around 5~6 cm of soil profile. The slow infiltration speed to subsoil by the compaction was caused directly a poor drainage capacity. However, the properly amended sand soil showed an apparent value of 1,500 Kpa through the subsoil. The water content test showed a similar result that higher rate of 20~30% and ideal rate of 8~12% at poor drainage area and successfully amended area, respectively. However, an imported topsoil media which had higher content of silt and clay from a trans-planted sod had made a heterogeneous soil profile and that caused a poor drain capacity by a low infiltration rate. Those drainage problems triggered to buildup a reduced soil layer by poor soil gas exchange. The soil environment of deoxidation enhanced anaerobic microbial population and induced methane gas build-up to 55 ppm, and that resulted an adverse effect on turf growth by root growth retardation, consequently.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.456-464
• /
• 2020

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of oral spray with probiotics on the intestinal development and microflora colonization of hatched ducklings. Methods: In Exp. 1, an one-way factorial design was used to study the antibacterial activity of the probiotics and metabolites on Escherichia coli (E. coli) without antimicrobial resistance. There were four experimental groups including saline as control and Lactobacillus, Bacillus subtilis, combined Lactobacillus and Bacillus subtilis groups. In Exp. 2, 64-day-old ducklings were allotted to 2 treatments with 4 replicated pens. Birds in the control group were fed a basal diet supplemented with Lactobacillus fermentation in the feed whereas birds in the oral spray group were fed the basal diet and administrated Lactobacillus fermentation by oral spray way during the first week. Results: In Exp. 1, the antibacterial activities of probiotics and metabolites on E. coli were determined by the diameter of inhibition zone in order: Lactobacillus>combined Lactobacillus and Bacillus subtilis>Bacillus subtilis. Additionally, compared to E. coli without resistance, E. coli with resistance showed a smaller diameter of inhibition zones. In Exp. 2, compared to control feeding group, oral spray group increased (p<0.05) the final body weight at d 21 and average daily gain for d 1-21 and the absolute weight of the jejunum, ileum and total intestine tract as well as cecum Lactobacillus amount at d 21. Conclusion: Lactobacillus exhibited a lower antibacterial activity on E. coli with resistance than E. coli without resistance. Oral spray with Lactobacillus fermentation during the first week of could improve the intestinal development, morphological structure, and microbial balance to promote growth performance of ducklings from hatch to 21 d of age.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.207-218
• /
• 2008

The impacts of planted transgenic rice varieties on bacterial communities in paddy soils were monitored using both cultivation and molecular methods. The rice field plot consisted of eighteen subplots planted with two genetically modified (GM) rice and four non-GM rice plants in three replicates. Analysis with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genes revealed that the bacterial community structures were quite similar to each other in a given month, suggesting that there were no significant differences in bacterial communities between GM and non-GM rice soils. The bacterial community structures appeared to be generally stable with the seasons, as shown by a slight variation of microbial population levels and DGGE banding patterns over the year. Comparison analysis of 16S rDNA clone libraries constructed from soil bacterial DNA showed that there were no significant differences between GM and non-GM soil libraries but revealed seasonal differences of phyla distribution between August and December. The composition profile of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) between GM and non-GM soils also was not significantly different to each other. When soil DNAs were analyzed with PCR by using primers for the bar gene, which was introduced into GM rice, positive DNA bands were found in October and December soils. However, no bar gene sequence was detected in PCR analysis with DNAs extracted from both cultured and uncultured soil bacterial fractions. The result of this study suggested that, in spite of seasonal variations of bacterial communities and persistence of the bar gene, the bacterial communities of the experimental rice field were not significantly affected by cultivation of GM rice varieties.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.687-693
• /
• 2004

The objective of this study was to evaluate the combined treatment effect of gamma irradiation and rosemary extract powder on ready-to-eat hamburger steaks. After irradiation at 5, 10 and 20 k㏉, hamburger steaks manufactured with rosemary extract powder (200 and 500 ppm) were stored at 5$^{\circ}C$ for 4 months and at 3$0^{\circ}C$ for 3 weeks. Total aerobic bacteria count of the ready-to-eat hamburger steak was approximately 5 log CFU/g level. All doses of gamma irradiation were effective in reducing the population of total aerobic bacteria and coliform bacteria in hamburger steaks. In hamburger steaks irradiated at 20 k㏉, tile microbial growth was not observed during storage. The shelf-life of hamburger steaks were determined by microbiological counts of 10$^{6}$ ∼10$^{7}$ CFU/g and those of the steaks irradiated at 0, 5 and 10 k㏉ were ranged among 14, 28∼42 and 98∼112 days, respectively. The shelf-life of both irradiated hamburger steaks added with 500 ppm rosemary extract powder at 5 and 10 k㏉ was extended more 14 days than non-added sample. Results suggested that both gamma irradiation and rosemary extract powder may improve the shelf-stability of ready-to-eat ham-burger steak. However, when the storage temperature was abused (3$0^{\circ}C$), the rosemary extract powder had not sufficient effect on the shelf- stability of hamburger steaks.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.16 no.6
• /
• pp.603-608
• /
• 2001

In this study, we studied on the remeval of toluene vapors in a lab-scale biofilter. Biofiltration was performed in a column fed downflow with contaminated air at ambient conditions. The column was packed with mixture of Peat and Calstene(5:3 vol. Ratio), Synthesized media, Bark and Wood chip, which were inoculated with microbial population of selected stains(Pseudomonas. putida, KCCM 11343, ATCC 12633). The microorganisms were immobilized on the bed medium and then biofilm were formed. The biofilter was operated under the conditions of various inlet toluene concentrations for 180 days and treated up to the elimination capacity of maximum 40 g/㎥hr at the inlet load of 30 g/㎥ hr with percentage removals of 20∼90% and gas retention times between 1 and 2 min. The pressure drop was very negligible through the biofilter columps because its value of 0.054 cmH$_2$O/m was much less than others. The effect of operating conditions such as flow rate, inlet toluene concentration and moisture contents on the performance of the biofilter was sequentially investigated in this study.

• 한국해양학회지
• /
• v.30 no.5
• /
• pp.426-435
• /
• 1995

In order to assess the significance of ciliate grazing on bacterial population in carbon flow of the estuarine pelagic ecosystem of the Mankyung and Dongjin river (MD estuary), abundance and biomass of ciliates and grazing rate on bacteria of small (<40 um) ciliates were measured. Saplings were carried out four times from October 1993 to March 1995 in the estuarine system. Ciliates smaller than 40 um occupied more than 49.5% of total ciliates abundance. Clearance rate of small ciliates ranged from 18.0 to 16.3 nl cell/SUP -1/ h/SUP -1/. As bacterial abundance increased, ciliate's clearance rate decreased, suggesting that bacterial abundance effects on ciliate's grazing rate. Ciliate grazing rate was equal to 0.1 to 12.2% of bacterial productivity, and the ratio of ciliate ingestion over bacterial production increased exponentially with the increase of bacterial abundance (r$^2$=0.62, p$\leq$0.001). It seems that the effect of ciliate grazing on bacteria would be small in coastal waters and large in more eutrophic waters of high bacterial abundance. Carbon supplied by ciliate grazing on bacteria was avg. 3.1% of carbon amount required for the ciliate maximum productivity. Thus, the ecological role of ciliate in microbial loop was probably more important as a final consumer than as a direct consumer of bacteria.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.29 no.9
• /
• pp.1345-1352
• /
• 2016

The hindgut of horses is an anaerobic fermentative chamber for a complex and dynamic microbial population, which plays a critical role in health and energy requirements. Research on the gut microbiota of Mongolian horses has not been reported until now as far as we know. Mongolian horse is a major local breed in China. We performed high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes V4 hypervariable regions from gut fecal material to characterize the gut microbiota of Mongolian horses and compare them to the microbiota in Thoroughbred horses. Fourteen Mongolian and 19 Thoroughbred horses were used in the study. A total of 593,678 sequence reads were obtained from 33 samples analyzed, which were found to belong to 16 phyla and 75 genera. The bacterial community compositions were similar for the two breeds. Firmicutes (56% in Mongolian horses and 53% in Thoroughbred horses) and Bacteroidetes (33% and 32% respectively) were the most abundant and predominant phyla followed by Spirochaete, Verrucomicrobia, Proteobacteria, and Fibrobacteres. Of these 16 phyla, five (Synergistetes, Planctomycetes, Proteobacteria, TM7, and Chloroflexi) were significantly different (p<0.05) between the two breeds. At the genus level, Treponema was the most abundant genus (43% in Mongolian horses vs 29% in Thoroughbred horses), followed by Ruminococcus, Roseburia, Pseudobutyrivibrio, and Anaeroplasma, which were detected in higher distribution proportion in Mongolian horses than in Thoroughbred horses. In contrast, Oscillibacter, Fibrobacter, Methanocorpusculum, and Succinivibrio levels were lower in Mongolian horses. Among 75 genera, 30 genera were significantly different (p<0.05) between the two breeds. We found that the environment was one of very important factors that influenced horse gut microbiota. These findings provide novel information about the gut microbiota of Mongolian horses and a foundation for future investigations of gut bacterial factors that may influence the development and progression of gastrointestinal disease in horses.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.29 no.9
• /
• pp.1287-1293
• /
• 2016

The objectives of this experiment was to evaluate the subsequent growth and organ weights, blood profiles and cecal microbiota of broiler chicks fed pre-starter diets containing fermented soybean meal products during early phase. A total of nine hundred 1-d-old chicks were randomly assigned into six groups with six replicates of 25 chicks each. The chicks were fed control pre-starter diet with dehulled soybean meal (SBM) or one of five experimental diets containing fermented SBM products (Bacillus fermented SBM [BF-SBM], yeast by product and Bacillus fermented SBM [YBF-SBM]; Lactobacillus fermented SBM 1 [LF-SBM 1]; Lactobacillus fermented SBM 2 [LF-SBM 2]) or soy protein concentrate (SPC) for 7 d after hatching, followed by 4 wk feeding of commercial diets without fermented SBMs or SPC. The fermented SBMs and SPC were substituted at the expense of dehulled SBM at 3% level on fresh weight basis. The body weight (BW) during the starter period was not affected by dietary treatments, but BW at 14 d onwards was significantly higher (p<0.05) in chicks that had been fed BF-SBM and YBF-SBM during the early phase compared with the control group. The feed intake during grower and finisher phases was not affected (p>0.05) by dietary treatments. During total rearing period, the daily weight gains in six groups were 52.0 (control), 57.7 (BF-SBM), 58.5 (YBF-SBM), 52.0 (LF-SBM 1), 56.7 (LF-SBM 2), and 53.3 g/d (SPC), respectively. The daily weight gain in chicks fed diet containing BF-SBM, YBF-SBM, and LF-SBM 2 were significantly higher values (p<0.001) than that of the control group. Chicks fed BF-SBM, YBF-SBM, and LF-SBM 2 had significantly lower (p<0.01) feed conversion ratio compared with the control group. There were no significant differences in the relative weight of various organs and blood profiles among groups. Cecal microbiota was altered by dietary treatments. At 35 d, chicks fed on the pre-starter diets containing BF-SBM and YBF-SBM had significantly increased (p<0.001) lactic acid bacteria, but lowered Coli-form bacteria in cecal contents compared with those fed the control diet. The number of Bacillus spp. was higher (p<0.001) in all groups except for LF-SBM 1 compared with control diet-fed chicks. At 7 d, jejunal villi were significantly lengthened (p<0.001) in chicks fed the fermented SBMs vs control diet. Collectively, the results indicate that feeding of fermented SBMs during early phase are beneficial to the subsequent growth performance in broiler chicks. BF-SBM and YBF-SBM showed superior overall growth performance as compared with unfermented SBM and SPC.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.31 no.9
• /
• pp.1464-1473
• /
• 2018

Objective: To describe in-depth sequencing, the bacterial community diversity and its succession during ensiling of whole-plant maize and subsequent exposure to air. Methods: The microbial community dynamics of fermented whole-plant maize for 60 days (sampled on day 5, 10, 20, 40, 60) and subsequent aerobic exposure (sampled on day 63 after exposure to air for 3 days) were explored using Illumina Miseq sequence platform. Results: A total of 227,220 effective reads were obtained. At the genus level, there were 12 genera with relative abundance >1%, Lactobacillus, Klebsiella, Sporolactobacillus, Norank-c-cyanobacteria, Pantoea, Pediococcus, Rahnella, Sphingomonas, Serratia, Chryseobacterium, Sphingobacterium, and Lactococcus. Lactobacillus consistently dominated the bacterial communities with relative abundance from 49.56% to 64.17% during the ensiling process. Klebsiella was also an important succession bacterium with a decrease tendency from 15.20% to 6.41% during the ensiling process. The genus Sporolactobacillus appeared in late-ensiling stages with 7.70% abundance on day 40 and 5.32% on day 60. After aerobic exposure, the Lactobacillus decreased its abundance from 63.2% on day 60 to 45.03% on d 63, and Klebsiella from 5.51% to 5.64%, while Sporolactobacillus greatly increased its abundance to 28.15%. These bacterial genera belong to 5 phyla: Firmicutes (relative abundance: 56.38% to 78.43%) was dominant, others were Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, and Actinobacteria. The bacterial communities clearly clustered into early-ensiling (d 5), medium-ensiling (d 10, d 20), late-ensiling (d 40, d 60), and aerobic exposure (d 63) clusters, with early- and late-ensiling communities more like each other than to the aerobic exposure communities. Conclusion: High-throughput sequencing based on 16S rRNA genes proved to be a useful method to explore bacterial communities of silage. The results indicated that the bacterial communities varied during fermentation and more dramatically during aerobic exposure. The study is valuable for understanding the mechanism of population change and the relationship between bacteria and ensilage characteristics.