• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.227-233
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• 2010

This study examined microbial community structures (MCSs) according to environmental factors through DGGE analysis and comparison in various soils collected from near army bases and gas stations. As a result, the similarities based on DGGE band profiles showed the closer relationship in regional properties than in pollution characteristics, probably due to the degree of weak contamination. The highly contaminated samples with oil revealed low MCS similarities with others in the same region and very low with all the other samples in the other regions. Thus the microbial community structure would more be affected by region-based natural factors than by contamination factors in case of minor pollution. All the dominant culturable bacterial species were involved in firmicutes or high GC Gram+ in a major portion of soil samples and the highly oil-contaminated samples contained Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Methylobacterium, Clavibacter, Streptomyces and Nocardia as reported genera, and Leifsonia as a unreported genus.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.201-209
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• 2016

Many atmospheric pollutants including chemical agents, house dust, and microorganisms cause building-related illnesses through respiration in humans. This study was conducted to analyze the profiles of microbial pollutants in air purifiers used in home, office and playschool. Dominant eleven species of microorganisms were isolated and identified in environmental air and air purifiers. Among them, Staphylococcus sp., Micrococcus sp. and Bacillus sp. are the most dominant species. By phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene, the dominant bacteria were identified as Staphylococcus epidermidis, Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus epidermidis, respectively. It has been known that these bacterial species are closely related with food spoilage and human infectious disease. Thus, these results indicate that microbial pathogens related with human illnesses through respiration will be contaminated in air purifiers and also need to develop a method to control those of pathogens for human health.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1701-1708
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• 2021

Food safety is the most important global health issue due to foodborne pathogens after consumption of contaminated food. Foodborne bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Campylobacter spp., Bacillus cereus, Vibrio spp., Yersinia enterocolitica and Clostridium perfringens are leading causes of the majority of foodborne illnesses and deaths. These foodborne pathogens often come from the livestock feces, thus, we analyzed fecal microbial communities of three different livestock species to investigate the prevalence of foodborne pathogens in livestock feces using metagenomics analysis. Our data showed that alpha diversities of microbial communities were different according to livestock species. The microbial diversity of cattle feces was higher than that of chicken or pig feces. Moreover, microbial communities were significantly different among these three livestock species (cattle, chicken, and pig). At the genus level, Staphylococcus and Clostridium were found in all livestock feces, with chicken feces having higher relative abundances of Staphylococcus and Clostridium than cattle and pig feces. Genera Bacillus, Campylobacter, and Vibrio were detected in cattle feces. Chicken samples contained Bacillus, Listeria, and Salmonella with low relative abundance. Other genera such as Corynebacterium, Streptococcus, Neisseria, Helicobacter, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas known to be opportunistic pathogens were also detected in cattle, chicken, and pig feces. Results of this study might be useful for controlling the spread of foodborne pathogens in farm environments known to provide natural sources of these microorganisms.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.207-219
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• 2023

Soft rot is a widespread, catastrophic disease caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (Pcc) that severely damages the production of Amorphophallus spp. This study evaluated the rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities in Pcc-infected and uninfected plants of two species of Amorphophallus, A. muelleri and A. konjac. Principal component analysis showed that the samples formed different clusters according to the Pcc infection status, indicating that Pcc infection can cause a large number of changes in the bacterial and fungal communities in the Amorphophallus spp. rhizosphere soil. However, the response mechanisms of A. muelleri and A. konjac are different. There was little difference in the overall microbial species composition among the four treatments, but the relative abundances of core microbiome members were significantly different. The relative abundances of Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacillus, and Lysobacter were lower in infected A. konjac plants than in healthy plants; in contrast, those of infected A. muelleri plants were higher than those in healthy plants. For fungi, the relative abundances of Ascomycota and Fusarium in the rhizosphere of infected A. konjac plants were significantly higher than those of healthy plants, but those of infected A. muelleri plants were lower than those of healthy plants. The relative abundance of beneficial Penicillium fungi was lower in infected A. konjac plants than in healthy plants, and that of infected A. muelleri plants was higher than that of healthy plants. These findings can provide theoretical references for further functional research and utilization of Amorphophallus spp. rhizosphere microbial communities in the future.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.313-320
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• 2018

Fusarium infection rate of the paddy rice grain after harvest seemed to be influenced by the average temperature from late July (before heading) to the end of September (during ripening). In case of 2010 and 2013 in which average temperature of the same period was similar, Fusarium infection was related to cumulative precipitation, cumulative precipitation days, and precipitation durations over two days. The distribution ratio of Fusarium species complex isolated from paddy rice grains after harvest was 57% in 2010 and 45% in 2013 for Fusarium graminearum species complex (FGSC), 35% and 50% for Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex, and 8% and 5% for Fusarium fujikuroi species complex (FFSC). The distribution ratios of FGSC and FFSC were higher in 2010 than 2013. Among the total 26 promoted rice varieties, the 'Mihyang' showed resistant response against the natural infection with Fusarium species belonging to FGSC and the varieties of 'Nampyeong', 'Hi-ami'and 'Younghojinmi' showed resistant response against the natural infection with overall Fusarium pathogens. Majority of the promoted rice varieties could not be classified for resistance or susceptibility. These results are valuable as basic data to determine the resistance and susceptibility of rice variety against Fusarium spp. infection in the field.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.254-263
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• 2024

Korean jang is a food made using fermented soybeans, and the typical products include gochujang (GO), doenjang (DO), cheonggukjang (CH), and ganjang (GA). In this study, 16S rRNA metagenome analysis was performed on a total of 200 types of GO, DO, CH, and GA using next-generation sequencing to analyze the microbial community of fermented soybean foods and compare taxonomic (biomarker) differences. Alpha diversity analysis showed that in the CHAO index, the species richness index tended to be significantly higher compared to the DO and GA groups (p<0.001). The results of the microbial distribution analysis of the GO, DO, CH, and GA products showed that at the order level, Bacillales was the most abundant in the GO, DO, and CH groups, but Lactobacillales was most abundant in the GA group. Linear discriminant analysis effect (LEfSe) analysis was used to identify biomarkers at the family and species levels. Leuconostocaceae, Thermoactinomycetaceae, Bacillaceae, and Enterococcaceae appeared as biomarkers at the family level, and Bacillus subtilis, Kroppenstedtia sanguinis, Bacillus licheniformis, and Tetragenococcus halophilus appeared at the species level. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) analysis showed that there was a significant difference in the microbial community structure of the GO, DO, CH, and GA groups (p=0.001), and the microbial community structure of the GA group showed the greatest difference. This study clarified the correlation between the characteristics of Korean fermented foods and microbial community distribution, enhancing knowledge of microorganisms participating in the fermentation process. These results could be leveraged to improve the quality of fermented soybean foods.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.407-417
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• 2021

In order to investigate frequency of fungal contamination in ginseng sprout, we collected 18 types of retail ginseng sprouts and analyzed them. Overall frequency of fungal contamination ranged from 113.3 to 174.1% with the highest occurrence of Penicillium spp. Fungal detection rate was significantly higher in moss than in stem, leaf and root of ginseng sprout. Penicillium spp. occurred in leaf and stem with the highest incidence and Fusarium spp., in root. Among Penicillium spp. and Fusarium spp., P. olsonii and F. oxysporum were dominant, respectively. Nine Fusarium species, Aspergillus westerdijkiae, Aspergillus flavus, and 11 Penicillium species were identified by phylogenetic analysis. PCR screening of mycotoxigenic potential revealed that 19 out of 25 isolates tested were positive for respective mycotoxin biosynthetic gene. Two 2 A. flavus and 11 A. westerdijkiae isolates produced varying amount of aflatoxin or ochratoxin A in czapek yeast extract brothsome of which showed high levels of mycotoxin production. These results suggests a need for continuous monitoring and management program to control fungal contamination in the ginseng sprout production chain.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.354-358
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• 2019

In order to evaluate the migration of fungi into doenjang from its materials, meju and solar salt, microbial communities were analyzed using pyrosequencing. Dominant fungi of meju were Botrytis spp. (57.94%) and Dothiorella samentorum (24.08%). Unidentified fungal species (37.53%), unassigned species (32.60%) and several fungal species of small portion were identified in solar salt. In doenjang, Candida versatilis were predominantly detected (92.62%). Non-halophilic mold were dominantly identified from meju (low-salt fermented soybean), while halophilic bacteria and archaea for solar salt and salt-tolerance fungi such as C. versatilis for doenjang (high-salt fermented soybean) were frequently detected. These results implied that most predominant fungal species might not be migrated from meju and/or solar salt into doenjang.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.23-34
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• 2024

While scientific information on the spatial variation of soda lake Microalgae is important to limnological studies, little information was reported from the Ethiopian Rift Valley Lake, Lake Chitu. This study aimed to understand the spatial distribution of the dominant Microalgae taxa in Lake Chitu, Ethiopia. The collection of samples and in situ measurements of some physico-chemical parameters were recorded at three sites for one cycle in November 2021. Fourteen species or genera of Microalgae were identified. Among those, Bacillariophyta were the most important with regard to species abundance and the rarest in species richness. Cyanophyta were the second-most important group in terms of species richness and rarity. Comparatively, all microalgae taxa were rare at both the anthropogenic areas (AA) and the flooding area (FA), which could be mainly due to intensive human and animal intervention and associated with extreme turbidity. Among Cyanophyta, Chroococcus minutus, Microcystis aeruginosa, and Spirulina platensis/fusiformis were predominant at both AA and FA, revealing their adaptation to less clear water and pollution. But S. platensis/fusiformis attained the highest abundance at the FA, indicating their preference for water in a highly nutrient-enriched area. We concluded that the spatial variation of microalgae diversity in relation to water quality parameters has implications for the importance of microalgae as a baseline indicator of water quality assessment tools in lakes.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.212-218
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• 2015

In this study, we developed a species-specific PCR assay for rapid and accurate detection of three Xanthomonas species, X. axonopodis pv. poinsettiicola (XAP), X. hyacinthi (XH) and X. campestris pv. zantedeschiae (XCZ), based on their draft genome sequences. XAP, XH and XCZ genomes consist of single chromosomes that contain 5,221, 4,395 and 7,986 protein coding genes, respectively. Species-specific primers were designed from variable regions of the draft genome sequence data and assessed by a PCR-based detection method. These primers were also tested for specificity against 17 allied Xanthomonas species as well as against the host DNA and the microbial community of the host surface. Three primer sets were found to be very specific and no amplification product was obtained with the host DNA and the microbial community of the host surface. In addition, a detection limit of $1pg/{\mu}l$ per PCR reaction was detected when these primer sets were used to amplify corresponding bacterial DNAs. Therefore, these primer sets and the developed species-specific PCR assay represent a valuable, sensitive, and rapid diagnostic tool that can be used to detect three specific pathogens at early stages of infection and may help control diseases.