• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1622-1631
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• 2022

Carotenoids, which are natural pigments found abundantly in wide-ranging species, have diverse functions and high industrial potential. The carotenoid biosynthesis pathway is very complex and has multiple branches, while the accumulation of certain metabolites often affects other metabolites in this pathway. The DsLCYB gene that encodes lycopene cyclase was selected in this study to evaluate β-carotene production and the accumulation of β-carotene in the alga Dunaliella salina. Compared with the wild type, the transgenic algal species overexpressed the DsLCYB gene, resulting in a significant enhancement of the total carotenoid content, with the total amount reaching 8.46 mg/g for an increase of up to 1.26-fold. Interestingly, the production of α-carotene in the transformant was not significantly reduced. This result indicated that the regulation of DsLCYB on the metabolic flux distribution of carotenoid biosynthesis is directional. Moreover, the effects of different light-quality conditions on β-carotene production in D. salina strains were investigated. The results showed that the carotenoid components of β-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin were 1.8-fold and 1.23-fold higher than that in the wild type under red light stress, respectively. This suggests that the accumulation of β-carotene under red light conditions is potentially more profitable.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.1310-1320
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• 2020

Low-quality soil for land reuse is a crucial problem in vegetation quality and especially to waste disposal sites in mining areas. It is necessary to find suitable materials to improve the soil quality and especially to increase soil microbial diversity and activity. In this study, pot experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of a mixed material of humic acid, super absorbent polymer and biochar on low-quality soil indexes and the microbial community response. The indexes included soil physicochemical properties and the corresponding plant growth. The results showed that the mixed material could improve chemical properties and physical structure of soil by increasing the bulk density, porosity, macro aggregate, and promote the mineralization of nutrient elements in soil. The best performance was achieved by adding 3 g·kg^-1 super absorbent polymer, 3 g·kg^-1 humic acid, and 10 g·kg^-1 biochar to soil with plant total nitrogen, dry weight and height increased by 85.18%, 266.41% and 74.06%, respectively. Physicochemical properties caused changes in soil microbial diversity. Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Cyanobacteria, Firmicutes, Nitrospirae, Planctomycetes, and Proteobacteria were significantly positively correlated with most of the physical, chemical and plant indicators. Actinobacteria and Armatimonadetes were significantly negatively correlated with most measurement factors. Therefore, this study can contribute to improving the understanding of low-quality soil and how it affects soil microbial functions and sustainability.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.116-118
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• 2006

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.127-131
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• 2016

Unusual mushrooms were observed in strawberry and sweet pepper greenhouses in the Hwasun area of Korea in September 2015. The mushrooms usually grew on beds in the greenhouses, frequently along with vegetables. The identity of the mushrooms in the greenhouses and effects of the mushrooms on the growth and quality of vegetables were investigated. Mushroom specimens collected were identified based on their morphological and molecular characteristics. The mushroom specimens collected from the strawberry greenhouse were identified as Leucocoprinus birnbaumii and L. ianthinus, and those from the sweet pepper greenhouse as Gymnopilus lepidotus. These were the first observations of L. ianthinus and G. lepidotus in Korea. The results revealed that the mushrooms originated from coco peat media used for the beds in the greenhouses. The mushrooms did not affect the growth and quality of the two vegetables.

• Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.70-76
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• 2023

Purpose: Typhoid remains a major health problem, especially in the developing world. Furthermore, the emergence of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant strains of Salmonella typhi added a sense of urgency to develop more effective typhoid vaccines, one of which is bacterial ghosts (BGs), prepared by both genetic and chemical means. The chemical method includes incubation with numerous agents for a short time at their minimum inhibitory or minimum growth concentrations. This study included the preparation of BGs by a sponge-like reduced protocol (SLRP). Materials and Methods: Critical concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate, NaOH, and H₂O₂ were used. Moreover, high-quality BGs were visualized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Subculturing was used to confirm the absence of vital cells. Besides, the concentrations of the released DNA and protein were estimated spectrophotometrically. In addition, the integrity of cells was proved by visualizing Gram-stained cells using a light microscope. Furthermore, a comparison between the immunogenicity and safety of the prepared vaccine and the available whole-cell killed vaccine was established. Results: Improved preparation of high-quality BGs of S. typhi, visualized by SEM, revealed punctured cells with intact outer shells. Moreover, the absence of vital cells was confirmed by subculturing. At the same time, the release of respective amounts of proteins and DNA is another evidence of BGs' production. Additionally, the challenge test provided evidence that the prepared BGs are immunogenic and have the same efficacy as the whole cell vaccine. Conclusion: The SLRP provided a simple, economical, and feasible method for BGs preparation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 1990

To evaluate tobacco quality, several mathods including sensory test, or measurement of some toxic compounds such as tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke have been used. However, many detrimental effects of smoking on the physiological functions including respiratory system reported were turned out to be the action of reactive oxygen species. Therefore, the amounts of oxygen free radicals such as superoxide, hydroxyl radical, even hydrogen peroxide in the cigarette smoke are thought the very important factors. In the present study, we have determined the generation of superoxide and the content of hydrogen peroxide using superoxide dismutase and catalase in the gas and particulate phases obtained from cigarette smoke, respectively. In the aqueous extracts of total particulate materials, suproxide and hydrogen peroxide were detected, and there was an excellent correlation between oxygen tint of oxygen free radicals in cigarette smoke may be a useful index for evaluation of cigarette quality in the aspect of smoking and health.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.300-307
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• 2015

For selecting Bacillus strains producing high-quality Cheonggukjang, 8 strains were isolated from the different Cheonggukjang samples. Seven of them exhibited the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity value of over 99.9% to Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis and one of them showed the similarity to B. licheniformis. All the strains showed positive activities for amylase, cellulase, protease and lipase, and 6 strains are positive for fibrinolytic activity. To confirm the safety of the strains isolated from the samples of Cheonggukjang which are manufactured by traditional method, strains were analyzed for the presence of seven toxin genes of Bacillus cereus and results were found negative. And 7 strains did not produce at all or merely produce both histamine and tyramine, the representative biogenic amines. Biogenic amine degradation analysis by HPLC revealed that, most of them exhibited tyramine degradation activity. For Cheonggukjang fermented by artificial inoculation of selected strains, fermentation property, sensory test, volatile basic nitrogen production and metabolic profiles by $^1H-NMR$ were tested. Seven strains were confirmed to make high-quality Cheonggukjang.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.1276-1280
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• 2017

The mcr-1 gene is a new "superbug" gene discoverd in China in 2016 that makes bacteria highly resistant to the last-resort class of antibiotics. The mcr-1 gene raised serious concern about its possible global dissemination and spread. Here, we report a potential anti-resistant strategy using the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated approach that can efficiently induce mcr-1 gene knockout in Escherichia coli. Our findings suggested that using the CRISPR/Cas9 system to knock out the resistance gene mcr-1 might be a potential anti-resistant strategy. Bovine myeloid antimicrobial peptide-27 could help deliver plasmid pCas::mcr targeting specific DNA sequences of the mcr-1 gene into microbial populations.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.361-366
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• 2000

Genera and number of protozoa were investigated in the conventional activated sludge pilot plant used for the treatment of municipal sewage and pre-treated night soil-containing sewage. In both case, the predominant protozoa was ciliates and among them Vorticella was the most common. In the pilot plant where pre-treated night soil was mixed with municipal sewage, genera of free-swimming ciliates, flagellates and amoeba was higher than in those withour night soil. Correlation analysis on the quality of effluent and protozoa indicates that municipal sewage has positive correlation with protozoa. However in the pilot plan 샐 sewage contatinin pre-treated night coil soil more samples show negative correlation. Followed equations were derived by the regression analysis of BOD in both the pilot plants. In case of pilot plant A of municipal sewage, the analysis B of munici-pal and pre-treated night soil-containing sewage, the analysis of BOD was $6.731$\times$10_{-2}$ $\times$Bodo+0.306(Adjusted $R^2$=0.864). At low temperature, number of protozoa was decreased to 35% and among therm, Aspidisca was the most common genus. Therefore, protozoa can be used as indicator of quality of the effluent in sewage treatment plants.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.493-497
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• 2016

Glucosyl rubusosides were synthesized by two dextransucrases. LcDexT was obtained from Leuconosotoc citreum, that LlDexT was obtained from Leuconostoc lactis. LcDexT and LlDexT regioselectively transferred a glucosyl residue to the 13-O-glucosyl moiety of rubusoside with high yield of 59-66% as analyzed by TLC and HPLC. Evaluation of the sweetness of these glucosyl rubusosides showed that their quality of taste, in particular, was superior to that of rubusoside. These results indicate that transglucosylation at the 13-O-glucosyl moiety of rubusoside by different regioselective dextransucrases can be applicable for increasing its sweetness and quality of taste.