• Mycobiology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.59-65
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• 2012

Antagonistic microorganisms against $Rhizoctonia$ $solani$ were isolated and their antifungal activities were investigated. Two hundred sixteen bacterial isolates were isolated from various soil samples and 19 isolates were found to antagonize the selected plant pathogenic fungi with varying degrees. Among them, isolate C9 was selected as an antagonistic microorganism with potential for use in further studies. Treatment with the selected isolate C9 resulted in significantly reduced incidence of stem-segment colonization by $R.$ $solani$ AG2-2(IV) in Zoysia grass and enhanced growth of grass. Through its biochemical, physiological, and 16S rDNA characteristics, the selected bacterium was identified as $Bacillus$ $subtilis$ subsp. $subtilis$. Mannitol (1%) and soytone (1%) were found to be the best carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively, for use in antibiotic production. An antibiotic compound, designated as DG4, was separated and purified from ethyl acetate extract of the culture broth of isolate C9. On the basis of spectral data, including proton nuclear magneric resonance ($^1H$ NMR), carbon nuclear magneric resonance ($^{13}C$ NMR), and mass analyses, its chemical structure was established as a stereoisomer of acetylbutanediol. Application of the ethyl acetate extract of isolate C9 to several plant pathogens resulted in dose-dependent inhibition. Treatment with the purified compound (an isomer of acetylbuanediol) resulted in significantly inhibited growth of tested pathogens. The cell free culture supernatant of isolate C9 showed a chitinase effect on chitin medium. Results from the present study demonstrated the significant potential of the purified compound from isolate C9 for use as a biocontrol agent as well as a plant growth promoter with the ability to trigger induced systemic resistance of plants.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.97-102
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• 2003

Raw and washed spinaches were tested to evaluate the incidences of Aeromonas hydrophila, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Plesiomonas shigelloides, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica, Bacillus cereus, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium perfringens, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus. Four pathogenic bacteria were isolated from spinach samples, and identified by morphological and biochemical methods, including API and ATB identification systems. Isolates from MacConkey, Cereus Selective, Clostridium Perfringens, and Baird-Parker agar media were in 99.9, 99.8, 99.9, and 97.8% agreements with A. hydrophila, B. cereus, C. perfringens, and S. aureus at the species level, respectively. SET-RPLA revealed, among the five strains of S. aureus isolates, two produced type A enterotoxin. All five strains of B. cereus isolates produced enterotoxin as revealed with CRET-RPLA.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.435-440
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• 2000

A pathogenic fungus causing balloon flower root rot (Platycodon grandiflorum) was isolated from naturally infected roots. The microbial characteristics of the isolated microorganism were similar to those of Rhizoctonia solani. About 500 bacterial species from field soils were screened for a biological agent against the above-mentioned putative pathogen, and several bacteria with the antifungal activity were isolated. Among them, the isolated JS2 was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This strain showed a broad spectrum of antifungal activity potentially. When the antifungal substance was purified from a broth culture of JS2, it was identified as 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (Phl).

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.369-373
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• 2008

The indoor environment is an important source of exposure to various aeroallergens and pathogenic microorganism. It has been shown that exposure to aeroallergens enhances the risk of indoor inhabitants developing asthma. Since the skin prick test, a typical clinical method for identification of subjects positive to allergens, can rarely cause fatal or non-fatal reactions in susceptible persons, an in vitro assay such as ELISA using serum has been considered for testing positivity against various allergens. We evaluated the validity of a serum ELISA kit for screening positive subjects to major aeroallergens including Dermatophagoides farinae, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, cockroach, Alternaria, Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, dog hair, cat fur, mugwort, and ragweed. The ELISA results were compared with the skin prick test results, and sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy were calculated to each allergen. Higher sensitivities were obtained from D. farinae, (77.8%) and D. pteronyssinus (69.2%), but sensitivities to Aspergillus, Penicillium, dog hair, cat fur, and ragweed were very low down to 0%. Specificity ranged from 88.7% (cat fur) to 100% (mugwort and ragweed). Overall the accuracy of the serum ELISA kit was relatively high, in that the lowest was 85.1% for cat fur and the highest was 98.6% for Alternaria, Cladosporium, and ragweed. Considering specificity and overall accuracy for the serum ELISA kit, it may be considered reliable. However, when the kit is used for screening purpose, positivity to aeroallergens should be carefully determined since sensitivity for the kit is low.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.241-246
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• 2007

This study was conducted to select and screen for an antifungal bacterial strain showing pathogen inhibitory activity against Diaporthe actinidiae, which causes stem-end rot in kiwi fruit. Four bacterial strains were isolated which strongly inhibit Diaporthe actinidiae from among two hundred and fifty bacterial strains screened from the soil where kiwi fruit were grown. By co-culturing bacterial strain #72 and the pathogen causing the stem-end rot of kiwi fruit, bacterial strain #72 showed 81.0% antifungal activity against Diaporthe actinidiae. Bacterial strain #72 was identified to be from the genus Bacillus sp. based on morphological and biochemical characterization. The bacterialization of culture broth for Bacillus sp. #72 which was sterilized at $121^{\circ}C$ for 15 minutes and than purified by $0.45{\mu}m$ membrane filter showed almost all of the antagonistic activity against Diaporthe actinidiae. We have also confirmed that in vitro treatment of Bacillus sp. #72 cultured in SD+B+P(sugar 5%, soy sauce 3%, beef extract 0.2%, peptone 0.2%) medium efficiently inhibited the growth of Diaporthe actinidiae responsible for stem-end rot in kiwi fruit.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.152-156
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• 2010

Disposable contact lenses, which are one type of soft contact lenses, provide convenience in use, but also cause various ocular infectious diseases. Microorganisms that cause eye diseases include Acanthamoeba, bacteria, Fungi, and so on. It is impossible to prevent microorganism contamination completely due to the use of hands as wearing contact lenses. The contamination by various microorganisms leads to infectious keratitis, but it is not well known for the exact microorganisms that affect the disease. For this reason, to identify the microorganisms, two groups that are commonly used for disinfection of lenses were divided: normal saline solution and multiple purpose solution. Using these solutions the degree of microorganism contamination was observed according to the days of 1, 3, 5, 10, and 15. Twenty students by two groups from Ophthalmic Optics department at D college in Daegu Metropolitan city participated in the experiment after their ocular health conditions were checked. During they wore one-day disposable lenses for 1, 3, 5, 10, and 15 days, bacteria were cultured in media. The results, which were Gram stained by selecting the cultured colonies, show as followings: Gram positive cocci 33%, Gram-negative cocci 2%, Gram positive bacilli 34%, and the Gram negative bacilli 31%, respectively. As for the identification of potential pathogens, VITEK system and API kit methods were used. Keratitis caused by bacteria known as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa were detected as a result of wearing contact lenses. This study examined the distribution of bacteria as wearing one-day disposable contact lenses and pathogenic bacteria according to the duration of wearing them. In conclusion, the importance of hygiene when using contact lenses is suggested.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.435-443
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate eco-friendly measures to manage major diseases which cause heavy economic damages to ginseng. Morphological, physicochemical, and molecular biological species identification was carried out after isolating useful antagonistic bacteria from ginseng fields. In addition, optimal conditions for mass culture were established, and he efficacy of the bacteria in the prevention of the diseases was verified in the field. The results showed that about 150 bacteria were extracted from 150 ginseng fields in the whole county. Among them, B. pyrrocinia LA101 was finally selected, which had a strong antagonistic potency against Alternaria panax, Botrytis cinerea, Rhizoctonia solani, and Cylindrocarpon destructans on agar media. The B. pyrrocinia LA101 is a baculiform gram-negative bacterium identified as Burkholderia pyrrocinia according to results from an API(Analytical Profile Index) kit, 16S rRNA, and gyrase gene sequencing analysis. It was donated to the microbe bank of the Agricultural Genetic Resources Center at the National Academy of Agriculture Science under the Rural Development Administration on September 28, 2011 (Donation No. KACC91663P). A patent for the mass culture technology was granted in August 2012 (Patent No. 10-1175532).

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.244-252
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• 2023

The timeliness and accuracy of test results are crucial factors for clinicians to decide and promptly administer effective and targeted antimicrobial therapy, especially in life-threatening infections or when vital organs and functions, such as sight, are at risk. Further research is needed to refine and optimize matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS)-based assays to obtain accurate and reliable results in the shortest time possible. MALDI-TOF MS-based bacterial identification focuses primarily on techniques for isolating and purifying pathogens from clinical samples, the expansion of spectral libraries, and the upgrading of software. As technology advances, many MALDI-based microbial identification databases and systems have been licensed and put into clinical use. Nevertheless, it is still necessary to develop MALDI-TOF MS-based antimicrobial-resistance analysis for comprehensive clinical microbiology characterization. The important applications of MALDI-TOF MS in clinical research include specific application categories, common analytes, main methods, limitations, and solutions. In order to utilize clinical microbiology laboratories, it is essential to secure expertise through education and training of clinical laboratory scientists, and database construction and experience must be maximized. In the future, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry is expected to be applied in various fields through the use of more powerful databases.

• Journal of Science Criminal Investigation
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.210-217
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• 2017

In the forensic microbiology laboratories, microorganism analyses from food are requested. There have been several cases of Bacillus cereus isolated from the samples requested to the National Forensic Service. B. cereus is an important pathogenic bacterium which can cause food-borne outbreaks. Therefore, we isolated B. cereus from anchovy aekjeot recently requested for microbial examination and identified using MSId based on the 16S rDNA sequence and real-time PCR method. We also conducted PCR for detection of diarrheal toxin genes and an emetic toxin gene and found the presence of nheABC, bceT and entFM diarrheal toxin genes in the B. cereus isolate. There are several clinically important food-poisoning bacteria that should be noted during inspection. In particular, B. cereus can cause food poisoning even when cooked foods are ingested, because B. cereus forms endo-spore which confers strong environmental resistance and heat resistance to the bacteria, and the bacterial emetic toxin also has heat resistance. Here we highlight the importance to distinguish clinically important bacteria such as B. cereus from food specimens, and we expect this study will provide procedures for identification of B. cereus and detection of the bacterial toxin genes for future cases in the forensic microbiology laboratories.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.102-112
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• 2024

Background: Despite the rise in the number of domestic indoor climbing gyms, there is a lack of specific hygiene standards and research on the holds installed in them. Holds can act as vectors for microbial transmission through the hands, posing a risk of infectious diseases, especially with damaged skin. Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the contamination level and species of microorganisms on holds according to the management methods practiced in indoor climbing gyms and identify effective strategies for reducing microbial contamination. Methods: We investigated factors that may influence microbial contamination of holds, including hold management methods, user information, and hygiene management at three climbing gyms in Seoul. A total of 72 holds were sampled, 18 for each management method of brushing, high-pressure washing, and ethanol disinfection. Samples were cultured on LB and blood agar at 37℃ for 48 hours to calculate CFUs. PCR assay targeting 16S rRNA was carried out to identify microorganisms. Dunn-Bonferroni was employed to see the microbial reduction effect of the management method and the difference in microbial contamination by management method and climbing gym. Results: As a result of microbial identification, microorganisms such as Bacillus, Staphylococcus, and Micrococcus, which were derived from various environments such as skin and soil, were discovered on the surface of the climbing hold. Among the discovered microorganisms, some species had potential pathogenic properties that could cause food poisoning, gastrointestinal disease, bacteremia, and sepsis. All hold management methods were effective in reducing microorganisms (p<0.05), with ethanol disinfection being the most effective (p<0.001). Conclusions: Our results indicate that there are potential pathogens on holds that demand thorough management for microbial prevention. Proposed methods include regular brushing and ethanol disinfection in addition to high-pressure washing with long cycles, which are the existing forms of hold management. Further studies on shoe management are advised to curb soil-derived microorganisms.