• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.205-211
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• 2020

Chlorhexidine digluconate (CHD) in the aquatic environment causes irreversible change to microbes, making them resistant to biodegradation, which needs remediation other than biological process. Adsorption study was performed for the removal of CHD on fly ash (FA) as a function of pH and ionic strength. Experimental result has been validated by characterization using Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller. CHD adsorption with FA showed an increasing trend with an increase in pH. Variation in pH proved to be an influential parameter for the surface charge of adsorbent and the degree of ionization of the CHD molecules. The adsorption capacity of CHD decreased from 23.60 mg g-1 to 1.13 mg g-1, when ionic strength increased from to M. The adsorption isotherms were simulated well by the Freundlich isotherm model having R2 = 0.98. The Lagergren's model was incorporated to predict the system kinetics, while the mechanistic study was better explained by pseudo-second order for FA. On the basis of operational conditions and cost-effectiveness FA was found to be more economical as an adsorbent for the adsorption of CHD.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2005

Before twentieth centuries and during early twentieth centuries, communicable diseases were the major cause of morbidity and mortality in Korea. But reliable data are not available. After 1975, the overall morbidity and mortality from communicable diseases, rapidly declined. Recently many new pathogenic microbes were recognized: L. monocytogenes, Hantaan virus, Y. pseudotuberculosis, P. multocida, L. pneumophilia, Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), G. seoi, H. capsulatum, C. burnetii, V. cholerae O139, C. parvum, F. tularensis, E. coli O157:H7, B. burgdorferi, S. Typhimurium DT104, Rotavirus, hepatitis C virus and so on. Since the first HIV infection recognized in 1985, the reported cases of infection and deaths from HIV/AIDS have been steady increased each year. Legionnaire's disease, E. coli O157:H7 colitis, listeriosis and crytosporidiasis have been occurring just sporadically among immunocompromized cases. Many re-emerging communicable diseases were occurred in Korea: leptospirosis, malaria, endemic typhus, cholera, tsutsugamushi disease, salmonellosis, hepatitis A, shigellosis, mumps, measles, acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis, brucellosis and so on. Leptospirosis and tsutsugamushi diseases have been noticed as major public health problems since 1980s. The malaria that had been virtually disappeared for a decade has reappeared from 1993 with striking increase of patients in recent 3-4 years. The distributions of salmonella and shigella serotypes have been changed a lot in recent few decades. Furthermore rapid emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains induces more difficult and complex problems in control of communicable diseases. We must recognize on the importance of environment and ecosystem conservation and careful prescription of anti-microbial agent in order to prevent communicable diseases.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.531-537
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• 2006

Lactic acid-producing bacteria (LABs) are known to have various beneficial properties for health. However, they are generally considered to have an adverse effect on teeth, since they produce acid. Nonetheless, milk and cheese containing specific LAB strains were recently found to have an inhibitory effect on dental caries in children, with an inhibitory activity towards the growth of Streptococcus mutans suggested as the responsible mechanism. Accordingly, the current study selected a probiotic candidate for oral health and studied its inhibitory mechanism against dental caries. Twenty-two LAB species belonging to eleven genuses were screened for promoting bone nodule formation using direct microscopic examination. Only one isolate, Weissella kimchii strain PL9001, increased the bone nodule formation significantly. The addition of W. kimchii strain PL9001 to bone cells prepared from mouse calvaria increased the bone nodule formation, calcium accumulation, and activity of alkaline phosphatase (the osteoblastic marker). Moreover, W. kimchii strain PL9001 inhibited the invasion of Streptococcus mutans into bone cells, and an organic extract of the culture supernatant of W. kimchii strain PL9001 inhibited the growth of Strep. mutans. Therefore, the results suggest that W. kimchii strain PL9001 can be used as a preventive measure against dental caries. This is the first time that a LAB has been shown to promote bone nodule formation and prevent the invasion of Strep. mutans into bone cells.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.11-14
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• 2006

In this study we attempted to develop a novel genomic method to selectively isolate target functional microbial genomes from environmental samples. For this purpose, stable isotope probing (SIP) was applied in selectively isolating organic pollutant-assimilating populations. When soil microbes were fed with $^{13}C-labeled $ biphenyl, biphenyl-utilizing cells were incorporated with the heavy carbon isotope. The heavy DNA portion was successfully separated by CsCl equilibrium density gradient. And the diversity in the heavy DNA was sufficiently reduced, being suitable for the current DNA microarray techniques to detect biphenyl-utilizing populations in the soil. In addition, we proposed a new way to get more genetic information by combining this SIP method with selective metagenomic approach. The increased selective power of these new DNA isolation methods will be expected to provide a good quality of new genetic information, which, in turn, will result in development of a variety of biomarkers that may be used in assessing ecotoxicology issues including the impacts of organic hazards, and antibiotic-resistant pathogens on human and ecological systems.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.10-19
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• 2021

This study investigated how ozone treatment can successfully inactivate pathogenic bacteria in both artificial seawater and effluents discharged from the fishery quarantine station in Pyeongtaek Port, Korea. Vibrio sp. and Streptococcus sp. were initially inoculated into the artificial seawater. All microbes were almost completely inactivated within 10 min and 30 min by injecting 6.4 mg/min and 2.0 mg/min of ozone, respectively. It was discovered that the water storing Pleuronichthys, Pelteobagrus, and Cyprinus imported from China contained the indicator bacteria, Vibrio sp., Enterococcus sp., total coliforms, and heterotrophic microorganisms. Compared to the control, three indicator bacteria were detected at two to six times higher concentrations. The water samples displayed a diverse microbial community, comprising the following four phyla: Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria. Almost all indicator bacteria were inactivated in 5 min at 2.0 mg/min of ozonation; comparatively, 92.9%-98.2% of the less heterotrophic microorganisms were deactivated within the same time period. By increasing the dosage to 6.4 mg/min, 100% deactivation was achieved after 10 min. Despite the almost complete inactivation of most indicator bacteria at high doses after 10 min, several bacterial strains belonging to the Proteobacteria have still been found to be resistant under the given operational conditions.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.559-567
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• 2024

Continuous use of synthetic fungicides has led to explosive emergence of fungicide-resistant microbes. Therefore, there are urgent needs for environmentally friendly antimicrobial agents with novel modes of action. This study investigated endolichenic fungi (ELF) as a source of antimicrobial compounds against various plant pathogens. We utilized an One Strain MAny Compounds (OSMAC) approach to enhance the chemical diversity of fourteen ELF. This involved cultivation of ELF in four growth media and subsequently assessing antimicrobial activities of culture extracts. Nearly half of the culture extracts exhibited antimicrobial activity against a Gram-positive bacterium, but showed minimal activity against Gram-negative bacteria tested. Notably, culture extracts from two ELF, Chaetomium globosum and Nodulisporium sp., demonstrated significant inhibitory effects against plant pathogenic fungi. LC-MS/MS-based metabolome profiling confirmed the presence of known bioactive compounds like cyclic dipeptides and chaetoglobosins. These findings highlight the effectiveness of combining OSMAC and metabolomics for identifying antimicrobial agents for agricultural use.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.589-595
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• 2011

This work focused on screening and characterizing antibiotic-producing actinomycetes to develop new antibiotics that can overcome the growing resistance of disease-causing microbes. One-hundred actinomycetes strains were isolated from soil samples from Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea using various kinds of actinomycetes isolation media, including a starch casein agar medium and potato dextrose agar (PDA). Among them, strain BCNU 1030 was determined to show strong antimicrobial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Biochemical, physiological, and 16S rRNA sequence analyses indicated that strain BCNU 1030 belonged to the genus Streptomyces. Strain BCNU 1030 exhibited antibiotic activity against a wide range of bacteria, especially methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of BCNU 1030 dichloromethane extract was determined to be $0.78\;{\mu}g/ml$ for MRSA CCARM 3090. Therefore, Streptomyces sp. BCNU 1030 has potential for anti-MRSA drug development.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.232-239
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• 2009

This research investigated the characteristics of antibiotic resistance of bacteria in microbial communities from municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTPs), and monitored seasonal changes of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) from MWTPs and Han river. When antibiotics were amended to either R2A agar (R2A) for general heterotrophs or MacConeky sorbitol agar (MSA) for coliform bacteria, all the MWTP samples exhibited multiple antibiotic resistance on the antibiotic-amended solid media. The antibiotic resistance appearing frequencies of ampicillin and sulfathiazole, respectively, were higher than reported data for other countries. The antibiotic resistance appearances differed depending upon the concentrations of primary substrate and nutrients and the types of cultivation media. The following 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis showed that the identified multiple-antibiotic resistant microbes on R2A plates were more likely to be known human-pathogenic bacteria than the background heterotrophic bacteria were, suggesting a high risk of antibiotic resistance appearance to public health. In addition, according to our investigation of seasonal changes of ARB from urban MWTP and river samples, the frequency of ARB appearances was shown to correlate positively with temperature. This indicates a possibility that global warming result in increase in microbial risk to public health.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.114-149
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• 2017

World-wide crop loss caused by insect pest and nematode reaches critical level. In Korea, similar crop loss has been gradually augmented in the field and greenhouse due to continuous crop rotation. The current methods on controlling herbivorous insects and plant parasitic nematodes are mostly depended on agro-chemicals that have resulted additional side-effect including occurrence of resistant insects and nematodes, environmental contamination, and accumulation in human body. To overcome the pitfalls, microbe-based control method have been introduced and applied for several decades. Here, we revised biological control using by the bacteria, fungi, and virus in order to kill insect and nematode and to attenuate its virulence mechanism. The introduced microbes mainly secreted out the hydrolysing enzymes and toxic compounds to target host membrane or cell wall directly. Indirectly, the microbe-triggered plant innate immunity against insects and nematodes was also reported. In conclusion, we provide a new frontier of microbe-based environmentally friendly procedure and effective methods to manage insects and nematodes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1381-1385
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• 2013

The centipede Scolopendra subpinipes mutilans is a medicinally important arthropod species. However, its transcriptome is not currently available and transcriptome analysis would be useful in providing insight into a molecular level approach. Hence, we performed de novo RNA sequencing of S. subpinipes mutilans using next-generation sequencing. We generated a novel peptide (scolopendrasin II) based on a SVM algorithm, and biochemically evaluated the in vitro antimicrobial activity of scolopendrasin II against various microbes. Scolopendrasin II showed antibacterial activities against gram-positive and -negative bacterial strains, including the yeast Candida albicans and antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria, as determined by a radial diffusion assay and colony count assay without hemolytic activity. In addition, we confirmed that scolopendrasin II bound to the surface of bacteria through a specific interaction with lipoteichoic acid and a lipopolysaccharide, which was one of the bacterial cell-wall components. In conclusion, our results suggest that scolopendrasin II may be useful for developing peptide antibiotics.