• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.676-681
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• 2013

Perchlorate (${ClO_4}^-$) is an emerging contaminant found in surface water and soil/groundwater. Microbial removal of perchlorate is the method of choice since perchlorate-reducing bacteria (PRB) can reduce perchlorate to harmless end-products. A previous study [3] showed experimental evidence of autotrophic perchlorate removal using elemental sulfur granules and activated sludge. The granular sulfur is a relatively inexpensive electron donor, and activated sludge is easily available from a wastewater treatment plant. A batch test was performed in this study to further investigate the effect of various environmental parameters on the perchlorate degradation by sludge microorganisms when elemental sulfur was used as electron donor. Results of the batch test suggest optimum conditions for autotrophic perchlorate degradation by sludge microorganisms. The results also show that sulfur-oxidizing PRB enriched from activated sludge removed perchlorate better than activated sludge. Taken together, this study suggests that autotrophic perchlorate removal using elemental sulfur and activated sludge can be improved by employing optimized environmental conditions and enrichment culture.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.157-161
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• 2010

Photosynthetic purple nonsulfur bacterial strains were isolated from the sediments collected from rice paddy fields and sludges of wastewater treatment plant, and their plant growth promoting capabilities were examined. Most well known phytohormones, auxin such as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 5'-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) were detected by HPLC in the culture broth of these isolates. Among the isolated bacteria, Rhodopseudomonas faecalis D15 showed the highest production rate of 769.8 ${\mu}g$/mg protein of IAA, 1323 ${\mu}g$/mg protein of IBA and 7.4 mM/mg protein of ALA in the modified Biebl and Pfennig's medium. R. faecalis C9 showed the highest production rate of 20.82 ${\mu}g$/mg protein of gibberellin. In consequence, the root length and dry weight of the germinated tomato seedling treated with R. faecalis isolates were longer and heavier than those of uninoculated control after 15 days of incubation in the soil. Especially, the dry weight of germinated tomato seedling increased by 119.4% in C9-treated samples after 15 days. These purple nonsulfur bacteria may be utilized as environment-friendly biofertilizer in the agriculture.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2002

The egg shell membrane degrading isolated from soil was identified as Bacillus licheniformis by 16S rDNA identification method. A keratinase was isolated from the Baciilu licheniformis culture. DEAE-cellulose ion-exchange and Sephadex C-75 gel chromatograhies were used to purify the enzyme. The specific activity was increased 17.3-fold by the purification procedures. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis and Sephadex G-75 chromatography indicated that the purified keratinase was monomeric and had a molecular weight of 65 kDa. The enzyme showed optimum activity at pH 9.0, and was stable above pH 9.0. The optimum temperature was 50$\^{C}$ and the enzyme was stable in the temperature ranges from 20$\^{C}$ to 50t. By the addition of 1 mM and 10 mM FeSO4, the activities of the enzyme were increased to 111$\pm$4.6% and 133$\pm$3.79%, respectively. The keratinase was an alkaline serine pretense because it was inhibited only by phenylmethylsulfonylfluorice (PMSF).

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.67-73
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• 2002

The cellular responses of soil-borne bacterium, Pseudomonas sp. HK-6 to explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) were examined. Two stress shock proteins (SSPs), approximately 70-kDa DnaK and a 60-kDa GroEL were found in HK-6 cells in response to TNT. Analyses of SDS-PAGE and Western blot using anti-DnaK and GroEL revealed that SSPs were induced in HK-6 cells exposed to 0.5 M of TNT far 6-12 hrs. The maximum induction of proteins was achieved at 8-hr incubation point after HK-6 cells'exposure to TNT. Similar SSPs were found to be induced in HK-6 cells by heat shock (shift of temperature, from $30^{\circ}C$ to $42^{\circ}C$) or cold shock (shift of temperature,$30^{\circ}C$ to $4^{\circ}C$).2D-PAGE of soluble protein tractions from the culture of Pseudomonas sp. HX-6 exposed to TNT demonstrated that approximately 450 spots were observed on the silver stained gels ranging from pH 3 to pH 10. Among them, 12 spots significantly induced and expressed in response to TNT were selected and analyzed. Approximately 60-kDa protein, which was assumed highly expressed on the gel, was used for amino acid sequencing. N-terminal microsequencing with in-gel digestion showed that N-terminal sequence of the TNT-induced protein, <$^1XXAKDVKFGDSARKKML^17$, shared extensive similarity with $^1XXAKDVKFGDSARKKML^17$, N-terminal sequence of (P48216) GroEL of Pseudomonas putida.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.129-134
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• 1987

Aspergillus sp. (MK-24) producing a biological active substance that inhibited the venom proteinase activity was isolated from soil. The substance also inhibited the activity of trypsin and coagulation of blood, but did not inhibit papain, $\alpha$-chymotrypsin and pepsin. The substance was partially purified from culture filtrate by precipitaion with acetone, and by chromatography of DEAE-Sepadex A-50 column and Amberlite IRC-50 ion exchange. The inhibitory substance was stable in the wide pH range from 2.0 to 12.0 at 37$^{\circ}C$, but not stable at $65^{\circ}C$ in the alkaline pH. Only 12% of the activity was decreased by the heat treatment at 10$0^{\circ}C$ for two hours. The inhibition on venom proteinase (Agkistrodon bromohoffi brevicaudus) was a mixed type. The inhibitory activity depended on the preincubation time and completely depressed by cupric, zinc and cobalt ions. The inhibition on the venom proteinase was appeared strongly on casein but not on ovalbumin or hemoglobin as a substrate.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1951-1964
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• 2016

1,4-Dioxane-degrading bacterial consortia were enriched from forest soil (FS) and activated sludge (AS) using a defined medium containing 1,4-dioxane as the sole carbon source. These two enrichments cultures appeared to have inducible tetrahydrofuran/dioxane and propane degradation enzymes. According to qPCR results on the 16S rRNA and soluble di-iron monooxygenase genes, the relative abundances of 1,4-dioxane-degrading bacteria to total bacteria in FS and AS were 29.4% and 57.8%, respectively. For FS, the cell growth yields (Y), maximum specific degradation rate ($V_{max}$), and half-saturation concentration ($K_m$) were 0.58 mg-protein/mg-dioxane, $0.037mg-dioxane/mg-protein{\cdot}h$, and 93.9 mg/l, respectively. For AS, Y, $V_{max}$, and $K_m$ were 0.34 mg-protein/mg-dioxane, $0.078mg-dioxane/mg-protein{\cdot}h$, and 181.3 mg/l, respectively. These kinetics data of FS and AS were similar to previously reported values. Based on bacterial community analysis on 16S rRNA gene sequences of the two enrichment cultures, the FS consortium was identified to contain 38.3% of Mycobacterium and 10.6% of Afipia, similar to previously reported literature. Meanwhile, 49.5% of the AS consortium belonged to the candidate division TM7, which has never been reported to be involved in 1,4-dioxane biodegradation. However, recent studies suggested that TM7 bacteria were associated with degradation of non-biodegradable and hazardous materials. Therefore, our results showed that previously unknown 1,4-dioxane-degrading bacteria might play an important role in enriched AS. Although the metabolic capability and ecophysiological significance of the predominant TM7 bacteria in AS enrichment culture remain unclear, our data reveal hidden characteristics of the TM7 phylum and provide a perspective for studying this previously uncultured phylotype.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.127-132
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• 1999

Protoplasts were isolated from the leaf mesophyll tissue of in vitro 4-weeks-old Arabidopsis thaliana and cultured in MS liquid medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L NAA, 0.5 mg/L BAP and 9% mannitol in the dark at $25^{\circ}C$. When protoplast-derived microcolonies were dehydrated, the frequency of callus induction enhanced approximately 7-fold higher compared with non-dehydrated microcolonies in CP medium. Fifty callus lines were selected from dehydrated microcolonies. Shoots were efficiently initiated from the green spots of the selected shoot forming calli cultured on MS regeneration medium supplemented with 0.05 mg/L IAA, 7.0 mg/L 2-iP and 30 g/L sucrose under continous illumination for 4 weeks. Shoot regeneration frequencies (calli regenerating at least one shoot) were 3.5%~56%. Histological observations of shoot forming callus revealed that tracheary elements initiated from inner compact cells, and that meristemoids developed to shoot primordia and shoots. Roots were induced from these regenerating shoots on MS medium without phytohormones. These regenerants were successfully transplanted into potting soil. Morphological characterization of 50 protoplast-derived plants showed that the frequency of normal type was 78%.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.305-311
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• 1997

Bacillus thuringiensis, a gram-positive soil bacterium, is characterized by its ability to produce crystalline inclusions during sporulation. The crystal proteins exhibit a highly specific insecticidal activity. An insecticidal crystal protein (ICP), Cry II A, is specifically toxic to both lepidopteran and dipteran insects. In this study, tobacco plants transformed by the cry II A gene have been generated. The Cry II A crystal protein was purified from E. coli JM103 harboring cry II A gene by differential solubility. The activated Cry II A was prepared by tryptic digestion. The purified protoxin (70 kDa) and the activated toxin (50 kDa) were analyzed by SDS-PAGE. To generate the transgenic tobacco having cry II A gene, the cry II A gene was subcloned to a plant expression vector, pSRL2, having two CaMV 35S promoters. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into tobacco (N. tabacum var. Petit Havana SR1) by Agrobacterium-mediated leaf disc transformation. Through the regeneration, six putative transgenic tobacco plants were obtained and three transformants were confirmed by Southern blot analysis. It has been found that one plant had single copy of cry II A gene, another had two copies of the gene, and the third had a truncated gene. After the immunochemical confirmation of cry II A expression in plants, the transgenic tobacco plants will be used to study the genetics of future generation with the insecticidal crystal protein gene cry II A.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.140-157
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• 2012

Most of global citizens in the globalization era want to live peacefully in the symbiotic relationship among each region or locality with its identity. From this perspective, the new regionalist models of development such as new industrial districts, industrial clusters, regional innovation systems, and global city-regions isn't helpful to most of regions because they were developed to increase the global competitiveness of industrial region from a few advanced industrial areas. This study attempts to develop 'regional differential development' as an alternative regional development theory. This theory puts emphasis on the truth that the difference or differential industry between regions in the real world connotes two essential values of development like the symbiosis of global citizens and the regional identity. Regional differential development seeks the development of regional differential industry on the basis of geographical elements with differential advantage, and hence it reviews significantly geographical elements including location, natural environment(landform, soil, climate, etc.), natural resources, population, transportation, culture, and landscape which appear substantially differently among regions. And to realize regional differential development successfully, it is crucial that actors(government, company, related institutions, and regional residents) actively participate and play each complementary role in the relationship of cooperation and conflict. Further study needs to secure the universal validity of this theory through many empirical studies.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.520-526
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• 2010

In this work we have investigated the production of catalase from Bacillus sp. strains, which were screened and identified from soil. These strains were cultivated in shaking flasks with tryptic soy broth (TSB) at $30^{\circ}C$ and 200 rpm. Effects of the temperature and pH on the stability of the native catalase and whole cell viability were studied in the temperature range of $25-60^{\circ}C$ and the pH range of 7-13. Korean natural zeolite was added to culture medium and mixed with microorganisms for 24 hours. The native catalase maintained its activity over $50^{\circ}C$. The enzyme acitiviy of the catalase from Bacillus flexus BKBChE-3 was highest among the Bacillus sp. strains studied. Bacillus flexus BKBChE-3 and immobilized Bacillus cells have survived under extreme conditions of over $50^{\circ}C$ and pH 12. 60 mL of 10.5 mM $H_2O_2$ solution were entirely removed within 1 hour with catalase produced from Bacillus sp. on the flask. When Bacillus cells were immobilized on Korean natural zeolite, colony forming unit of Bacillus flexus BKBChE-3 was increased and high efficiency of hydrogen peroxide removal was observed.