• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2009

The exo-polysaccharide producing microorganism, Aureobasidium pullulans IMS-822, was isolated and identified from soil. The viscosity-average molecular weight of exo-polysaccharide was calculated as $8.9{\times}10^5$ by Mark-Houwink equation. The sugar component of exo-polysaccharide was determined as glucose by HPLC analysis. The IR spectra indicated that the exo-polysaccharide has an absorption peak at 890 $cm^{-1}$ for the ${\beta}-configuration$ of D-glucan. The $^{13}C$ NMR signal at ${\delta}$ 86.62 ppm arose from the substituted C-3 of glucose. The signal at ${\delta}$ 72.11 ppm was assigned to C-6 of branched ${\beta}-(1{\to}3)-D-glucosyl$ residues. Viscosity and Congo red reaction indicated that {\beta}-(1{\to}3)(1{\to}6)-glucan$ produced by A. pullulans IMS-822 has a highly ordered hydrogen-bond dependent conformation in aqueous solution, which collapses in strong alkaline solution.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.359-365
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• 2010

Fifty Actinobacteria strains were isolated from rhizosphere soil of Sasa borealis. In the course of screening for antibacterial activity against bacterial leaf spot of pepper (Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria) of isolates, 12 isolates showed strong antibiotic activity. Basis on the 16S rRNA gene sequence, they were belonging to Streptomyces cluster II. Strain JR-24 exhibited strong antibiotic activity against X. axonopodis pv. vesicatoria, had a minimum inhibitory concentration of 10 ${\mu}l$/disc. The strain JR-24 was most closely related to Streptomyces galbus $DSM40089^T$ (98.1%), Streptomyces longwoodensis $LMG20096^T$ (98%) and Streptomyces capoamus $JCM4734^T$ (97.8%). When assayed with the API 20NE and 50 CHE kit, it is positive for utilization of L-arabinose, D-fructose, D-glucose, D-galactose and hydrolysis of gelatin, protein, starch. The strains contained iso-$C_{14:0}$ (25.93%), iso-$C_{15:0}$ (10.13%), anteiso-$C_{15:0}$ (19.29%) and iso-$C_{16:0}$ (20.35%) as major fatty acids and MK-9 (H4), MK-9 (H6), and MK-9 (H8) as the isoprenoid quinone. Strain JR-24 was suggested new species of genus Streptomyces by nearest neighbors of genotypic relationships and phenotypic characterization. This study was important to microbial resources investigation for environment-friendly agriculture.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.33-39
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• 2014

One hundred forty four bacterial colonies which were able to degrade crude oil were isolated from soil samples that were contaminated with oil in Daejeon area. Among them, one bacterial strain was selected for this study based on its emulsification activity, growth rate and surface tension activity, and this selected bacterial strain was identified as Pseudomonas sp. HN37 through physiological- biochemical tests and analysis of its 16S rRNA sequence. Pseudomonas sp. HN37 utilize the several aliphatic hydrocarbons, 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid and 2,4-dichlorophooxyacetic acid as a sole carbon source. And this bacterial strain showed a high resistance to antibiotics such as ampicillin and chloramphenicol, as well as heavy metals such as Ba, Cr, Li and Mn. Also, it was found that the optimal pH and temperature for the cell growth, surface tension, and emulsification activity of Pseudomonas sp. HN37 were pH 6.0-9.0 and $30^{\circ}C$, respectively. The emulsification and surface tension activity was reached the maximum to 1% (V/V) crude oil and 1% (W/V) NaCl concentration. The surface tension of the culture broth was decreased from 62 to 27 dyne/cm after fifteen hours of inoculation in LB media.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.208-214
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• 2015

To develop an effective biopesticide to control pepper anthracnose disease, an isolate which showed strong inhibitory effect on the mycelial growth and conidial germination of Colletotrichum acutatum was selected among the antagonistic bacterial isolates collected from pepper grown soil. The bacterial isolate was identified as Bacillus sp. KBC1004 using 16S rRNA sequence analysis. The liquid culture of KBC1004 was freeze-dried and formulated as a wettable powder(WP). The wettable powder form of KBC1004 required at least 24 hours to activate and to inhibit the conidial germination of C. acutatum. In vitro bioassay using the detached green pepper fruits, biocontrol activity of the WP was not recognizable in simultaneous inoculation, but significant disease suppression was observed pre-treatment (24 hr) of the WP before pathogen inoculation. In field experiment, 4 times foliar applications of the 1/500 diluted wettable powder from the end of June showed great control efficacy similar to that of the chemical fungicide application. These results suggest that the formulated WP product could be an alternative mean to control of pepper anthracnose disease in environmentally friendly farming practices.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.147-155
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• 2008

The diversity of sulfate reducing bacteria was investigated in different depths of sediments in Lake Sihwa, Korea and Lake Aha, China by PCR amplification, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and clone libraries targeting dissimilatory sulfite redectase (dsr) gene. In the analysis of DGGE band patterns, the community compositions of dsr gene in the sediments of both lakes were significantly different whereas bands in all depths of each environment revealed similar patterns. Bands from Lake Sihwa were produced much more than those from Lake Aha, demonstrating a higher diversity of dsr gene in Lake Sihwa. Total 68 clones containing dsr gene were obtained to analyze their sequences. Sequences from the sediment of Lake Sihwa were affiliated to Deltaproteobacteria, the Gram-positive thermophilic sulfate reducers belonging to the genus Desulforomaculum and archaeal thermophilic SRB belonging to the genus Archaeoglobus, whereas sequences from the sediments of Lake Aha were related to genus Desulfotomaculum. Clones retrieved from sediment of Lake Sihwa revealed a higher numbers than those of Lake Aha, demonstrating a higher diversity of dsr gene in Lake Sihwa. Most of clones (59%) were distantly related to the known cultivated SRB with $60\sim65%$ of similarity, which were clustered only the sequences from the environments showed less than 90% similarity. These habitat specific sequences suggested that the clustered dsr sequences represent species or groups of species that were indigenous to these environments. This study showed that these lakes have a specific bacterial communities having dsr gene distinct from those in other environments such as soil and marine ecosystems around the world.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.248-254
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• 2010

To define the optimum conditions for the mass production of four antifungal Pseudomonas spp. isolated from soil, we have investigated culture conditions and effects of various nutrient sources on the bacterial growth and evaluated antagonistic activity against Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia homoeocarpa, plant pathogens. The optimum temperature and pH for the growth of these isolates were determined as pH 7.0 and $20^{\circ}$ or $25^{\circ}C$, respectively. Sucrose, tryptone, and $K_2HPO_4$ generally were more adequate for better growth as carbon, nitrogen and mineral source, respectively. The nutrient sources were also found to be very effective for high antifungal activities against R. solani and S. homoeocarpa. It was elucidated that YUD-F group (P. mandelii and P. fluorescens), which inhabit regions at relatively low temperature, had more broad spectrum and higher antifungal activity than YUD-O group (P. trivialis and P. jessenii) generally against R. solani and S. homoeocarpa. It is thought that the differences of the average temperature in the various habitats of Pseudomonas spp. influence the optimal growth temperature and antifungal activity. Especially, Pseudomonas spp. of YUD-O group showed the better antifungal activity against dollar spot caused by S. homoeocarpa, but showed relatively weaker antifungal activity against brown patch caused by R. solani.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.183-191
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• 2010

In this study, we isolated 179 bacterial strains using benzene, phenol, ethylbenzene, aniline, cumene, toluene as growth substrate from TCE contaminated soils and wastewaters. All the 179 strains were screened for TCE (30 mg/L) removal (growth substrate 0.2 g/L, $30^{\circ}C$, pH 7, cell biomass 1.0 g/L (w/v)) under aerobic condition for 21 days. EK2 strain using aniline showed the highest removal efficiency (74.4%) for TCE degradation. This strain was identified as Delftia acidovorans as the results of API kit, 16S rDNA sequence and fatty acid assay. In the batch culture, D. acidovorans EK2 showed the bio-degradation for TCE in the various TCE concentration (10 mg/L to 200 mg/L). However, D. acidovorans EK2 did not show the bio-degradation in the TCE 250 mg/L. D. acidovorans EK2 also show the removal efficiency (99.9%) for 12 days in the low concentration (1.0 mg/L). Optimal conditions to degrade TCE 200 mg/L were cell biomass 1.0 g/L (w/v), aniline 0.5 g/L, pH 7 and $30^{\circ}C$. Removal efficiency and removal rate by D. acidovorans EK2 strain was 71.0% and 94.7 nmol/h for 21 days under optimal conditions. Conclusion, we expect that D. acidovorans EK2 may contribute on the biological treatment in the contaminated soil or industrio us wastewater.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.