• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.157-161
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• 2002

Drug resistance is one of the most significant impediments to successful chemotherapy of cancer. Multidrug-resistance (MDR) is characterized by decreased cellular sensitivity to anticancer agents due to the overexpression of P-glycoprotein. By employing adriamycin-resistance CL02 cancer cells, we undertook the screening for agents which were effective to multidrug-resistant cancer cells. As a result, a myxobacterial strain JW117 was selected for study since the solvent extract of cell mass of the strain was found to exhibit significant activity against the CL02 cancer cells. Cytotoxicity-guided chromatographic fractionation led to the isolation of phenalamides $A_2$ and $A_3$. The producing organism was identified as Myxococcus stipitatus by taxonomic comparison with type strains of Myxococcus sp. as well as its morphological and physiological characteristics. Phenalamides$ A_1$,$ A_2$ and $A_3$ were as active against drug-resistant cancer cells CL02 and CP70 as against the corresponding sensitive cells with $IC_{50}$ values ranging from 0.23~0.57 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.978-987
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• 2015

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is one of the greatest limitations to agriculture in acid soils, particularly in tropical regions. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can supply plants with nutrients and give protection against Al toxicity. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of soil liming (i.e., reducing Al saturation) on the AMF community composition and structure in the roots of maize lines contrasting for Al tolerance. To this end, we constructed four 18S rDNA cloning libraries from L3 (Al tolerant) and L22 (Al sensitive) maize lines grown in limed and non-limed soils. A total of 790 clones were sequenced, 69% belonging to the Glomeromycota phylum. The remaining sequences were from Ascomycota, which were more prominent in the limed soil, mainly in the L3 line. The most abundant AM fungal clones were related to the family Glomeraceae represented by the genera uncultured Glomus followed by Rhizophagus and Funneliformis. However, the most abundant operational taxonomic units with 27% of the Glomeromycota clones was affiliated to genus Racocetra. This genus was present in all the four libraries, but it was predominant in the non-limed soils, suggesting that Racocetra is tolerant to Al toxicity. Similarly, Acaulospora and Rhizophagus were also present mostly in both lines in non-limed soils. The community richness of AMF in the non-limed soils was higher than the limed soil for both lines. The results suggest that the soil Al saturation was the parameter that mostly influences the AMF species composition in the soils in this study.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.731-738
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• 2015

Nematode infection in the epithelial tissue of cultured rockfish Sebastes schlegeli was first reported in 2012. Since then, nematode infections have caused serious economic losses in rockfish aquaculture on the west coast of Korea. Taxonomic and life cycle information for this parasite are currently unknown. In this study, 18S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) genes were used for molecular identification and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the invisible stages of this parasite. Nucleotide sequences of the 18S rRNA of the rockfish nematode showed 98% identity with that of Philometra morii. Therefore, this rockfish nematode was classified to the Philometridae family. However, we could not identify it to genus level using 18S rRNA. Its COI nucleotide sequences shared 85% and 82% identities with those of Bursaphelenchus sinensis and Philometra overstreeti, respectively. In addition, two gene-specific primer sets were designed based on the 18S rRNA gene to detect the intermediate host and nematode larvae. These primers were specific to this rockfish nematode without cross-reacting to other pathogens. The detection limit of the PCR assay using these primers was 1,000 copies of nematoda plasmid DNA. Therefore, the PCR assay described here is suitable for the detection of nematode DNA within rockfish. In addition, this PCR assay could be used to detect nematode larvae and the intermediate host.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1707-1718
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• 2014

In this study, the phylogenetic diversities of bacterial and archaeal communities in a plant-microbial fuel cell (P-MFC) were investigated together with the environmental parameters, affecting its performance by using rice as a model plant. The beneficial effect of the plant appeared only during a certain period of the rice-growing season, at which point the maximum power density was approximately 3-fold higher with rice plants. The temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), and pH in the cathodic and anodic compartments changed considerably during the rice-growing season, and a higher temperature, reduced difference in pH between the cathodic and anodic compartments, and higher EC were advantageous to the performance of the P-MFC. A 16S rRNA pyrosequencing analysis showed that the 16S rRNAs of Deltaproteobacteria and those of Gammaproteobacteria were enriched on the anodes and the cathodes, respectively, when the electrical circuit was connected. At the species level, the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) related to Rhizobiales, Geobacter, Myxococcus, Deferrisoma, and Desulfobulbus were enriched on the anodes, while an OTU related to Acidiferrobacter thiooxydans occupied the highest proportion on the cathodes and occurred only when the circuit was connected. Furthermore, the connection of the electrical circuit decreased the abundance of 16S rRNAs of acetotrophic methanogens and increased that of hydrogenotrophic methanogens. The control of these physicochemical and microbiological factors is expected to be able to improve the performance of P-MFCs.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.1875-1879
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• 2007

Strain $CH7^T$, a pale yellow-pigmented bacterium and new isolate from deep subsurface water of the South Coast of Korea, was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. $CH7^T$ grew between 5 and $37^{\circ}C$, pH 5.3-10.5, and tolerated up to 13% NaCl. A phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain $CH7^T$ was associated with the genus Arthrobacter and phylogenetically closely related to the type strains Arthrobacter tumbae (99.4%) and Arthrobacter parietis (99.1%). However, DNA-DNA hybridization experiments revealed 2.1% and 12% between strain $CH7^T$ and Arthrobacter tumbae and Arthrobacter parietis, respectively. Thus, the phenotypic and phylogenetic differences suggested that $CH7^T$ should be placed in the genus Arthrobacter as a novel species, for which the name Arthrobacter subterraneus sp. novo is proposed. In addition, the type strain for the new species is $CH7^T$ ($=KCTC\;9997^T=DSM\;17585^T$).

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2016

Fungal contamination is a detrimental factor affecting sawdust media-based shiitake cultivation in greenhouses. During fungal monitoring of greenhouses used for shiitake cultivation, eight fungal species were isolated and identified from indoor air and mushroom flies collected in the greenhouses. The current study reported five species as new in Korea, viz. Ascochyta hordei, Discosia artocreas, Mucor nidicola, Perenniporia medulla-panis, and Pseudozyma prolifica, and confirmed two species, Penicillium charlesii and Penicillium brevicompactum, which were previously recorded in Korea without molecular taxonomic validation. The morphological characteristics and phylogenetic relationships based on nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer rDNA region or calmodulin gene were described for all identified species.

• Mycobiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2016

The most economically important species used in a wide range of fermentation industries throughout Asia belong to Aspergillus section Flavi, which are morphologically and phylogenetically indistinguishable, with a few being toxigenic and therefore a major concern. They are frequently isolated from Korean fermentation starters, such as nuruk and meju. The growing popularity of traditional Korean alcoholic beverages has led to a demand for their quality enhancement, therefore requiring selection of efficient non-toxigenic strains to assist effective fermentation. This study was performed to classify the most efficient strains of Aspergillus section Flavi isolated from various types of traditional wheat nuruk, based on a polyphasic approach involving molecular and biochemical evaluation. A total of 69 strains were isolated based on colony morphology and identified as Aspergillus oryzae/flavus based on internal transcribed spacer and calmodulin gene sequencing. Interestingly, none were toxigenic based on PCR amplification of intergenic regions of the aflatoxin cluster genes norB-cypA and the absence of aflatoxin in the culture supernatants by thin-layer chromatography analysis. Saccharification capability of the isolates, assessed through ${\alpha}-amylase$ and glucoamylase activities, revealed that two isolates, TNA24 and TNA15, showed the highest levels of activity. Although the degrees of variation in ${\alpha}-amylase$ and glucoamylase activities among the isolates were higher, there were only slight differences in acid protease activity among the isolates with two, TNA28 and TNA36, showing the highest activities. Furthermore, statistical analyses showed that ${\alpha}-amylase$ activity was positively correlated with glucoamylase activity (p < 0.001), and therefore screening for either was sufficient to predict the saccharifying capacity of the Aspergillus strain.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.144-156
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• 2016

Soil is a dynamic biological system, in which it is difficult to determine the composition of microbial communities. Knowledge of microbial diversity and function in soils are limited because of the taxonomic and methodological limitations associated with studying the organisms. In this review, approaches to measure microbial diversity in soil were discussed. Research on soil microbes can be categorized as structural diversity, functional diversity and genetic diversity studies, and these include cultivation based and cultivation independent methods. Cultivation independent technique to evaluate soil structural diversity include different techniques such as Phospholipid Fatty Acids (PLFA) and Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) analysis. Carbon source utilization pattern of soil microorganisms by Community Level Physiological Profiling (CLPP), catabolic responses by Substrate Induced Respiration technique (SIR) and soil microbial enzyme activities are discussed. Genetic diversity of soil microorganisms using molecular techniques such as 16S rDNA analysis Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) / Temperature Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (TGGE), Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP), Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism (SSCP), Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) / Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis (ARDRA) and Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (RISA) are also discussed. The chapter ends with a final conclusion on the advantages and disadvantages of different techniques and advances in molecular techniques to study the soil microbial diversity.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.243-250
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• 2005

A taxonomic study on the marine sponges was conducted with materials which were collected from Ulleung Island and Chuja Island, Korea by SCUBA diving during the period of July 2000 to May 2005. Among them, two species, Mycale (Aegogropila) jukdoensis n. sp. and Mycale (Mycale) chujaensis n. sp. are new to science. M. (A.) jukdoensis n. sp. seems closely to M. grandis based on the shape of spicules, but our new species has two categories of subtylostyles and also larger sigmas and raphides than those of M. grandis. And anisochelae I of M. (A.) jukdoensis n. sp. is smaller than that of M. grandis. M. (M.) chujaensis n. sp. is similar to M. sulgata in the growth form and size of microscleres. However, the new species has two categories of subtylostyles instead of one type in M. sulgata.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.193-200
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• 2007

Pollen grains of seven taxa on the family Pyrolaceae, known to be distributed in Korea (Pyrola dahurica(Andreses) Kom., P. incarnata (DC.) Fisch. ex Kom., P. japonica Klenze ex Alefeld, P. minor L., P. renifolia Max., Orthilia secunda (L.) House, Chimaphila japonica Miq.), were examined by the light and the scanning electron microscope in order to evaluate their taxonomic significances. The pollen units of genus Pyrola, Orthilia, Chimaphila were tetrad, monad, polyad respectively. This characteristics was good character for delimiting the genus, and Orthilia secunda (L.) House was more proper scientific name than Pyrola secunda L. based upon this character. Pollen size, tricolporate length, surface sculpturing pattern were different slightly among the treated taxa, and surface sculpturing patterns of Pyrola dahurica, P. incarnate, P. renifolia, Chimaphiza japonica were different from previous reports. Evolutionary trends of pollen grains in Pyrolaceae were inferred from the pollen units and aperture shapes.