• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.1361-1368
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• 2007

Endophytic bacteria associated with the roots of coastal sand dune plants were isolated, taxonomically characterized, and tested for their plant growth-promoting activities. Ninety-one endophytic bacterial isolates were collected and assigned to 17 different genera of 6 major bacterial phyla based on partial 16S rDNA sequence analyses. Gammaproteobacteria represented the majority of the isolates (65.9%), and members of Pseudomonas constituted 49.5% of the total isolates. When testing for antagonism towards plant pathogenic fungi, 25 strains were antagonistic towards Rhizoctonia solani, 57 strains were antagonistic towards Pythium ultimum, 53 strains were antagonistic towards Fusarium oxysporum, and 41 strains were antagonistic towards Botrytis cinerea. Seven strains were shown to produce indole acetic acid (IAA), 33 to produce siderophores, 23 to produce protease, 37 to produce pectinase, and 38 to produce chitinase. The broadest spectra of activities were observed among the Pseudomonas strains, indicating outstanding plant growth-promoting potential. The isolates from C. kobomugi and M. sibirica also exhibited good plant growth-promoting potential. The correlations among individual plant growth-promoting activities were examined using phi coefficients, and the resulting data indicated that the production of protease, pectinase, chitinase, and siderophores was highly related.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.672-676
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• 2006

The aim of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antitumor activities of various concentrations of partially purified substance(s) from green tea seed (Camellia sinensis L.). The total polyphenol contents of each fraction (non-adsorption fraction: F-1, fraction eluted with 40% methanol: F-2, and fraction eluted with 100% methanol: F-3) purified by Diaion HP-20 column chromatography were, in the increasing order: F-1 (3.7 mg tannic acid equivalents, TAB/g) < F-3 (23.2 mg TAB/g) < seed extracts (26.2 mg TAB/g) < F-2 (42.7 mg TAB/g). The scavenging activities toward the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picyrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical were, in decreasing order: F-2 (93.3%) > butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT; 89.8%) > ascorbic acid (89.3%) > leaf extracts (70.3%) > F-3 (15.9%) > seed extracts (15.8%) > F-1 (14.8%) at a 0.1% concentration. In studies on antimicrobial activities, the results indicate that the growth of yeast (Candida albicans KCCM 11282 and Cryptococcus neoformans KCCM 50544) was inhibited more so than that of other fungi (Alternaria alternate KCTC 6005 and Rhizoctonia solani). In addition, it appears that the antitumor activities of the F-1, F-2, and F-3 fractions at a concentration of $50\;{\mu}g/mL$ showed 6, 7, and 23% growth inhibition of the HEC-1B cell line, 14, 11, 82% inhibition of the HEP-2 cell line, and 8, 16, and 81% inhibition of the SK-OV-3 cell line, respectively. Overall these results indicate that the antioxidant activity is greatest in the F-2 fraction, and the antimicrobial and antitumor activities are greatest in the F-3 fraction.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.506-518
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• 2020

Background: Red-skin root of Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) significantly reduces the quality and limits the production of ginseng in China. The disease has long been thought to be a noninfectious physiological disease, except one report that proved it was an infectious disease. However, the causal agents have not been successfully determined. In the present study, we were to reveal the pathogens that cause red-skin disease. Methods: Ginseng roots with red-skin root symptoms were collected from commercial fields in Northeast China. Fungi were isolated from the lesion and identified based on morphological characters along with multilocus sequence analyses on internal transcription spacer, β-tubulin (tub2), histone H3 (his3), and translation elongation factor 1α (tef-1α). Pathogens were confirmed by inoculating the isolates in ginseng roots. Results: A total of 230 isolates were obtained from 209 disease samples. These isolates were classified into 12 species, including Dactylonectria sp., D. hordeicola, Fusarium acuminatum, F. avenaceum, F. solani, F. torulosum, Ilyonectria mors-panacis, I. robusta, Rhexocercosporidium panacis, and three novel species I. changbaiensis, I. communis, and I. qitaiheensis. Among them, I. communis, I. robusta, and F. solani had the highest isolation frequencies, being 36.1%, 20.9%, and 23.9%, respectively. All these species isolated were pathogenic to ginseng roots and caused red-skin root disease under appropriate condition. Conclusion: Fungal complex is the causal agent of red-skin root in P. ginseng.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.104.1-104
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• 2003

To screen for potential biocontrol agents against postharvest disease of garlics caused by Penicillium hirsutum, a total of 933 isolates (432 fungi and 501 bacteria) were isolated from the rhizoshere or rhizoplane of garlics. Among them, Pantoea agglomerans isolate 59-4 (Pa 59-4) was selected for a potential biocontrol agent by in vivo wounded garlic bulb assay, When the spore suspension (10$\^$5/ spores/$m\ell$) of Penicillium hirsutum was co-inoculated with spore or cell suspension of each fungal or bacterial isolate on wounded garlics, the isolate highly suppressed disease development. Soaking garlic bulbs in the suspension of Pa 59-4 significantly reduced garlic decay from p. hirsutum. However, Pa 59-4 did not inhibit the mycelial growth of P. hirsutum in dual-culture with P. hirsutum on Tryptic soy agar. In order to elucidate mode of action of Pa 59-4 nutrient competition between Pa 59-4 and P. hirsutum was investigated using tissue culture plates with cylinder inserts containing defusing membrane reported by Janisiewicz et al. The results showed that Pa 59-4 effectively suppressed spore germination and mycelial growth of blue mold in the low concentration (0.5％) of garlic juice, but did not suppress those of blue mold in the higher concentration (5％) of garlic juice. This result suggests that the mechanism in biocontrol of garlic blue mold by Pa 59-4 may involve in nutrient competition with P. hirsutum on garlic bulbs.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.290-294
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• 2002

The present work describes the improvement of an erythritol-producing strain to lower the formation of glycerol, which is a characteristic by-product of the strain and could cause difficulties in the recovery and purification of the final product. The yeast-like fungi Moniliella suaveolens var. nigra, isolated previously in the same laboratory from beehives, was mutated by exposing it to a 4 g/L NTG solution. From a total of 2000 mutated strains, Em6j30-14 was selected as the one having the most desirable properties. Cultivating the strain for seven days in 300 mL flasks containing 30 mL of a 400 g/L glucose medium resulted in an erythritol yield of 43%. The glycerol yield was 5%, which is a value 50% lower as compared with the wild type. However, attempts to reproduce the above results in a 5L-fermenter failed, resulting in a similar erythritol concentration but a much higher formation of glycerol. Possible reasons for such a different behaviour could be oxygen limitation or the aggregation of cells, but the exact mechanism could not yet be identified. Foam formation, which is another major problem in large-scale fermentation, tended to be much lower for the mutant strain.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.65-69
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• 2018

Mushrooms growing spontaneously in the Juwangsan National Park were surveyed from April to October 2017 for supporting management of higher fungi and creating a bio-diversity database of the park. In total, two divisions, eight classes, 21 orders, 85 families, 225 genera, and 503 species were detected. Among them, 247 species belonged to order Agaricales, which occupied 48.8% of the population, followed by members of orders Polyporales and Russulales. The mushrooms were abundant in August, and an altitude of 300-400 m above sea level was optimal for their growth, such as those found at Sanguijigu, Deajeonsa, and Geodaeri semgoal areas. Furthermore, Macrolepiota procera and Sarcodon aspratus, which belong to criteria of climate change, were detected in this survey.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.400-406
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• 2018

Takju and yakju are traditional Korean alcoholic beverages that are prepared by fermentation of glutinous rice with nuruk, a cereal starter containing various bacteria, fungi, and yeast. In this study, physicochemical and microbial properties of a total of 12 commercial takju and yakju samples were analyzed; their pH, sweetness, and alcohol content were varied, depending on the type of alcohol, from pH 3.64-4.8, $5.1-24.8^{\circ}Bx$, and 4.6-18.5%, respectively. Microbial communities were analyzed with 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing using MiSeq system. At the phylum level, Firmicutes (86.2%) was the most dominant, followed by Proteobacteria (8.08%), Actinobacteria (2.56%), and Cyanobacteria (3.13%). Lactic acid bacteria, including Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Leuconostoc, and Weissella were also frequently detected. Among eukaryotes, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was the most dominant in these samples.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.239-246
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• 2003

We examined the relationships among community composition, microbial population, and microbial biomass to determine whether different land use leads to differences in microbial community composition. And also the relationships between soil characteristics and microbial community composition were investigated. There was no difference in pH between uncultivated and cultivated soils, but electrical conductivity, and contents of organic matter, available P and exchangeable cations were greater in the cultivated soil compared to the uncultivated soil. A linear correlation ($r^2=0.557$, n=18, p<0.01) was found between biomass-C estimated with fumigation extraction technique and total amount of fatty acids. An increase of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) for bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi and protozoa was observed in cultivated soil.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.274-285
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• 2006

The differences in food consumption between highly educated, married, unemployed and employed women were analyzed by food group and common food item intake, DDS (dietary diversity score), and DVS (dietary variety score) & DVSS (dietary variety score including condiment). In food group intake, the total amount of food intake of the unemployed women (1,554.0 g) were significantly higher than those of the employed (1,477.9 g), while the amount of food from fungi and mushrooms (4.2 g), seaweeds (2.4 g), and fish and shellfish (60.5 g) of the unemployed women was significantly lower than those of the employed. And the amount of meat, poultry and their products (102.8 g), eggs (29.9 g), and animal oil and fats (4.0 g) was significantly higher than those of the employed. Moreover, the common food items of the unemployed women were ranked as eggs (29.7 g), pork (28.9 g), chicken (27.2 g), and beef (26.7 g) at 7, 8, 9, and 10, respectively. When counting the major food groups consumed, DDS=4 has the highest proportion in both groups (unemployed 47.4%, employed 49.1 %). In case of the subjects who had not consumed one particular food group in DDS=4, dairy group was the first (83%), followed by fruit, meat, and vegetables. This order is same in other DDS levels. In dietary variety score (DVS & DVSS), the average number of foods consumed per day of employed women was higher than those of the unemployed. The level of DVSS in the employed women (31.9), especially, is significantly higher than in the unemployed women (30.6). Consequently, highly educated women should pay more attention to increasing dairy intake, and they have need of various foods, over thirty foods without condiments in their diet every day. In addition, encouraging unemployed women to have a nutritionally balanced diet, and offering nutrition education and guidance, such as appropriate choices about animal foods, are needed.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.105-110
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• 2006

We have screened 766 strains of fungi from the BIOTEC Culture Collection (BCC) for xylanases working in extreme pH and/or high temperature conditions, the so-called extreme xylanases. From a total number of 32 strains producing extreme xylanases, the strain BCC7928, identified by using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence of rRNA to be a Marasmius sp., was chosen for further characterization because of its high xylanolytic activity at temperature as high as $90^{\circ}C$. The crude enzyme possessed high thermostability and pH stability. Purification of this xylanase was carried out using an anion exchanger followed by hydrophobic interaction chromatography, yielding the enzyme with >90% homogeneity. The molecular mass of the enzyme was approximately 40 kDa. The purified enzyme retained broad working pH range of 4-8 and optimal temperature of $90^{\circ}C$. When using xylan from birchwood as substrate, it exhibits $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ values of $2.6{\pm}0.6\;mg/ml$ and $428{\pm}26\;U/mg$, respectively. The enzyme rapidly hydrolysed xylans from birchwood, beechwood, and exhibited lower activity on xylan from wheatbran, or celluloses from carboxymethylcellulose and Avicel. The purified enzyme was highly stable at temperature ranges from 50 to $70^{\circ}C$. It retained 84% of its maximal activity after incubation in standard buffer containing 1% xylan substrate at $70^{\circ}C$ for 3 h. This thermostable xylanase should therefore be useful for several industrial applications, such as agricultural, food and biofuel.