• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.121-128
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• 2007

This study performed in order to evaluate the effects of pipe materials on corrosion and bacteria regrowth using a laboratory scale batch test. Two varieties of feed water with different microbial conditions were selected: tap water, surface river water (Han River water), and five pipe materials; carbon steel, copper, galvanized iron, stainless steel, and PVC, Carbon steel and galvanized iron pipes showed higher corrosion rates than other materials. In terms of attached bacterial growth, pipes with PVC and stainless steel showed higher bacteria concentration compared to other materials. Pseudomonas vesicularis was the predominant bacteria found on biofilm. The behavior of bacterial growth in the pipes was observed using a scanning electron microscope.

• BMB Reports
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2011

Inter-cellular communication via diffusible small molecules is a defining character not only of multicellular forms of life but also of single-celled organisms. A large number of bacterial genes are regulated by the change of chemical milieu mediated by the local population density of its own species or others. The cell density-dependent "autoinducer" molecules regulate the expression of those genes involved in genetic competence, biofilm formation and persistence, virulence, sporulation, bioluminescence, antibiotic production, and many others. Recent innovations in recombinant DNA technology and micro-/nano-fluidics systems render the genetic circuitry responsible for cell-to-cell communication feasible to and malleable via synthetic biological approaches. Here we review the current understanding of the molecular biology of bacterial intercellular communication and the novel experimental protocols and platforms used to investigate this phenomenon. A particular emphasis is given to the genetic regulatory circuits that provide the standard building blocks which constitute the syntax of the biochemical communication network. Thus, this review gives focus to the engineering principles necessary for rewiring bacterial chemo-communication for various applications, ranging from population-level gene expression control to the study of host-pathogen interactions.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.284-292
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• 2016

Water supplied through dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) has been shown to contain high number of bacteria. To reduce the contamination of DUWLs, it is essential to develop effective disinfectants. It is, however, difficulty to obtain proper DUWL samples for studies. The purpose of this study was to establish a simple laboratory model for reproducing DUWL biofilms. The bacteria obtained from DUWLs were cultured in R2A liquid medium for 10 days, and then stored at $-70^{\circ}C$. This stock was inoculated into R2A liquid medium and incubated in batch mode. After 5 days of culturing, it was inoculated into the biofilm formation model developed in this study. Our biofilm formation model comprised of a beaker containing R2A liquid medium and five glass rods attached to DUWL polyurethane tubing. Biofilm was allowed to form on the stir plate and the medium was replaced every 2 days. After 4 days of biofilm formation in the laboratory model, biofilm thickness, morphological characteristics and distribution of the composing bacteria were examined by confocal laser microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The mean of biofilm accumulation was $4.68{\times}10^4$ colony forming unit/$cm^2$ and its thickness was $10{\sim}14{\mu}m$. In our laboratory model, thick bacterial lumps were observed in some parts of the tubing. To test the suitability of this biofilm model system, the effectiveness of disinfectants such as sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, and chlorhexidine, was examined by their application to the biofilm formed in our model. Lower concentrations of disinfectants were less effective in reducing the count of bacteria constituting the biofilm. These results showed that our DUWL biofilm laboratory model was appropriate for comparison of disinfectant effects. Our laboratory model is expected to be useful for various other purposes in further studies.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.260-266
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• 2002

Bacterial strains were isolated from biofilms formed on glass slides submerged in seawater in Dae-Ho Dike. Eight strains showing fast attaching ability were selected and identified. Their exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing ability and EPS properties were characterized. Based on Microlog System, 4 among the 8 strains were identified as Micrococcus luteus and the rest were Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus megaterium,, Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Agrobacterium vitis. A, vitis was reidentified as Sulfitobacter pontiacus based on 16S rDNA sequence data. The amount of water-soluble EPS produced by the 8 strains ranged from 0.114 to 1.329 g$.$l$\^$-1/ and the productivity was negatively correlated with the cell biomass. The molecular weight of the produced EPS ranged from 0.38 to 25.19$\times$10$\^$4/ Da. Glucose and galactose were ubiquitous sugar components. Mannose, ribose, and xylose were also major sugar components. The molecular weight and composition of the EPS showed strain-specific variation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1230-1237
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• 2009

The selective plugging strategy of Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) involves the use of microbes that grow and produce exopolymeric substances, which block the high permeability zones of an oil reservoir, thus allowing the water to flow through the low permeability zones leading to increase in oil recovery. Bacillus licheniformis TT33, a hot water spring isolate, is facultatively anaerobic, halotolerant, and thermotolerant. It produces EPS as well as biosurfactant and has a biofilm-forming ability. The viscosity of its cell-free supernatant is $120\;mPa{\cdot}s$ at $28^{\circ}C$. Its purified EPS contained 26% carbohydrate and 3% protein. Its biosurfactant reduced the surface tension of water from 72 to 34 mN/m. This strain gave $27.7{\pm}3.5%$ oil recovery in a sand pack column. Environmental scanning electron microscopy analysis showed bacterial growth and biofilm formation in the sand pack. Biochemical tests and Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis confirmed that the oil recovery obtained in the sand pack column was due to Bacillus licheniformis TT33.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.651-661
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• 2019

Targeting the pathogen viability using drugs is associated with development of drug resistance due to selective pressure. Hence, there is an increased interest in developing agents that target bacterial virulence. In this study, the inhibitory effect of ciclopirox, an antifungal agent with iron chelation potential, on the microbial virulence factors was evaluated in 26 clinical MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates collected from Alexandria Main University Hospital, a tertiary hospital in Egypt. Treatment with 9 ㎍/ml ciclopirox inhibited the hemolytic activity in 70% isolates, reduced pyocyanin production, decreased protease secretion in 46% isolates, lowered twitching and swarming motility, and decreased biofilm formation by 1.5- to 4.5-fold. The quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed that treatment with ciclopirox downregulated the expression levels of alkaline protease (aprA) and pyocyanin (phzA1). Ciclopirox is used to treat hematological malignancies and the systemic administration of ciclopirox is reported to have adequate oral absorption with a satisfactory drug safety profile. It is important to calculate the appropriate clinical dose and therapeutic index to reposition ciclopirox from a topical antifungal agent to a promising virulence-modifying agent agent against P. aeruginosa, a problematic Gram-negative pathogen.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.59-66
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• 2013

Colonization studies previously performed with a green-fluorescent-protein, GFP, labeled derivative of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42 revealed that the bacterium behaved different in colonizing surfaces of plant roots of different species (Fan et al., 2012). In order to extend these studies and to elucidate which genes are crucial for root colonization, we applied targeted mutant strains to Arabidopsis seedlings. The fates of root colonization in mutant strains impaired in synthesis of alternative sigma factors, non-ribosomal synthesis of lipopeptides and polyketides, biofilm formation, swarming motility, and plant growth promoting activity were analyzed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Whilst the wild-type strain heavily colonized surfaces of root tips and lateral roots, the mutant strains were impaired in their ability to colonize root tips and most of them were unable to colonize lateral roots. Ability to colonize plant roots is not only dependent on the ability to form biofilms or swarming motility. Six mutants, deficient in abrB-, sigH-, sigD-, nrfA-, yusV and RBAM017410, but not affected in biofilm formation, displayed significantly reduced root colonization. The nrfA- and yusV-mutant strains colonized border cells and, partly, root surfaces but did not colonize root tips or lateral roots.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.275-281
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• 2014

Aim of this study was to investigate biofilms attached in pipeline of water reuse from the MBR system treating sewage without chlorination in correlation to the outflow water quality. Two general pipe materials: polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene (PE) were employed in the experiment. The peak growths were found at week 4 in both pipes. The maximum biofilms in PE pipe was $33mgVSS/cm^2$ with the growth rate of $4.75mgVSS/cm^2-d$ which was significant higher than that of PVC pipe. Biofilms examined by PCR-DGGE technique revealed five bacterial species in PE biofilms namely Sinorhizobium medicae WSM419, Sinorhizobium fredii NGR234, Geobacter sp. M18, Parachlamydia acanthamoebae UV-7, and Mycobacterium chubuense NBB4. The VSS concentrations in outflow had directly correlated to the biofilm attachment and detachment. High COD concentrations of outflow appeared during biofilm detaching phase. In summary, water quality of reuse water corresponded to the biofilms attachment and detachment in the pipeline.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.47-57
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• 2019

Staphylococcus epidermidis is well-known not only as an innocuous normal flora species commonly isolated from human skin, but also as an important bacterial species to keep skin healthy, because this species can protect the human skin from pathogenic microorganisms. However, S. epidermidis turns into a potential pathogen in damaged skin, because these bacteria can easily form a biofilm on the wound area and provide antimicrobial resistance to other microorganisms embedded in the biofilm. Thus, it is important to kill S. epidermidis in the early stage of wound treatment and block the formation of biofilms in advance. In the present study, hydrogel wound dressings were fabricated using polyvinyl alcohol/polyethylene glycol containing silver citrate nanorods, which have been proven to have strong antimicrobial activity, especially against S. epidermidis, and their wound-healing efficacy was investigated in vivo using a rat experiment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.319-328
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• 2023

Malassezia and Staphylococcus are the most dominant genera in human skin microbiome. To explore the inter-kingdom interactions between the two genera, we examined the transcriptional changes in Malassezia and Staphylococcus species induced upon co-culturing. RNA-seq analyses revealed that genes encoding ribosomal proteins were upregulated, while those encoding aspartyl proteases were downregulated in M. restricta after co-culturing with Staphylococcus species. We identified MRET_3770 as a major secretory aspartyl protease coding gene in M. restricta through pepstatin-A affinity chromatography followed by mass spectrometry and found that the expression of MRET_3770 was significantly repressed upon co-culturing with Staphylococcus species or by incubation in media with reduced pH. Moreover, biofilm formation by Staphylococcus aureus was inhibited in the spent medium of M. restricta, suggesting that biomolecules secreted by M. restricta such as secretory aspartyl proteases may degrade the biofilm structure. We also examined the transcriptional changes in S. aureus co-cultured with M. restricta and found co-cultured S. aureus showed increased expression of genes encoding ribosomal proteins and downregulation of those involved in riboflavin metabolism. These transcriptome data of co-cultured fungal and bacterial species demonstrate a dynamic interplay between the two co-existing genera.