• 한국환경과학회지
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• 제16권1호
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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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• 제44권1호
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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.

• 치위생과학회지
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• 제16권4호
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• pp.284-292
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• 2016

DUWL에 형성된 바이오필름 제거를 위한 효과적인 소독제의 제시와 새로운 소독제의 개발을 위해 DUWL의 실험실 모델의 확립이 필요하다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 실험실에서 쉽게 구할 수 있는 장비들로 실험실 모델을 제작하여, DUWL 바이오필름을 재현하기 위한 새로운 실험실 모델을 확립하고자 하였다. 사용 중인 DUWL을 통해 수집한 물에서 세균을 모은 후, R2A 액체 배지에서 10일 동안 배양시켰다. 10일 배양시킨 세균액을 $-70^{\circ}C$에 보관하여 사용하였다. $-70^{\circ}C$에 저장한 세균 stock은 R2A 액체배지에 5일 동안 회분 배양시킨 배양액은 모델에서 바이오필름을 형성시키기 위해 사용되었다. 바이오필름 형성 모델은 실험실 내 장비인 1 L 비커에 폴리우레탄 튜빙이 부착된 20 cm 유리막대를 꽂아서 제작하였다. 모델을 멸균시킨 후 R2A 액체배지 300 ml와 5일 동안 회분 배양한 세균액 50 ml을 넣고 stir plate에서 $25^{\circ}C$로 배양시켰다. 배양 2일마다 R2A 액체배지를 교체해주었다. 임상의 상황과 유사한 조건에서 바이오필름을 형성하기 위해 와류상태는 오전 9시에서 오후 6시까지 적용시키고 그 이외의 시간에는(약 15시간) 정체상태로 배양시켰다. 바이오필름 형성은 4일 동안 진행하였으며, 그 후 바이오필름의 두께, 바이오필름을 구성하는 세균의 분포 및 형태학적 특징을 SEM과 CLSM을 사용하여 분석하였다. 4일 바이오필름 형성 후 평균 바이오필름 축적량은 $4.68{\times}10^4CFU/cm^2$였고, 바이오필름의 두께는 $10{\sim}14{\mu}m$였다. 또한 바이오필름을 구성하는 세균들이 부분적으로 응집되어 덩어리를 이루고 있는 양상을 확인할 수 있었다. 본 연구에서 제작한 실험실 모델을 대상으로 차아염소산나트륨, 과산화수소 그리고 클로르헥시딘과 같은 소독제의 효과를 확인하였다. 그 결과 적용된 소독제의 농도가 낮을수록 바이오필름 내 생존한 세균의 수가 많았다. 따라서 우리의 실험실 모델에서 형성시킨 바이오필름은 소독제의 효과를 비교하기 위해 적절한 것으로 판단된다. 우리의 실험실 모델은 향후 DUWL 소독을 위한 새로운 방법의 개발을 위해 유용하게 사용될 것으로 예상된다.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• 제40권4호
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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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• 제19권10호
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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.

• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제47권4호
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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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• 제29권1호
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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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• 제19권3호
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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.

• 통합자연과학논문집
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• 제12권2호
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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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• 제33권3호
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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.