• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.583-590
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• 2019

As the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables increases, food poisoning caused by foodborne pathogen contamination is not decreasing. To prevent the contamination of produce, a quick and easy, low-cost, environmentally-safe disinfection method that does not affect produce freshness or quality is needed. This study demonstrates a new-concept, circulating-water disinfection system that purifies water by using newly developed 'LED-PS (photosensitizer)-induced ROS generation unit'. Using various types of LED-PS induced ROS generation units, we investigated the conditions for reducing the density of various pathogenic bacteria by more than 3 log CFU / mL in 1 hour. The major operational factors affecting the density reduction of the LED-PS-induced ROS generation unit were analyzed. Depending on bacteria species, the density reduction rate was varied. The effect of the units on reducing the density of Bacillus cereus and Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum was high, but the effect on foodborne bacteria such as Escherichia coli was relatively low. In this circulating water disinfection system, the density reduction effect tended to increase as the flow rate increased and the initial bacterial density decreased. As the amount of PS absorbed beads increased, the density reduction effect increased exponentially in some bacteria. Model 3280, a double cylindrical unit connecting two single cylindrical units, could completely sterilize more than 3 log CFU/mL of B. cereus and P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum in 30 minutes of LED irradiation.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.62-74
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• 2023

Plant pathogenic Pectobacterium species cause severe soft rot/blackleg diseases in many economically important crops worldwide. Pectobacterium utilizes plant cell wall degrading enzymes (PCWDEs) as the main virulence determinants for its pathogenicity. In this study, we screened a random mutant, M29 is a transposon insertion mutation in the metC gene encoding cystathionine β-lyase that catalyzes cystathionine to homocysteine at the penultimate step in methionine biosynthesis. M29 became a methionine auxotroph and resulted in growth defects in methionine-limited conditions. Impaired growth was restored with exogenous methionine or homocysteine rather than cystathionine. The mutant exhibited reduced soft rot symptoms in Chinese cabbages and potato tubers, maintaining activities of PCWDEs and swimming motility. The mutant was unable to proliferate in both Chinese cabbages and potato tubers. The reduced virulence was partially restored by a complemented strain or 100 µM of methionine, whereas it was fully restored by the extremely high concentration (1 mM). Our transcriptomic analysis showed that genes involved in methionine biosynthesis or transporter were downregulated in the mutant. Our results demonstrate that MetC is important for methionine biosynthesis and transporter and influences its virulence through Pcc21 multiplication in plant hosts.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.433-441
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• 2022

Bacterial phytopathogen Pectobacterium causes soft rot disease in several vegetable crops globally, resulting in heavy agricultural losses at both the pre and postharvest stages. The present work was carried out to screen Kimchi cabbage genetic resources conserved at the National Agrobiodiversity Center, Rural Development Administration, Korea, for resistance against the soft rot pathogen Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum KACC 21701 over a period of three years (from 2020 to 2022). Infection of the phytopathogen was carried out at four-leaf stage and for each accession, twenty-five plants per germplasm were infected with KACC 21701. Kimchi cabbage cultivars Wangmatbaechu, Seoulbaechu, and CR Kiyoshi were used as control. Seven-days post-infection, the Disease Index (DI) values were manually recorded from zero to four, zero matched perfectly heathy plants and four completely dead plants. The 682 accessions of Kimchi cabbage exhibited varying degrees of disease resistance to KACC 21701 and thirty accessions, exhibiting a DI≤2, were considered for replication studies. During the replication studies, four landrace germplasms (IT102883, IT120036, IT120044, and IT120048) and one cultivar(IT187919) were confirmed to be moderately susceptible to KACC 21701. Results of the preliminary screening as well as replication studies were documented for the all the 682 germplasms. Addition of such information to the passport data of stored germplasms might serve as potential bio-resource for future breeders and researchers to develop resistant varieties or study the mechanisms involved in resistance of plants to such phytopathogen.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.366-370
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• 2013

This experiment was carried out to establish the screening methods for the selection of Zantedeschia aethiopica cultivars resistant to calla lily soft rot caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum. A center of leaf and petiole tissues of four Z. aethiopica cultivars were wounded and inoculated with three different inoculum concentrations, $1{\times}10^7cfu/mL$, $1{\times}10^8cfu/mL$, and $1{\times}10^9cfu/mL$, of EccNHRI-21 isolate. And they were evaluated at 4, 18, and 26 hours after inoculation. The lesion of maceration was developed well in the leaf tissues inoculated with $1{\times}10^9cfu/mL$ concentration. And evaluation of resistance in 18 hours after inoculation was correlated with field resistance positively. Using this method, ten Z. aethiopica commercial cultivars and four wild types were screened. 'Crowbrough' and 'White Cutie' were selected as highly resistant genotypes and 'Mont Blanc' and 'Silky White' as resistant genotypes. 'Wedding March' and 'Kiwi Blush' were evaluated as moderate resistant and the others including 'Childsiana' were susceptible. And all of four wild types were evaluated as more than moderate resistant. In spite of control through cultural, biological and chemical methods, the use of resistant cultivars is most efficient to overcome calla lily soft rot. This newly developed screening method was helpful for breeding new varieties resistant to calla lily soft rot.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.191-201
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• 2016

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial effects of the ethanol extracts from various medicinal herbs against plant pathogens to understand the possible the crop protection agents.METHODS AND RESULTS: Among the tested medicinal herbs, Zizyphus jujuba ethanol extract had the potent antimicrobial activity against Phytophthora capsici, Erwinia carotovorum subsp. carotovora, Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae and Ralstonia solanacearum. The major constituents of Z. jujuba were identified to eugenol(40.45%), dodecanoic acid(18.40%), β-caryophyllene (10.05%) and isoeugenol(9.85%) by GC/MS. Eugenol and isoeugenol had strong inhibitory activity on spore germination against P. capsici and growth against E. carotovorum subsp. carotovora, P. syringae pv. syringae and R. solanacearum.CONCLUSION: In this regard, eugenol and isoeugenol were found to be responsible for the antimicrobial activity of Z. jujuba ethanol extract against plant pathogens. In addition, Z. jujuba ethanol extract, eugenol and isoeugenol can be used the potent antimicrobial agents.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.159-169
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• 2020

Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (Pcc) causes bacterial soft rot on a wide range of crops worldwide, especially in countries with warm and humid climates. This study was conducted to establish an efficient screening method for resistant cultivars of Chinese cabbage to bacterial soft rot. Resistance degrees of 65 commercial Chinese cabbage cultivars to the Pcc KACC 10225 isolate were investigated. For further study, three Chinse cabbage cultivars (Taebong, Hadaejangkun, CR Alchan) showing different level of resistance to the bacterium were selected. The development of bacterial soft rot on the cultivars was tested according to several conditions such as growth stage of Chinse cabbage seedling, inoculum concentration, and incubation temperature after inoculation. On the basis of the results, we suggest that an efficient screening method for resistant Chinses cabbage to Pcc is to inoculate twenty one-day-old seedlings with a bacterial suspension of Pcc at a concentration of 1×10⁷ cfu/ml, and to incubate the plants in a dew chamber at 25℃ for 24 hr and then to cultivate in a growth room at 25℃ and 80% relative humidity with 12-hr light per day.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.325-331
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• 2009

Three beneficial bacterial agents, Lactobacillus strain KLF01, Lactococcus strain KLC02 and Paenibacillus strain KPB3 were showed clear zone against plated Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (Pcc) soft rot pathogen. In greenhouse test, bio-control efficacy was more significantly effective in the treatments by KLC02 and KPB3 as 64%, 50%, 56% and 66%, 57%, 58% according to date of evaluation, respectively. In case of KLF01 control effect was relatively lower than treatments of KLC02 and KPB3 but its efficacy was still significantly observed when compared to control (only water treatment). Furthermore, KLF01, KLC02 and KPB3 showed 55%, 60% and 62% bio-control efficacy, respectively in field test from early March to late July of 2009. Thus, we suggest that these strains can be useful as bio-control agents against soft rot caused by Pcc.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.295-299
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• 2012

We performed in vitro assay and field trials to assess levels of changes in intrinsic properties and resistance against soft rot of the potato cv. Dejima upon the introduction of a soybean calmodulin 4 gene (SCaM4). Field trials with four lines overexpressing SCaM4 gene were conducted over two seasons, and harvested tubers were evaluated in bioassay for resistance to Pectobacterium carotovorum ssp. carotovorum. The SCaM4 transgenic potato lines inoculated with $10^8$ CFU/ml of P. carotovorum ssp. carotovorum showed enhanced resistance compared to control. Among the SCaM4 transgenic lines, the transgenic line SCaM4-4 exhibited the highest tolerance to soft rot in vitro assays, so did in field trials. In the field trial, the soft rot resistance of SCaM4-4 line was more than 5 times higher compared to that of control cultivar, Dejima. The major agronomic characteristics of the SCaM4 transgenic lines were not different from those of the nontransgenic 'Dejima'. The result demonstrated that the transformation of a calmodulin 4 gene was a successful strategy in development of potato cultivar enhanced to soft rot.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.168-173
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• 2023

Agricultural antibiotics are widely used to inhibit the growth of phytopathogenic bacteria involved in plant diseases. However, continuous antibiotic overuse in crop production may lead to the development of antibiotic resistance in phytopathogenic bacteria. This study was conducted to evaluate the resistance to three different agricultural antibiotics (oxytetracycline+streptomycin, streptomycin, and validamycin A) in 91 strains of phytopathogenic bacteria including Pectobacterium carotovorum, Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae, Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis, C. michiganensis subsp. capsici, and Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni. Bacterial growth in the presence of various concentrations of validamycin A was also assessed spectrophotometrically by analyzing the optical density. All strains did not grow when the cells were exposed to oxytetracycline+streptomycin or 100× of streptomycin. However, among the 91 strains, 4% and 2% strains showed bacterial growth at the concentrations of 1× and 10× of streptomycin, respectively. Furthermore, 97%, 93%, and 73% strains were resistant to the 1×, 10×, and 100× of validamycin A, respectively, and especially, P. carotovorum contained the highest resistance to the validamycin A. Minimum bactericidal concentration values of validamycin A did not correlate with the patterns of agricultural antibiotic resistance. Further studies are needed to understand the incidence and development of antibiotic resistance in phytopathogenic bacteria.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.792-802
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• 2009

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered to be a promising alternative to conventional antibiotics for future generations. We identified four novel hexapeptides with antimicrobial activity: KCM11 (TWWRWW-$NH_2$), KCM12 (KWRWlW-$NH_2$), KCM21 (KWWWRW-$NH_2$), and KRS22 (WRWFIH-$NH_2$), through positional scanning of a synthetic peptide combinatorial library (PS-SCL). The ability of these peptides to inhibit the growth of a variety of bacteria and unicellular fungi was evaluated. KCM11 and KRS22 preferentially inhibited the normal growth of fungal strains, whereas KCM12 and KCM21 were more active against bacterial strains. Bactericidal activity was addressed in a clear zone assay against phytopathogenic bacteria, including Pectobacterium spp., Xanthomonas spp., Pseudomonas spp., etc. KCM21 showed the highest activity and was effective against a wide range of target organisms. Application of KCM21 with inoculation of Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum on detached cabbage leaves resulted in an immune phenotype or a significant reduction in symptom development, depending on the peptide concentration. Cytotoxicity of the four hexapeptides was evaluated in mouse and human epithelial cell lines using an MTT test. The results revealed a lack of cytotoxic effects.