• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.40-46
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• 2014

We have screened Bacillus strains suitable for the fermentation of soybean products with respect to the control of Bacillus cereus and the reduction of biogenic amines. Of 26 isolates, a strain named as the SCK A08 carried antimicrobial activity against B. cereus and Staphylococcus aureus, major food poisoning species in soybean products. PCR analysis revealed that the SCK A08 strain did not contain genes for Bacillus cereus toxins including nonhemolytic enterotoxin, hemolytic enterotoxin, cytotoxin K, cereulide and certrax. The SCK A08 strain could degrade histamine, tyramine, putrescine, and cadaverine by 67.41%, 76.59%, 57.32%, and 50.69%, respectively, during fermentation in cooked soybeans containing 0.5% (w/w) of each biogenic amine. The morphological and biochemical properties and phylogenetic relationships based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the isolate was most closely related to Bacillus licheniformis. Use of the strain SCK A08 would be a potential measure to overcome two hygienic problems that were frequently faced during manufacture of traditionally fermented soybean products.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.12
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• pp.1895-1904
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• 2015

Foodborne illness associated with food service establishments is an important food safety issue in Korea. In this study, foodborne pathogens (Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, pathogenic Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus) and hygiene indicator organisms [total viable cell counts (TVC), coliforms] were analyzed for food and environmental samples from foodservice establishments at schools in Gyeonggi province. Virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance of detected foodborne pathogens were also characterized. A total of 179 samples, including food (n=66), utensil (n=68), and environmental samples (n=45), were collected from eight food service establishments at schools in Gyeonggi province. Average contamination levels of TVC for foods (including raw materials) and environmental samples were 4.7 and 4.0 log CFU/g, respectively. Average contamination levels of coliforms were 2.7 and 4.0 log CFU/g for foods and environmental swab samples, respectively. B. cereus contamination was detected in food samples with an average of 2.1 log CFU/g. E. coli was detected only in raw materials, and S. aureus was positive in raw materials as well as environmental swab samples. Other foodborne pathogens were not detected in all samples. The entire B. cereus isolates possessed at least one of the diarrheal toxin genes (hblACD, nheABC, entFM, and cytK enterotoxin gene). However, ces gene encoding emetic toxin was not detected in B. cereus isolates. S. aureus isolates (n=16) contained at least one or more of the tested enterotoxin genes, except for tst gene. For E. coli and S. aureus, 92.7% and 37.5% of the isolates were susceptible against 16 and 19 antimicrobials, respectively. The analyzed microbial hazards could provide useful information for quantitative microbial risk assessment and food safety management system to control foodborne illness outbreaks in food service establishments.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.483-488
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• 2008

Foodborne pathogenic bacteria in various food samples in Korea were monitored and the obtained data was statistically analyzed. A total of 1,240 food samples including 280 sashimi, 244 processed frozen products, 258 kimbab (cooked rice wrapped with seaweed), 337 soybean pastes were obtained from 7 cities including Seoul in Korea. Microorganisms tested were Bacillus cereus, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, E. coli O157:H7, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter jejuni, and Clostridium perfringens. The contaminated microorganisms in food samples were comprised of 10.55% B. cereus, 2.7% S. aureus, 2.0% V. parahaemolyticus, 0.8% C. perfringens, 0.2% Y. enterocolitica, and 0.1% of L. monocytogenes, respectively. Salmonella spp., C. jejuni, and E. coli O157:H7 were not detected in any of the food samples. Particularly, B. cereus that harbors the enterotoxin gene was detected in various foods and regions in Korea, therefore it should be a given special consideration not to allow the hazardous level of contamination.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2011

Genus Nicotiana has 76 species including N. tabacum. These plants are used not only as a material for cigarette manufacturing but also as ornamental plant, medicinal plant, poisonous substance plant, and bug repellent plant. N. tabacum is used as a main material for cigarette manufacturing with N. rustica. N. sylvestris and N. alata is used as ornamental plants because of their beautiful flowers and N. rustica is used for bug repellent or pesticide because of its high concentration of nicotine. N. glauca, a tree tobacco, is used for bio-fuel production. N. tabacum is used as a popular model plant system for degeneration, regeneration, and transformation. N. benthamiana is also used as a model system for foreign gene expression by agroinfiltration. The transformation ability of tobacco plant is a good target for molecular farming. Hepatitis B virus envelop protein, E. coli heat-labile enterotoxin, diabetes autoantigen, and cholera toxin B subunit were produced using tobacco plants. Secondary metabolites of tobacco include nicotine, anabasine, nornicotine, anatabine, cembranoid, solanesol, linoleic acid, rutin, lignin and sistosterol, and they are used for various medicine productions which cannot be produced by organic synthesis for their complicated structures. In conclusion, we have to understand the applicability of tobacco plant in detail and study to enlarge the usage of the plants.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.2030-2035
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• 2016

Bacillus cereus causes food-borne illness through contaminated foods; therefore, its pathogenicity and genome sequences have been analyzed in several studies. We sequenced and analyzed B. cereus strain FORC_021 isolated from a sashimi restaurant. The genome sequence consists of 5,373,294 bp with 35.36% GC contents, 5,350 predicted CDSs, 42 rRNA genes, and 107 tRNA genes. Based on in silico DNA-DNA hybridization values, B. cereus ATCC $14579^T$ was closest to FORC_021 among the complete genome-sequenced strains. Three major enterotoxins were detected in FORC_021. Comparative genomic analysis of FORC_021 with ATCC $14579^T$ revealed that FORC_021 harbored an additional genomic region encoding virulence factors, such as putative ADP-ribosylating toxin, spore germination protein, internalin, and sortase. Furthermore, in vitro cytotoxicity testing showed that FORC_021 exhibited a high level of cytotoxicity toward INT-407 human epithelial cells. This genomic information of FORC_021 will help us to understand its pathogenesis and assist in managing food contamination.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.134-141
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• 2011

Two-hundred Bacillus cereus isolated from perilla leaf cultivation areas in Miryang, Korea were investigated for toxin genes and antibiotic susceptibility. Toxigenic patterns of isolates were identified to be 11 groups through toxin gene profiles. 21% of strains isolated from the perilla leaves had both enterotoxin and emetic toxin. Toxin genes entFM (100%), nheA (100%) and hblA, C, D (65.5%) were frequently found in the perilla leaves, whereas EM (21.0%) was less common. Most isolates were susceptible to 10 antibiotics, but they were highly resistant to penicillin (100%), ampicillin (100%), oxacillin (94.9%), amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (95.6%), cefazolin (78.2%), and rifampicin (58.0%). These results indicate that food-borne outbreak caused by B. cereus might lead to diarrhea and emetic syndromes.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.256-261
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• 2009

Bacillus cereus is a gram-positive spore-forming bacterium and produces an emetic or diarrheal syndrome induced by an emetic toxin and an enterotoxin, respectively. In this study, the effect of different types of media, temperature, and time on the sporulation of B. cereus, and thermal resistance of B. cereus spores produced in various temperatures were evaluated. The highest levels of spores were detected when they are produced at $25^{\circ}C$. There were no significant differences in levels of spores produced at $25^{\circ}C$ among culture media and times while levels of spores produced at $43^{\circ}C$ were significantly reduced with the increase of time. However, thermal resistance of B. cereus spores could be affected by incubation temperature. In fact, higher D-values (12.0, 10.1, and 5.9 min for 2,4, and 6 weeks, respectively) of spores produced at $43^{\circ}C$ were observed than did in samples produced at other temperatures (25 and $37^{\circ}C$). D-values of spores were 7.7, 8.2, and 12.0 min when they were produced at 25,37, and $43^{\circ}C$ for 2 weeks, respectively. The sporulation of B. cereus at $25^{\circ}C$ could result in high amounts of spores however the sporulation at $43^{\circ}C$ for 2 weeks could be effective to produce thermal resistant spores.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.161-167
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• 2015

These commensal intestinal bacteria can enhance the immune system and aid in nutrient absorption but can also act as opportunistic pathogens. Among these intestinal bacteria, the anaerobic Bacteroides fragilis are divided into enterotoxigenic B. fragilis (ETBF) which secrete the B. fragilis toxin (BFT) and non-enterotoxigenic B. fragilis (NTBF) which do not secrete BFT. ETBF can cause diarrhea and colitis in both humans and livestock but can also be found in asymptomatic individuals. ETBF is predominantly found in patients with inflammatory diarrheal diseases and traveller's diarrhea. Several clinical studies have also reported an increased prevalence of ETBF in human patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colitis and colorectal cancer. In small animal models (C57BL/6 wild-type mice, germ-free mice, multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min) mice, rabbits and Mongolian gerbils), ETBF have been found to initiate and/or aggravate IBD, colitis and colorectal cancer. BFT induces E-cadherin cleavage in intestinal epithelial cells resulting in loss of epithelial cell integrity. Subsequent activation of the ${\beta}$-catenin pathway leads to increased cellular proliferation. In addition, ETBF causes acute and chronic colitis in wild-type mice as well as enhances tumorigenesis in Min mice via activation of the Stat3/Th17 pathway. Currently, ETBF can be detected using a BFT toxin bioassay and by PCR. Advances in molecular biological techniques such as real-time PCR have allowed both researchers as well as clinicians to rapidly detect ETBF in clinical samples. The emergence of more sensitive techniques will likely advance molecular insight into the role of ETBF in colitis and cancer.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.573-582
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• 1999

Cytokines are hormone-like proteins which mediate and regulate inflammatory and immune responses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB), and Mycoplasma lysates on regulation of IL-6 and IL-8 production by human nasal fibroblasts. Primary cultured cells were incubated with LPS ($1.0\;{\mu}g/ml$) from E.coli, SEB ($1.0\;{\mu}g/ml$) from S.aureus, or Mycoplasma lysates (M.pneumoniae, Mp; M. fermentans, Mf; M. hominis, Mh, each $1.0\;{\mu}g/ml$). The culture supernatants were collected at 2, 6, and 24 hr and assessed for IL-6 and IL-8 production by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The production of IL-6 in the culture supernatant was downregulated by LPS, SEB, or Mycoplasma lysates. But IL-6 was upregulated by mixed exposure with Mp+LPS (2 hr), Mp+LPS+SEB (24 hr), Mf+LPS (24 hr), Mf+LPS+SEB (2 hr), Mh+LPS (24 hr), Mh+SEB (24 hr), or Mh+LPS+SEB (24 hr). The production of IL-8 in the culture supernatant was similar to that of IL-6 by same stimulants. But IL-8 was upregulated by mixed exposure with Mf+LPS+SEB (2 hr), Mh+LPS (24 hr), Mh+ SEB (24 hr), or Mh+LPS+SEB (24 hr). These studies show that costimulation of LPS or SEB with Mycoplasma whole cell lysates upregulates the production of IL-6 and IL-8.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1728-1735
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• 2014

Scrub typhus, caused by infection with Orientia tsutsugamushi, is a mite-borne zoonotic disease endemic to the Asian-Pacific region. In Korea, the incidence of this disease has increased with climate changes, and over 10,000 cases of infection were reported in 2013. Although this infection is treatable with antibiotics such as doxycycline and azithromycin, an effective prophylactic vaccine against O. tsutsugamushi would be more desirable for preventing scrub typhus in endemic areas. In this study, we investigated the 56-kDa type-specific antigen (TSA56), which is a major outer membrane protein of O. tsutsugamushi, as a vaccine candidate. Intranasal immunization of recombinant TSA56 (rec56) induced a higher level of TSA56-specific IgG than that induced by intramuscular immunization of tsa56-expressing DNA (p56). Both types of immunization induced a cell-mediated immune response to TSA56, as demonstrated by the splenic cell proliferation assay. Mice immunized with p56, followed by rec56 plus heat-labile enterotoxin B subunit from E. coli, had a stronger protection from a homologous challenge with the O. tsutsugamushi Boryong strain than with other combinations. Our preliminary results suggest that an effective human vaccine for scrub typhus can include either recombinant TSA56 protein or tsa56-expressing DNA, and provide the basis for further studies to optimize vaccine performance using additional antigens or different adjuvants.