• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.303-309
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• 2019

Earlier studies by our group revealed that gallic acid in phytochemicals stimulated biofilm production in epiphytes, while caffeic acid in phytochemicals inhibited biofilm production in non-epiphytes. It is well documented that antimicrobial secretion by some epiphytic bacteria inhibits non-epiphytic bacterial growth on leaf surfaces. These selection criteria help plants choose their microbial inhabitants. Calcium and iron in phytochemicals also stimulate biofilm formation and thus, may be selection criteria adopted by plants with respect to their native epiphytic population. Furthermore, the processing of leaves during phytochemical extraction impacts the composition of the extract, and therefore its ability to affect bacterial biofilm formation. Computation of the Hurst exponent using biofilm thickness data obtained from the Ellipsometry of Brewster Angle Microscopic (BAM) images is an efficient tool for understanding the impact of phytochemicals on epiphytic and non-epiphytic populations when compared to fluorescent microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and staining techniques. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that uses the Hurst exponent to elucidate the mechanism involved in plant microbe interaction.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.404-416
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• 2020

Bacteria that are resistant to high temperatures and alkaline environments are essential for the biological repair of damaged concrete. Alkaliphilic and halotolerant Bacillus sp. AK13 was isolated from the rhizosphere of Miscanthus sacchariflorus. Unlike other tested Bacillus species, the AK13 strain grows at pH 13 and withstands 11% (w/v) NaCl. Growth of the AK13 strain at elevated pH without urea promoted calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) formation. Irregular vaterite-like CaCO₃ minerals that were tightly attached to cells were observed using field-emission scanning electron microscopy. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analyses confirmed the presence of CaCO₃ around the cell. Isotope ration mass spectrometry analysis confirmed that the majority of CO₃^2- ions in the CaCO₃ were produced by cellular respiration rather than being derived from atmospheric carbon dioxide. The minerals produced from calcium acetate-added growth medium formed smaller crystals than those formed in calcium lactate-added medium. Strain AK13 appears to heal cracks on mortar specimens when applied as a pelletized spore powder. Alkaliphilic Bacillus sp. AK13 is a promising candidate for self-healing agents in concrete.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.906-913
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• 2004

A culture-independent molecular phylogenetic survey was carried out on the bacterial community in cold-seep sediment at Edison Seamount, south of Lihir Island, Papua New Guinea. Small-subunit rRNA genes were amplified directly from the sediment DNA by PCR and cloned. The majority of the cloned 16S rRNA gene sequences were most closely related to as-yet-uncultivated microorganisms found in deep-sea sediments, and were primarily affiliated with one of four groups: the $\gamma$-, $\delta$-, and $\epsilon$-subdivisions of Proteobacteria, and Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides. We did not recover any sequences related to cyanobacteria, prochlorophytes, and $\alpha$-Proteobacteria, which are known to occur in great abundance within the surface mixed layer of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The majority of the cloned $\gamma$-and $\epsilon$-Proteobacterial sequences were closely related to chemoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing symbionts of marine benthic fauna, and the $\delta$-Proteobacterial sequences to sulfate- and sulfur-reducing bacteria, indicating that they might play an important role in chemoautotrophic primary production and the sulfur cycle in the cold-seep area. There results demonstrate the high diversity of the bacterial community in the cold-seep sediment, and substantially expand knowledge of the extent of bacterial diversity in this formidable and unique habitat.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 1991

The environmental factors and the distribution of coliform group were investigated in Suyeong bay on the summer, 1989. The ranges of environmental factors were as follows : Dissolved oxygen $0.54{\sim}6.82m{\ell}/{\ell}$, COD(Chemical Oxygen Demand) 0.28~9.84ppm, Salinity 14.7~33.5%, Nitrite $0.13{\sim}20.49{\mu}g-at/{\ell}$, Nitrate $0.89{\sim}62.77{\mu}g-at/{\ell}$, Ammonia $3.81{\sim}246.98{\mu}g-at/{\ell}$, Silicate $6.12{\sim}177.5{\mu}g-at/{\ell}$. The coliform group ranged $10^4{\sim}10^5/100m\ell$ in the mouth and it was decreased in the open sea. Among the composition of coliform group, E. coli I type was dominent at distance area. The correlation between coliform group and ammonia was r=0.629. There were negative correlation between salinity, dissolved oxygen and coliform group during study period.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.346-350
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• 2009

Although salt is known to influence the performance of nitrification significantly, it has not been well reported on how salt affects ammonia-oxidizing bacterial(AOB) community compositions and dynamics in wastewater treatment bioreactors. In this study, these questions were evaluated in a full-scale bioreactor treating saline wastewater. Clone library analysis for the ammonia monooxygenase subunit A gene revealed that AOB belonging to the Nitrosomonas europaea and the N. oligotropha lineages inhabited in the bioreactor. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis for monthly samples demonstrated a fluctuation pattern among AOB populations, although AOB within the N. europaea lineage were dominant during the test period. Correlation analysis between patterns of terminal restriction fragments and environmental variables suggested that sodium, chloride, and sulfate were less important; rather, temperature was the most significant factor affecting the AOB community in the bioreactor.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.1063-1066
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• 2004

The rpoS gene product is a global transcriptional factor, which is involved in bacterial survival under various stress conditions. An rpoS-homologous gene was cloned from a septicemia-causing pathogenic Vibrio vulnificus. Introduction of this gene as a multicopy plasmid into various E. coli strains displayed functional complementation, for examples, increased survivability of an rpoS-defective E. coli cell and induction of known $\delta^S$-dependent, stress-responding promoters of E. coli genes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.643-645
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• 2004

A $\beta$-xylosidase was purified from the culture of Trichoderma sp. SY. The ten-day-old culture filtrate was concentrated, followed by ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography. As a result, $\beta$-xylosidase was finally purified about 53-fold and appeared as a single band by SDS-PAGE. The optimum pH and temperature were 5.0 and $55^{\circ}C$, respectively, and the molecular weight about 80 kDa. The purified $\beta$-xylosidase was found to be inhibited by various metal ions but not inhibited by xylose.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.715-718
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• 2013

Density of catalytic organisms can determine the biodegradation capacity and specific biodegradation rate (SBR). A new index, biodegradation capacity utilization (BCU, %), was developed for estimating the extent of actual biodegradation of a gas compound over the full capacity. Three methanotrophic cultures were serially diluted (1-1/25), and methane SBR and BCU were measured. Consistently, biomass reduction increased the SBR and decreased the BCU. Linearity (p < 0.05, r > 0.97) between the BCU and cell density indicated the reflection of biodegradation capacity by BCU. Therefore, BCU is indicative of whether the density of catalytic organisms is pertinent for SBR evaluation of low-soluble gaseous compounds.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.878-881
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• 2002

The goal of the current research was to assess the influence of the growth rate of Nocardia amarae on its overall metal binding capacity. Batch sorption isotherms for cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and nickel (Ni) showed that Nocardia cells harvested from chemostat cultures at a dilution rate of $0.33d^-1$ had a significantly higher metal sorption capacity than cells grown at 0.5 and $1d^-1$. The cell surface area estimated using a dye technique indicated that pure N. amarae cells grown at a lower growth rate had a significantly more specific surface area than cells harvested from a higher growth rate operation. Accordingly, this difference in the specific surface area seemed to indicate that the higher metal sorption capacity of the slowly growing Nocardia cells was due to their higher specific surface area.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.1152-1155
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• 2010

In order to establish an axenic (bacteria-free) culture of Microcystis aeruginosa NIER 10039 isolated from a Korean reservoir, the culture was subjected to sequential treatment, including ultrasonication, washing, and addition of antibiotics. Three broad-spectrum antibiotics, namely, kanamycin, ampicillin, and imipenem, were applied separately in that order. Axenicity of the culture was confirmed by cultivation on bacterial media and observation under epifluorescence and scanning electron microscopes. We are the first to establish an axenic culture of a Microcystis strain isolated from Korean reservoirs and can be used in physiological and molecular studies to control toxic Microcystis blooms.