• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.257-264
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• 2006

Fifty eight Cryptococcus neoformans strains isolated from clinical and environmental sources in Korea were examined for their serotypes and extracellular enzyme activities. Among the 51 strains isolated from clinical sources, 48 strains were serotype A (94.1%), 2 strains were serotype B (3.92%), and 1 strain was serotype D (1.96%). All seven environmental strains isolated from pigeon excreta were identified as serotype A. All isolates of C. neoformtans were positive for the production of extracellular proteinase and phospholipase. In the API-ZYM system, all fifty eight isolates produced alkaine phosphatase, esterase C4, esterase lipase: C8, leucine arylamidase, acid phosphatase, naphthol-AS-BI-phosphohydrase, $\alpha$-glucosidase and $\beta$-glucosidase. Thirty nine isolates (67.2%) of C. neoformans produced N-acetyl-$\beta$-glucosidase. Two isolates, serotype B, and B only one serotype A produced $\beta$-glucuronidase. Analysis of enzymatic profiles to 21 enzymes revealed four biotypic patterns among the 58 strains. The enzymatic patterns of C. neoformans isolated from clinical and environmental sources represented a significant relationship with the serotypes.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.65-73
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• 2016

The aim of this study was to investigate the UV-resistance of radiation-resistant bacteria isolated from the water of Han River, South Korea. The water sample was irradiated with 3 kGy gamma radiation prior to isolation. Radiation-resistant bacterial strains were isolated by standard serial dilution method on R2A and 1/10 diluted R2A agar. The resulting purely isolated 60 cultures of bacteria were analysed for UV resistance and used in further studies. Based on the comparative analyses of 16S rRNA gene sequences, the bacterial isolates were divided into 3 phyla (4 genera): the phylum Deinococcus-Thermus (the genus Deinococcus) was 61.7%, Bacteroidetes (Hymenobacter and Spirosoma) was 23.4%, and Firmicutes (Exiguobacterium) was 15%. The results suggested that twenty-nine isolates are candidates new species belonging to Deinococcus, Hymenobacter, and Spirosoma, or other new genera. Nine bacterial strains were selected among the novel candidates and the UV-resistance analysis was conducted. All the candidate bacterial strains showed high UV resistance, similar to that of D. radiodurans R1.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.216-222
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• 2006

This study was carried out to select the lactic acid bacteria producing ${\beta}-galactosidase$ (lactase) and investigate the properties of the ${\beta}-galactosidase$. About 100 strains of lactic acid bacteria showing blue colony on the MRS agar medium containing X-gal were isolated from several kinds of Kimchi. Among them, 2 strains were selected as potential ${\beta}-galactosidase$ producers. The selected strains, ET-1 and LA-12, were identified as Lactobacillus fermentum and L. acidophilus, respectively by the analysis of 16S rDNA sequences. They showed relatively high ${\beta}-galactosidase$ activity and cellular viability. Their ${\beta}-galactosidase$ showed the highest activity at $55^{\circ}C$. And the optimum pHs of the enzymes produced by ET-1 and LA-12 were pH 5.5 and pH 7.0, respectively. They were also highly resistant to artificial gastric juice and bile. Two selected strains showed little change of viable cell number for 3 hr incubation in artificial gastric juice, and maintained the viable cell number at $10^8CFU/ml$ for 24 hr in 0.3% oxgall after incubation for 2 hours in artificial gastric juice. Based on these results, ET-1 and LA-12 are expected to be applied in dairy industry.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.352-357
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• 2008

We evaluated cultivation methods to obtain pure cultures of previously uncultivated bacteria from soil. Soil bacteria (suspensions) were inoculated onto various oligotrophic media with one of the following additives: 1) soil extract; 2) anthraquinone disulfonate (humic acid analogue); 3) acyl homoserine lactones (quorum-signaling compounds); 4) catalase (for the protection of bacteria from exogenous peroxides). After the relatively long period (60 days) of incubation with elevated concentrations of $CO_2$ (5%, v/v), the media containing catalase showed the highest colony count. We purified 147 randomly selected colonies from the media and the isolates were subjected to the phylogenetic analyses of their 16S rRNA gene sequences. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that approximately 30% of the isolates might belong to novel species or novel family, suggesting that the media and incubation conditions used could be useful for the cultivation of as-yet-uncultured bacteria. Especially, bacteria belonging to the phylum Acidobacteria, ubiquitous bacterial taxon known as an uncultured bacterial group (at least difficult to culture from environmental samples), were successfully cultured in this study.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.200-206
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• 1998

The distributions and characteristics of bacteria on the deodorizing biofilters were studied as a part of biofiltration research for odor gas removal. The odor gas originated from a currently operating nightsoil treatment plant were mainly nitrogenous compounds of ammonia and amines. The filter media were consisted various ratio of pine bark, nightsoil cast and compost, and were sampled before and after operation of 153 days. Before operation, the level of bacteria on nitrification agar medium, nutrient agar medium and thiosulfate agar medium were around $10^7{\sim}10^8cfu/g$ media. After operation, the level decreased but still high as $10^5{\sim}10^7cfu/g$ media. The bacteria from reactors before and after operations were either rod or coccus after growth on nitrification agar media. The 45 isolated heterotrophic bacteria were further characterized and Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Flavobacterium, Alcaligenes were dominant genera. Genus Alcaligenes was particularly dominant when the isolates were incubated on nitrification agar media first and then transfered to nutrient media. The portion of Alcaligenes in the biofilter increased after operation, and was higher in the media contained nightsoil cast, which showed better treatment than the media with pine bark only.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.109-119
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• 2020

Soil-transmitted helminths and Schistosoma haematobium affect more than 3 billion people globally and mainly occur in sub-Saharan Africa. The present study assessed the overall infection status of a 1716-student cohort of schoolchildren in Zanzibar and applied mass drug administration (MDA) to the cohort from 2007 to 2009. Schools in Pemba, Zanzibar, had a much higher prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections than those in Unguja, and the Chaani, Ghana, and Machui schools of Unguja exhibited high S. haematobium infection rates. The MDA program only partially controlled parasite infections, owing to high rates of re-infection. The infection rate of S. haematobium across all 10 schools, for example, was only reduced by 1.8%, and even this change not significant, even though the S. haematobium infection rates of the Chaani and Mzambarauni schools were significantly reduced from 64.4 and 23.4%, respectively, at the first screening, to 7.3 and 2.3% at the last screening. The overall infection rate of Ascaris lumbricoides was reduced from 36.0% at the first screening to 22.6% at the last screening. However, the infection rates for both Trichuris trichiura and hookworm were generally unaffected by MDA. In the future, parasite control programs should involve strategically designed MDA schedules and holistic intervention (e.g., sanitation improvement, hygiene behavior changes, and control of intermediated hosts).

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.315-322
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• 2021

The aim of this study was to investigate the sensitivity to environmental stress, and changes in the photosynthesis capacity in Abies koreana seedlings by age and to suggest the most effective age for restoration. To identify these physiological characteristics of A. koreana, the chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthetic capacity of 1-, 2-, 3-, 5- and 6-year-old A. koreana seedlings were observed from June 2020 to June 2021. The maximum quantum efficiency of Photosystem II (Fv/Fm), a chlorophyll fluorescence measurement parameter, was strongly positively correlated with the monthly average temperature (1-year-old seedling: r=0.8779, 2-year-old seedling: r=0.8605, 3-year-old seedling: r=0.8697, 5-year-old seedlings: r=0.8085, and 6-year-old seedlings: r=0.8316). The Fv/Fm values were the lowest in winter (November 2020-March 2021). In addition, the Fv/Fm values of 1-, 2-, and 3-year-old seedlings in winter were lower than that of 5- and 6-year-old seedlings, while the Fv/Fm values in summer were relatively higher than those in winter. Further, the Fv/Fm values of seedlings of all ages decreased in August 2020, when the monthly average temperature was the highest. In particular, 1-year-old to 3-year-old seedlings showed Fv/Fm values less than 0.8. Further, the photosynthetic capacity measured in August 2020 increased with increasing seedling age. The analysis of variance results for summer Fv/Fm values showed significant differences in age-specific averages (p<0.05), and Duncan's multiple range test showed significant differences between 5- and 6-year-old seedlings and 1-, 2-, and 3-year-old seedlings (p<0.05). These results suggested that the 5- and 6-year-old seedlings were less sensitive to environmental stress and showed better photosynthetic capacity than the 1-, 2-, and 3-year-old seedlings. Therefore, 5-year-old or older A. koreana seedlings can be used as restoration materials because they can show increased adaptability and stable growth during transplantation due to their relatively high environmental resistance and photosynthetic capacity.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.244-250
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• 2007

Membrane inlet mass spectrometer (MIMS) has been used to accurately quantify dissolved gases in liquid samples. In this study, the MIMS system was applied to measure dissolved methane in seawater and sediment porewater. To evaluate the accuracy of the measurement, liquid samples saturated with different methane partial pressure were prepared and the methane concentrations were quantified with the MIMS system. The measured values correspond well with the expected values calculated from solubility constants. The standard error of the measurements were $0.13{\sim}0.9%$ of the mean values. The distribution of dissolved methane concentration in seawater of the South Sea of Korea revealed that the physical parameters primarily control the methane concentration in sea water. The MIMS system was effective to resolve the small dissolved methane difference among water masses. The probe type inlet in MIMS system was proven to be effective to measure porewater methane concentration.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.298-308
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• 2009

A flexuous rod-shaped virus was isolated from Cucurbita pepo leaves showing as green mosaic and puckering symptoms at Anseong, Korea. Based on the biological analysis, electron microscopy, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the virus isolate was identified as Papaya ringspot virus type watermelon (PRSV-W). From biological analysis, the host range of PRSV-W was limited to the families Cucurbitaceae and Chenopodiaceae. Most susceptible cucurbit species, such as Cucumis lanatus, Cucumis sativus, Cucurbita pepo, and Citrullus lanatus, showed symptoms of green mosaic, malformation, puckering, and narrow laminae by infection with PRSV-W. The local lesion were showed on the inoculated leaves of both Chenopodium amaranticolor and C. quinoa. Field survey of PRSV, Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV) and Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), three major viruses infecting cucurbit, was done during 2001 to 2003 on 173 commercial cucurbit cultivating fields distributed over the three regions of Gyeonggi, Gyeongbuk and Jeonnam Provinces where cucurbits are grown in different environmental conditions and cropping patterns. Typical viral symptoms were observed from 107 cultivating fields, and all three kinds of potyviruses were detected from 206 samples out of the 235 samples using RT-PCR. Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV) and Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) are the most widely distributed viruses in outdoor and retarding-culture fields, at an infection rating of 48 and 33 percents, respectively. PRSV was detected from 12 percent of 235 samples. The nucleotide and amino acid sequences of coat proteins (CP) of eight PRSV isolates, collected from several areas including Anseong, were determined and sequenced heterogeneity among the isolates was performed. The CP gene of PRSV showed 88.6~97.3 percent homology in nucleotide sequences and 95.1~99.3 percent homology in amino acid sequences with other PRSV isolates worldwide. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that the Korean PRSV isolates belong to the southern-east Asian cluster.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2011

To work out quality control methods of environmental-friendly organic materials (EFOMs), the reason and basis for EFOM-selection and farmer's favorite formulation type of EFOMs, etc were investigated on farmers who had been practicing environmental-friendly agriculture. EFOMs used were soil amendments, control agents of plant diseases and insect pests, plant growth promotion formulations, in turns. In EFOMs application time, 22.7% of farmers sprayed EFOMs without delay after they were bought, in other hand, 77.3% of farmers used EFOMs which had been bought and stored for some period. Microbial density on seventeen environmental-friendly microbial formulates (EFMFs) including microbial pesticides, a microbial fertilizer, and environmental-friendly organic materials was investigated at different storing temperature and shelf life. When the microbial density of EFMFs was investigated without delay after they were bought, all used microbial pesticides and a microbial fertilizer was confirmed to be optimal for the certified density but two of environmental-friendly organic materials was confirmed not to be optimal. When microbial density of 17 EFMFs were investigated after storing them for six months at $4^{\circ}C$, only one of 9 microbial pesticides was confirmed not to be optimal, the other hand four of seven environmental-friendly organic materials not to be optimal, which each of their microbial density was less than the certified density. Population dynamics of microbial agents was much more influenced in fluctuated temperature (room temperature) than in static temperature condition ($5^{\circ}C$ and $25^{\circ}C$). Shelf life of microbial agents according to microbial formulation type were high in granule type, liquid wettable type and liquid type in turns.