• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2015

Observed trends in climate change, globalization and an aging population have an effect on public health conditions in Korea, prompting a reevaluation of current environmental regulations. In this study, we evaluated the performance of the total coliform (TC) standard, which is the only microbiological standard in the current regulation regime for hot spring water, by estimating correlation with the presence/absence of Legionella, a non-fecal opportunistic pathogen with heat-tolerance. Microbiological data in 7 studies that surveyed Legionella in hot spring waters were subjected to meta-analyses with the odds ratio (OR) as the effect size. The presence/absence of Legionella was significantly correlated to TC levels [OR = 3.1(1.5–6.4, 95% CI), p = 0.002]. Due to there being no direct explanation as to the reason for the occurrence of TC, mesophilic fecal bacteria, being coupled with Legionella presence, the mechanism of the correlation between the two kinds of bacteria was further investigated. Legionella presence was more prevalent with a high heterotrophic plate count [HPC; 4.0(2.2–7.2); p < 0.001] and water temperature [4.3(1.4–13.6), p = 0.011] when the temperature range was <40℃. However, it was reverse-correlated with water temperature when the temperature was >50℃ [0.2(0.1–0.4), p < 0.001]. Therefore, bacterial standing crops in hot spring waters appear to be determined by water temperature in general, and this forces TC and Legionella levels be correlated. In accordance with this relationship, HPC rather than TC reflect the levels of non-fecal contamination better. Therefore, employing HPC as the sole microbiological standard, or adding HPC into the current standard of hot spring water assessment, is suggested as a proactive measure to prevent health issues arising from contamination.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.121-125
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• 2009

We measured the influence of antifungal antagonists Bacillus subtilis AH18 and Bacillus licheniformis K11 on soil microbial community in microcosms. Both antifungal antagonists were confirmed to suppress hot pepper phytophthora blight. Phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) were analyzed to investigate the soil microbial community. B. subtilis AH18 changed the total PLFA composition and bio-indicators of PLFA, compared with other treatments. B. subtilis AH18 decreased the proportion of bacteria and gram negative/gram positive bacteria, and increased the fungi/bacteria and anaerobic/aerobic microorganisms. In addition cy19:0/18:$1{\omega}7c$, which means adaptation to unfavorable environmental conditions, was increased by the application of B. subtilis AH18. On the other hand the inoculation of B. licheniformis K11 or combined inoculation of both antifungal strains did not affect soil microbial community. The suppression of phytophthora blight and preservation of indigenous soil microbial community may be achieved by the combined application of B. subtilis AH18 and B. licheniformis K11.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.176-182
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• 2009

Hydrogen producing bacterium, strain MeL 6-2 was isolated from the sludge of the factory areas in Anyang through the acclimation in basal salt medium (BSM) supplemented with 10 g/L of sucrose. Isolated strain MeL 6-2 was a facultative anaerobe which could grow in both aerobic and anaerobic environments. An aerobically grown pure culture isolated from enriched culture was analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing and identified as Rhodopseudomonas sp. MeL 6-2. Effects of the concentrations of glucose and sucrose on the hydrogen production rate and the hydrogen production yield were investigated. When glucose in the range of 1~12 g/L was supplemented to the BSM, strain MeL 6-2 could grow without lag phase. An increased glucose concentration increased the specific hydrogen production rate linearly to $4.2\;mmol-H_2{\cdot}L^{-1}{\cdot}h^{-1}$ at 10 g/L, and $60\;mmol-H_2{\cdot}mg-DCW^{-1}{\cdot}h^{-1}$, but decreased slightly as the concentration increased to 12 g/L. The hydrogen production yield was maintained over a range from 2.6 to $3.1\;mol-H_2{\cdot}mol-glucose^{-1}$. When sucrose in the range of 1~12 g/L was supplemented to the BSM, strain MeL 6-2 could grow after ten hours. An increased sucrose concentration increased the specific hydrogen production rate and the hydrogen production yield to $163\;mmol-H_2{\cdot}mg-DCW^{-1}{\cdot}h^{-1}$ and to $4.5\;mol-H_2{\cdot}mol-sucrose^{-1}$, respectively.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.476-482
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• 1998

Growth sensitivity of bifidobacteria on oxygen hindered their industrial applications so that it was necessary to select oxygen-tolerant strains. Studies on their responses to oxygen might facilitate the effective utilization of bifidobacteria in industry. Oxygen-tolerant strain of Bifidobacterium longum JI-1 was able to remove 3% dissolved oxygen within 10 min whilst oxygen-sensitive strain of B. adolescentis, slime non-former, was not. The ability to remove environmental oxygen seemed to be related to the oxygen-tolerance of bifidobacteria. Mutant B. longum ADJ-1 was induced from the B. longum JI-1 under microaerobic atmosphere. There were no differences in sugar utilization pattern, NADH oxidative enzymes and cellular fatty acid compositions between them. The maximal cell density of the mutant was a little bit reduced to 81% of that of the mother strain. However, the mutant formed thick slime layer around its cell. The layer visualized with confocal scanning laser microscopy from the mutant was 6 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ in diameter but that from the mother strain was only 3 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$. Therefore, the improved tolerances of the mutant might come from the slime layer, indicating the increase of the layer might be one of oxygen tolerance mechanisms for bifidobacteria.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.292-298
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• 1994

An environmental study was done to examine the distribution of Vibrio mimicus in aquatic environments of Kwangan and Minrak beach, Pusan, Korea. Moreover, both bacteriological characteristics and lethal effects of isolated V. mimicus were observed. Sea water samples were collected monthly from January to September, 1993, and quantitatively analyzed for V. mimicus. This organism was isolated from April(water temperature was $16.3^{\circ}C$), whereas it was not isolated when the water temperature fell below $15^{\circ}C$. V. mimicus counts were not remarkably high, however this study at least describes the distribution and occurrence of the possible highest density in aquatic environments of this region. Among the confirmed V. mimicus strains, the author chose the strongest antibiotic resistant bacterium and named it V. mimicus K-1. This strain has antibiotic resistance to colistin, erythromycin, tetracycline, and penicillin, and most isolates had a higher level of antibiotic resistance than V. mimicus ATCC 33653. The optimum growth for V. mimicus K-1 was observed at $37^{\circ}C$, pH 7.5, and $1\%$ NaCl, respectively. This organism was mostly inactivated by Ultra Violet irradiation (30W, $50^{\circ}C$) for 70 seconds and death lethality increased in proportion to treatment temperature ($D_{50}=5.7min,\;D_{60}=\;2.1min,\;and\;D_{70}=0.7min$).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1217-1226
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• 2004

A psychrotrophic bacterial strain, Pseudomonas fluorescens BM07, synthesized unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) from fructose in response to lowering of growth temperature, and incorporated them into both polyhydroxyalkanoic acid (PHA) and membrane lipid. The blocking of PHA synthesis by adding 5 mM 2-bromooctanoic acid to the growth medium, containing 70 mM fructose, was found to be a useful means to profile the composition of membrane lipid by gas chromatography. As the growth temperature changed from 35 to $50^{\circ}C$, the total content of two UFA, 3-hydroxy-cis-5­dodecenoic acid ($C_{12:1}$) and 3-hydroxy-cis-7-tetradecenoic acid ($C_{14:1}$), in PHA increased from 31 to 44 $mol\%$. The growth at lower temperatures also led to an increase in the level of two major UFA, palmitoleic acid (C16:1 cis9) and cis-vaccenic acid (C18:1 cis11), in membrane lipid. A fraction of these membrane-lipid UFA was converted to their corresponding cyclopropane fatty acids (CFA). The CFA conversion was a function of culture time, exhibiting biphasic increase before and after entering the stationary phase. However, pH changes in growth media had no effect on the CFA conversion, which is contrary to the case of E. coli reported. The cells grown at $30^{\circ}C$ responded to a cold shock (lowering the medium temperature down to $10^{\circ}C$) by increasing the level of C16:1 cis9 and C 18: I cis II up to that of $10^{\circ}C$-grown control cells and concomitantly decreasing the relative level of cis-9,10­methylenehexadecanoic acid (the CFA converted from C16:1 cis9) from 14 to 8 $mol\%$, whereas the 10-grown cells exhibited little change in the lipid composition when exposed to a warmer environment of $30^{\circ}C$ for 12 h. Based on this one- way response, we suggest that this psychrotrophic strain responds more efficiently and sensitively to a cold shock than to a hot shock. It is also suggested that BM07 strain is a good producer of two unsaturated 3-hydroxyacids, $C_{12:1}\;and\;C_{141:1}$.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1239-1248
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• 2004

The methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha has been extensively studied as a model organism for methanol metabolism and peroxisome biogenesis. Recently, this yeast has also attracted attention as a promising host organism for recombinant protein production. Here, we describe the fabrication and evaluation of a DNA chip spotted with 382 open reading frames (ORFs) of H. polymorpha. Each ORF was PCR-amplified using gene-specific primer sets, of which the forward primers had 5'-aminolink. The PCR products were printed in duplicate onto the aldehyde-coated slide glasses to link only the coding strands to the surface of the slide via covalent coupling between amine and aldehyde groups. With the partial genome DNA chip, we compared efficiency of direct and indirect cDNA target labeling methods, and found that the indirect method, using fluorescent-labeled dendrimers, generated a higher hybridization signal-to-noise ratio than the direct method, using cDNA targets labeled by incorporation of fluorescence-labeled nucIeotides during reverse transcription. In addition, to assess the quality of this DNA chip, we analyzed the expression profiles of H. polymorpha cells grown on different carbon sources, such as glucose and methanol, and also those of cells treated with the superoxide­generating drug, menadione. The profiles obtained showed a high-level induction of a set of ORFs involved in methanol metabolism and oxidative stress response in the presence of methanol and menadione, respectively. The results demonstrate the sensitivity and reliability of our arrays to analyze global gene expression changes of H. polymorpha under defined environmental conditions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1256-1266
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• 2004

2-Bromooctanoic acid (2-BrOA) is known to block the formation of polyhydroxyalkanoic acid (PHA) in Pseudomonasfluorescens BM07 without any influence on the cell growth when grown on fructose, but it inhibits the cell growth when grown on octanoate (OA) (Lee et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67: 4963- 4974, 2001). We investigated the role of 2-BrOA in the PHA synthesis of the bacterium grown with mixtures of fructose and fatty acids. OA, 11­phenoxyundecanoic acid (1 1-POU), and 5-phenylvaleric acid (5-PV) were selected as model substrates. When supplemented with 50 mM fructose, all these carboxylic acids suppressed the formation of PHA from fructose, however, the ~-oxidation coenzyme A monomers derived from the carboxylic acids were efficiently polymerized, but the conversion yield [(mol of carboxylate substrate converted into PHA)/(mol of carboxylate substrate in the feed)] was low (e.g., maximally $\~53\%$ for 5 mM 11-POU). Addition of 2-BrOA (up to 5 mM) to the mixed carbon sources raised the conversion yield sensitively and effectively only at low levels of the acid substrates (e.g., 2 mM 1 1-POU or 5 mM OA): For instance, $100\%$ of 2 mM ll-POU were converted into PHA in the presence of 5 mM 2-BrOA, whereas only $\~10\%$ of the 1 1-POU were converted in the absence of 2-BrOA. However, at highly saturated suppressing levels (e.g., 5 mM ll-POU), 2-BrOA inhibitor showed no significant additional effect on the conversion ($60- 70\%$ conversion irrespective of 2-BrOA level). The existence of competitive and compensative relationship between 2­BrOA and all the carboxylic acid substrates used may indicate 'Present address: Section on Brain Physiology and Metabolism, Bldg. 10, Rm. 6N202, National Institute on Agmg, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, U.S.A. that all the acid substrate-derived inhibiting species bind to the same site as the 2-BrOA inhibiting species does. We, therefore, suggest that 2-BrOA can be used for efficiently increasing the yield of conversion of expensive substituted fatty acids into PHA and then substituted 3-hydroxyacids by hydrolyzing it.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1323-1329
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• 2005

A mathematical model was developed for predicting the growth kinetics of Listeria monocytogenes in tryptic soy broth (TSB) as a function of combined effects of temperature, pH, and NaCl. The TSB containing four different concentrations of NaCl (2, 4, 5, and $10\%$) was initially adjusted to six different pH levels (pH 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10) and incubated at 4, 10, 25, or 37$^{circ}C$. In all experimental variables, the primary growth curves were well fitted ($r^{2}$=0.982 to 0.998) to a Gompertz equation to obtain the lag time (LT) and specific growth rate (SGR). Surface response models were identified as appropriate secondary models for LT and SGR on the basis of coefficient determination ($r^{2}$=0.907 for LT, 0.964 for SGR), mean square error (MSE=3.389 for LT, 0.018 for SGR), bias factor ($B_{1}$B,=0.706 for LT, 0.836 for SGR), and accuracy factor ($A_{f}$=1.567 for LT, 1.213 for SGR). Therefore, the developed secondary model proved reliable predictions of the combined effect of temperature, NaCl, and pH on both LT and SGR for L. monocytogenes in TSB.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.133-144
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• 1982

The distribution of acid phosphatase activity was investigated with 141 microorganisms from the type culture collection of Chong Kun Dang laboratory and the 41 strains isolated from natural sources. The phytase activity was detected mainly with fungal strains. A fungus isolated from soil and identified as Aspergillus niger had shown the highest phytase activity. The environmental conditions for the enzyme formation by the isolate and some properties of the enzyme were also studied. The results obtained were as follows: (1) The highest phytase production was observed when the fungus was cultivated at 28$^{\circ}C$ for 5 days in the corn starch based medium using the cells incubated at 34$^{\circ}C$ for 3 days as a seed. (2) The optimal initial pH of the culture medium was found to around 2 for the formation of phytase. (3) Sucrose was proved to be one of the most effective carbon sources tested for the enzyme production. (4) As an inorganic nitrogen source, potassium nitrate was found to give a good result in the production of phytase. (5) Synthesis of phytase was significantly increased by the supplement with 0.2 % corn steep liquor to the basal medium as an organic nitrogen source. (6) At the concentration of 40-80 mg inorganic phosphate per liter of the culture medium, the enzyme formation revealed the highest level. But as the phosphate was increased above this optimum concentration the phytase activity was drastically decreased although the cell density showed to be still increasing