• 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.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1858-1861
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• 2008

A PCR-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PCR-ELISA) was developed for the rapid and sensitive detection of L. monocytogenes. PCR primers generating a 132-bp amplicon and a capture probe able to hybridize to the PCR amplicon were designed based on the L. monocytogenes-specific hly gene encoding listeriolysin. The detection limit of PCR-ELISA for L. monocytogenes was determined to be as low as 10 cells per PCR reaction, and this level of detection was achieved within 5 h. These results indicate that the PCR-ELISA provides a valuable tool for the rapid and sensitive detection of L. monocytogenes for the ready-to-eat food industry.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.771-779
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• 2012

The bacterial diversity of the continental shelf sediment in the Yellow Sea was investigated by the cloning and sequencing of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genes. The majority of the cloned sequences were distinct phylotypes that were novel at the species level. The richness estimator indicated that the sediment sample might harbor up to 32 phylum-level taxa. A large number of low-abundance, phylum-level taxa accounted for most of the observed phylogenetic diversity at our study site, suggesting that these low-abundance taxa might play crucial roles in the shelf sediment ecosystem.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.240-247
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• 1997

Bacillary is the most common form of H. pylori observed during human infection. However, it is known that the morphology change of H. pylori from bacillary to coccoid can be occurred with a response to the environmental stresses such as the nutrient depletion, accumulation of toxic metabolites, pH alteration, and exposure to antimicrobial agents. The coccoid form of H. pylori, which is viable but non-culturable in vitro, seems to be the major cause of antibiotic resistancy and high reinfectability of H. pylori. In this regard, we studied the environmental factors that can induce the morphological change in vitro of H. pylori, and the change of fatty acid composition of plasma membrane. The morphological change from bacillary to coccoid could be observed with the depletion of nutrients, pH variation and reactive oxygen species added in the culture media. This morphologic conversion was paralleled by a dramatic decrease in unsaturated fatty acids and an increase in saturated fattv acids of plasma membrane. The change in composition of membrane fatty acid seems to be a kind of protection mechanism of H. pylori against these environmental stresses.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.241-252
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• 1997

Polychlorodibenzofurans and polychlorodibenzo-pdioxins are among the most toxic xenobiotics released into the biosphere and the cause of significant public concern because of their apparent ubiquityalbeit at low levels- in food and environment. Several bacteria able to degrade nonchlorinated dioxin and dibenzofuran and in some cases to attack chlorinated analogues have recently been isolated. This opens up the possibility that bioremediation processes may ultimately be developed to eliminate these toxic compounds from contaminated sites. In this review we summarize current knowledge on the genetics and biochemistry of dioxin and dibenzofruan degradation by Sphingomonas sp. RW1, a gram-negative bacterium, and highlight the unusual nature of the genetic organization of these pathways.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.352-355
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• 1997

The promoter region of the pupA gene of Pseudomonas putida WCS358 was fused with the structural genes for bioluminescence (luxCDABE) from Vibrio fischeri, and the resulting fusion plasmid harbored by the WCS358 host. The pup-lux fusion gene was then used for quantitative analysis of the iron-dependence of pupA promoter activity. Factors affecting bioluminescence produced by the pup-lux bioreporter were found to be cell activity, iron-chelator concentrations, Fe(III) concentrations, and nutrient components. Light production rates of the pup-lux bioreporter were inversely dependent upon iron molecules when $FeCl_3$ concentrations were between $10^{-2}$ and 1 ${\mu}M$ in nutrient-poor minimal media, and between 0.1 and 10 mM in nutrient-rich complex media.

• Mycobiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.131-136
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• 2016

Gymnopus is a cosmopolitan genus of agaric fungi and consists of ~300 species. In Korea, Gymnopus represents common saprobic mushrooms, and 12 species have been reported in Korea. Several Gymnopus specimens were collected in Korea between 2008 and 2015. To identify them exactly, phylogenetic analysis was performed by means of the internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal-DNA sequences from the collected Gymnopus specimens. Among them, G. iocephalus, G. polygrammus, and G. subnudus have not been reported in Korea. A phylogenetic tree and images are provided.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.92-101
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• 1992

Halogen substituted-phenol and analog phenol degrading strains were identified as Aeromonas, Moraxella, and Flavobacterium genus. Optimal degrading condition was generally 50~100 $\mu$M substituted-phenol as carbon source, $NH_4NO_3$ as nitrogen source, 30$\circ$C , and initial pH 7.2. $\rho$-Chlorophenol degrading strain of Aeromonas sp. C4 had biodegradability to the various substituted-phenols. Flavobacterium sp. M9 had substrate specificity to methyl substituted-function. Catechol was cleavaged by catechol 1, 2-dioxygenase in Aeromonas sp. C4, Moraxella sp. N7, and Flavobacterium sp. M9.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.1037-1051
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• 2018

The genus Rhodococcus is a phylogenetically and catabolically diverse group that has been isolated from diverse environments, including polar and alpine regions, for its versatile ability to degrade a wide variety of natural and synthetic organic compounds. Their metabolic capacity and diversity result from their diverse catabolic genes, which are believed to be obtained through frequent recombination events mediated by large catabolic plasmids. Many rhodococci have been used commercially for the biodegradation of environmental pollutants and for the biocatalytic production of high-value chemicals from low-value materials. Recent studies of their physiology, metabolism, and genome have broadened our knowledge regarding the diverse biotechnological applications that exploit their catabolic enzymes and pathways.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1490-1494
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• 2014

To probe the genomic properties of microbes thriving in desert lakes, we sequenced the full genome of a betaproteobacterial strain (SL110) belonging to the understudied genus Caenimonas of the family Comamonadaceae. This strain was isolated from a freshwater lake in the western Gobi Desert, Northern China. Its genome contains genes encoding carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, nitric oxide reductase, and sulfur oxidation enzymes, highlighting the potentially important contribution of this group of bacteria to the cycling of inorganic elements in nature. Unexpectedly, a coenzyme $F_{420}$ biosynthesis gene cluster was identified. A further search for $F_{420}$ biosynthesis gene homologs in genomic databases suggests the possible widespread presence of $F_{420}$ biosynthesis gene clusters in proteobacterial genomes.