• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.71-80
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• 2017

Tea is the most popular beverage in the world. The three main types are green, black, and post-fermented. Post-fermented teas are produced by the microbial fermentation of sun-dried green tea leaves (Camellia sinensis). In this study, the composition of the bacterial communities involved in the production of traditional oriental post-fermented teas (Korean algacha, dancha, and Chinese pu-erh) were investigated using 16S rRNA gene analysis. The dominant microorganisms present in the post-fermented teas included the ${\alpha}$-proteobacteria Rhodobacteraceae and Sphingomonas, and the ${\gamma}$-proteobacteria Pantoea. Cluster analysis confirmed that the microbial populations present in both Korean and Chinese post-fermented teas grouped into the same class. Interestingly, the dominant microorganism present in the Korean post-fermented teas was a bacterium, while for the Chinese post-fermented tea, it was a fungus.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.576-582
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• 2017

This study evaluated the microbial quality of dried and powdered foods during storage with increased humidity because of climate change. Five types of dried and powdered foods (dried shredded squid, wheat flour, Sunsik, red pepper powder, and roasted sesame seed) were stored at different relative humidities (RH 23%, 43%, 68%, 85%, and 100%) and changes in water activity and microbial populations were measured during storage at $35^{\circ}C$ for 15 days. The results revealed that water activity values of dried and powdered foods were significantly increased during storage when samples were stored at RH 85 and 100%. In addition, levels of total mesophilic bacteria, yeast, and mold were significantly increased after storage for 6 days or 9 days at RH 85% and 100%. However, levels of Escherichia coli and coliform did not increase significantly during storage. Based on these findings, dried and powdered foods should not be stored at high RH because the increased water activity enables microbial growth.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.425-429
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• 2010

Inactivation by UV-C irradiation of Listeria monocytogenes cocktail inoculated on hamburger patties was examined. Hamburger patty samples were inoculated with 6-7 log CFU/mL of L. monocytogenes cocktail, and then exposed to doses of 0, 1, 5, or $10kJ/m^2$ of UV-C light, followed by storage at $4{\pm}1^{\circ}C$ for 7 d. Microbiological evaluation indicated that the populations of L. monocytogenes decreased significantly (p<0.05) as irradiation dose increased. In particular, L. monocytogenes populations decreased by 2.03 log CFU/g after exposure to 10 $kJ/m^2$, compared with control samples. The thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance levels of hamburger patty samples increased during storage, regardless of UV-C irradiation status. These results indicate that UV-C irradiation may be useful in improving the microbial safety of hamburger patties during storage.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.359-365
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• 2012

We investigated leaf disease intensity of Kalopanax septemlobus (prickly castor oil tree) caused by the parasitic fungus Mycosphaerella acanthopanacis, in thirty natural host populations in the Japanese Archipelago. The disease intensity observed for individual trees were analyzed using a generalized additive model as a function of tree size, tree density, climatic terms and spatial trend surface. Individual tree size and conspecific tree density were shown to have significant negative and positive effects on disease intensity, respectively. The findings suggest that the probability of disease infection is partly determined by dispersal of infection agents (ascospores) from the fallen leaves on the ground, which can be enhanced by aggregation of host trees in a forest stand. Regional-scale spatial bias was also present in disease intensity; the populations in northern Japan and southern Kyushu were more severely infected by the fungus than those in southwestern Honshu and Shikoku. Regional variation of disease intensity was explained by both climatic factors and a trend surface term, with a latitudinal cline detected, which increases towards the north. Further research should be conducted in order to understand all of the factors generating the latitudinal cline detected in this study.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.17
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• pp.145-155
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• 2001

Cytochrome P4502C19 (CYP2C19) is one of human polymorphic xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes. The enzyme has been reported to catalyze more than 70 substrates, involving more than 100 reactions. These include several classes of therapeutic agents (e.g. anti-microbial. cardiovascular, psycho-active, etc.), sex hormones and insecticides. Associations of the CYP2C19 genotype/phenotype with individual differences in drug efficacy (e.g. diazepam, omeprazole, proguanil) and toxicity (e.g. mephenytoin, barbiturates) have been documented by many investigators. At least 11 allelic variants of CYP2C19 gene were reported to date. Most of the mutant alleles found in the poor metabolizer (PM) led to the production of truncated and/or inactive proteins. Except for the exon 6, single-nucleotide mutations were reported in all nine exons of the gene. Genetic polymorphism of CYP2C19 shows marked interethnic variation with the population frequencies of PM phenotype ranging from 1∼2% up to more than 50%. The prevalence of CYP2C19 PM tends to be higher in Asian and certain Pacific Islanders than other race or ethnic specificity. Genotyping results of CYP2C19 also revealed that there are different proportions of individual mutant alleles among ethnic populations. This may, in part, explains the interethnic difference in the metabolism of certain drugs (i.e. diazepam), though they were from the same CYP2C19 phenotype. Recently, our research group has studied the genotype and phenotype of CYP2C19 and found that the PM frequency (7∼8%) in Thais is lower than other Asian populations. Molecular and clinical impacts of this finding warrant to further investigation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.1557-1566
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• 2007

Ten male crossbred (Thai $Native{\times}Anglo$ Nubian) goats with average live weight of $27{\pm}2$ kg were randomly assigned according to a $5{\times}5$ replicated Latin square design to receive five diets, $T_1$ = concentrate with 0% cassava chip (CC), $T_2$ = 25% CC, $T_3$ = 50% CC, $T_4$ = 75% CC and $T_5$ = 100% CC. Fresh elephant grass (FEG) was offered ad libitum as the roughage. A metabolism trial lasted for 21 days during which liveweight changes and feed intakes were measured. Based on this experiment, there were no significant differences (p>0.05) among treatment groups regarding DM intake and digestion coefficients of nutrients (DM, OM, NDF and ADF), except for $T_5$ (100% CC) which was lowest (p<0.05) in digestion coefficient of CP than $T_1$ and $T_3$. Rumen parameters (ruminal pH, $NH_3$-N and volatile fatty acids), blood urea nitrogen, blood glucose and packed cell volume were similar among treatments. Moreover, rumen microorganism populations were not affected (p>0.05) by cassava inclusion. The amount of N absorption and retention were similar among treatments, except for $T_5$ which tended to be slightly lower. Based on this experiment, it could be concluded that the optimal level of cassava inclusion to replace corn in goat diets was in the range of 25-75% of CC when fed with FEG and it was a good approach in exploiting the use of local feed resources for goat production.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.320-326
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• 1996

To analyze the effects of host versus plasmid on survival of 2, 4-degrading bacteria in environmental samples, strains Pseudomonas cepacia/pJP4, Alcaligenes JMP228/pJP4, P. cepacia/p712, and Alcaligenes JMP228/p712 were separately inoculated into samples of field soil, paddy soil, lake water, and river water, and then the changes of their populations were measured. The strains used contained a 2, 4-D degradative plasmid, either pJP4 conferring fast-growing property to the host or p712 conferring slow-growing property, and were resistant to antibiotics such that the inoculated strains could be enumerated against the indigenous microbial populations. In sterile environmental samples, these strains were stably maintained at the levels used for inoculation, except in sterile paddy soil where Alcaligenes JMP228 strains died drapidly. In natural soil samples for four strains declined steadily with time, but in naturla water samples their polulations fell rapidly at the early phase and then remained almost constant. When the environmentla samples were treated with 2, 4-D, P. cepacia/pJP4 and P. cepacia/p712 maintained significant numbers, while Alcaligenes JMP228/pJP4 and Alcaligenes JMP228/p712 declined significantly in most of the samples. The results indicated that the survivability of genetically modified microorganisms could vary depending on the environments and that their abundance in the environments under s2, 4-D selection was markedly influenced by the nature of the 2, 4-D degradative plasmid as well as type of the host strain.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.215-222
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• 1998

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of physico-chemical environmental factors on the changes of bacterial population from two sites used for drinking water and eight sites polluted with various pollutant in Seoul city. In all the stations except for two sites used for drinking water, the concentrations of nitrate- nitrogen and ammonia were in excess of the criteria of groundwater quality by the result of analysis of 40 variations including physicochemical environmental factors, heavy metals, and bacterial populations. The numbers of total bacteria, heterotrophic bacteria and functional groups of bacteria were ranged from 5.1 to 41.4${\times}$10$\^$5/cells/ml and from 0.01 to 29.6${\times}$10$^4$cfu/ml, respectively. The activities of extracellular enzymes showed the ranges of 0.005∼11.3${\mu}$M/l/hr and its order to lipase, phophatase, ${\beta}$-glucosidase, cellulase, chitinase, amylase. The results of correspondence and multidimensional scaling analysis between bacterial populations and its physico-chemical environmental factors were explained the effects of physico-chemical environmental factors according to site characters and separated four group, which is accord with potential pollutants at wells.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.11
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• pp.1696-1700
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• 2016

In this study, acorn pomace extract (APE) was developed as a natural chemical sanitizer and substitute for chlorine-based sanitizers such as sodium hypochlorite containing harmful substances. Antimicrobial activities of APE and its combined treatments with fumaric acid (FA) and mild heat against Listeria monocytogenes inoculated on red chard were examined. Among the treatments, combined treatment of 0.5% APE at $50^{\circ}C$ and 0.5% FA was the most effective, causing reduction of L. monocytogenes populations by 3.36 log CFU/g compared to the control. After combined treatment, populations of aerobic mesophilic bacteria in the red chard decreased by 2.89 log CFU/g during storage at $4^{\circ}C$ for 8 days compared to the control. Regarding color changes in red chard upon combined treatment, there was no significant change among the red chard samples. These results indicate that combined treatment of APE, FA, and mild heat can improve microbial safety of red chard without affecting quality such as color during storage.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.92-102
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• 2019

Objective: To investigate changes in rumen fermentation characteristics and bacterial community by a sudden change to a high concentrate diet (HC) in Korean domestic ruminants. Methods: Major Korean domestic ruminants (each of four Hanwoo cows; $545.5{\pm}33.6kg$, Holstein cows; $516.3{\pm}42.7kg$, and Korean native goats; $19.1{\pm}1.4kg$) were used in this experiment. They were housed individually and were fed ad libitum with a same TMR (800 g/kg timothy hay and 200 g/kg concentrate mix) twice daily. After two-week feeding, only the concentrate mix was offered for one week in order to induce rapid rumen acidosis. The rumen fluid was collected from each animals twice (on week 2 and week 3) at 2 h after morning feeding using an oral stomach tube. Each collected rumen fluid was analyzed for pH, volatile fatty acid (VFA), and $NH_3-N$. In addition, differences in microbial community among ruminant species and between normal and an acidosis condition were assessed using two culture-independent 16S polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques (terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and quantitative real-time PCR). Results: The HC decreased ruminal pH and altered relative concentrations of ruminal VFA (p<0.01). Total VFA concentration increased in Holstein cows only (p<0.01). Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and real-time quantitative PCR analysis using culture-independent 16S PCR-based techniques, revealed rumen bacterial diversity differed by species but not by HC (p<0.01); bacterial diversity was higher in Korean native goats than that in Holstein cows. HC changed the relative populations of rumen bacterial species. Specifically, the abundance of Fibrobacter succinogenes was decreased while Lactobacillus spp. and Megasphaera elsdenii were increased (p<0.01). Conclusion: The HC altered the relative populations, but not diversity, of the ruminal bacterial community, which differed by ruminant species.