• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.241-244
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• 2013

Nitrate is one of the major nutrients in plants, and nitrate fertilizer often overused for the high yields of crops. Nitrate deposit in soil became one of the major reasons causing salt stress. Specially, salt stress is a serious problem in the soils of plastic film or glass houses. In this study, six microorganisms have been isolated from the wet soils near the disposals of livestock farms and their nitrate uptake activities were investigated. These bacteria were able to remove nitrate as high as 1,000-3,000 ppm (10-50 mM). The strain PCE3 showed the highest nitrate uptake activity and it removed more than 3,700 ppm. In order to identify these bacteria, genes of 16S rRNA were sequenced and analyzed. Phylogenetic trees were constructed with the neighbor-joining methods. Among these bacteria, strain PCE3 was identified as Bacillus species. When the growth and nitrate uptake activities were measured, both were maximal at $37^{\circ}C$ and optimal pH was pH 7-9. Bacillus sp. PCE3 removed nitrate up to 40-60 mM (2,500-3,700 ppm) depending on the nitrate concentration in media. Therefore, Bacillus sp. PCE3 can be a good candidate for the microbial remediation of nitrate-deposited soils in glass and plastic film houses.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.132-145
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• 2023

In this study, culture conditions were optimized to confirm the feasibility of Acetobacter pasteurianus as a starter for fermentation vinegar. Acetobacter pasteurianus strain can be used as a food ingredient. The optimal temperature and pH conditions of the selected Acetobacter pasteurianus SRCM101388 were 28℃ and pH 6.00, respectively. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the composition of the medium, and Plackett-Burman design (PBD) was used to obtain the effective selection of culture medium, resulting in that glucose, sucrose, and yeast extract had the highest effect on increasing biomass. The optimal concentration, which was performed by central composite design (CCD), were determined to be 10.73 g/L of glucose, 3.98 g/L of sucrose, and 18.73 g/L of yeast extract, respectively. The optimal concentrations of trace elements for the production of biomass were found to be 1 g/L of ammonium sulfate, 0.5 g/L of magnesium sulfate, 2 g/L of sodium phosphate monobasic, 2 g/L of sodium phosphate dibasic, and the final optimized medium was pH 6.10. When incubated in a 5 L jar fermenter, the SRCM101388 strain showed a faster-dissolved oxygen (DO) reduction at a lower agitation rate (rpm), and it was able to grow even at reduced DO level when aeration was maintained. The amount of final biomass produced was 2.53±0.12×10⁹ CFU/mL (9.40±0.02 log CFU/mL) when incubated for 18 hours at 150 rpm, 0.5 vvm, pH 6.0, and 28℃.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.146-149
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: Selenium is an essential element for all life forms but can be toxic above certain narrow levels. Prevalent forms of selenium in oxic environment are selenium oxyanions such as selenite and selenate, which may be contaminants in soils and water bodies. Bacterial reduction of more mobile selenium species (selenite or selenate) to less mobile elemental selenium may suggest a benign solution for alleviating toxicity and bioavailability of the selenium species. METHODS AND RESULTS: A facultative anaerobic bacterium, Citrobacter strain SE4-1 was isolated from the contaminated stream sediments and found to effectively reduce selenite to elemental selenium. Aqueous phase of selenite was analyzed by inductively couple plasma spectroscopy and the precipitated sphere-shaped elemental selenium was observed by transmission electron microscopy. CONCLUSION: The bacterial strain SE4-1 isolated in this study suggests a potential role in biogeochemical cycle of selenium by the selenite reduction in the stream environment, and potentials for biotechnological applications to reduceselenium concentrations in selenium-contaminated systems such as wastewater, soil, and groundwater.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.393-401
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• 2009

We isolated and identified a microorganism which was excellent for ammonia oxidation in the biological control of ammonia gas in odor producing materials from organic composting. The isolated strain was tested for growth characteristics and ammonia elimination efficiency under various conditions of temperature, pH, carbon concentration and ammonia concentration. The strain was isolated from a culture broth used in a $NO_2$ producing test with Griess-Ilosvay reagent. The results of 16S rRNA sequence from the isolated strain by using BLANST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) and confirming RDP (Ribosomal Database Project II) and ERRD (The European Ribosomal RNA Database) indicate that the strain is related to Delftia sp. UV-Spectrophotometer (Shimadzu, UVmini-1240) was used as a microbial growth test by measuring turbidity on OD660nm and ammonia concentration was measured by Spectrophotometer (HACH, DR-4000). The optimum growth culture conditions of the ammonia oxidizer Delftia sp. were $30^{\circ}C$, pH 7, glucose concentration 1.00% and $(NH_4)_2SO_4$ 0.5 g/l. Ammonia elimination efficiency was over 94% under the same conditions.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.108-113
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• 2003

Diesel oil-degrading bacterial strains were isolated from diesel oil contaminated soil and called HS series (HS1, HS2 and HS3). These strains were identified as Acinetobacter sp. (HS1) and Pseudomonas sp. (HS2 and HS3) based on Biolog test, cellular fatty acid composition, and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. These strains were coltivated in liquid minimal media containing 2% diesel oil, and diesel oil-degrading activity was measured. As result, all strains degraded over 70% of total diesel oil. But PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon)- and pris- tane-degrading rate of these strain was below 20％ of total PAH and pristane. The HS 1 strain showed highest hydrophobicity and low emulsifying activity among the experimental strains and high diesel oil-degrading activity. From the above-mentioned result, microcosm experiment was performed with the HS1 strain. The HS1 strain showed a degrading activity of over 80% of total diesel oil in microcosm test. And microbial activity was correlated to diesel oil-degrading activity. Therefore, it is suggested that the HS1 strains could be effectively used for the bioremediation for diesel oil.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.8-8
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• 2012

Ginseng have been traditionally used for strengthening immunity, providing nutrition and recovering health from fatigue. Recently, pharmaceutical activities of ginseng roots have been proven by many researches, and ginseng has become a world-famous medicinal plant. Ginseng saponin, ginsenoside, is one of the most important secondary metabolite in ginseng which has various pharmacological activities. Many studies have aimed to convert major ginsenosides to the more active minor ginsenoside Rg3 for consumer demand ginseng product. Microbial strain GS514 strain was isolated from soil around ginseng roots for enzymatic preparation of ginsenoside Rg3, which strain shows strong ability of converting ginsenoside Rb1and Rd into Rg3 in the solution with NaCl. The gene encoding a ${\beta}$-glucosidase from this GS514 was cloned and expressed in the BL21 (DE3) strain of Escherichia coli. The recombinant enzyme was purified and characterized. The molecular mass of purified was 87.5 kDa, as determined by SDS-PAGE. The gene sequence revealed significant homology to the family 3 glycoside hydrolases. The purified single enzyme also catalyzed the conversion of ginsenoside Rb1 into Rg3. This target enzyme will be able to produce as much saponin for consumer demand ginseng product. Anti-apoptotic proteins bind with pro-apoptotic proteins to induce apoptosis mechanism. Over expression of these anti-apoptotic proteins lead to several cancers by preventing apoptosis. Docking simulations were performed for anti-apoptotic proteins with several ginsenosides from Panax ginseng. Our finding shows ginsenosides particularly Rg3, Rh2 and Rf have more binding affinity with apoptotic proteins. Further, these docking system of each ginsenosides can be extended to experimental screen system for further brief confirmations of several diseases.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1971

In order to develop an enzyme preparation for clarification of fruit juices, a microbial strain having a strong pectolytic activity was selected and a crude enzyme preparation from this strain was examined for the effects in the preparation of grape juice and wine. The results are summarized as follows: 1) A strain of Aspergillus niger was selected as having the highest productivity of pectolytic enzymes among many species of Aspergillus and Rhizopus. 2) A pectolytic enzyme preparation was purified from this selected strain and the effects of pH and temperature on its enzyme activity and stability were investigated. 3) The use of the enzyme preparation brought about the increase in the free run yield and clarity of grape juice. 4) Whereas the use of the enzyme preparation did not exhibit any effect in the brewing of red wine, its use showed a good effect on the rates of filtration and clarity in the case of white wine.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.607-620
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• 2023

The biocontrol approach using beneficial microorganisms to control crop diseases is becoming an essential alternative to chemical fungicides. Therefore, new and efficient biocontrol agents (BCA) are needed. In this study, a rhizospheric actinomycete isolate showed unique and promising antagonistic activity against three of the most common phytopathogenic fungi, Fusarium oxysporum MH105, Rhizoctonia solani To18, and Alternaria brassicicola CBS107. Identification of the antagonistic strain, which was performed according to spore morphology and cell wall chemotype, suggested that it belongs to the Nocardiopsaceae. Furthermore, cultural, physiological, and biochemical characteristics, together with phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene (OP869859.1), indicated the identity of this strain to Nocardiopsis alba. The cell-free filtrate (CFF) of the strain was evaluated for its antifungal potency, and the resultant inhibition zone diameters ranged from 17.0 ± 0.92 to 19.5 ± 0.28 mm for the tested fungal species. Additionally, the CFF was evaluated in vitro to control Fusarium wilt disease in Vicia faba using the spraying method under greenhouse conditions, and the results showed marked differences in virulence between the control and treatment plants, indicating the biocontrol efficacy of this actinomycete. A promising plant-growth promoting (PGP) ability in seed germination and seedling growth of V. faba was also recorded in vitro for the CFF, which displayed PGP traits of phosphate solubilization (48 mg/100 ml) as well as production of indole acetic acid (34 ㎍/ml) and ammonia (20 ㎍/ml). This study provided scientific validation that the new rhizobacterium Nocardiopsis alba strain BH35 could be further utilized in bioformulation and possesses biocontrol and plant growth-promoting capabilities.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.687-697
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• 2015

With the shortage of edible fats and oils and depletion of fossil fuels in many countries, microbial lipids is emerging as one of the most promising sources of fats and oils in the global market. Oleaginous microorganisms, also called single cell oils (SCOs), can accumulate lipids more than 25% in the cell volume. Triacylglycerols are the major storage lipids. SCOs offer several advantages for lipid production as follows: SCOs have short life span which would shorten production time, cultivation conditions are not affected by climate and place; the production process is easy to control. There are a number of oleaginous yeasts, molds, and microalgae. Furthermore, the lipid productivity of SCOs can be enhanced through strain improvement and the optimization of cultivation conditions. The new strains developed using recent advanced biotechnical methods showed greatly improved oleaginicity. Further, hydrolysates of lignocellulosic materials can be used as carbon sources for economic production of SCO.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.295-302
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• 2013

Indigo is utilized in various industries including textile dyeing, cosmetics, printing and medicinal products and its reduced form, leuco-indigo, is mainly used in these process. Chemical reducing agent (sodium dithionite, sodium sulfide, etc.) is preferred to use for the formation of leucoindigo in industry. In traditional indigo fermentation process, microorganisms can participate in the reduction of indigo and thus it has been known to reduce environmental pollution and noxious byproducts. However, in fermentation method using microorganisms it is difficult to standardize large scale production process due to low yield and reproducibility. In this study, we attempted to develop the indigo reduction process using microbial flora which was isolated from naturally fermented indigo vat or deduced by metagenomic approach. From the results of library analyses of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genes from the traditional indigo fermentation vat sample (metagenome), it was confirmed that Alkalibacteriums (71%) was distinctly dominant in population. Some strains were identified after confirming that they become pure culture in nutrient media modified slightly. Four strains were separated in this process and each strain showed obvious reducing ability toward indigo in dyeing test. It is expected that the analyzed results will provide important data for standardizing the natural fermentation of indigo and investigating the mechanism of indigo reduction.