• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.212-220
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• 2008

A Pn10 DNA probe was introduced as a Prevotella nigrescens ATCC $33563^T$-specific DNA probe. In that study, the specificity of the Pn10 was tested with only type or reference strains of 5 oral bacterial species. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the specificity of the Pn10 using the wild type strains of P. nigrescens and is to develop the P. nigrescens ATCC $33563^T$-specific PCR primers based on the nucleotide sequence of the Pn10. The specificity of the Pn10 DNA probe was determined by Southern blot analysis. The nucleotide sequence of Pn10 DNA probes was determined by chain termination method. The PCR primers were designed based on the nucleotide sequence of cloned DNA fragment. The data showed that Pn10 DNA probe were hybridized with the genomic DNAs from P. nigrescens ATCC $33563^T$ and KB6. The Pn10 homologous region, KB6-Pn10, of P. nigrescens KB6 was cloned by PCR and sequenced. The Pn10 and KB6-Pn10 DNA fragments were consisted of 1,875 bp and 1,873 bp, respectively. The percent identity of the two was 98.8% and the divergence of them was 0.6%. The two primer sets (Pn10-F-AC/ Pn10-R-AC and Pn10-F-A/ Pn10-R-A), designed base on the nucleotide sequences of Pn10 DNA probe, were specific to the P. nigrescens ATCC $33563^T$. The two PCR primer sets could detect as little as 4 pg of genomic DNA of P. nigrescens ATCC $33563^T$. These results indicate that the two PCR primer sets have proven useful for the identification of P. nigrescens ATCC $33563^T$, especially with regard to the maintenance of the strain.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.228-236
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• 2008

Validation of viral safety is essential in ensuring the safety of mammalian cell culture-derived biopharmaceuticals, because numerous adventitious viruses have been contaminated during the manufacture of the products. Mammalian cells are highly susceptible to Reovirus type 3 (Reo-3), and there are several reports of Reo-3 contamination during the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals. In order to establish the validation system for the Reo-3 safety, a real-time RT-PCR method was developed for quantitative detection of Reo-3 in cell lines, raw materials, manufacturing processes, and final products as well as Reo-3 clearance validation. Specific primers for amplification of Reo-3 RNA was selected, and Reo-3 RNA was quantified by use of SYBR Green I. The sensitivity of the assay was calculated to be $3.2{\times}10^0\;TCID_{50}/ml$. The real-time RT-PCR method was proven to be reproducible and very specific to Reo-3. The established real-time RT-PCR assay was successfully applied to the validation of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell artificially infected with Reo-3. Reo-3 RNA could be quantified in CHO cell as well as culture supernatant. When the real-time RT-PCR assay was applied to the validation of virus removal during a virus filtration process, the result was similar to that of virus infectivity assay. Therefore, it was concluded that this rapid, specific, sensitive, and robust assay could replace infectivity assay for detection and clearance validation of Reo-3.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.244-250
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• 2008

To evaluate bacteriological water quality, samples were taken from drinking water dispensers placed at S company (S-C) and U highschool (U-H) in Ulsan. The medians of heterotrophic plate counts (HPCs) were 53 CFU/ml for the 74 water samples of S-C and 80 CFU/ml for the 36 cold water samples of U-H, and 38% of the S-C and 42% of the U-H samples showed HPC bacterial concentrations higher than 100 CFU/ml. Coliform bacteria were detected from one sample of S-C. To determine the major source of bacterial contamination, water samples were taken daily for $6\sim8$ days from the bottled water containers as well as the faucets of an experimental water dispenser. While the average HPCs in the bottled water containers were 33 CFU/ml for the first and 132 CFU/ml for the 2nd analysis, the HPC concentration in the cold water samples was 1,022 CFU/ml for the 2nd analysis. These results suggest that the majority of bacteria detected in the cold water samples were originated from the biofilms on the surface of water passages within the water dispensers. There was no significant increase in HPC bacterial concentrations within the bottled water container after installation on the water dispenser. We could isolate and tentatively identify 3 genera 6 species of Gram-positive and 7 genera 7 species of Gram-negative bacteria from the plate count agar plates of U-H samples. Among the isolates, 72% were observed as Gram-positive, and Micrococcus spp. was the most abundant with 54% of the total, followed by Sphingomonas paucimobilis with 16%. It appears that most of the HPC bacteria detected in water dispensers originate from indoor airborne bacteria, which may play important roles in the formation of biofilms on the surface of water passages within the water dispensers.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.278-285
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• 2016

The bifunctional PheA protein, having chorismate mutase and prephenate dehydratase (CMPD) activities, is one of the key regulatory enzymes in the aromatic amino acid biosynthesis in Escherichia coli, and is negatively regulated by an end-product, phenyalanine. Therefore, PheA protein has been thought as useful for protein engineering to utilize mass production of essential amino acid phenylalanine. To obtain feedback resistant PheA protein against phenylalanine, we mutated by using random mutagenesis, extensively screened, and obtained $pheA^{FBR}$ gene encoding a feedback resistant PheA protein. The mutant PheA protein contains substitution of Leu to Phe at the position of 118, displaying that higher affinity (about $290{\mu}M$) for prephenate in comparison with that (about $850{\mu}M$) of wild type PheA protein. Kinetic analysis showed that the saturation curve of $PheA^{FBR}$ against phenyalanine is hyperbolic rather than that of $PheA^{WT}$, which is sigmoidal, indicating that the L118F mutant enzyme has no cooperative effects in prephenate binding in the presence of phenylalanine. In vitro enzymatic assay showed that the mutant protein exhibited increased activity by above 3.5 folds compared to the wild type enzyme. Moreover, L118F mutant protein appeared insensitive to feedback inhibition with keeping 40% of enzymatic activity even in the presence of 10 mM phenylalanine at which the activity of wild type $PheA^{WT}$ was not observed. The substitution of Leu to Phe in CMPD may induce significant conformational change for this enzyme to acquire feedback resistance to end-product of the pathway by modulating kinetic properties.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.344-351
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• 2016

A marine bacterium, designated as strain 50C-3, was isolated from a seawater sample collected from the East Sea of South Korea. The strain is a Gram-negative, aerobic, yellow colored polar-flagellated bacterium that grows at $20-50^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.5-8.5. Optimal growth occurred at $40-50^{\circ}C$, at pH 6.5-7.5, and in the presence of 2% (w/v) NaCl. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, the isolate was considered to represent a member of the genus Ruegeria. The result of this analysis showed that strain 50C-3 shared 99.4% and 96.98% sequence similarity with Ruegeria intermedia CC-GIMAT-$2^T$ and Ruegeria lacuscaerulensis ITI-$1157^T$, respectively. Furthermore, strain 50C-3 showed clear differences from related strains in terms of several characteristics such as motility, carbon utilization, enzyme production, etc. The DNA G+C content was 66.7 mol%. Chemotaxonomic analysis indicated ubiquinone-10 (Q-10) as the predominant respiratory quinone. Based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, and phylogenetic characteristics, the isolate represents a novel variant of the Ruegeria intermedia CC-GIMAT-$2^T$, for which we named Ruegeria sp. 50C-3 (KCTC23890=DSM25519). Strain 50C-3 did not produce cellulase and agarase, but produced alkaline phosphatase, ${\alpha}$-galactosidase, and ${\beta}$-galactosidase. The three enzymes showed stable activities even at $50^{\circ}C$ and thus regarded as thermostable enzymes. Especially, the ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity enhanced by 1.9 times at $50^{\circ}C$ than that at $37^{\circ}C$, which may be very useful for industrial application.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.286-297
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• 2016

Clostridium perfringens is both a ubiquitous environmental bacterium and a major cause of human gastrointestinal disease, and C. perfringens food poisoning ranks among the most common gastrointestinal diseases in developed countries. 120 isolates of C. perfringens were obtained from food-poisoning outbreaks in 2013~2014, Gyeonggi-do. Using PCR, all 120 isolates were identified as C. perfringens type A. Of the tested isolates, 49 isolates carried the cpe gene, 71 isolates carried the cpb2 gene. The outbreak cases of cpb2 and cpe /cpb2 genes were 7 and 7, whereas the outbreak cases of cpe-gene were 2. The epidemiological relationship between C. perfringens isolates has previously been investigated chiefly by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). The genetics relatedness of the isolates raged from 53.5-100% and 75 district PFGE type were observed. The PFGE results revealed a wide genetic diversity among the 64 cpb2 carrying isolates (except 7 isolates), while 46 cpe-carrying isolates (except 3 isolates) showed a high genetic similarity. The MLST analysis revealed that 14 cpe isolates (cpe-chromosomal isolates) belong to a distinct cluster that is significantly distant from all the other cpb2 isolates (cpe-plasmid carrying and cpe-negative isolates). The isolates carrying a cpb2 appear to be rarely related, and are more variable than chromosomal cpe isolates. The results suggest that the cpe-positive outbreak isolates showed close genetic relation, whereas the cpb2-positive isolates revealed a wide genetic diversity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2013

The effect of black garlic extract on the activation of spleen cells from a C57BL6 mouse was investigated to examine immune activities of of fermented black garlic containing a variety of bioactive substances. xtract obtained from the concentration of commercial Namhae black garlic was used for the analysis of immune activities. Treatment with the extract increased the expression of interleukin-2 (IL-2) cytokine. The simultaneous administration of the extract plus lipopolysaccharide (LPS) increased the expression of IL-2, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$, and interferon (IFN)-${\gamma}$ compared with that of a control group. This result suggests that cellular immunity can be induced by macrophages, resulting in the expression of T lymphocytes and T helper type 1 (Th1) cells. In addition, treatment with the extract increased the late response of IL-6 cytokines, and the extract plus LPS augmented the expression of IL-4 and IL-6 compared with that of an LPS-treated group. Meanwhile, the extract plus LPS decreased the late response of IL-10, suggesting that humoral immunity can be activated by stimulating B lymphocytes, suppressing cellular immunity, and effectively modulating the conversion into humoral immune responses. These findings demonstrate that the black garlic extract activates Th1 and Th2 cells by stimulating T lymphocytes in mouse spleen cells and leads to immunomodulation by activating cellular and humoral immune responses of the immune system.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.550-563
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• 2000

This study was carried out in order to elucidate the fundamental data on the taste compounds between wild and cultured fishes produced on Chungmu and Wando at the southern coast areas of Korea. For this purpose, the food components of cultured fishes such as red sea bream Pagnus major, Sebastes pachycephalus and flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus being spot lighted for the main sea fish, the staple food and high economic fish were investigated and compared with those of the wild ones. There was a little appreciable difference in the proximate compositions of all the species from localities between wild and cultured fishes. But according to the growing conditions, wild fishes were higher in moisture contents and lower in crude lipid content than those of cultured fishes and little difference was seen in protein and ash contents between the two. With regard to the nucleotides and their related compounds, i.e. ADP, IMP and inosine were detected but ATP and hypoxanathine were not from them. On the other hand, there were little difference in the total taste compounds of all the species from localities and the growing conditions between wild and cultured fishes. But all the species were higher in IMP content. The total of seventeen amino acids were detected in samples. The highly contents of glutamic acid, lysine, aspartic acid, proline, leucine, alanine, valine and alginine were showed and less low contents of cystein, histidine, methionine, tyrosine and phenylalanine were detected. The total amino acids of the others were much alike in that composition. Little difference was seen from localities and the growing conditions between wild and cultured ones. The free amino acids were much alike in that composition of all the species. There was little difference in the free amino acid compositions all the species from localities and the growing conditions between wild and cultured fishes. But taurine was dominant, showing from 39% to 65% of the free amino acid content and it is followed by hydroxyproline, lysine, alanine and glycine in other. There were differences in the organic acid compositions of all the species from localities and the growing conditions between wild and cultured fishes. In addition, cultured fishes were more abundant in the total organic acid compositions than those of wild ones.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.154-163
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• 1989

This studies were designed to improve the productivity of L-lysine by protoplast fusion and immobilized system of fusants using strains of Brevibacterium flavum ATCC 21528, Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC 21086 and Corynebacterium glutamicum 820. Mutants were isolated with concentration method of $300{\mu}g/ml$ penicillin-G after treatment of $250{\mu}g/ml$ N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. B. flavum $37-2(Hos^-,\;Kan^r,\;AEC^r)$, B. lactofermentum $6-2(Ile^-,\;Val^-,\;Str^r,\;AEC^r)$ and C. glutamicum 57-5$(Met^-,\;Thr^-,\;Rif^r,\;AEC^r)$ were isolated from mutants. Protoplasts were induced by being incubated with $500{\mu}g/ml$ lysozyme of lysis solution for 6 hr and the ratio of protoplast formation and regeneration were ranging from 97-99% and 33-37%, respectively. Fusion frequencies of fusants of BBFL 21, BCFG 37 and BCLG 59 were shown in the range from $1.25{\times}10^{-6}\;to\;5.83{\times}10^{-7}$ under the optimum conditions. The fusant BBFL 21 showed the highest productivity of $411.1\;ng/ml{\cdot}hr$ L-lysine in the lysine productivity broth at $30^{\circ}C$ for 72hr. In the immobilization systems, fusant BBFL 21 was employed in various polymer matrices such as sodium alginate, polyacrylamide, agar and ${\alpha}-carrageena$. The immobilization of sodium alginate showed the highest productivity of $413\;ng/ml{\cdot}hr$ L-lysine in the batch system. Continuous fermentation of immobilization system by using tube fermentor was produced the highest productivity $416.7\;ng/ml{\cdot}hr $ L-lysine under optimum condition.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.344-356
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• 2005

There are normal inhabitants doing medically useful functions in the body. There are many kinds of bacteria performing specific functions in the oral cavity. Two strains of lactic acid bacteria were isolated from inhabitants of caries-free children's oral cavity, which inhibited the formation of artificial plaque by Streptococcus mutans and the production of volatile sulfur compounds by anaerobic bacteria. The isolates were identified by the test using API 50 CHL medium kit and 16S rDNA partial sequencing. 1. Two isolates were Gram-positive bacilli and produced hydrogen peroxide. 2. When Streptococcus mutans was cultured in the media, the mean weight of formed artificial plaque on the orthodontic wires was $124.4{\pm}30.4\;mg$, whereas being reduced to $5.2{\pm}2.0mg$ and $10.6{\pm}6.6mg$ in the media cultured with Streptococcus mutans and each isolate, respectively (p<0.05) 3. The number of viable cells of Streptococcus mutans was $3.4{\times}10^9$ per ml in the cultured solution, whereas those of Streptococcus mutans in the combined culture with each of isolates were $4.6{\times}10^8\;and\;2.4{\times}10^8$ per ml. 4. The optical density was 1.286 in the supernatant of Fusobacterium nucleatum after vortexing for 30minutes, whereas in the supernatant of combined Fusobacterium nucleatum and each isolate, they were reduced to 0.628 and 0.497, which the percentages of coaggregation between them were 29.4% and 57.8%, respectively 5. The optical density of Fusobacterium nucleatum precipitate was 1.794 in the culture media containing cysteine and $FeSO_4$, being reduced to 1.144 and 0.915 in the coaggregated precipitates of Fusobacterium nucleatum and each isolate. The optical density of Porphyromonas gingivalis precipitate was 1.932 in the culture media, being reduced to 1.170 and 1.266 in the coaggregated precipitates of Porphyromonas gingivalis and each isolate. 6. When two isolates were tested with API 50 CHL medium kit, those were identified Lactobaciallius salivarius and Lactobaciallius delbrueckii subsp. lactis. 7. The similarity values of 16S rDNA sequence between each of isolates and Lactobaciallius salivarius subsp. salicinius were 99.60% and 99.73%, respectively, meaning that isolates were Lactobaciallius salivarius subsp. salicinius. These results indicated that two strains isolated from caries-free children's saliva, which inhibited the formation of artificial plaque and the production of volatile sulfur compounds, were identified as Lactobaciallius salivarius subsp. salicinius.