• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.339-345
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• 2009

We evaluated the activity and abundance of the crude-oil-degrading bacterium Nocardia sp. H17-1 during bioremediation of oil-contaminated soil, using real-time PCR. The total petroleum hydrocarbon(TPH) degradation rate constants(k) of the soils treated with and without H17-1 were $0.103\;d^{-1}$ and $0.028\;d^{-1}$ respectively. The degradation rate constant was 3.6 times higher in the soil with H17-1 than in the soil without H17-1. In order to detect and quantify the Nocardia sp. H17-1 in soil samples, we quantified the genes encoding 16S ribosomal RNA(16S rRNA), alkane monooxygenase(alkB4), and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase(23CAT) with real-time PCR using SYBR green. The amounts of H17-1 16S rRNA and alkB4 detected increased rapidly up to 1,000-folds for the first 10 days, and then continued to increase only slightly or leveled off. However, the abundance of the 23CAT gene detected in H17-1-treated soil, where H17-1 had neither the 23CAT gene for the degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons nor the catechol 2,3-dioxygenase activity, did not differ significantly from that of the untreated soil($\alpha$=0.05,p>0.22). These results indicated that H17-1 is a potential candidate for the bioaugmentation of alkane-contaminated soil. Overall, we evaluated the abundance and metabolic activity of the bioremediation strain H17-1 using real-time PCR, independent of cultivation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.362-367
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• 2009

In recombinant strains, many proteins and enzymes are expressed as inactive and insoluble inclusion bodies. For soluble expression of an active form of StyB, an NADH-flavin oxidoreductase, several recombinant Escherichia coli strains were developed and tested. Among them, strain BL21(DE3)pLysS effectively produced an active and soluble form of StyB as about 9% of the total protein content, when cultivated at $20^{\circ}C$ with 0.5 mM IPTG. The solubly expressed StyB has the highest oxidoreductase activity at pH 6.5-7.5 and $37^{\circ}C$. Substrate dependence profiles of the StyB-catalyzed reaction showed that the maximum specific activity($V_m$) and half saturation constant($K_m$) were $1,867{\pm}148\;U/mg$ protein and $51.6{\pm}11{\mu}M$ for NADH, and $1,274{\pm}34\;U/mg$ protein and $8.2{\pm}1.2{\mu}M$ for FAD, respectively. This indicates that solubly produced StyB has 6- to 9-fold higher oxidoreductase activities than the in vitro refolded StyB from inclusion bodies.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.561-568
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• 1998

Two cometabolic trichloroethylene (TC) degraders, Pseudomonas putida F1 and Burkholderia (Pseudomonas) cepacia G4, were found to catabolize phenol, benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene as carbon and energy sources. Resting cells of P. putida F1 and B. cepacia G4 grown in the presence of toluene and phenol, respectively, were able to degrade not only benzene, toluene and ethylenzene but also TCE and p-xylene. However, these two strains grown in the absence of toluene or phenol did not degrade TCE and p-xylene. Therefore, it was tentatively concluded that cometabolic degradation of TC and p-xylene was mediated by toluene dioxygenase (P. putida F1) or toluene-2-monooxygenase (B. cepacia G4). Maximal degradation rates of BTEX and TCE by toluene- and phenol-induced resting cells of P. putida F1 and B. cepacia G4 were appeared to be 4-530 nmol/(min$.$mg cell protein) when a single compound was solely served as a target substrate. In case of double substrates, the benzene degradation rate by P. putida F1 in the presence of toluene was decreased up to one seventh of that for the single substrate. TCE degradation rate was also linearly decreased as toluene concentration increased. On the other hand, toluene degradation rate was enhanced by benzene and TCE. For B. cepacia G4, degradation rates of TCE and toluene increased 4 times in the presence of 50 ${\mu}$M phenol. From these results, it was concluded that a degradation rate of a compound in the presence of another cosubstrate(s) could not be predicted by simply generalizing antagonistic or synergistic interactions between substrates.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.152-161
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• 2006

Objective : The relationship between the total daily dose of clozapine given and the plasma concentrations of clozapine and its metabolites(N-desmethylclozapine and clozapine N-oxide) and the effect of Glu158Lys (wild-type : Glu, 'H' ; variant : Lys, 'h') and Glu308Gly(wild-type : Glu, 'D' ; variant : Lys, 'd') variation in FMO3 gene on plasma concentrations of clozapine and its metabolites was studied in schizophrenic patients. Methods : Trough plasma concentrations of clozapine and its metabolites were measured in 34 schizophrenic patients receiving clozapine. The genetic variation of 'h' and 'd' in FMO3 were analyzed in 21 among 34 patients. Results : A linear relationship between the total daily dose of clozapine given(mg/kg body weight per day) and the plasma concentrations(nM) of clozapine was revealed by regression analysis(p<0.001) in the 23 patients receiving a constant daily dose of clozapine for 8 days. The plasma molar concentration ratios of clozapine N-oxide/clozapine in 8 subjects with 'hh' or 'Hh' alleles were not different from those in 6 subjects with 'HH' alleles and the plasma molar concentration ratios in 6 subjects with 'dd' or 'Dd' alleles were not different from those in 8 subjects with 'DD' alleles. Conclusion : The effect of Glu158Lys and Glu308Gly variation in FMO3 gene on clozapine metabolism could not be shown.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.220-228
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• 2020

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (AMX) is a cost-efficient biological nitrogen removal process. The coexistence of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in an AMX reactor is an interesting research topic as a nitrogen-related bacterial consortium. In this study, a sequencing batch reactor for AMX (AMX-SBR) was operated with a conventional activated sludge. The AOB in an AMX bioreactor were identified and quantified using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and real-time qPCR. A T-RFLP assay based on the ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (amoA) gene sequences showed the presence of Nitrosomonas europaea-like AOB in the AMX-SBR. A phylogenetic tree based on the sequenced amoA gene showed that AOB were affiliated with the Nitrosomonas europaea/mobilis cluster. Throughout the enrichment period, the AOB population was stable with predominant Nitrosomonas europaea-like AOB. Two OTUs of amoA_SBR_JJY_20 (FJ577843) and amoA_SBR_JJY_9 (FJ577849) are similar to the clones from AMX-related environments. Real-time qPCR was used to quantify AOB populations over time. Interestingly, the exponential growth of AOB populations was observed during the substrate inhibition of the AMX bacteria. The specific growth rate of AOB under anaerobic conditions was only 0.111 d^-1. The growth property of Nitrosomonas europaea-like AOB may provide fundamental information about the metabolic relationship between the AMX bacteria and AOB.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.67-73
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• 2007

The present study compared the microbial diversity and activity during the application of various bioremediation processes to crude oil-contaminated soil. Five different treatments, including natural attenuation (NA), biostimulation (BS), biosurfactant addition (BE), bioaugmentation (BA), and a combined treatment (CT) of biostimulation, biosurfactant addition, and bioaugmentation, were used to analyze the degradation rate and microbial communities. After 120 days, the level of remaining hydrocarbons after all the treatments was similar, however, the highest rate (k) of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) degradation was observed with the CT treatment (P<0.05). The total bacterial counts increased during the first 2 weeks with all the treatments, and then remained stable. The bacterial communities and alkane monooxygenase gene fragment, alkB, were compared by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The DGGE analyses of the BA and CT treatments, which included Nocardia sp. H17-1, revealed a simple dominant population structure, compared with the other treatments. The Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H') and Simpson dominance index (D), calculated from the DGGE profiles using 16S rDNA, showed considerable qualitative differences in the community structure before and after the bioremediation treatment as well as between treatment conditions.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1198-1204
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• 2005

The objectives of this study were to isolate and culture methanotrophs and to apply them for biological removal of nitrogen and phosphorous. Methanotrophs (dominant species: Methylomonas methanica) were isolated from a landfill cover soil, cultured in a NMS medium, and analyzed to reveal their characteristics of growth and nutrient removal. The methanotrophs themselves can produce substantial amount of organic substances(as COD) including methanol, formaldehyde, and formate, as carbon sources required for denitrification. For instance, the production rate for methanol was $8\;mg/L{\cdot}hr$. Moreover, the analysis of nitrogen and phosphorous in the sludge suggested that the methanotrophs assimilate nitrogen and phosphorous as growth substances.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.624-632
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• 2017

Penicillium expansum causes blue mold rot, a prevalent postharvest disease of pome fruit, and is also the main producer of the patulin. However, knowledge on the molecular mechanisms involved in this pathogen-host interaction remains largely unknown. In this work, a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis-based proteomic approach was applied to probe changes in P. expansum 3.3703 cultivated in apple juice medium, which was used to mimic the in planta condition. The results showed that the pH value and reducing sugar content in the apple juice medium decreased whereas the patulin content increased with the growing of P. expansum. A total of 28 protein spots that were up-regulated in P. expansum when grown in apple juice medium were identified. Functional categorization revealed that the identified proteins were mainly related to carbohydrate metabolism, secondary metabolism, protein biosynthesis or degradation, and redox homeostasis. Remarkably, several induced proteins, including glucose dehydrogenase, galactose oxidase, and FAD-binding monooxygenase, which might be responsible for the observed medium acidification and patulin production, were also detected. Overall, the experimental results provide a comprehensive interpretation of the physiological and proteomic responses of P. expansum to the host plant environment, and future functional characterization of the identified proteins will deepen our understanding of fungi-host interactions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.1187-1196
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• 2013

Global warming will have far-reaching effects on our ecosystem. However, its effects on Antarctic soils have been poorly explored. To assess the effects of warming on microbial abundance and community composition, we sampled Antarctic soils from the King George Island in the Antarctic Peninsula and incubated these soils at elevated temperatures of $5^{\circ}C$ and $8^{\circ}C$ for 14 days. The reduction in total organic carbon and increase in soil respiration were attributed to the increased proliferation of Bacteria, Fungi, and Archaea. Interestingly, bacterial ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) genes were predominant over archaeal amoA, unlike in many other environments reported previously. Phylogenetic analyses of bacterial and archaeal amoA communities via clone libraries revealed that the diversity of amoA genes in Antarctic ammonia-oxidizing prokaryotic communities were temperature-insensitive. Interestingly, our data also showed that the amoA of Antarctic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) communities differed from previously described amoA sequences of cultured isolates and clone library sequences, suggesting the presence of novel Antarctic-specific AOB communities. Denitrification-related genes were significantly reduced under warming conditions, whereas the abundance of amoA and nifH increased. Barcoded pyrosequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene revealed that Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria were the major phyla in Antarctic soils and the effect of short-term warming on the bacterial community was not apparent.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1193-1201
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• 2012

The analysis and quantification of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) is crucial, as they initiate the biological removal of ammonia-nitrogen from sewage. Previous methods for analyzing the microbial community structure, which involve the plating of samples or culture media over agar plates, have been inadequate because many microorganisms found in a sewage plant are unculturable. In this study, to exclusively detect AOB, the analysis was carried out via denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis using a primer specific to the amoA gene, which is one of the functional genes known as ammonia monooxygenase. An AOB consortium (S1 sample) that could oxidize an unprecedented 100% of ammonia in 24 h was obtained from sewage sludge. In addition, real-time PCR was used to quantify the AOB. Results of the microbial community analysis in terms of carbon utilization ability of samples showed that the aeration tank water sample (S2), influent water sample (S3), and effluent water sample (S4) used all the 31 substrates considered, whereas the AOB consortium (S1) used only Tween 80, D-galacturonic acid, itaconic acid, D-malic acid, and $_L$-serine after 192 h. The largest concentration of AOB was detected in S1 ($7.6{\times}10^6copies/{\mu}l$), followed by S2 ($3.2{\times}10^6copies/{\mu}l$), S4 ($2.8{\times}10^6copies/{\mu}l$), and S3 ($2.4{\times}10^6copies/{\mu}l$).