• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.193-197
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• 1987

Associative heterotrophic nitrogen fixing bacteria were identified by immunodiffusion method in the histosphere of Planta-ginaceae, Caryophllaceae, Gramineae, and two types of rice cultivars. Twenty four strains associative heterotrophic bacteria with high ARA (more than 10nmole/tube/hr) were isolated from the histosphere of grasses and rice.* Those strains were related with 8 species of Azospirillum, 11 species of Pseudomonas, 2 species of Klebsiella and 2 species of Agrobacterium. Among them Azospirillum sp. and Pseudomonas sp. were predominant in histosphere of grasses and rice cultivars. From the histosphere of Oryza sativa, and Sagina maxima, the strains of Azospirillum, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, and Agrobacter were identified while Pseudomonas was identified from Ischaemum anthephoroides, Plantago lanceolata, Miscanthus sacchuriflorum, and only Azospirillum was identified from Zoisia sinica, respectively. Associative nitrogen fixing heterotrophic bacteria were more abundant in the histosphere of Oryza sativa and Sagina maxima than that of other grasses grown in saline and reclaimed saline paddy soil.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.113-120
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• 2001

The production of microcystins from Microcystis aeruginosa was investigated in a P-limited continuous culture and a batch culture. The microcystin content of M aeruginosa was higher at a lower $\mu$, whereas the microcystin (MC)-producing rate was linearly proportional to $\mu$. The ratios of the MC-producing rate to the C-fixation rate were higher at a lower $\mu$. Consequently, increases in the microcystin content per dry weight along with the production of the more toxic form, MC-LR, were both observed under more P-limited conditions. The microcystin content of M. aeruginosa exhibited a high correlation with the total N content regardless of N-fixed or P-fixed culture. The microcystin concentration was investigated from spring to autumn in 1999 in the Daechung Reservoir, Korea. The dominant species in the algal blooming season was Microcystis. When the microcystin concentration exceeded about 100 ng $1^{-1}$ the ratio of particulate to dissolved total nitrogen (TN) or total phosphorus (TP) interestingly converged at a value of 0.6. The microcystin concentration was lower than 50 ng $1^{-1}$ at a particulate N:P ratio below 8, whereas the microcystin concentration varied quite substantially from 50 ng $1^{-1}$ to 250 ng $1^{-1}$ at a particulate N:P ratio> 8.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.52-56
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• 2006

The effect of bensulfuron-methyl on the nontargeted cyanobacteria was greater on A. variabillis than N. commune. Both A. variabillis and N. commune were initially able to utilize low concentrations of the herbicide, bensulfuron-methyl, whereas higher concentrations of bensulfuron-methyl or the hydrolyzed products of the herbicide were found to be toxic. Growth and photosynthesis inhibitions of over $50\%$ were observed, when 8 to 10 ppm of the herbicide was applied. Nitrogenase activities of the cyanobacteria were decreased by $94-98\%$ in A. variabillis and by $85-86\%$ in N. commune after 24 h of incubation with 10 ppm and 20 ppm of bensulfuron-methyl. Nitrogenase activities were also inhibited by the addition of ammonium salts as low as 0.05 mM. Furthermore, the toxic effect of the herbicide was the highest at pH 4-6, showing approximately $42-60\%$ toxicity, whereas much lower toxicity $(9-28\%)$ was observed at higher pH of 7-10, due to base-catalyzed hydrolysis of bensulfuron-methyl.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.522-525
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• 2002

A very rapid and efficient separation technique for cellular rhizobial cyclosophoraoses was developed based on fractional precipitation and partition chromatography. Cyclosophoraoses are known to function in the osmotic regulation and root nodule formation of legumes during the nitrogen fixation process. Cyclosophoraoses are produced as unbranched cyclic (1longrightarrow12)-${\beta}$-D-glucans in Agrobacterium or Rhizobium species. Recent research has shown that cyclosophoraoses can form inclusion complexation with various unstable or insoluble guest chemicals, thereby implying great potential for industrial application. Typical separation of pure cellular cyclosophoraoses has been so far carried out by several time-consuming steps, including size exclusion, anion exchange, and desalting liquid chromatographies, with a relatively poor recovery. However, the proposed method demonstrated that the successive application of fractional ethanol precipitation and one step of silica gel-based flash column chromatography was enough to simultaneously purify neutral or anionic forms of cyclosophoraoses. This novel technique is very rapid and provides a high recovery.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.119-136
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• 2000

Being autotrophic, algae occupy a trategic place in the biosphere. They produce oxygen both directly and indirectly through the chloroplasts of all green plants. The chloroplasts are believed to have originated from archaic prokaryotic algae through endosymbiosis with primitive eukaryotic cells. Phytoplankton and other algae regulate the global environment not only by releasing oxygen but also by fixing carbon dioxide. They affect water quality, help in the treatment of sewage, and produce biomass. They can be used to produce hydrogen which is a clean fuel, and biodiesel, and fix $N_2$ for use as a biofertilizer. Some other services of algae to the environment include restoration of metal damaged ecosystems, reducing the atmospheric $CO_2$ load and citigating global warming, reclamation of saline-alkaline unfertile lands, and production of dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) involved in the regulation of UV radiation. ozone concentration, and global warming. Algae can be valuable in understanding and resolving certain environmental issues.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.58-66
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• 2011

Arsenic pollution is a serious global concern which affects all life forms. Being a toxic metalloid, the continued search for appropriate technologies for its remediation is needed. Phytoremediation, the use of green plants, is not only a low cost but also an environmentally friendly approach for metal uptake and stabilization. However, its application is limited by slow plant growth which is further aggravated by the phytotoxic effect of the pollutant. Attempts to address these constraints were done by exploiting plant-microbe interactions which offers more advantages for phytoremediation. Several bacterial mechanisms that can increase the efficiency of phytoremediation of As are nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, siderophore production, ACC deaminase activity and growth regulator production. Many have been reported for other metals, but few for arsenic. This mini-review attempts to present what has been done so far in exploring plants and their rhizosphere microbiota and some genetic manipulations to increase the efficiency of arsenic soil phytoremediation.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.317-323
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• 2010

Nutrient availability is a critical component of agroecosystems, and is relevant to both above- and below- ground interactions. The principal objective of this study was to determine how the cessation of fertilization affects the communities of weeds and soil organisms in a corn/wheat field. Changes in dominant weed species, substrate-induced respiration, and the population density of nematodes and microarthropods were evaluated. Microbial substrate-induced respiration (SIR) and the population density of microarthropods decreased following the cessation of fertilization and were partly correlated with the aboveground weed biomass. The cessation of organic fertilizer application but continuing application of inorganic fertilizer reduced the population density of nematodes. In response to the cessation of fertilization, weed communities were dominated by species with little dependency on fertilization. Amaranthus retroflexus was identified as the most dominant species in the corn field; however, it was replaced by Digitaria ciliaris after the cessation of fertilization. In the wheat field, the cessation of fertilization led to a rapid reduction in the biomass of most weeds, except for Vicia angustifolia, supposedly as the result of symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Additionally, the fact that weed biomass was partially correlated with SIR or the population density of microarthropods may reflect a mutual feedback between soil organisms and weeds. The results indicate that the cessation of fertilization alters communities of weeds and soil organisms through changes in weed biomass and interactions with symbiotic microorganisms.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.43-50
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• 2014

Microorganisms have many roles in nature. They may act as decomposers that obtain nutrients from dead materials, while some are pathogens that cause diseases in animals, insects, and plants. Some are symbionts that enhance plant growth, such as arbuscular mycorrhizae and nitrogen fixation bacteria. However, roles of plant pathogens and diseases in natural ecosystems are still poorly understood. Thus, the current study addressed this deficiency by investigating possible roles of plant diseases in natural ecosystems, particularly, their positive effects on arthropod diversity. In this study, the model system was the oak tree (Quercus spp.) and the canker disease caused by Annulohypoxylon truncatum, and its effects on arthropod diversity. The oak tree site contained 44 oak trees; 31 had canker disease symptoms while 13 were disease-free. A total of 370 individual arthropods were detected at the site during the survey period. The arthropods belonged to 25 species, 17 families, and seven orders. Interestingly, the cankered trees had significantly higher biodiversity and richness compared with the canker-free trees. This study clearly demonstrated that arthropod diversity was supported by the oak tree canker disease.

• The Microorganisms and Industry
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.27-31
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• 1993

Certain bacterial species possess the capability of differentiation through several morphogenetic changes which enable them to adapt to certain internal and external stimuli(Losick and Shapiro 1984). Upon induction, cells of A. vinelandii undergo a morphological process which leads to the production of one cyst per cell (Sadoff, 1975). The cysts are considerably resistant to desiccation, which confers a survival advantages upon the organism(Socolofsky and Wyss 1962). Like other prokaryotic differentiations encystment provides a relatively simple model of cellular differentiation. Like in other differentiating bacteria, vegetative growth can be separated from differentiation. Furthermore, the differentiation cycle can be synchronized by specific inducer. There have been a great deal of morphological and physiological studies on this process. However, the mechanisms used to regulate cell differentiation can be clearly defined by careful genetic analysis of the process. Unfortunately, A. vinelandii has proven to be difficult for genetic analysis (Sadoff 1975). For example, it has been shown that a variety of metabolic mutants of Azotobacter speicies are difficult to isolate after mutagenesis with chemical mutagens or UV irradiation. Nevertheless recent advances in molecular genetics in Azotobacter species, especially in the nitrogen fixation research area, appear to be able to overcome this difficulty (Robinson et al. 1986; Kennedy et al. 1986).

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.285-290
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• 1989

The biololgical effect of the preemergence rice field herbicide, butachlor(commercial name, Machete) on purple nonsulfur photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum KS-301 has been studied under cultural conditions. Bacterial growth showed a tendency to decline according to the degree of the concentration of butachlor until $10^{-3}$ M and slmost stopped at $10^{-2}$M. The growth inhibitory action at $10^{-3}$M of butachlor was evident (4.2-18.7% inhibition of growth rate) but had little effect in nitrogen fixation. Conversely, there was a little enhancement effect(1%) in pyruvate, dinitrogen gas growing cultures. At concentration of $10^{-3}$ M, instead of spiral form, rod shapes were observed through phase contrast microscope and instead of vesicular intracytoplasmic membrane, irregular tubular forms were observed through electron microscope. Alkaline pH value slightly reversed tha inhibitory action of butachlor.