• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제23권9호
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• pp.1322-1326
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• 2013

New antifungal agents are required to compensate for the increase in resistance to standard antifungal agents of Candida albicans, which is an important opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes minor infections in many individuals but very serious infections in those who are immune-compromised. In this study, combinations of theaflavin and epicatechin are investigated as potential antifungal agents and also to establish whether antifungal synergy exists between these two readily accessible and cost-effective polyphenols isolated from black and green tea. The results of disc diffusion assays showed stronger antibacterial activity of theaflavin:epicatechin combinations against C. albicans NCTC 3255 and NCTC 3179, than that of theaflavin alone. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 1,024 ${\mu}g/ml$ with theaflavin and 128-256 ${\mu}g/ml$ with theaflavin:epicatechin combinations were found. The fractional inhibitory concentration indexes were calculated, and the synergy between theaflavin and epicatechin against both isolates of C. albicans was confirmed. Theaflavin:epicatechin combinations show real potential for future use as a treatment for infections caused by C. albicans.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제28권11호
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• pp.1937-1945
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• 2018

Malassezia pachydermatis is a commensal yeast found on the skin of dogs. However, M. pachydermatis is also considered an opportunistic pathogen and is associated with various canine skin diseases including otitis externa and atopic dermatitis, which usually require treatment using an azole antifungal drug, such as ketoconazole. In this study, we isolated a ketoconazole-resistant strain of M. pachydermatis, designated "KCTC 27587," from the external ear canal of a dog with otitis externa and analyzed its resistance mechanism. To understand the mechanism underlying ketoconazole resistance of the clinical isolate M. pachydermatis KCTC 27587, the whole genome of the yeast was sequenced using the PacBio platform and was compared with M. pachydermatis type strain CBS 1879. We found that a ~84-kb region in chromosome 4 of M. pachydermatis KCTC 27587 was tandemly quadruplicated. The quadruplicated region contains 52 protein coding genes, including the homologs of ERG4 and ERG11, whose overexpression is known to be associated with azole resistance. Our data suggest that the quadruplication of the ~84-kb region may be the cause of the ketoconazole resistance in M. pachydermatis KCTC 27587.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제74권5호
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• pp.215-221
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• 2013

Background: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are considered opportunistic pathogens, and several species of NTM are associated with human diseases that typically involve the pulmonary, skin/soft tissue, or lymphatic systems; such infection may also cause disseminated diseases. Recent studies have reported increasing rates of NTM-induced disease worldwide. Methods: Respiratory samples are being analyzed for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) culture and NTM identification at Dankook University Hospital in Cheonan, Korea, from September 2005 to September 2011. Identification is performed by using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis targeting a novel region of the rpoB gene. Results: A total of 25,133 specimens were received for AFB culture, of which 1,014 (4.0%) were NTM-positive. A total of 267 samples from 186 patients were tested for NTM identifications, and 232 samples from 157 patients were positive for NTM species. Among the patients who tested positive for NTM, 65.6% were men and the average age was 63.3 years. Mycobacterium avium complex, the most commonly detected NTM pathogen, was found in 65.9% of the 232 samples. The annual average percentage of NTM isolates from AFB culture-positive specimens was 31.3%: the highest rate was seen in 2011 (44.3%), followed by 2009 (37.4%) and 2010 (37.2%). An upward trend in NTM incidence was found during the study period. Conclusion: The prevalence of pulmonary NTM isolates continues to increase in Cheonan, suggesting that pulmonary NTM disease is becoming increasingly common.

• 상하수도학회지
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• 제20권5호
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• pp.755-761
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• 2006

Recently, there is growing interest in ultraviolet (UV) irradiation as a disinfection technic in drinking water production due to its effectiveness to inactivate microorganisms such as Crytosporidium parvum without forming disinfection byproducts. However, UV disinfection is known for its drawback such as photoreactivation. Despite many works concerning the photoreactivation, most of works were focused on indicator or non pathogenic microorganisms. The objective of this study is to examine the photoreactivation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa which is an opportunistic pathogen as UV radiation by LP and MP UV lamp was applied. The result showed that P. aeruginosa had high photo repair efficiency regardless of the type of UV irradiation. Both of the effective log repair values of LP and MP UV irradiation were found approximately 2.6 log. In addition, photo repaired P. aeruginosa was not significantly different in forming biofilm in comparison with non treated P. aeruginosa.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제37권4호
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• pp.271-275
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• 1999

Pneumocystis carinii is the most important opportunistic pathogen of humans in the world. Pneumocystis carinii is experimentally detected in the lungs of rats, mice, rabbits, and monkeys, however, the organisms from different mammals are identical in microscopic morphology. The present study tried to find out more mammalian hosts of P. carinii and also to differentiate the organisms from different mammals by karyotyping. Rats, mice, hamsters, rabbits, cats, and dogs were successfully infected by P. carinii, but guinea pigs and pigs were not. Karyotype of P. carinii from rabbits showed similar size range of chromosomes with that of the prototype, but in different pattern. The patterns from cats and dogs were also different from that of rats. The present study confirms that cats and dogs are infected by P. carinii and at least total three karyotype strains of P. carinii are proven in Korea.

• 한국동물위생학회지
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• 제39권3호
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• pp.175-181
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• 2016

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is an important opportunistic pathogen of dog and cats. Since 2006 there has been a significant emergence of methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) mainly due to clonal spread. The aim of this study was to investigated the prevalence of antibiotic resistance and presence of mecA and femA gene in 91 S. pseudintermedius isolates isolated from dogs and cats associated with various clinic infections. Methicillin resistance was confirmed by oxacillin disc diffusion method. MRSP isolate was detected 19 isolates (20.9%). MRSP and methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MSSP) isolates were highly resistant to penicillin, kanamycin, tetracycline, erythromycin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin and choloramphenicol (100~47.3% and 90.3~33.3%, respectively). About 90% of MRSP isolates were multi-drug resistance (resistance to at least five or more antimicrobials), and MSSP isolates was ca 74%. Among the 91 isolates, mecA gene was detected in 25 isolates (27.5%, 19 in MRSP isolates and 6 in MSSP isolates), but none carried the femA gene. Our results indicated MRSA isolates show a strong resistance to antimicrobials commonly used in veterinary medicine. A continuous surveillance and monitoring should be called for to prevent the contamination and spread of MRSP in dogs and cats.

• 한국물환경학회지
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• 제28권6호
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• pp.911-916
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• 2012

Recently, antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) in the environment are emerging as pollutants, since these genetic contaminants can eventually be transferred to human pathogens. The aim of this study was to develop the experimental model of antibiotic resistant gene (ARG) plasmid transfer as a function of various environmental conditions. For this purpose, the multi drug resistant plasmid pB10, which is known to be originally isolated from a wastewater treatment plant, was selected as a model transfer plasmid and Escherichia coli $DH5{\alpha}$ containing pB10 was used as a model donor. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen, was selected as the recipient for the conjugation experiment. When the donor and recipient were exposed to various stressors including antibiotics and heavy metal as a function of the concentrations (10, 100 and, 1000 ppb), statistically increased plasmid transfer rate was observed at a concentration of 10 ppb of tetracycline and sulfamethoxazole compared to control (no antibiotic exposure). Accordingly, the developed experimental ARG model by various stressor is a promising tool for evaluating the dissemination of ARGs by micro-contaminants in aquatic environment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제18권7호
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• pp.1227-1234
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• 2008

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic human pathogen that produces and secretes exopolysaccharides (EPS), in which cells are embedded to form a highly organized community structure called biofilm. Here, we characterized the role of cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) and EPS (PEL) overproduction in the wspF mutant phenotypes of P. aeruginosa PA14 (wrinkly appearance, hyperadherence, impaired motilities, and reduced virulence in acute infections). We confirmed that the elevated c-di-GMP level plays a key role in all the wspF mutant phenotypes listed above, as assessed by ectopic expression of a c-di-GMP-degrading phophodiesterase (PvrR) in the wspF mutant. In contrast, PEL EPS, which is overproduced in the wspF mutant, was necessary for wrinkly appearance and hyperadherence, but not for the impaired flagellar motilities and the attenuated virulence of the wspF mutant. These results suggest that c-di-GMP affects flagellar motility and virulence, independently of EPS production and surface adherence of this bacterium.

• 미생물학회지
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• 제53권2호
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• pp.126-128
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• 2017

Cutibacterium acnes (이전 학명 = Propionibacterium acnes)은 혐기성, 그람 양성 간균으로 사람 피부 및 점막조직 표면의 정상 세균총에 해당할 뿐만 아니라 여드름, 유육종증, 뇌종양, 심내막염, 전립선암, 치주질환 및 치수감염질환과도 연관성이 있는 것으로 보고되고 있다. C. acnes KCOM 1861 (= ChDC B594) 균주가 사람 악골 골수염 병소에서 분리되었으며 그 유전체 염기서열을 해독하여 보고한다.

• 미생물학회지
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• 제54권1호
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• pp.79-80
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• 2018

본 연구에서는 돼지 축사 근처 하수 오물에서 분리된 그람 음성균이자 항생제 내성을 쉽게 획득하여 병원성을 띄는 균주인 Citrobacter freundii를 host로 하는 박테리오파지의 유전체 분석을 수행하였다. 본 박테리오파지는 G + C 비율이 42.65%이며, 50,339 bp로 구성된 유전체 DNA를 지니고 있었다. 이러한 유전체 DNA에서 89개의 단백질 코딩 유전자가 확인 되었으며, 이 중 55개의 유전자는 BLASTP 분석으로부터 기능을 가지고 있다고 추정되었다. 또한 RNA는 확인되지 않았다.