• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.281-285
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• 2007

Cold environments, including polar and alpine regions, are colonized by a wide diversity of micro-organisms able to thrive at low temperatures. There is evidence of a wide range of metabolic activities in alpine cold ecosystems. Like polar microorganisms, alpine microorganisms playa key ecological role in their natural habitats for nutrient cycling, litter degradation, and many other processes. A number of studies have demonstrated the capacity of alpine microorganisms to degrade efficiently a wide range of hydrocarbons, including phenol, phenol-related compounds and petroleum hydrocarbons, and the feasibility of low-temperature bioremediation of European alpine soils by stimulating the degradation capacity of indigenous microorganisms has also been shown.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.293-297
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• 2012

Of the 169 strains of microorganisms stored in Polar and Alpine Microbial Collection of Korea Polar Research Institute, 27 strains were selected for their chitinase activity on ZoBell plates supplemented with 0.4% colloidal chitin. Among them, PAMC 21693 strain have shown the highest chitinolytic enzyme activity toward pNP-$(GlcNAc)_1$ at low temperature and the highest growth rate at $4^{\circ}C$. We cloned a full-length chitinase gene of 2,857 bp which contains an open reading frame of 2,169 bp encoding 872-amino acid polypeptide. Recombinant chitinase protein was expressed in E. coli and its molecular weight was confirmed 96 kDa. In this paper, we suggest the potential use of cold-active chitinase from polar microorganisms in the field of biotechnology.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.86-88
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• 2007

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.902-906
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• 2012

Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from the Antarctic green algae Pyramimonas gelidicola were analyzed to obtain molecular information on cold acclimation of psychrophilic microorganisms. A total of 2,112 EST clones were sequenced, generating 222 contigs and 219 singletons, and 200 contigs and 391 singletons from control ($4^{\circ}C$) and cold-shock conditions ($-2^{\circ}C$), respectively. The complete EST sequences were deposited to the DDBJ EST database (http://www.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/index-e.html) and the nucleotide sequences reported in this study are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank. These EST databases of Antarctic green algae can be used in a wide range of studies on psychrophilic genes expressed by polar microorganisms.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.293-296
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• 2014

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of culture temperature on the growth rate and protease activity of Antarctic microorganisms. The Antarctic microorganisms PAMC 25641, 25614, 25719 and 25617 were obtained from the Polar and Alpine Microbial Collection (PAMC) at the Korea Polar Research Institute. These microorganisms were confirmed for the excretion of protease on a plate with skim milk. The identification of microorganisms was carried out using the 16S rDNA sequencing method. PAMC 25641 showed the highest protease activity among the subjects tested, and PAMC 25617 exhibited the highest growth rate. The growth rates of the microorganisms were not affected by temperature, except for PAMC 25617. However, protease activities were increased for all strains in a temperature dependent fashion. These results suggest the possible application of Antarctic microorganisms for the efficient production of low temperature proteases.

• ALGAE
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.169-174
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• 2006

We have cultured more than 100 Arctic and Antarctic cryophilic microalgal strains in KOPRI culture collections of polar microorganisms (KCCPM). Among them, we tried to identify an Antarctic strain, KOPRI AnM0008 by morphological and molecular analysis. Nuclear SSU rDNA and plastid rbcL sequences were used to identify the strain. It was identified as Porosira pseudodenticulata based on SSU sequence data showing 99% identity with GenBank X85398. This result was supported by morphological features like solitary labiate process, external foramina and internal cribra by optical and scanning electron microscope. Morphological identification and molecular analysis on polar cryophilic microalgae will be accomplished to construct the databases for KCCPM.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.263-271
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• 2007

The survival strategies of polar organisms at permanently or extremely cold temperatures and their application to cryobiology were reviewed here. In addition, ongoing studies on psychrophiles also were described. Psychrophiles are extremophiles that can grow and reproduce in cold temperatures, typically at -10 to $20^{\circ}C$. These organisms developed various mechanisms of adaptation to extremely cold environments. Polar organisms cope with these extreme physicochemical conditions using strategies such as avoidance, protection and partnership with other organisms. Understanding on the strategies adopted by polar organisms may provide insight on the physiological process that cells can go through during freezing. Cryopreservation may be able to take advantage of the findings described above. Currently, genomes of many cold-loving organisms have been sequenced and comparative genomics has revealed, at a molecular level, the characteristics of these organisms. The investigation of microorganisms on the polar glaciers may expand our understanding on the origin of life on Earth and other planets.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.380-388
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• 2012

A total of 5 different polar microorganisms were isolated from Arctic lichens and their bioactive compounds were extracted from cell culture using different solvents including acetone, water, chloroform, diethylether, ethanol, ethyl acetate, methanol, and petroleum ether. The antibacterial properties of the extracts were evaluated by disk diffusion tests and minimal inhibitory concentration tests against 6 bacterial pathogens; Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus, Enterobacter cloacae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. Among the extraction samples, ethyl acetate extracts of Burkholderia sordidicola S5-$B^T$ (KOPRI 26644) showed the highest activity (inhibition zone, 7-10 mm; MIC value, 57.5-1000 ug/ml) against targeted bacteria. Among the various solvents used for extraction, chloroform extract exhibited the weakest, but still obvious, activity.

• ALGAE
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.175-183
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• 2022

Polar microorganisms produce physiologically active substances to adapt to harsh environments, and these substances can be used as biomedical compounds. The green microalga Micractinium variabile KSF0031, which was isolated from Antarctica, produced phytol, a natural antimicrobial agent. Furthermore, several polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including omega-3, exhibit antioxidant properties. Here statistical methods (Plackett-Burman design and Box-Behnken design) were used to optimize the culture medium of KSF0031 to improve biomass production, and K₂HPO₄, MgSO₄·7H ₂O, and ammonium ferric citrate green (AFCg) were selected as significant components of the culture medium. Changes in the concentration of K₂HPO₄ and MgSO₄·7H ₂O as positive factors and AFCg as a negative factor affected cell growth to a remarkable degree. The biomass production in a 100 L culture using the optimized medium for 24 d at 18℃ was improved by 37.5% compared to that obtained using the original BG-11 medium. The quantities of PUFAs and phytol obtained were 13 mg g^-1 dry cell weight (DCW) and 10.98 mg g^-1 DCW, which represent improved yields of 11.70% and 48.78%, respectively. The results of this study could contribute to an improved production of phytol and fatty acids from Antarctic microalgae in the biomedical industry.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.12
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• pp.1086-1095
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• 2015

The psychrophilic organism Colwellia psychrerythraea strain 34H produces extracellular polysaccharide substances to tolerate cold environments. Sedoheptulose 7-phosphate isomerase (GmhA) is essential for producing $\small{D}$-glycero-$\small{D}$-mannoheptose 7-phosphate, a key mediator in the lipopolysaccharide biosynthetic pathway. We determined the crystal structure of GmhA from C. psychrerythraea strain 34H (CpsGmhA, UniProtKB code: Q47VU0) at a resolution of $2.8{\AA}$. The tetrameric structure is similar to that of homologous GmhA structures. Interestingly, one of the catalytic residues, glutamate, which has been reported to be critical for the activity of other homologous GmhA enzymes, is replaced by a glutamine residue in the CpsGmhA protein. We also found differences in the conformations of several other catalytic residues. Extensive structural and sequence analyses reveal that CpsGmhA shows high similarity to Escherichia coli DnaA initiatorassociating protein A (DiaA). Therefore, the CpsGmhA structure reported here may provide insight into the structural and functional correlations between GmhA and DiaA among specific microorganisms.