• Title/Summary/Keyword: small organisms

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A Review on Major Factors for Microalgae Biofuel Commercialization (미세조류 바이오연료 상용화를 위한 주요 인자 연구)

  • Kang, Do-Hyung;Heo, Soo-Jin;Oh, Chulhong;Ju, Se-Jong;Jeon, Seon-Mi;Choi, Hyun-Woo;Noh, Jae Hoon;Park, Se Hun;Kim, Tae-Young
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.34 no.4
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    • pp.365-384
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    • 2012
  • Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms that are highly productive in the presence of basic renewable natural sources (light, $CO_2$, water and nutrients). They can synthesize lipids, carbohydrates and proteins in a small number of days. Subsequently, these carbon-captured products can be processed into both biofuels and valuable co-products. Additionally, microalgae would be an ideal feedstock for replacing land-based food crops with cellular products as high energy density transportation fuels. These microscopic organisms could contribute a significant amount of renewable energy on a global scale. In Korea, microalgae biofuel research was common in the early 1990s. The research activities were unfortunately stopped due to limited governmental funds and low petroleum prices. Interest in algal biofuels in Korea has been growing recently due to an increased concern over oil prices, energy security, greenhouse gas emissions, and the potential for other biofuel feedstock to compete for limited agricultural resources. The high productivity of microalgae suggests that much of the Korean transportation fuel requirements can be met by biofuels at a production cost competitive with the increasing cost of petroleum seen in early 2008. At this time, the development of microlalgal biomass production technology remains in its infancy. This study reviewed microalgae culture systems and biomass production, harvesting, oil extraction, conversion, and technoeconomical bottlenecks. Many technical and economic barriers to using microalgal biofuels need to be overcome before mass production of microalgal-derived fuel substitutes is possible. However, serious efforts to overcome these barriers could become a large-scale commercial reality. Overall, this study provides a brief overview of the past few decades of global microalgal research.

Studies on new antibiotics in Korea IV

  • Shim Je-Seop;Oh You-Jin;Yun Jeong-Ku;Han Seong-Soon
    • Korean journal of applied entomology
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    • v.19 no.3 s.44
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    • pp.163-168
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    • 1980
  • The antibiotic bacterium JS7901, one of the eighty three antibiotic microorganisms which have been is elated in the surburbs of CheongJu-city, showed the most effective antimicrobial activities against test organisms, both bacteria and fungi. Among the different culture media Soytone Sugar medium was the most effective for growth and activity of the JS7901 antibiotic bacterium a against both Escherichia coli and Staphyllococcus aureus by the cylinder plate method. The higher the sugar content, was, the greater the antibiotic amount of substances of JS7901 were produced in the soytone sugar media. The antibiotic bacterium, JS7901 appeared to have a broad activity spectrum showing inhibition in Vitro against gram positive and negative bacteria and plant disease fungi. In general, the active substances were not transferred into organic solvents. Only a small portion of the activity was transferred into ethyl ether and was also adsorbed to active carbon when the cultured broth was also adsorbed to active carbon when the cultured broth was at $pH\;2.0\~4.0$. On adjusting at pH 8.0, the activity disappeared. The crude active substances could be obtained by means of vacuum drying method and still shelved strong activity. The dried active rake was solved by solvents and crystallized into various shapes. The active substances were developed on the silica gel plate in the solvent system of n-butanol-acetic acid-water(3 : 1 : 1) and gave 5 pinkish colored spots when sprayed with $0.2\%$ ninhydrine in ethanol. The upper 5th spot, which was the result of using disc plate method with Escherichia coli was the strongest of these spots.

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Importance of Polar Phytoplankton for the Global Environmental Change (전 지구 환경변화에 대한 극지 식물플랑크톤의 중요성)

  • 강성호;강재신;이상훈;김동선;김동엽
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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    • v.18 no.1
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    • pp.1-20
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    • 2000
  • There are increasing evidences of climate change in the Antarctic and Arctic Oceans, especially elevated temperature due to the continuous burning of the fossil fuels and ultraviolet B(UV-B) flux within the ozone hole. Light-dependent, temperature-sensitive, and fast-growing organisms respond to these physical and biogeochemical changes. Polar marine phytoplankton, which are pioneer endemic species and important carbon contributors in the polar waters, are therefore highly suitable biological indicators of such changes. By virtue of light requirement, the primary producers are exposed to extreme seasonal fluctuations in temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, and UV radiation. Local environmental warming and increased UV-B radiation during ozone depletion may have profound effects on the primary producers that are primary carbon producers in the polar water. Small changes in climate temperature and solar radiation may have profound effects on the activity threshold of the polar phytoplanktion. To demonstrate biological response to the environmental changes, standardized representative natural and biological parameters are needed so that replicate samples (including controls) can be taken over extended periods of time. In this paper, we review general characteristics of polar phytoplankton, their environment, environmental changes in the polar waters, the effects on the environmental changes to the polar phytoplankton, and the importance of the polar phytoplankton to understand the global environmental changes. [Biological indicators, Global environmental change, Polar phytoplankton, UV].

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Species Composition and Seasonal Variations of Fishes in Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Bed in Kwangyang Bay (광양만 잘피밭에 서식하는 어류의 종조성 및 계절 변동)

  • Huh, Sung-Hoi;Kwak, Seok-Nam
    • Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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    • v.9 no.2
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    • pp.202-220
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    • 1997
  • A total of 57 species of fish species was collected by a trawl from the eelgrass bed in Kwangyang Bay. The dominant species were Pholis nebulosa, Syngnathus schlegeli, Leiognathus nuchalis, Pseudoblennius cottoides, Sebastes inermis, Favonigobius gymnauchen, which accounted for 69.9% of the total numbers of fish collected. Fish collected in the study area were primarily small fish species or early juveniles of large fish species. Only about 10% of fishes which were collected in the eelgrass bed exceeded 15cm in standard length. Seasonal variations in both species composition and abundance were major characteristics in the study area. The peak abundance occurred in spring, while the number of species was the highest in fall. However, both the number of species and abundance of fishes showed the lowest values in winter. High species diversity indices were observed in fall. Temperature, eelgrass standing crop and abundance of food organisms influenced seasonal changes of the fish community in the study area. More abundant and more diverse fishes were collected during nighttime than daytime.

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Molecular Cloning, Characterization and Expression of a Novel Trehalose-6-phosphate Synthase Homologue from Ginkgo biloba

  • Wu, Weisheng;Pang, Yongzhen;Shen, Guo-An;Lu, Jie;Lin, Juan;Wang, Jin;Sun, Xiaofen;Tang, Kexuan
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.39 no.2
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    • pp.158-166
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    • 2006
  • In many organisms, trehalose acts as protective metabolite against harsh environmental stresses, such as freezing, drought, nutrient starvation, heat and salt. Herein a cDNA (designated as GbTPS, GenBank Accession Number AY884150) encoding a trehalose-6-phosphate synthase homologue was isolated and characterized from the living fossil plant, Ginkgo biloba, which is highly tolerant to drought and cold. GbTPS encoded an 868-amino-acid polypeptide with a predicted isoelectric point of 5.83 and molecular mass of 97.9 kD. Amino acid sequence alignment revealed that GbTPS shared high identity with class II trehalose-6-phosphate synthase homologues (67% identical to AtTPS7), but had only 17% and 23% of identity with OstA from Escherichia coli and ScTPS1 from S. cerevisiae, respectively. DNA gel blot analysis indicated that GbTPS belonged to a small multi-gene family. The expression analysis by RT-PCR showed that GbTPS expressed in a tissue-specific manner in G biloba and might involve in leaf development. GbTPS was also found to be induced by a variety of stresses including cold, salt, drought and mannitol.

Importance and Application of Ichnology (생흔학의 중요성 및 활용)

  • Kim, Jong-Kwan;Chun, Seung-Soo;Baek, Young-Sook;Chang, Eun-Kyong;Shin, Sun-Ja
    • The Korean Journal of Petroleum Geology
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    • v.12 no.1
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    • pp.34-42
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    • 2006
  • Ichnology is the study of traces made by various organisms, which includes classification and description of traces, and interpretation of sedimentary process, behavior of organism and depositional environment based on traces and organism behavior. Ichnofacies, which is defined as the association of several traces related together with substrate characteristics and sedimentary processes, is closely related to depositional environment. Ichnology has been applied to sedimentology (to understand physical characteristics of depositional environment, sedimentation pattern and event bed), sequence stratigraphy (to recognize sequence boundaries and biostratigraphic discontinuities such as MFS, TSE and RSE), oil exploration (providing of many information without big cost) and palaeocology. Preliminary ichnological study on the Ganghwa intertidal flat shows that dominant ichofacies are changing with season and location, suggesting that their seasonal variation would be a good indicator to understand the seasonal change of sedimentary processes, the small- scale change of sedimentary environment and the preservation potential of such units. Ichnology on intertidal flat in western coast of Korea has a great potential to apply its results to petroleum geology as well as sedimentology.

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Histopathological Studies of Witches' Broom Infected Jujube Trees Treated by Oxytetracycline (옥시테트라싸이클린을 처리한 대추나무 빗자루병 감염목의 병태해부학적 연구)

  • Im Hyong Bin;La Yong Joon;Lim Ung Kyu;Chang Tag Jung;Shin Jai Doo;Lee Soon Hyung
    • Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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    • v.1 no.2
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    • pp.101-108
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    • 1985
  • Histopathological changes in the witches'-broom mycoplasma (MLO) infected jujube trees after trunk injection of oxytetracycline HCl (OTC) solution were investigated by using light microscope, fluorescence microscope and electron microscope. In contrast to the healthy leaves, adaxial and abaxial bundle sheath extensions in the major veins of diseased leaves were highly developed, but mesophyll cells were very small, loose and necrosed. In the diseased leaves, excessive phloem was formed, xylem differentiation was supressed and polyphenols were accumulated. Jujube trees treated with 500ml of 2000ppm solution of OTC showed complete remission of witches'-broom symptoms above the injection site, but cells in the sheath extention were hypertrophied and sieve tube necrosis occurred in the secondary phloem of major veins. MLO-specific fluorescence was not observed in the samples of diseased jujube trees treated with OTC, while those from non-treated infectedstress distinctly showed a moderate amount of MLO-specific fluorescence. In the observation under the electron microscope, sieve element of diseased tissues and its associated companion cells were found to have collapsed. Parenchymas cells contained many large starch filled plastids and most samples of diseased and OTC-treated tissues showed an abnormal accumulation of starch compared to the healthy controls. Mycoplasma-like organisms were observed only within mature sieve elements in diseased tissues, but never in OTC-treated tissues.

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Evaluation of Dispersant Application to Stranded Oil as a Clean-up Technique at Sandy Tidal Flat (사질 조간대 표착유의 방제를 위한 유화분산제의 적용 평가)

  • Cheong, Cheong-Jo
    • Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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    • v.11 no.4
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    • pp.227-231
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    • 2008
  • The purpose of this study is to clarify the behavior of stranded crude oil and to estimate the restoration of seawater infiltration by application of dispersant as one of cleaning techniques. We made visualization of infiltration process of seawater and stranded crude oil on the sandy beach sediments by using of a model sandy beach. Major conclusions derived from this study are as follows. The seawater infiltration volume was reduced by the stranded crude oil. However, thirty percentage of the sweater infiltration into the sediments was restored by dispersant application to the penetrated oil in sandy beach. The penetration depth of stranded oil were dropped at first falling tide, but were not significantly fluctuated after that. Moreover, oil concentration was most high within the upper 2 cm. The stranded crude oil was broken into small size droplets and dispersed into the sediments by the dispersant application. Therefore, dispersant applications play an important roles in the large increase of surface area of given volume of oil, and it resulted in promoting to biological degradation process at the oil/water interface, dispersing the stranded oil into the water column and restoration of the supplement of the dissolved oxygen and nutrients to the benthic organisms.

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Review and application of environmental DNA (eDNA) investigation of terrestrial species in urban ecosystem (도시 내 육상 생물종 모니터링을 위한 환경DNA 리뷰 및 적용)

  • Kim, Whee-Moon;Kim, Seoung-Yeal;Park, Il-Su;Lee, Hyun-Jung;Kim, Kyeong-Tae;Kim, Young;Kim, Hye-Joung;Kwak, Min-Ho;Lim, Tae-Yang;Park, Chan;Song, Won-Kyong
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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    • v.23 no.2
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    • pp.69-89
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    • 2020
  • Scientific trust and quantification of traditional species investigation and results that have been used in ecology for decades has always been a problem and concern for ecologists. Global ecologists have proposed DNA-based species investigation studies to find answers to problems. In this study, we reviewed the global trend of research on environmental DNA(eDNA), which is a method for monitoring species by detecting DNA of organisms naturally mixed in environmental samples such as water, soil, and feces. The first eDNA research confirmed the possibility of species investigation at the molecular level, and commercialization of NGS(Next Generation Sequencing) and DNA metabarcoding elicits efficient and quantitative species investigation results, and eDNA research is increasing in the filed of ecology. In this study, mammals and birds were detected using MiMammal universal primers from 23 samples(3 natural reserves; 20 water bowls) out of 4 patches to verify eDNA for urban ecosystems in Suwon, and eDNA was verified by performing camera trapping and field survey. Most terrestrial species were detected through eDNA, and particularly, mice(Mus musculus), and Vinous-throated Parrotbill (Sinosuthora webbiana) were identified only with eDNA, It has been confirmed to be highly effective by investigating techniques for small and internal species. However, due to the lack of resolution of the primer, weasels(Mustela sibirica) and squirrels(Melanochromis auratus) were not detected, and it was confirmed that the traditional investigation method was effective only for a few species, such as Mogera robusta(Mogera robusta). Therefore, it is judged that the effects of species investigation can be maximized only when eDNA is combined with traditional field survey and Camera trapping to complement each other.

Effect of specific serum IgG antibody against Streptococcus mutans on the adherence of S. mutans to smooth surface in vitro (특이혈청항체(特異血淸抗體) IgG분획(分劃)이 Streptococcus mutans의 평활면(平滑面) 부착(附着)에 미치는 영향(影響)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究))

  • Lee, Jean-Yong;Choi, Eu-Gene;Ha, Youn-Mun;Kim, Chan-Soo
    • The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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    • v.17 no.1
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    • pp.75-85
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    • 1982
  • In order to demonstrate the effect of specific serum IgG antibody on the adherence of Streptococcus mutans to smooth surface and the mechanism of effective adherence inhibition by IgG antibody, in the present study authors obtained purified IgG from different immunogen preparations of S. mutans NCTC 10449(serotype c) and observed the effect of each IgG preparation on the adherence of each S. mutans strain cultured in different conditions. In addition, the present study was undertaken to observe the cross-reactivity of IgG and the effect of sucrose concentration on the adherence of S. mutans in vitro non-growth condition. The adherence of S. mutans to glass surface was effectively inhibited by serum IgG antibody. At the same IgG concentrations, anti-2% fructose grown/1N NaCl washed S. mutans NCTC 10449 cell showed greater adherence inhibitory effect to S. mutans strains than anti-2% sucrose grown and anti-S. mutans NCTC 10449 cell wall, and the greater inhibitory effects of IgG preparations were observed in assay using 2% fructose grown S. mutans cell preparations than using 0.1% sucrose grown cell preparations. These results suggest that the more effective adherence inhibition by serum IgG antibody is due to the reaction with S. mutans cell surface antigens rather than glucan and cell-associated glucosyltransferase. The greatest adherence inhibitory effect of IgG to S. mutans strains was observed on homologous NCTC 10449 strain and the inhibition cross-reactivities were observed between serotype c, e, and f strains. More pronounced cross-reactivity of adherence inhibition of IgG to S. mutans was observed in assay using anti-2% fructose grown/1N NaCl washed cell than using other IgG preparations, and observed in assay using 2% fructose grown S. mutans cell preparations than 0.1% sucrose grown cell preparations. It was interested that low, but adequate concentration of reactive IgG antibody significantly increased the adherence ability of S. mutans. This result may be due to the formation of small cell aggregates resulted in a increase in the numbers of organisms which adhered to glass surface. The adherence of S. mutans to glass surface was possible in the absence of glucan-synthetic activity. Low level of sucrose significantly increased the adherence ability of S. mutans to glass surface, but excessive amount of sucrose induced large cell aggregates resulted in a decrease in the numbers of organism which adhered.

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