• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.90 no.6
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• pp.767-773
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• 2001

We investigated the impacts of the fairy-ring of Tricholoma matsutake on the dynamics of soil microflora and soil enzyme activities by grouping the soils around the fairy-ring of T. matsutake into four regions. The regions were grouped as 'zone of decayed mycorrhizae', 'zone of mycorrhizae for fruiting', 'zone of physiologically active mycorrhizae' and 'zone free from mycorrhizal infection'. Soil fungi and actinomycetes were quite little at the soils around the fairy-ring of T. matsutake compared to those of general forest soils, and there were significant differences among the four regions. The soils with the mycelial cluster of T. matsutake showed about one third of microbial population compared to those in the zone free from mycorrhizal infection, which indicated that T. matsutake took a dominant position within the fairy-ring of the fungus. We could manifest that T. matsutake showed a distinctive characteristics of mycorrhizal fungus since the activities of dehydrogenase were significantly different between the zone of physiologically active mycorrhizae and the zone free from mycorrhizal infection. The dehydrogenase activity was the highest at the early season of fruiting around the fairy-ring of T. matsutake, while the acid-phosphatase activity increased from March to June followed by a slight decrease on August and peaked on October. This phenomenon made us infer that the vitality of T. matsutake be sustained after fruiting.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.375-385
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• 1987

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of pesticides on soil respiration, microflora and enzymes in loam soil, and on pathogenic microorganisms in continuous pepper cropping soil. The results are summarized as follows. No significant effect of pesticides on soil respiration was shown, with the exception of propoxur which slightly increased at $10{\mu}g\;g^{-1}$ treatment. When pesticides were treated, the amount of soil microorganisms generally decreased at the early stage of incubation and the number of microflora was much more decreased at 60-day incubation. When pesticides were treated, the amount of soil enzyme activity was inhibited at the early stage of incubation and gradually recovered at the last stage of incubation. The amount of polygalacturonase activity was increased at the 20-and 30-day incubation in propoxur treatment plot. The amount of ${\beta}$-glucosidase and dehydrogenase activity was increased at 20-and 60-day incubation in carbofuran and acephate treatment plot. The amount of phosphatase activity was increased at 60-day incubation in propoxur and isoprocarb treatment plot. The amount of Fusarium generally decreased in continuous pepper cropping soil, with the exception of isoprocarb and acephate treatment plot which significantly increased. The amount of Pythium increased at 60-day incubation with the exception of captan treatment plot which significantly decreased.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.960-968
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• 2003

A bacterial isolate showing a strong endochitosanase activity was isolated from soil and then characterized. The isolate was identified and designated as Bacillus cereus P16, based on morphological and biochemical properties, assimilation tests, cellular fatty acids pattern, along with 16S rRNA gene sequence. The optimized medium for producing extracellular chitosanase in a batch culture contained 1% tryptone, 0.5% chitosan, and 1% NaCl (pH 7.0). Powder chitosan and tryptone served the best as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively, for the chitosanase production. Chitosanase activity was the highest when culture was completed at $37^{\circ}C$ among various temperatures ($20-42^{\circ}C$) tested in a shaking incubator (200 rpm). The levels of chitosanase activity in the culture fluid were 2.0 U/ml and 3.8 U/ml, respectively, when incubated in a flask for 60 h and in a jar fermenter for 24 h. The culture supernatant showed a strong liquefying activity on the soluble chitosan. The viscosity of 1% chitosan solution, that was incubated with the culture supernatant, was rapidly decreased, suggesting the secretion of endochitosanolytic enzymes by P16. The culture fluid revealed six endo-type chitosanase isozymes, two major (38 and 45 kD), and four minor (54, 65, 82, and 96 kD) forms by staining profile. The crude enzymes were very stable, and full activity was maintained for 4 weeks at $4^{\circ}C\;or\;-20^{\circ}C$ in the culture supernatant, suggesting a highly desirable stability rate for making an industrial application of the crude enzymes. The supernatant also cleaved the insoluble chitosan powder, but the hydrolysis rate was much lower. The enzymic degradation products of chitosan contained $(GlcN)_n$ (n=2-8). The concentration of chitosan in the reaction mixture of the crude enzyme affected the chitooligosaccharides composition of the hydrolysis products. When the higher concentration of chitosan was used, the higher degree of polymerized chitooligosaccharides were produced. By comparison with other commercial chitosanase preparations, P16 was indeed found to be a valuable enzyme source for industrial production of chitooligosaccharides from chitosan.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.376-392
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• 2020

In Korea, damages to wooden cultural properties by termites have been reported all over the country, including Ulleungdo Island and Jeju Island. In order to reduce the damage caused by termites, most cultural properties damaged by them are treated with fumigation or drug treatment on the soil to kill or repel them. The number of treatments is decreasing due to cost and safety problems, and new methods needed to cope with this situation. After extracting an enzyme by selecting only worker termites from the termites collected in Shinan, Jeonnam, as a result of measuring the enzyme activity using xylan of cellulose and hemicellulose that are the components of wood, the activity of termite intestinal enzymes in xylan was higher than that of cellulose having a high molecular weight. Therefore, in this study, as a result of exploring over 600 species of medicinal plant extracts that inhibit the activity of termite intestinal enzymes using xylan as a substrate, the inhibitory effect was significant in Borneolum Syntheticum, Ephedra sinica, and Menthol. Selected Borneolum Syntheticum, Ephedra sinica, and Menthol's extracts not only inhibited the activity of termite intestinal enzymes, but also confirmed that they have insecticidal activation and inhibitory effects on feeding in the result of the direct treatment.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.26-30
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• 2000

Degradabilities of the dicamba by microorganisms isolated from soil and by enzymes in the turfgrass, Zoysia Japonica S. were investigated. Five species of dicamba-deading microorganisms including Acidovorax sp., Alcaligenes sp., and Variovorax sp. were isolated from soils by enrichment culture. All strains in nutrient-free inorganic medium treated with 10 ppm of dicamba degraded average 90% of the dicamba 21 days after incubation. 5-Hydroxydicamba, major metabolite, was detected from the culture broth. The half life of dicamba in the phosphate buffer extracts of Zoysia Japonica S. was 2.5 to 2.7 days. Trace amounts of 4- and 5-hydroxydicamba were detected in the extracts.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.246-253
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to investigate the molecular diversity of rhizobacteria associated with ginseng of varying age levels and their plant benefiting attributes. A total of 143 different isolates belonging to 15 different bacterial genera were recovered. Although variation was found in the rhizobacterial community due to age of the plant, majority of bacteria belong to Firmicutes (58%). In which, Bacillus was found to be the predominant genus irrespective of age of the ginseng. To assess the plant benefiting attributes, 30 representative isolates were selected. The results indicated that some of the isolates could exhibit multiple plant growth promoting traits like secretion of cell wall degrading enzymes, production of indole-3-acetic acid, synthesis of siderophores, solubilization of phosphates and soil pathogens inhibition. It can be suggested that strains of B. subtilis, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. velezensis, and B. licheniformis were positive for all the above traits, which have potential to be used as plant growth promoting inoculants to improve ginseng crop in the future.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.193-199
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• 2006

Halotolerant spore-forming Gram-positive bacteria were isolated from the root, rhizosphere, and non-rhizosphere soil of Blutaparon portulacoides. The different isolates were characterized genetically using an amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA), and phenotypically based on their colonial morphology, physiology, and nutritional requirements. Three different 16S rRNA gene-based genotypes were observed at a 100% similarity using the enzymes HinfI, MspI, and RsaI, and the phenotypic results also followed the ARDRA groupings. Selected strains, representing the different ARDRA groups, were analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing, and members of the genera Halobaeillus, Virgibacillus, and Oceanobacillus were found. Two isolates showed low 16S rDNA sequence similarities with the closest related species of Halobacillus, indicating the presence of new species among the isolates. The majority of the strains isolated in this study seemed to belong to the species O. iheyensis and were compared using an AP-PCR to determine whether they had a clonal origin or not. Different patterns allowed the grouping of the strains according to Pearson's coefficient, and the resulting dendrogram revealed the formation of two main clusters, denoted as A and B. All the strains isolated from the soil were grouped into cluster A, whereas cluster B was exclusively composed of the strains associated with the B. portulacoides roots. This is the first report on the isolation and characterization of halotolerant spore-forming Gram-positive bacteria that coexist with B. portulacoides. As such, these new strains may be a potential source for the discovery of bioactive compounds with industrial value.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.1577-1584
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• 2010

In total, 140 halotolerant bacterial strains were isolated from both the soil of barren fields and the rhizosphere of six naturally growing halophytic plants in the vicinity of the Yellow Sea, near the city of Incheon in the Republic of Korea. All of these strains were characterized for multiple plant growth promoting traits, such as the production of indole acetic acid (IAA), nitrogen fixation, phosphorus (P) and zinc (Zn) solubilization, thiosulfate ($S_2O_3$) oxidation, the production of ammonia ($NH_3$), and the production of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes such as protease, chitinase, pectinase, cellulase, and lipase under in vitro conditions. From the original 140 strains tested, on the basis of the latter tests for plant growth promotional activity, 36 were selected for further examination. These 36 halotolerant bacterial strains were then tested for 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase activity. Twenty-five of these were found to be positive, and to be exhibiting significantly varying levels of activity. 16S rRNA gene sequencing analyses of the 36 halotolerant strains showed that they belong to 10 different bacterial genera: Bacillus, Brevibacterium, Planococcus, Zhihengliuella, Halomonas, Exiguobacterium, Oceanimonas, Corynebacterium, Arthrobacter, and Micrococcus. Inoculation of the 14 halotolerant bacterial strains to ameliorate salt stress (150 mM NaCl) in canola plants produced an increase in root length of between 5.2% and 47.8%, and dry weight of between 16.2% and 43%, in comparison with the uninoculated positive controls. In particular, three of the bacteria, Brevibacterium epidermidis RS15, Micrococcus yunnanensis RS222, and Bacillus aryabhattai RS341, all showed more than 40% increase in root elongation and dry weight when compared with uninoculated salt-stressed canola seedlings. These results indicate that certain halotolerant bacteria, isolated from coastal soils, have a real potential to enhance plant growth under saline stress, through the reduction of ethylene production via ACC deaminase activity.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.54-56
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• 2006

Single-well-gas-sparging tests were developed and evaluated for assessing the feasibility of in-situ aerobic cometabolism of trichloroethylene (TCE), using propane as a growth substrate. To evaluate transport characteristics of dissolved solutes [sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) or bromide (non-reactive tracers), propane (a growth substrate), ethylene, propylene (nontoxic surrogates to probe for CAH transformation activity), and DO], push-pull transport tests were performed. Mass balance showed about 90% of the injected bromide and about 80% of the injected SF6 were recovered, and the recoveries of other solutes were comparable with bromide and slightly higher than SF6. A series of Gas-Sparging Biostimulation tests were performed by sparging propane/oxygen/argon/SF6 gas mixtures, and temporal ground water samples were obtained from the injection well under natural gradient 'drift' conditions. The decreased time for propane depletion and the longer time to deplete SF6 as a conservative tracer indicate the progress of biostimulation. Gas-Sparging Activity tests were performed. .Propane utilization, DO consumption, and ethylene and propylene cometabolism were well demonstrated. The stimulated propane-utilizers cometabolized ethylene and propylene to produce ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, as cometabolic by-products, respectively. Gas-Sparging Acetylene Blocking tests were performed by sparging gas mixtures including acetylene to demonstrate the involvement of monooxygenase enzymes. Gas substrate degradation was essentially completely Inhibited in the presence of acetylene, and no production of the corresponding oxides was also observed. The Gas-Sparging tests supports the evidences that the successive stimulation of propane-oxidizing microorganisms, cometabolic transformation of ethylene and propylene by the enzyme responsible for methane and propane degradation.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.239-244
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• 2001

We isolated a Myxobacteria strain from a soil sample obtained from Mt. Daedoon located in Choongnam, Korea. This strain, ARJ, secreted slime while swarmed on the surface of CT medium. It produced greenish yellow pigment in liquid or solid media, and the swarming edge showed green florescence under U. V. at 366 nm. It formed fruiting bodies when nutrient was exhausted, which is one of the most imkportant characteristics of Myxobacteria. The fruiting bodies did not have a stalk and consisted of naked myxospores when examined under the scanning electron microscope. These traits lead us to believe that this strain is very close to Myxococcus virescens. It showed antimicrobial activity, especially against Gram positive bacteria. Culture filtrate showed the activity but this was not due to protein. The culture filtrate also had proteolytic activity in which at least two enzymes are involved.