• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.223-229
• /
• 2020

The application of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) supports the growth of plants in contaminated soil while ureolytic bacteria can immobilise heavy metals by carbonate precipitation. Thus, dual treatment with such bacteria may be beneficial for plant growth and bioremediation in contaminated soil. This study aimed to determine whether the PGPR Pseudomonas fluorescens could work in synergy with ureolytic bacteria to assist with the remediation of cadmium (Cd)- and lead (Pb)-contaminated soils. Pot experiments were conducted to grow radish plants in Cd- and Pb-contaminated soils treated with PGPR P. fluorescens and the results were compared with dual inoculation of P. fluorescens combined with ureolytic Staphylococcus epidermidis HJ2. The removal rate of the metals from the soil was more than 83% for Cd and Pb by the combined treatment compared to 17% by PGPR alone. Further, the dual treatment reduced the metal accumulation in the roots by more than 80%. The translocation factors for Cd and Pb in plant tissues in both treatments remained the same, suggesting that PGPR combined with the carbonate precipitation process does not hamper the transfer of essential metal ions into plant tissues from the soil.

• Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.274-281
• /
• 2002

The competitive quantitative PCR method targeting pcbC gene was developed for monitoring 4-chlorobiphenyl(4CB)-degrading bacteria, Pseudomonas sp. strain DJ-12, in soil microcosms. The method involves extraction of DNA from soil contaminated with 4CB, PCR amplification of a pcbC gene fragment from the introduced strain with a set of strain-specific primers, and quantification of the elec-trophoresed PCR product by densitometry. To test the adequacy of the method, Pseudomonas sp. strain DJ-12 was introduced into both contaminated and non-contaminated soil microcosms amended with 4CB. Pseudomonas sp. strain DJ-12 was monitored and quantified by a competitive quantitative PCR in comparison with 4CB degradation and the result was compared to those obtained by using the conventional cultivation method. We successfully detected and monitored 4CB-degrading bacteria in each microcosm and found a significant linear relationship between the number of 4CB-degrading bacteria and the capacity for 4CB biodegradation. The results of DNA spiking and cell-spreading experiments suggest that this competitive quantitative PCR method targeting the pcbC gene for monitoring 4CB- degrading bacteria appears to be rapid, sensitive and more suitable than the microbiological approach in estimating the capacity of 4CB biodegradation in environmental samples.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.164-169
• /
• 2011

Spent mushroom compost (SMC) of Pleurotus pulmonarius (an edible fungus) was used as soil conditioner for the improvement of growth of four common Nigerian vegetables (Abelmoschus esculentus, Lycopersicum esculentum, Capsicum annum and Capsicum chinense). The results of these investigations showed that the vegetables responded well to the SMC treatment. Each of them attained its best growth and gave the highest number of flowers and fruits when planted on 6 kg of depleted garden soil supplemented with 600 g of SMC. The control experiment that has the seedlings of the vegetables planted on 6 kg of depleted garden soil only, without the application of SMC, showed stunted and poor growth, with few or no flower and fruit production. A. esculentus was the best utilizer of iron utilizing 118.0 mg/kg in the SMC used. Similarly; this vegetable utilized 1.48 mg/kg of nitrogen in the SMC. The highest height in each vegetable was attained with 6 kg of depleted garden soil supplemented with 600 g of SMC. At 9 wk, A. esculentus has the mean height of 85.0 cm while these values significantly increased to 100.00 cm at 14 wk ($p{\leq}0.05$). At 9 wk, L. esculentum has the highest mean height of 65.00 cm which increased to 71.00 cm after 14 wk. It was also observed that A. esculentus has the highest mean number of fruits (9.00), followed in order by C. chinense (8.00) and L. esculentum (7.00) ($p{\leq}0.05$) while, C. annum produced the least mean number of fruits (5.00). No fruits production was seen in the control experiments. The results of these findings were discussed in relation to the usage of SMC as possible organic fertilizer for the improvement of growth of vegetables in Nigeria.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.23 no.9
• /
• pp.1279-1286
• /
• 2013

Particle size and metal species are important to both soil microbial toxicity and phytotoxicity in the soil ecosystem. The effects of CuO and ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and microparticles (MPs) on soil microbial toxicity, phytotoxicity, and bioaccumulation in two crops (Cucumis sativus and Zea mays) were estimated in a soil microcosm. In the microcosm system, soil was artificially contaminated with 1,000 mg/kg CuO and ZnO NPs and MPs. After 15 days, we compared the microbial toxicity and phytotoxicity by particle size. In addition, C. sativus and Z. mays were cultivated in soils treated with CuO NPs and ZnO NPs, after which the treatment effects on bioaccumulation were evaluated. NPs were more toxic than MPs to microbes and plants in the soil ecosystem. We found that the soil enzyme activity and plant biomass were inhibited to the greatest extent by CuO NPs. However, in a Biolog test, substrate utilization patterns were more dependent upon metal type than particle size. Another finding indicated that the metal NP uptake amounts of plants depend on the plant species. In the comparison between C. sativus and Z. mays, the accumulation of Cu and Zn by C. sativus was noticeably higher. These findings show that metal oxide NPs may negatively impact soil bacteria and plants. In addition, the accumulation patterns of NPs depend on the plant species.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.91-97
• /
• 1995

The 543 microbial strains were isolated from the rhizosphere in ginseng root rot-suppressive soil. From these, isolate KGM-100 was finally selected for the screening of powerful antagonistic bacterium for the soil-born Fusarium solani causing root rot of many important crops. The isolate KGM-100 was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Antibiotics produced by the P. aeruginosa KGM-100 were partially characterized as heat-stable and low-molecular weight antibiotics. The strain also produced siderophore, which was assumed to be pseudobactin. Pot test showed approximately 30-50% biological control effects when Fusarium solani-infected soil was treated with the P. aeruginosa KGM-100.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.1-5
• /
• 1991

Sulfate-reducing bacteria have been isolated from soil and their abilities to degrade dibenzothiophene (DBT) were compared with those of type cultures. Among the strains tested a soil isolate M6 showed the highest ability to degrade DBT. Isolate M6 was characterized as a mesophilic obligatory anaerobe. The morphology of the bacterium was vibrioid with the size of $0.4-0.7{\;}\mu\textrm{m}{\;}by{\;}1.0-1.5{\;}\mu\textrm{m}$. Gram reaction was negative and nonsporulating. Desulfoviridin is present. Lactate, pyruvate, ethanol and malate supported growth of the bacterium in the presence of sulfate. Sulfate, sulfite, thiosulfate and sulfur served as electron acceptors for growth. Hydrogenase was present. The mol% of guanine and cytosine of DNA was determined as 56%. The bacterium produced viscous material. From these results, the isolate M6 was identified as Desulfovibrio desulfuricans.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.197-200
• /
• 2003

In oil-contaminated environments, anaerobic biodegradation of toluene depended on the concentration and distribution of terminal electron acceptor as well as the physicochemical properties such as DO concentration, redox potential and pH. This study showed the anaerobic biodegradation of toluene in two different soils by using nitrate reduction, ferric iron reduction, sulfate reduction and methanogensis. Toluene degradation rates in the soil samples taken from rice filed and tidal mud flat by nitrate reduction were higher than those by other processes. Tho soil samples from the two fields were enriched for 130 days by providing toluene as a sole carbon source and nitrate or sulfate as a terminal electron acceptor. The toluene degradation rates in the enriched denitrifying consortia obtained from the rice field and tidal mud flat soil were 310.7 and 200.6 $\mu$mol$ L^{-1}$ / $d^{-1}$, respectively. The toluene (legradation rates in the enriched sulfate-reducing consortia from the fields ranged fi-om 149.1 to 86.1$\mu$mol $L^{-1}$ / $d^{-1}$ .

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Applied Microbiology Conference
• /
• 2000.04a
• /
• pp.128-134
• /
• 2000

In the course of flora analysis of soil Archaea, we found very strange 16S rDNA clones, which could possibly constitute a sister clade from known two archael, Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota, lineages. Overall signature sequences showed that the clones were closely related to domains Archaea and Eucarya. However, at least nine nucleotides distinguished the novel clones from domains Archaea and Eucarya. Phylogenetic trees drawn by maximum parsimony, neighbor joining and maximum likelihood methods also showed unique phylogenetic position of the clones. A very specific primer set was synthesized to detect the presence of the novel group of organisms in terrestrial environments. A specific DNA fragment was amplified from all of paddy soil DNAs, and this fact suggests that the novel organisms inhabit paddy soils.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.668-672
• /
• 2007

A microcosmal experiment using a metagenomic technique was designed to assess the effect of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) on an indigenous bacterial community in a Daejeon forest soil. A compositional shift of bacterial groups in an artificial BTEX-contaminated soil was examined by the 16S rDNA PCR-DGGE method. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNAs in the dominant DGGE bands showed that the number of Actinobacteria and Bacillus populations increased. To confirm these observations, we performed PCR to amplify the 23S rDNA and 16S rDNA against the sample metagenome using Actinobacteria-targeting and Bacilli-specific primer sets, respectively. The result further confirmed that a bacterial community containing Actinobacteria and Bacillus was affected by BTEX.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Applied Microbiology Conference
• /
• 2000.10a
• /
• pp.118-124
• /
• 2000

Zn-resistant Methylosobacterium strains were isolated from several non-polluted soil samples collected in all over Japan. Zn-resistant Methylosobacterium strains were predominantly detected in all soil samples and they were also characterized as a UV-tolerant bacteria. The MIC test revealed that the isolates have high zinc resistance in comparison with that of reference Methylosobacterium strains obtained from culture collections. The 16S rDNA-based phylogenetic analysis showed that all strains were divided into two clusters designated as cluster A and cluster B in the present study. All isolates were distributed only in the cluster A. The phylogenetic clustering also well coincided with the differences in the pattern of carbon source utilization.