• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1355-1359
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• 2008

Endophytic fungi predominantly inhabit grasses, and produce a variety of beneficial metabolites for plant growth, as well as help their hosts against pathogens and herbivores. Current study was focused on plant growth promoting activity of endophytic fungi inhabited in the roots of sand dune grasses. We collected 49 fungal isolates from the roots of four most common sand dune grasses and screened them for their growth promoting capacity. Results showed that 37 fungal isolates (75.5%) promoted plant height and shoot length of waito-c rice, 11 fungal isolates (22.5%) suppressed it, while 1 fungus (2%) showed no effect on the growth attributes. The fungal strain Gibberella fujikuroi, along with distilled water and Czapek broth medium, were taken as control for this experiment. It was concluded that a major proportion of endophytic fungi inhabited in the sand dune plants produce metabolites, and thus help in growth and development of the host plant.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.302-310
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• 2011

Elsinoe fawcettii is one of major pathogenic fungi which cause citrus scab diseases, resulting in fruit blemishes that reduce the economic value of fruit. By increasing interest to safe products of crops, the alternative methods of disease control is highly required. We investigated whether the 215 bacterial strains isolated from Jeju Island possess antifungal effect or suppression effect on the symptom development by Elsinoe fawcettii on citrus. Among them, three bacterial strains THJ 609-3, MRL408-3, and TRH423-3 that exhibited antifungal capacity against Elsinoe fawcettii were selected. To illustrate the disease suppression mechanism, pre-inoculation with the selected bacterial strains was carried out whether could suppress the citrus crab on the leaves. The observation with a fluorescence microscope revealed that the selected bacteria could decrease the number of fungal spores. The ratio of germ tube formation was also decreased by the selected bacterial strains at one day after fungus challenge. The strain THJ 609-3 was identified as Pseudomonas putida as a result of analyzing the internal transcript spaces of the rhizobacterial rDNA. The strains MRL 408-3 and TRH 423-3 were identified as Burkholderia gladioli. Our results may be valuable when the selected rhizobacterial strains used as the environment-friendly microbe for biological control on citrus scab caused by Elsinoe fawcettii.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.27 no.5 s.92
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• pp.322-327
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• 1999

Five white fruitbodies of Ganoderma lucidum found from two different mushroom farms, and the characteristics of atypical fruiting structure formation of these strains were described. The white fruitbodies were spontaneously generated on Quercus-log during the cultivation. They did not differentiate to the normal fruitbodies with pileus, hymenium, stipe and coloration, and fruitbodies remained non-laccateed even after 3 months. Dikaryotic mycelia isolated from the five white fruitbodies differed from wild-type strains in the mycelial growth rate, colony color, and the capacity of atypical fruiting structure (AFS) formation on agar media. These white mutants readily induced brown colored AFSs on the colonies under ventilation and illumination conditions. Both isolates Gl-010 and Gl-011 that were obtained from a normal and white fruitbody, respectively, did not form AFSs in the dark and/or under black light blue (BLB) light illumination, but induced under the visible light. They required dim light for the AFS formation, and the AFS formation was inhibited up to $0.5{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}\;S^{-1}$ in light intensity. However, the other four isolates induced AFSs even in the dark and BLB illumination, although their parent strain, isolate Gl-030, did not form AFSs under any light conditions. The monokaryotic mycelia derived from basidiospores of the AFSs of the white mutants were compatible with the original culture (dikaryon) on a dual culture.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.27 no.6 s.93
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• pp.386-393
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• 1999

Ethanol is considered as one of the most suitable substitutes for the petroleum, since it offers attractive functional features at an economical cost. Glucoamylase producing yeasts were isolated and characterized. Based on the morphological character, carbon fermentations, assimilation of carbon and nitrate, growth on vitamine-free medicine, and urease activity, five isolates of Saccharomyces diastaticus, two isolates of Saccharomycopsis fibuligera, and two of Schwanniomyces occidentalis, and each isolate of Ambrosiozyma monospora and Lipomyces kononenkoae were identified. Among 12 isolates, one of the S. diastaticus, E3 showed the highest activity of glucoamylase and identified as Saccharomyces diastaticus. The hydrolysis of starch by the E3 strain showed the release of considerable amount of reducing sugar, along with the reduction in iodine staining capacity. The product of action of glucoamylase, glucose was determined by thin-layer chromatography. The enzyme activity was found to be stable in broad pH range of $5.0{\sim}7.0$ with optimal activity at pH $5.0{\sim}6.0$. The enzyme showed optimal antivity at $50^{\circ}C{\sim}60^{\circ}C$. Soluble starch and glucose were better carbon sources for the enzyme production than xylose and glycerol. $Na^+\;and\;Mg^{2+}$ increased the glucoamylase activity, however $Hg^{2+}\;and\;Ag^{2+}$ inhibited the activity. Soluble starch was the best substrate for the enzyme activity.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.581-592
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• 2016

Tensile constitutive stress-strain model of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) in fib MC2010 was investigated. In order to model tensile behavior of SFRC, three point loading flexural tests were conducted on notched small beams according to BE-EN-14651. Design parameters for the constitutive model were determined from the flexural tests. Flexural test and finite element analysis were conducted on large SFRC beam without steel reinforcements and compared with each other. In addition, parametric study on the effect of compressive and tensile model, and characteristic length on flexural behavior of the SFRC beam was conducted also. In results, pre-peak load-displacement curves from the FE analysis was close to experimental curves but significant difference was shown in post-peak behavior. The reason of the difference is originated from the fact that the fiber distribution and orientation were not being properly considered in the MC2010 model. This study shows that modification and detail explanations on the orientation factor K in MC2010 might require to better reproduce the behaviour of large scale SFRC beams.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.282-289
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• 2012

The root rot of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) caused by Phytophthora capsici is one of the most important diseases affecting this crop worldwide. This work presents the evaluation of the capacity of Streptomyces griseus H7602 to protect pepper plants against Phytophthora capsici and establishes its role as a biocontrol agent. In this study, we isolated an actinomycete strain H7602 from rhizosphere soil, identified it as Streptomyces griseus by 16S rRNA analysis and demonstrated its antifungal activity against various plant pathogens including P. capsici. H7602 produced lytic emzymes such as chitinase, ${\beta}$-1,3-glucanase, lipase and protease. In addition, crude extract from H7602 also exhibited destructive activity toward P. capsici hyphae. In the pot trial, results showed the protective effect of H7602 against pepper from P. capsici. Application of H7602 culture suspension reduced 47.35% of root mortality and enhanced growth of pepper plants for 56.37% in fresh root and 17.56% g in fresh shoot as compared to control, resulting in greater protection to pepper plants against P. capsici infestation. Additionally, the enzymatic activities, chitinase and ${\beta}$-1,3-glucanase, were higher in rhizosphere soil and roots of pepper plants treated with H7602 than other treated plants. Therefore, our results indicated a clear potential of S. griseus H7602 to be used for biocontrol of root rot disease caused by P. capsici in pepper.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1286-1298
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• 2005

The genus Paenibacillus is a new group of bacilli separated from the genus Bacillus, and most of species have been isolated from soil. In the present study, we collected 450 spore-forming bacilli from the roots of winter crops, such as barley, wheat, onion, green onion, and Chinese cabbage, which were cultivated in the southern part of Korea. Among these 450 isolates, 104 Paenibacillus-like isolates were selected, based on their colony shape, odor, color, and endospore morphology, and 41 isolates were then finally identified as Paenibacillus spp. by 16S rDNA sequencing. Among the 41 Paenibacillus isolates, 23 were classified as P. polymyxa, a type species of the genus Paenibacillus, based on comparison of the 16S rDNA sequences with those of 32 type strains of the genus Paenibacillus from the GenBank database. Thirty-five isolates among the 41 Paenibacillus isolates exhibited antagonistic activity towards plant fungal and bacterial pathogens, whereas 24 isolates had a significant growth-enhancing effect on cucumber seedlings, when applied to the seeds. An assessment of the root-colonization capacity under gnotobiotic conditions revealed that all 41 isolates were able to colonize cucumber roots without any significant difference. Twenty-one of the Paenibacillus isolates were shown to contain the nifH gene, which is an indicator of $N_{2}$ fixation. However, the other 20 isolates, including the reference strain E681, did not incorporate the nifH gene. To investigate the diversity of the isolates, a BOX-PCR was performed, and the resulting electrophoresis patterns allowed the 41 Paenibacillus isolates to be divided into three groups (Groups A, B, and C). One group included Paenibacillus strains isolated mainly from barley or wheat, whereas the other two groups contained strains isolated from diverse plant samples. Accordingly, the present results showed that the Paenibacillus isolates collected from the rhizosphere of winter crops were diverse in their biological and genetic characteristics, and they are good candidates for further application studies.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.323-336
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• 2018

Machine foundations with impact loads are common powerful sources of industrial vibrations. These foundations are generally transferring vertical dynamic loads to the soil and generate ground vibrations which may harmfully affect the surrounding structures or buildings. Dynamic effects range from severe trouble of working conditions for some sensitive instruments or devices to visible structural damage. This work includes an experimental study on the behavior of dry dense sand under the action of a single impulsive load. The objective of this research is to predict the dry sand response under impact loads. Emphasis will be made on attenuation of waves induced by impact loads through the soil. The research also includes studying the effect of footing embedment, and footing area on the soil behavior and its dynamic response. Different falling masses from different heights were conducted using the falling weight deflectometer (FWD) to provide the single pulse energy. The responses of different soils were evaluated at different locations (vertically below the impact plate and horizontally away from it). These responses include; displacements, velocities, and accelerations that are developed due to the impact acting at top and different depths within the soil using the falling weight deflectometer (FWD) and accelerometers (ARH-500A Waterproof, and Low capacity Acceleration Transducer) that are embedded in the soil in addition to soil pressure gauges. It was concluded that increasing the footing embedment depth results in increase in the amplitude of the force-time history by about 10-30% due to increase in the degree of confinement. This is accompanied by a decrease in the displacement response of the soil by about 40-50% due to increase in the overburden pressure when the embedment depth increased which leads to increasing the stiffness of sandy soil. There is also increase in the natural frequency of the soil-foundation system by about 20-45%. For surface foundation, the foundation is free to oscillate in vertical, horizontal and rocking modes. But, when embedding a footing, the surrounding soil restricts oscillation due to confinement which leads to increasing the natural frequency. Moreover, the soil density increases with depth because of compaction, which makes the soil behave as a solid medium. Increasing the footing embedment depth results in an increase in the damping ratio by about 50-150% due to the increase of soil density as D/B increases, hence the soil tends to behave as a solid medium which activates both viscous and strain damping.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2007

The 44 endophytic bacterial strains were isolated from surface-sterilized root of rice cultivated in seven different locations of Chungcheong province, Korea. Each isolate was introduced into rice seedlings grown gnotobiotically by inoculating scissor-cut first true leaf with cell suspensions, and the colonization capacity of each isolate in root tissue was analyzed at 7 days after inoculation. Sixteen out of 44 isolates were re-isolated from root successfully with the frequency of $10^{3-5}$ CFU/g tissue. Interestingly, seven out of 16 isolates were identified as Burkholderia species. The identity between inoculated strains and re-isolates was confirmed by genomic finger-printing and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. By a confocal laser scanning microscopic observation it was revealed that KJ001 strain, one of the sixteen isolates tagged with gfp colonized in root tissue especially around xylem. Six out of seven Burkholderia strains obtained in this study showed antagonizing activities against seven different fungal pathogens, contain nifH gene, and five of them enhanced growth of cucumber over 30%. The isolates showed no hypersensitive response on tobacco leaves and no pathogenecity in rice. From these results it was found that the endophytic Burkholderia strains will be useful in agriculture to develop a biocontrol agent or a bio-fertilizer.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.603-610
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• 2009

This research was performed to improve removal efficiency of toluene and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) using Candida tropicalis, one of the yeast species. An airlift loop bioreactor (ALB) was employed to enhance the capability of mass transfer for toluene and MEK from the gas phase to the liquid, microbial phase. Polymer gel media made from PAC, alginate and PEG was applied for the effective immobilization of the yeast strain on the polymer gel media. The experimental results indicated that the mass transfer coefficient of toluene without polymer gel media was 1.29 $min^{-1}$ at a gas retention time of 15 sec, whereas the KLa value for toluene was increased to 4.07 $min^{-1}$ by adding the media, confirming the enhanced mass transfer of volatile organic compounds between the gas and liquid phases. The removal efficiency of toluene and MEK by using yeast-immobilized polymer gel media in the ALB was greater than 80% at different pollutant loading rates (5, 10, 19 and 37 g/$m^3$/hr for toluene, 4.5, 8.9, 17.8 and 35.1 g/$m^3$/hr for MEK). In addition, an elimination capacity test conducted by changing inlet loading rates stepwise demonstrated that maximum elimination capacities for toluene and MEK were 70.4 and 56.4 g/$m^3$/hr, respectively.