• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.323-333
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• 2000

Objectives : Chronic HBsAg carriers are the principal source of infection for other susceptible people, and are themselves at high risk of developing serious liver diseases. In Korea, it has been estimated that 65-75% of the HBsAg positives remained as persistent carriers. Additionally, familial clustering of MBV infection has frequently been observed among carriers. Some would become progressive, chronic hepatitis patients, and others would not. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between various factors, such as the duration of infection, type of virus, mutation of precore/core region in HBV, major histocompatibility class-I, and developing chronic liver diseases among familial HBV carriers. Methods : Chronic carrier status was identified by repeated serological tests for HBsAg at intervals of six months or more. A familial chronic carrier was defined when the disease was observed in a family member over two generations. Two families were recruited, among which a total of 20 chronic HBsAg carriers(11 carriers in No.1, and 9 in No.2 family) were identified. Data on the general characteristics and liver disease status were collected. Identification of the HBV-DNA was successful only for 13 subjects among the 20 carriers. Analysis of viral DNA in terms of subtype, pre-core and core region mutations was carried out. The type of major histocompatibility class-1 for the 13 subjects was also analysed. Results & Conclusions : Seven of 10 chronic HBV carriers of the 1st generation and one of 10 of the 2nd generation were clinical patients with chronic hepatitis, the others, three of the 1 st and nine of the 2nd generation, were asymptomatic carriers. This data indicates that the duration of HBV carriage is one of the major factors for disease severity. The subtype of HBsAg analysed using MBV-DNA identified in 13 carriers were adr, and the pattern of precore nonsense mutation in HBV-DNA was identical among family members, which meads that the same virus strains were transmitted between the family members. The association between the precore or core mutations in HBV-DNA and the disease severity was not observed. While it was suggested that a specific type of MHC class-I may be related to disease progression.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.218-224
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• 2011

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) OA18 was isolated from yogurt prepared by using Kefir Grain as a starter. The OA18 strain was a Gram-positive, cocci-type bacterium, and able to grow anaerobically with $CO_2$ production. The OA18 strain grew well on MRS broth supplemented with 50 mM arginine at $30-37^{\circ}C$ and pH of 7.0-9.0. The optimum temperature and pH for growth are $37^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.0. The isolate fermented ribose, D-glucose, cellobiose, D-trehalose, but not L-xylose, D-melibiose, and inositol. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of the isolate showed 99.8% homology with the Enterococcus faecalis 16S rRNA gene (Access no. AB012212). Based on the biochemical characteristics and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis data, it was identified and named as E. faecalis OA18. The E. faecalis OA18 strain showed a high ornithine-producing capacity in the presence of arginine and also showed an antimicrobial activity against Streptomyces strains such as Streptomyces coelicolor subsp. Flavus, S. coeruleorubidus, S. coeruleoaurantiacus, S. coelicolor, S. coeruleoprunus. The cell growth of E. faecalis OA18 strain was maintained in MRS broth with a NaCl concentration of 0-7%.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.147-160
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• 2007

Four strains of water mold, ChS-E0511, RaT-E0511, RaT-A0512 and MaS-F0512, were isolated from salmonid fish and/or their eggs taken from culture farms in Yangyang, Milyang and Pyeongchang, Korea in 2005. Descriptions of their morphological aspects, the results of the phylogenetic analysis conducted, and the sequence of the small sub-unit 18S rRNAs of the isolates confirmed that they all belong to the species Saprolegnia parasitica. Only one species, ChS-E0511, which was isolated from fertilized eggs of the chum salmon, was classified as part of the S. parasiticaGroup 1 according to its oogonia and gemmae production. The chemotherapeutic effects of various chemicals on the ChS-E0511 strain were assessed from the inhibitory effects of growth in GY media and the relative ratio of eyed eggs to fertilized eggs of the rainbow trout. Malchite green, a prohibited substance in food animals, was better than others, such as the Opuntia ficus-indicaextract, 2-bronopol, and sodium chloride. These results suggest that the fungi isolated from salmonids and/or their eggs identified as S. parasitica were composed of more than two groups. These isolates will be useful in an intensive evaluation of therapeutic agents.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.142-149
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• 2015

Bioaerosols are comprised of particles 0.02-100 μm in size that originate in natural and artificial environments, and as a result of human activities. They consist of microorganisms including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa; fungal spores; microbial toxins; pollen; plant or animal material; expectorated liquid from humans; and glucans (peptidoglycan and β-glucan). Bioaerosols can cause respiratory and other diseases in humans and animals. In this study, bioaerosol samples acquired from agricultural sources, livestock, a sewage treatment plant, a beach, and a pristine area were analyzed to identify and phylogenetically characterize culturable microorganisms. The isolated bacteria exhibited regional differences, with different species dominating. However, Bacillus cereus was isolated in all samples, with a total of 31 strains isolated from all areas, and Acinetobacter baumannii was isolated from an indoor poultry farm. In addition, bacteria determined to be of novel genus or species of the genera Domibacillus, Chryceobacterium, Nocardioides and family Comamonadaceae were isolated from the agricultural, livestock and beach environments.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.187-191
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• 1970

This experiment was carried out to isolate osmophilic yeasts for higher concentration of NaCl than 20 per cent may affect greatly the fermentation of soy sauce. 6 strains of yeasts were selected from the soy sauce mashes at the fermentating periods and identified observing their morphological characteristics. Their salt-resistance and effects upon the flavor of soy sauce were examined. The results obtained were as follows: (1) The strain $T_3,T_5,$ and $T_{11},\;T_8,\;T_9,\;and\; T_{10},$ selected were identified Saccharomyces cerevisiae group II, Debaryomyces nicotianae, Saccharomyces chevalieri, Saccharomyces rouxii and Saccharomyces rosei, respectively. (2) They were more salt-resistant on the liquid media than on the solid media in the case of cultures on the media containing more than 26 per cent of NaCl. (3) They were grown on the media containing 5-23 per cent of NaCl better than containing none of NaCl. (4) The strain $T_3,\;T_8,\;T_9,\;and\; T_{10}$ were grown on the media containing up to 28 per cent of NaCl, and $T_5\;and\;T_{11}$ up to 32 per cent of NaCl is the case of liquid cultures. (5) Among them, the strain $T_9$ showed the best alcohol fermentation ability and the best fermentative flavor, and $T_5\;and\;T_{11}$ formed moldy smell and pellicle.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.185-199
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• 2017

Methane, which is emitted from natural and anthropogenic sources, is a representative greenhouse gas for global warming. Methanotrophs are widespread in the environment and play an important role in the biological oxidation of methane via methane monooxygenases (MMOs), key enzymes for methane oxidation with broad substrate specificity. Methanotrophs have attracted attention as multifunctional bacteria with promising applications in biological methane mitigation technology and environmental bioremediation. In this review, we have summarized current knowledge regarding the biodiversity of methanotrophs, catalytic properties of MMOs, and high-cell density cultivation technology. In addition, we have reviewed the recent advances in biological methane mitigation technologies using methanotrophs in field-scale systems as well as in lab-scale bioreactors. We have also surveyed information on the dynamics of the methanotrophic community in biological systems and discussed the various challenges pertaining to methanotroph-related biotechnological innovation, such as identification of suitable methanotrophic strains with better and/or novel metabolic activity, development of high-cell density mass cultivation technology, and the microbial consortium (methanotrophs and non-methanotrophs consortium) design and control technology.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.470-475
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• 2005

Antimicrobial activities of pyroligneous liquor were investigated by determining Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC). The solvent extracts of pyroligneous liquor, which were extracted by using solvents with different polarities such as hexane, ethylacetate, or butanol. The activities were examined by disc diffusion method using MIC against 7 food poisoning microbe type strains. Antimicrobial activities were shown in hexane, ethylacetate, butanol, and aqueous fractions of pyroligneous liquor. Among the four fractions, ethylacetate fraction showed the highest inhibitory effect on the microorganism such as Shigella sonnei, and Yersinia enterocolitica at the concentration of 2.0 mg/disc. The purified P-1 and P-2 fractions isolated by silica gel column chromatography from ethylacetate fraction of pyroligneous liquor had the highest antimicrobial activity. The total phenolic compounds content in ethylacetate, hexane, butanol, and aqueous fraction was 488.3 mg/g, 403.8 mg/g, 83.6mg/g, and 74.5 mg/g, respectively. Taken together, these results suggest that the ethyl acetate fraction could be suitable for the development of isolation and identification of antimicrobial compound from pyroligneous liquor, resulting from the above antimicrobial activity.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.22-29
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• 2018

Incorporation of unique barcodes into fission yeast gene deletion collections has enabled the identification of gene functions by growth fitness analysis. For fine tuning, it is important to examine barcode sequences, because mutations arise during strain construction. Out of 8,708 barcodes (4,354 strains) covering 88.5% of all 4,919 open reading frames, 7,734 barcodes (88.8%) were validated as high-fidelity to be inserted at the correct positions by Sanger sequencing. Sequence examination of the 7,734 high-fidelity barcodes revealed that 1,039 barcodes (13.4%) deviated from the original design. In total, 1,284 mutations (mutation rate of 16.6%) exist within the 1,039 mutated barcodes, which is comparable to budding yeast (18%). When the type of mutation was considered, substitutions accounted for 845 mutations (10.9%), deletions accounted for 319 mutations (4.1%), and insertions accounted for 121 mutations (1.6%). Peculiarly, the frequency of substitutions (67.6%) was unexpectedly higher than in budding yeast (~28%) and well above the predicted error of Sanger sequencing (~2%), which might have arisen during the solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis and PCR amplification of the barcodes during strain construction. When the mutation rate was analyzed by position within 20-mer barcodes using the 1,284 mutations from the 7,734 sequenced barcodes, there was no significant difference between up-tags and down-tags at a given position. The mutation frequency at a given position was similar at most positions, ranging from 0.4% (32/7,734) to 1.1% (82/7,734), except at position 1, which was highest (3.1%), as in budding yeast. Together, well-defined barcode sequences, combined with the next-generation sequencing platform, promise to make the fission yeast gene deletion library a powerful tool for understanding gene function.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.439-447
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• 2004

The aim of this study is to survey the frequency of mutans streptococci species and biotypes isolated from dental plaque in Korean children and the relationship between species and biotypes of mutans streptococci and dft index. Dental plaques were collected from the anterior and molar teeth of upper and lower jaws in the subjects, aged below 12 years old. A dental examination was performed for dft (decayed, filled, total) with the WHO caries diagnostic criteria. The mutans streptococci from the sample were cultured selectively on mitis salivarius-bacitracine (MSB) agar plate. For biotyping of mutans streptococci, biochemical test was performed. From the culture, bacterial genomic DNA was prepared for using of PCR template for the identification of mutans streptococci at the species-level. Forty strains of mutans streptococci were isolated from dental plagues of 40 patients. The biotype I (45%) and biotype IV (32.5%) were most frequently detected. The prevalence of S. mutans and S. sobrinus was 69% and 31%, respectively. There was no positive relationship between species and biotypes of mutans streptococci and dft index. Our results revealed that biotype I and S. mutans were frequently detected in Korean children and support that dental caries incidents by many causative factors not only bacterial factor.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1507-1512
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• 2008

In spite of long research period for Salmonella typhi, little information is known about the pathogenesis mechanism of human typhoid fever caused by S. typhi due to lack of infection model in animals. A wild-type of S. typhi Ty2 strain requires cysteine to grow on minimal media. We hypothesized that this cysteine requirement may restrict colonization of S. typhi in animals during infection process. Among the S. typhi strains carrying Salmonella typhimurium genomic library, we have isolated three S. typhi transformants growing on minimal media without cysteine. Although there were three ORFs in DNA of pBP71, the STM1490 ORF complemented cysteine auxotrophy of S. typhi. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of the STM1490 homolog in S. typhi revealed that there are differences in two amino acids. Plasmids containing amino acid substitutions in STM1490 supported S. typhi growth on minimal media without cysteine, indicating irrelevance of these two amino acids to STM1490 function. These results tells us that there are other factors or systems involved in cysteine requirement of S. typhi.