• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.808-815
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• 2017

We demonstrated the quantitative detection of a toxin-producing Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa) strain with the laboratory protocol of the NanoGene assay. The NanoGene assay was selected because its laboratory protocol is in the process of being transplanted into a portable system. The mcyD gene of M. aeruginosa was targeted and, as expected, its corresponding fluorescence signal was linearly proportional to the mcyD gene copy number. The sensitivity of the NanoGene assay for this purpose was validated using both dsDNA mcyD gene amplicons and genomic DNAs (gDNA). The limit of detection was determined to be 38 mcyD gene copies per reaction and 9 algal cells/ml water. The specificity of the assay was also demonstrated by the addition of gDNA extracted from environmental algae into the hybridization reaction. Detection of M. aeruginosa was performed in the environmental samples with environmentally relevant sensitivity (${\sim}10^5$ algal cells/ml) and specificity. As expected, M. aeruginosa were not detected in nonspecific environmental algal gDNA over the range of $2{\times}10^0$ to $2{\times}10^7$ algal cells/ml.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.563-567
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• 2014

Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae (Psy) is a major bacterial pathogen of many economically important plant species. Despite the severity of its impact, the genome sequence of the type strain has not been reported. Here, we present the draft genome sequence of Psy ATCC 19310. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that Psy ATCC 19310 is closely related to Psy B728a. However, only a few type III effectors, which are key virulence factors, are shared by the two strains, indicating the possibility of host-pathogen specificity and genome dynamics, even under the pathovar level.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.909-915
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• 2017

Bifidobacterium bifidum BGN4 (BGN4) has many proven beneficial effects, including antiallergy and anticancer properties. It has been commercialized and used in several probiotic products, and thus strain-specific identification of this strain is very valuable for further strain-dependent physiological study. For this purpose, we developed novel multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primer sets for strain-specific detection of BGN4 in commercial products and fecal samples of animal models. The primer set was tested on seven strains of B. bifidum and 75 strains of the other Bifidobacterium species. The BGN4-specific regions were derived using megaBLAST against genome sequences of various B. bifidum databases and four sets of primers were designed. As a result, only BGN4 produced four PCR products simultaneously whereas the other strains did not. The PCR detection limit using BGN4-specific primer sets was $2.8{\times}10^1CFU/ml$ of BGN4. Those primer sets also detected and identified BGN4 in the probiotic products containing BNG4 and fecal samples from a BGN4-fed animal model with high specificity. Our results indicate that the PCR assay from this study is an efficient tool for the simple, rapid, and reliable identification of BGN4, for which probiotic strains are known.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.65-75
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• 1985

Microorganisms capable of utilizing diaminododecane containing amine groups diterminally were isolated from the soil by enrichment culture. One strain of these isolated strain, designated as EL-0112L, was selected for this study. The results of this study were as follows. 1. This isolated strain EL-0112L was identified as Microbacterium, from the results of morphological, cultural, and biochemical tests. This isolated strain was named temporarily Microbacterium sp. EL-0112L for convenience. 2. Microbacterium sp. EL-0112L was tested for ability to utilize different kinds of substitued alkanes containing cyan, amine, chloro, and thiol groups(monoterminally or diterminall substituted) as carbon source. Pentamethylenediamine, hexamethylenediamine, n-decane, laurylamine, and alkane derivatives containing cyan, chloro, and thiol groups were not utilized by Microbacterium sp. EL-0112L. 3. The alkane derivatives that did not serve as growth substrates were tested further in oxidation tests using resting cell preparation of Microbacterium sp. EL-0112 L. Alkane derivatives containing cyan, chloro, thiol groups, and n-decane were oxidized by Microbacterium sp. EL-0112 L. It is possible that this isolated strain is also able to degrade their substituted counterparts since they are structually similar to diaminododecane. The remarkable substrates that were being oxidized were dichlorodecane, and 1-dodecanethiol. Microbacterium sp. EL- 0112L could not oxidize pentamethylenediamine, and hexamethylenediamine. 4. The metabolic products formed from diaminododecane by Microbacterium sp. EL-0112 L were acid compound containing carboxyl group and not containing amine group. On the thin layer chromatography, Rf values of these metabolic products were different from that of the product formed by Corynebacterium sp. EL-0112L. These results suggested the specificity of diaminododecane as carbon source.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.804-810
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• 1999

There is a possibility that carvone, a monoterpene from spearmint (Mentha spicata), could induce the bph degradative pathway and genes in Alcaligenes eutrophus H850, which is a known Gram-negative PCB degrader with a broad substrate specificity that was thoroughly investigated with Arthrobacter sp. BIB, a Gram-positive PCB degrader. The strains BIB and H850 were unable to utilize and grow on the plant terpene [(R)-(-)-carvone] (50ppm) to be recognized as a sole carbon source. Nevertheless, the carvone did induce 2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl 1,2-dioxygenase (encoded by bphC) in the strain B lB, as observed by a resting cell assay that monitors accumulation of a yellow meta ring fission product from 4,4'-dichlorobiphenyl (DCBp). The monoterpene, however, did not appear to induce the meta cleavage pathway in the strain H850. Instead, an assumption was made that the strain might be using an alternative pathway, probably the ortho-cleavage pathway. A reverse transcription (RT)-PCR system, utilizing primers designed from a conserved region of the bphC gene of Arthrobacter sp. M5, was employed to verify the occurrence of the alternative pathway. A successful amplification (182bp) of mRNA transcribed from the N-terminal region of the bphC gene was accomplished in H850 cells induced by carvone (50ppm) as well as in biphenyl-growth cells. It is, therefore, likely that H850 possesses a specific PCB degradation pathway and hence a different substrate specificity compared with B1B. This study will contribute to an elucidation of the dynamic aspects of PCB bioremediation in terms of roles played by PCB degraders and plant terpenes as natural inducer substrates that are ubiquitous and environmentally compatible.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.184-188
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• 1993

Novel Ustilagomaydis strains, designated as SH1 to 14 containing new types of ds RNA segments, are identified from corn smut in Korea. Among 14 isolates, 7 isolates appear to posses virus particles and the other isolates may contain dsRNA as a plasmid form. The pattern of dsRNA is highly diverse form a typical P-type containing one or more of H, M, and L dsRNAs to the one containing one or move M dsRNAs. It is likely that the strains containing H dsRNA posses virus particles which were confirmed by sucrose density gradient followed with different range of specificity and the activity of the strain (SH14) is stronger than A4 toxin. The sensitivity of 14 isolates is also very diverse and two strains (SH10, SH11) appear tobe universal sensitve strains against 5 tested toxin samples.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.257-263
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• 1984

A strain producing an extracellular cytosine deaminase was isolated from soil samples. The enzyme obtained from the strain possessed the substrate specificity to both cytosine and 5-fluorocytosine. From the results of its morphological, cultural, physiological, and biochemical properties, the strain was thought to be the genus Arthrobacter. Therefore, it was named as Arthrobacter sp. JH-13. The composition of optimum medium for the enzyme formation was 0.5% of peptone, 0.5% of meat extract, 0.5% of soluble starch, and 0.1% of KCl. The optimum pH for the enzyme formation was 8.0. When the microoganism was cultured aerobically in the above medium, enzyme production reached at maximum in 54 hours at $30^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.305-309
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• 1997

Bacillus stearothermophilus No. 236, an effective xylanolytic bacterium, produced an extracellular carboxymethyl cellulase when the strain was grown on xylan. The carboxymethyl cellulase was purified to homogeneity as judged by SDS-PAGE and zymogram, The carboxymethyl cellulase had a pI of 4.0, and a molecular mass of 95 kDa. The highest level of enzyme activity was observed at pH 6.5 and $60^{\circ}C$. The $K_m$, and $V_{max}$ values of the enzyme to carboxymethyl cellulose were 20.8 mg/ml and $0.63 {\mu}mole$/min/mg protein, respectively, The enzyme was found to act also on filter paper and xylan as well as carboxymethyl cellulose. Therefore, it is expected that this xylanolytic strain isolated from soil could be efficiently used for xylan biodegradation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.414-422
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• 1999

Our works performed for preparation of oligosaccharides from carrageenan, seaweed polysaccharide, and one active strain for carrageenan was isolated from sea water and identified to Pseudomonas alcaligenes. Carrageenan degrading enzyme was purified from the culture fluid of isolated strain-Pseudomonas alcaligenes JCL-43, by DEAE-Cellulose, Sephadex G-100, Q-Sepharose and CM Sepharose CL-6B column chromatography. Two enzyme-F-I, F-II- was identified this purifying process, and the molecular weight of the purified carrageenase were estimated to be 23.6kDa and 30.2kDa, respectively. The optimum pH and temperature for two carrageenase activity were 7.0 and 4$0^{\circ}C$. These enzymes were stable in the pH range of 6.0~7.5 and lower than 5$0^{\circ}C$, and required 1.5% NaCl for optimum activity. And these carragennase were inhibited by metal ions such as Cu2+, Zn2+, Hg2+, but increased by Ba2+ and Ca2+, and showed specificity on -carrageenan.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.2081-2085
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• 2012

Background: To investigate the value of ultrasound elastography (UE) in the differentiation between benign and malignant enlarged cervical lymph nodes (LNs). Methods: B-mode ultrasound, power Doppler imaging and UE were examined to determine LN characteristics. Two kinds of methods, 4 scores of elastographic classification and a strain ratio (SR) were used to evaluate the ultrasound elastograms. Results: The cutoff point of SR had high utility in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant of cervical lymph nodes, with good sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. Conclusion: UE is an important aid in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant cervical LNs.