Anaerosacchariphilus polymeriproducens gen. nov., sp. nov., an anaerobic bacterium isolated from a salt field.

A Gram-stain-negative oval-rod-shaped, spore-forming anaerobic bacterium, designated as strain MCWD5, was isolated from sediment of a salt pond in the Republic of Korea (35° 7' 18″ N 126° 19' 4″ E). The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain MCWD5 had low similarity values to members in the family Lachnospiraceae, such as Robinsoniella peoriensis PPC31 (94.8 %), Ruminococcusgauvreauii CCRI-16110 (94.

Comparison of microbial communities during the anaerobic digestion of Gracilaria under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions.

Mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digesters (MD and TD, respectively) utilizing Gracilaria and marine sediment as the substrate and inoculum, respectively, were compared by analyzing their performances and microbial community changes. During three successive transfers, the average cumulative methane yields in the MD and TD were 222.6 ± 17.

Abyssisolibacter fermentans gen. nov. sp. nov., isolated from deep sub-seafloor sediment.

A Gram-staining-negative, thin rod-shaped, anaerobic bacterium designated MCWD3(T) was isolated from sediment of the deep sea in Ulleung Basin, East Sea, Korea. The ranges of temperature, pH and NaCl for growth of this strain were 15-40°C (optimum 29°C), 5.0-10.

Construction of target-specific virus-like particles for the delivery of algicidal compounds to harmful algae.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) can lead to substantial socio-economic losses and extensive damage to aquatic ecosystems, drinking water sources and human health. Common algicidal techniques, including ozonation, ultrasonic treatment and dispersion of algae-killing chemicals, are unsatisfactory both economically and ecologically. This study therefore presents a novel alternative strategy for the efficient control of deleterious algae via the use of host-specific virus-like particles (VLPs) combined with chemically synthesized algicidal compounds.

Minke whale genome and aquatic adaptation in cetaceans.

The shift from terrestrial to aquatic life by whales was a substantial evolutionary event. Here we report the whole-genome sequencing and de novo assembly of the minke whale genome, as well as the whole-genome sequences of three minke whales, a fin whale, a bottlenose dolphin and a finless porpoise. Our comparative genomic analysis identified an expansion in the whale lineage of gene families associated with stress-responsive proteins and anaerobic metabolism, whereas gene families related to body hair and sensory receptors were contracted.

Enhanced indirubin production in recombinant Escherichia coli harboring a flavin-containing monooxygenase gene by cysteine supplementation.

In our previous study, a batch fermentation of recombinant Escherichia coli DH5α cells harboring the fmo gene from Methylophaga aminisulfidivorans MP(T) produced indirubin (5.0mg/L) and indigo (920mg/L) in a 5L fermenter containing tryptophan medium (2g/L tryptophan, 5g/L yeast extract, 10g/L NaCl). In this study, it was found that indirubin production greatly increased when 0.

Expression and bioconversion of recombinant m- and p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylases from a novel moderate halophile, Chromohalobacter sp.

p-Hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (pobA) and m-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (mobA) genes, from the moderate halophile Chromohalobacter sp. HS-2, were expressed and characterized. Solubilities of overexpressed recombinant MobA and PobA were enhanced by the induction of the heat-shock proteins DnaJ and DnaK.

Optimization of culture conditions and comparison of biomass productivity of three green algae.

Culture conditions for the mass production of three green algae, Chlorella sp., Dunaliella salina DCCBC2 and Dunaliella sp., were optimized using a response surface methodology (RSM).

Draft genome sequence of Methylophaga aminisulfidivorans MP T.

Methylophaga aminisulfidivorans MP(T) is a restricted facultatively marine methylotrophic bacterium that grows on methanol, methylated amines, dimethyl sulfide, and dimethyl sulfoxide. Here we present the high-quality draft genome sequence of M. aminisulfidivorans MP(T) (KCTC 12909(T) = JCM 14647(T)), consisting of a chromosome (3,092,085 bp) and a plasmid (16,875 bp).

Molecular characterization of enteroviruses detected in Gyeong-Ju and Po-Hang provinces of Korea in 2003.

We identified and characterized enteroviruses by amplifying the partial VP1 gene from pediatric patients with aseptic meningitis and other enterovirus-related diseases from the Gyeong-Ju and Po-Hang provinces of Korea in 2003. We identified two strains each of coxsackievirus A (CA) 6, CA9, and CA10; three enterovirus 71 (EV71) strains; and six echovirus 30 (E30) strains. The three EV71 strains were characterized as genogroup C4.

Both subunits of ATP-citrate lyase from Chlorobium tepidum contribute to catalytic activity.

ATP-citrate lyase (ACL) is an essential enzyme of the reductive tricarboxylic acid (RTCA) pathway of CO(2) assimilation. The RTCA pathway occurs in several groups of autotrophic prokaryotes, including the green sulfur bacteria. ACL catalyzes the coenzyme A (CoA)-dependent and MgATP-dependent cleavage of citrate into oxaloacetate and acetyl-CoA, representing a key step in the RTCA pathway.

Disruption of the operon encoding Ehb hydrogenase limits anabolic CO2 assimilation in the archaeon Methanococcus maripaludis.

Methanococcus maripaludis is a mesophilic archaeon that reduces CO2 to methane with H2 or formate as an energy source. It contains two membrane-bound energy-conserving hydrogenases, Eha and Ehb. To determine the role of Ehb, a deletion in the ehb operon was constructed to yield the mutant, strain S40.

Role of the precorrin 6-X reductase gene in cobamide biosynthesis in Methanococcus maripaludis.

In Methanococcus maripaludis strain JJ, deletion of the homolog to cbiJ, which encodes the corrin biosynthetic enzyme precorrin 6-X reductase, yielded an auxotroph that required either cobamide or acetate for good growth. This phenotype closely resembled that of JJ117, a mutant in which tandem repeats were introduced into the region immediately downstream of the homolog of cbiJ. Mutant JJ117 also produced low quantities of cobamides, about 15 nmol g(-1) protein or 1-2% of the amount found in wild-type cells.

Two novel mutations in the C7 gene in a Korean patient with complement C7 deficiency.

Complement C7 deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder well known to be associated with increased susceptibility to meningococcal infection and has mostly been reported in Caucasians. In the Korean population, no case of C7 deficiency has been reported to date. Recently we experienced an 11-yr-old girl with meningococcal meningitis who was diagnosed as having C7 deficiency based upon the undetectable serum C7 protein on radial immunodiffusion and the undetectable serum total and C7 hemolytic activities.

Inactive caspase 3 activates Akt in human leukemia cells susceptible or resistant to apoptosis induced by phorbol ester.

Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) is a protein kinase C (PKC) activator and tumor promoter that induces terminal differentiation in human myeloid leukemia cells. We undertook to characterize phorbol ester-activated PKC-mediated cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. In the present studies, we determined the effect of high intracellular levels of the anti-apoptosis Bcl-2 protein on caspase 3 activation and cyctochrome c release during phorbol ester 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced apoptosis.