Aims: Marine bacteria have been reported to produce potential natural pigment with pharmaceutical properties and their growth can be manipulated in the laboratory to increase pigment production and their antimicrobial activity. Hence, this study aimed to enhance the prodigiosin production in Serratia marcescens IBRL USM84 by improving physical conditions. Methodology and results: The quantification of the pigment produced by S. marcescens IBRL USM84, bacterial cell growth, and its antibacterial activity in the broth medium were determined using a spectrophotometry method. Meanwhile, the antibacterial effect of red pigment on MRSA cells was observed under a scanning electron microscope (SEM). This marine isolate produced the highest yield of prodigiosin (6.95 μg/mL) when cultivated in marine broth with the addition of 0.2% of agar, 25 °C incubation temperature, initial medium pH of 7, 150 rpm of agitation speed for 48 h of cultivation time under light illumination. There was an increment of 151.81% in prodigiosin production after enhancement compared to before the enhancement of cultural conditions. SEM observations revealed that severe damage to the cell’s morphologies was exposed to red pigment as indicated by the formation of small dents, which led to completely collapse and eventually, cell death. Conclusion, significance and impact of study A positive correlation between pigment production and antibacterial activity was observed in the present study. The results supported the fact that marine bacteria are a reservoir of various pigments with antimicrobial properties. Also, the pigment production by S. marcescens and its antibacterial activity were significantly influenced by physical parameters.
Prodigiosin ; Serratia marcescens ; Marine Biology

The tight relationships between microbiome and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)have been widely recognized. New technologies, results, and theories are emerging in the field of microbiomics in recent years with the advances in high-throughput sequencing and multi-omics technologies. Based on the previous research, the present study has proposed the concept of TCM microbiomics(TCMM), which is an interdisciplinary subject aiming at elucidating the functions and applications of microbiome in the areas of herb resources, herb processing, herb storage, and clinical effects by using modern technology of biology, ecology, and informatics. This subject essentially contains the structures, functions, interactions, molecular mechanisms, and application strategies of the microbiome associated with the quality, safety, and efficacy of TCM. Firstly, the development of the TCMM concept was summarized, with the profound understanding of TCMM on the complexity and entirety of microbiome being emphasized. Then, the research contents and applications of TCMM in promoting the sustainable development of herb resources, improving the standardization and diversification of herb fermentation, strengthening the safety of herb storage, and resolving the scientific connotation of theories and clinical efficacy of TCM are reviewed. Finally, the research strategies and methods of TCM microbiomics were elaborated from basic research, application research, and system research. TCMM is expected to promote the integrative development of TCM with frontier science and technology, thereby expanding the depth and scope of TCM study and facilitating TCM modernization.
Ecology ; Fermentation ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Research Design

Academies and Institutes/history* ; Animals ; Biostatistics/history* ; China ; Ecology/history* ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Insecta/physiology* ; Vertebrates/physiology* ; Zoology/history*

Aims: To investigate early marine biofilm-forming bacterial diversity on immersed antimicrobial-free commercial paint substratum in seawater. Methodology and results: Total ten bacterial strains were successfully isolated and identified by complete 16S rRNA sequencing. The isolates morphological, biochemical properties, biofilm-forming ability, extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) productivity and components were characterised. The morphological and biochemical characterization of the strains showed strains-specific variation. All isolates were strong biofilm producers with four motile strains being both flat-bottom and air-liquid-interface biofilm producers, while other strains were only air-liquid interface biofilm producer. Based on 16S rRNA, three strains were identified as Marinomonas communis, two were Marinomonas sp., while the rest were Alteromonas litorea, Alteromonas sp., Salinimonas lutimaris, Idiomarine baltica and Bacillus niabensis. The amount of EPS that the isolates produced ranged from 1.95 to 2.89 g/L and productivity of EPS was inversely correlated with the cell biomass. Analysis of the extracted EPS using attenuated total reflectance-fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTiR) showed that all isolates EPS contained carbohydrates, nucleic acid, protein, DNA/RNA and lipid. Conclusion, significance and impact of study Bacterial diversity in early stages of biofilm on the commercial paint surface was dominated by Gram-negative bacteria from Gammaproteobacteria class. Isolates with superior cell growth showed lowest EPS production. This finding was expected to provide knowledge on distribution of different marine bacterial species in the biofilm on paint coated surfaces which may beneficial to formularize a new antibiofilm paint additive.
Biofilms ; Marine Biology

Using the 260 geographical distribution records of Polygonatum cyrtonema in China, combined with 53 environmental factors, the maximum entropy modeling(MaxEnt) was used to study the ecological factors affecting the suitability distribution of P. cyrtonema. The ArcGIS software was used to predict the potential distribution of the population of P. cyrtonema. The dominant factors were chosen by using the Jackknife test and the Receiver Operating Characteristic(ROC) curve was used to evaluate the simulation. The results showed that high value of area under curve(AUC) denoted good results, which significantly differed from random predictions. Based on the evaluation criterion, the accuracies of the predictions of P. cyrtonema potential distribution in the current periods were excellent. The main environmental factors affecting the suitable growth of P. cyrtonema were the monthly precipitation, the wettest monthly precipitation, the annual average temperature range and the precipitation of November, March, February, April, May and October. There are 9 environmental factors in soil type. The potential fitness of P. cyrtonema in China is high, mainly concentra-ted in Hunan, western Hubei, Guangdong, northeastern Guangxi, southeastern Guizhou, Jiangxi, southwestern Anhui, Fujian, Zhejiang, Shaanxi, southwestern Henan and Chongqing. The growth distribution of the potential distribution area of P. cyrtonema was divided, and the zoning map of the growth suitability of P. cyrtonema was formed. Through the comparative analysis of the potential distribution range based on MaxEnt and the distribution range of literature records, the understanding of the distribution range of P. cyrtonema was expanded.
China ; Ecology ; Entropy ; Polygonatum ; Research Design ; Soil

China is highly rich of medicinal plants. Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) has a long history and is important traditional resources in China. As one of the important strategic resources and the link among all the countries along the ancient "Silk Road", TCM has played important role in economy, politics, society and ecology. With the initiative of the "Belt and Road" in recent years, many natural resources of TCM now are facing the risk of extinction due to more and more frequent trade between China and other countries, also the increase of export has influenced to the stock of TCM. In order to prevent the loss of the resources, strengthen the protection and sustainable use of TCM, our study provided the strategies to the natural resources of TCM's entry-exit supervision from nine aspects, like law and regulation system, based on the analysis of current supervision status quo.
China ; Conservation of Natural Resources ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Ecology ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Plants, Medicinal

Most of lichens are formed by Ascomycota, less than 1% are lichenized Basidiomycota. The flora investigation of lichenized Ascomycota of South Korea has been well studied in the past three decades; however, prior to this study, none of basidiolichens was discovered. During the recent excursion, an unexpected clavarioid basidiolichen, Sulzbacheromyces sinensis was collected. Morphology and ecology has been recorded in detail. DNA was extracted, and ITS, 18S, 28S nuclear rDNA were generated. In order to further confirm the systematic position of the Korean specimens, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analysis including all the species of the order Lepidostromatales were conducted based on the ITS. As a result, the phylogenetic tree of the order Lepidostromatales was reconstructed, which differed from the previous studies. The inferred phylogenetic tree showed that species of Sulzbacheromyces in three different continents (Asia, South Africa and South America) were separated into three clades with support. In this study, the species worldwide distribution map of Lepidostromatales was illustrated, and S. sinensis had a widest distribution range (paleotropical extend to the Sino-Japanese) than other species (paleotropical or neotropical). Prior to this study, the range of distribution, southernmost and northernmost points and the fruiting time of S. sinensis were recorded, and the genus Sulzbacheromyces was firstly reported from Korean peninsula and Philippines.
Ascomycota ; Asia ; Basidiomycota ; DNA ; DNA, Ribosomal ; Ecology ; Fruit ; Geography ; Korea ; Lichens ; Philippines ; Phylogeny ; South Africa ; Trees

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to develop a structural model based on Bronfenbrenner's ecology of human development theory, that illustrates relationships of happiness and associated factors among Korean college students. METHODS: Study participants were 357 college students recruited from five universities throughout the convenience sampling. Self-reported data were collected from November, 2018 to January, 2019. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and a structural equation modeling in order to identify factors associated with college students' happiness. RESULTS: The tested model demonstrated the acceptable model fit compared to the hypothesized model, that explained college students' happiness with 68.7% accuracy. Positive family function, high self esteem and ego-resilience were significant factors associated with happiness for college students. However, positive friend support was not significant in our model. CONCLUSION: Our study findings suggest that both family and individual interventions are required to reduce negative emotions and increase happiness of college students. In particular, multicomponent interventions should include the concepts of self esteem, ego-resilience, and family function in terms of assessment and intervention contents tailored to Korean college students.
Ecology ; Ecosystem ; Friends ; Happiness ; Human Development ; Humans ; Models, Structural ; Self Concept

PURPOSE: This study tries to systematically understand factors that explain levels of happiness among pregnant women in the Ecological systems theory. METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 169 pregnant women in Korea. Collected data from self-report questionnaires were analyzed by hierarchical regression analysis using the SPSS statistics 23 program. RESULTS: A total of 5 models were examined according to individual, microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem in the Ecological systems theory. In the first model including individual factors, extraversion, neuroticism, and physical and psychological change constitute significant factors explaining happiness. In the second model with microsystem factors and in the third one with mesosystem factors, marital intimacy appears to be a significant factor. In the fourth model including exosystem factors, community service is a significant factor. In the final model with social atmosphere, personality (β=.15 for extraversion; β=−.30 for neuroticism), physical and psychological change (β=−.15), marital intimacy (β=.35), and community service (β= .18) turn out to be significant. These factors explain 59% of the variance of happiness in the pregnant women in Korea. CONCLUSION: Considering the fact that pregnant women's happiness is explained by microsystem and exosystem factors as well as individual factors, developing intervention programs that can promote influencing factors such as marital intimacy and community service is necessary to improve levels of happiness among pregnant women in Korea.
Atmosphere ; Community Health Services ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Ecology ; Ecosystem ; Extraversion (Psychology) ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Happiness ; Humans ; Korea ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Social Welfare

PURPOSE: This study analyzed a path through which factors influencing death anxiety in the community-dwelling elderly, assuming personal organismic factors and microsystemic factors based on the ecology model purported by Belsky (1980). METHODS: This study was performed with 189 elderly people. Data were collected through a self-report questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the SPSS and AMOS programs. RESULTS: The factors influencing death anxiety in the elderly were depression, family support, social network, and familism value, and the explanatory power of these variables was 22%. Death anxiety increased with higher depression, higher familism value, larger social network, and lower family support. Spiritual well-being and elderly discrimination experience had indirect effects on death anxiety, and these effects were mediated by depression. CONCLUSION: Depression, family support, social network, and familism value were found to influence death anxiety in the elderly, and the strongest effect came from depression. To reduce death anxiety in the elderly, it is important to improve their relationship with their family and friends. Moreover, support should be provided by establishing local systems, and intervention should be provided to alleviate depression.
Aged ; Anxiety ; Depression ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Ecology ; Friends ; Humans