Clostridium butyricum is a butyric acid-producing anaerobic bacteriuma, and commonly present as gut microbiota in humans. This species has been used as a probiotic for the prevention of diarrhea in humans. In this study, we report the draft genome of C. butyricum DKU-01, which was isolated from infant feces, to better understand the characteristics of this strain so that it can later be used in the development of probiotic products. A total of 79 contigs generated by hybrid assembly of sequences obtained from Roche 454 and Illumina Miseq sequencing systems were investigated. The assembled genome of strain DKU-01 consisted of 4,519,722 bp (28.62% G + C content) with a N50 contig length of 108,221 bp and 4,037 predicted CDSs. The extracted 16S rRNA gene from genome sequences of DKU-01 was similar to Clostridium butyricum with 99.63% pairwise similarity. The sequence of strain DKU-01 was compared with previously reported genome sequences of C. butyricum. The value of average nucleotide identity between strains DKU-01 and C. butyricum 60E3 was 98.74%, making it the most similar strain to DKU-01. We sequenced the DKU-01 strain isolated from infant feces, and compared it with the available genomes of C. butyricum on a public database. Genes related to Fructooligosaccharide utilization were detected in the genome of strain DKU-01 and compared with other genera, such as Bifidobacterium and Streptococcus. We found that strain DKU-01 can metabolize a wide range of carbohydrates in comparative genome result. Further analyses of the comparative genome and fermentation study can provide the information necessary for the development of strain DKU-01 for probiotics.

Soybean pods, separated and enclosed from the outside environment, are considered a suitable place to find new microbes. A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic bacterium, bacterial strain (YB22^T) was isolated from the pod of Glycine max (soybean) collected from a rural area in Republic of Korea and characterized by using polyphasic taxonomy. Cells of the strain were rod-shaped (approximately 0.4–0.6 µm wide and 4.0–5.0 µm long), non-flagellated and formed silver-yellow colonies. Cells grew at 25–35 °C (optimum, 28–30 °C), at pH 5.0–9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and with 0–2.0% NaCl (optimum, 0 % NaCl). 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that strain YB22^T was phylogenetically closest to the genus Elizabethkingia , and showed highest similarities to Elizabethkingia occulta G4070^T (96.7 %), Elizabethkingia meningoseptica ATCC 13253^T (96.7 %), Elizabethkingia miricola DSM 14571^T (96.6 %), Elizabethkingia bruuniana G0146^T (96.5 %), Elizabethkingia ursingii G4122^T (96.4 %) and Elizabethkingia anophelis R26^T (96.2 %). Average amino acid identity values between strain YB22^T and other taxa in the genus Elizabethkingia were all above the threshold range of genus determination. Average nucleotide identity and digital DNA–DNA hybridization values between strain YB22^T and other phylogenetic relatives were all found to be below the threshold range for species determination. The respiratory quinone of strain YB22^T was menaquinone 6 (MK-6) and the predominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C_15 : 0 (47.8 %) and iso-C_17 : 0 3-OH (18.5 %). The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, four unidentified aminolipids and three unidentified polar lipids. The phylogenetic analysis and physiological and biochemical data showed that strain YB22^T should represent a novel species in the genus Elizabethkingia , for which the name Elizabethkingia argenteiflava sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain for this novel species is YB22^T (=KCCM 43263^T=JCM 32097^T).

A FK506 analogue containing a non-natural starter unit was obtained through mutasynthesis by feeding cultures of Streptomyces sp. KCTC 11604BP fkbO deletion mutant with 3-cyclohexene-1-carboxylic acid. The structure of the new compound, 32-dehydroxy-FK506, and its biological activities were determined.

Background: Various laser- and light-based devices have been introduced as complementary or alternative treatment modalities for dermatophytosis, particularly for finger or toenail onychomycosis. Objective: This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the antifungal effects of 405-nm and 635-nm dual-band diode lasers using an in vivo guinea pig model of dermatophytosis. Materials and Methods: A guinea pig model was developed by the repetitive application of fungal spore preparations to the back skin of guinea pigs. Dual-diode laser treatment was delivered to the guinea pig skin at a power of 24 mW at a wavelength of 405 nm and 18 mW at 635 nm for 12 min. The treatments were administered three times weekly for 2 weeks, and a mycological study was performed. Results: Mycological studies using scraped samples obtained from treatment groups A (N = 8) and B (N = 8) after dual-diode laser treatment revealed that seven of eight (87.5%) samples in each group had negative results for direct potassium hydroxide microscopy and fungal culture studies. Skin specimens from each infected laser-untreated guinea pig exhibited spongiotic psoriasiform epidermis with parakeratosis. Meanwhile, skin specimens from infected laser-treated guinea pigs in groups A and B demonstrated thinner epidermal thickness than those from infected untreated controls but thicker than those from uninfected treated controls without noticeable inflammatory cell infiltration in the dermis. Conclusion: The guinea pig dermatophytosis model can be used to comparatively evaluate the efficacy and safety of various treatment modalities, including dual-diode lasers, for superficial fungal skin infection.

SangJoon Mo, and Hyeong Seok Yang. JABC 2016;59:289-98. https://doi.org/10.3839/jabc.2016.050