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Interview with Professor Kim Young hoon majoring in animal biotechnology
On a day in April, when it turned green with warm sunlight, I met Professor Kim Young hoon at the animal microbiology lab majoring in animal biotechnology. Professor Kim Young hoon's team's research results on salmonella using bacteriophages and microbiomes were published in Science of The Total Environment. From Professor Kim Young hoon's passionate research process to encouragement for students at the Agricultural College, we could hear various stories.
Q. Please briefly explain the contents of this "Molecular Genetic Characterization of the Novel Bacteriophage SLAM_phiST1N3 of Cornellvirus for Multidrug-resistant Salmonella Control in the pig industry."
A. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains is a field that is recognized as very important not only in medicine but also in our agricultural biotechnology. It is a very important issue, especially in livestock and the pig farming industry, which raises pigs. Since July 2011, the use of antibiotics in feed has been banned in Korea, and natural substances such as probiotics and organic acids have begun to be used as substitutes for antibiotics. In addition to these substances, we conducted a study to control and reduce Salmonella during the production stage by using a viral substance called 'bacteriophage'. Considering the livestock food production cycle, we also found out whether bacteriophages have the activity to reduce bacteria when salmonella is infected with pork from production to sales. Existing studies have completed the stage of selecting and observing the function of bacteriophages, and we have conducted Whole Genome Sequencing to identify molecular biological characteristics as well as dielectric analysis of this bacteriophage.
Q. Please explain to your colleagues at the College of Agriculture how salmonella adversely affects the pig industry and the importance of the research.
A. Salmonella infection causes devastating economic damage to the pig industry. First of all, the growth stage of the pig industry consists of milking, weaning, finishing, and fostering stages. Among them, many changes occur in the intestinal tract of pigs during the weaning stage of the conversion from the milking stage to solid feed. As a lot of stress is applied to the intestine at that time, the risk of infection with various pathogens increases as immunity decreases. At this time, individuals infected with Salmonella often die after severe diarrhea symptoms, causing great economic damage to the pig industry.
Through this research result, I hope that the students of Nongsaeng University will understand the diversity and originality of the research fields covered in our animal biotechnology major. In the animal biotechnology major, we deal with animals with a very wide spectrum of research in a single public eye, from biotechnology and genomics studies at the molecular and cellular level to nutrition, biochemistry, physiology, and immunology studies of animals targeting economic animals/pets. In addition, we are also conducting microbiological studies that accelerate bioactivity through host-microbial interactions or improve robustness and productivity at the same time as research on living things.
Q. Were there any difficult or difficult moments in the research process?
A. First, in the early days, it was difficult to isolate, identify, and optimize the activity of bacteriophages in various ways by causative bacteria according to livestock species. My major has mainly focused on bacteria, especially probiotics and microbiome. Bacteriophages are a type of virus, so they were a kind of unknown creature that I have never dealt with. In the early days, I had difficulty controlling bacteriophages, but I was able to proceed smoothly with the research thanks to the help of members of the Agricultural Research and Extension Services who study bacteriophages.
Second, it is difficult to cope with the anaerobes of ovarian bacteria. You may have heard a lot about the importance of the balance of the microbiome in the intestines of animals, but the balance of the microbiome is very important in the intestines of animals. In addition to general metagenomic studies at the genome level, our laboratory focuses mainly on research on separating and cultivating ovarian microbiome real resources by applying 'Culturromics'.
However, ovarian bacteria are absolutely anaerobic and have a very high difficulty in culturing. In response, we are also conducting research to isolate and identify new ovarian anaerobes and to explore the new biological functionality of the microbiome related to new diseases by applying various culture conditions to human and animal intestinal samples.
Q. In addition to this research, outstanding research results have recently been shown in the professor's lab, such as publishing a paper in the journal Communications Biology after identifying for the first time that Fusarium venenatum-based microbial proteins can be used as high-quality alternative proteins as well as as as anti-obesity substances. What do you think are the factors that can lead to these research results?
A. That's a very important question for me as a researcher. I think the most important thing is to change the way you think. Recently, there is a flow of research in various directions by applying new insights to substances that are underutilized or considered bad.
Fusarium venenatum can be an example. When it comes to fungi, we often perceive them as bad things and things that need to be removed.
However, on the contrary, fungi have strong resistance to acidity, temperature, and humidity, so they have the property of being able to settle even in harsh conditions. Since the fungal cell itself contains protein, carbohydrates, and fat nutrients, we studied Fusarium venenatum, an edible mold, with insights to cultivate the fungal cell and use it as a protein substitute or anti-obesity substance. It is particularly impressive that the fungal protein can contribute to the resolution of obesity, a major metabolic disease in modern society. In terms of food security, the use of fungi can also be a positive sign. Mainly used for feed, corn and soybeans are foods that humans and animals consume together, and animals are in a food competition due to the global population growth.
