• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2008

The 1,874 rice lines were selected from 3,000 Ds insertional mutant pool by Basta herbicide treatment and were surveyed for trait variation and molecular characteristics of genes knocked out by Ds insertion. Compared with "Donjin", an original japonica cultivar used for transformation, Ds insertion mutant pool showed large variation in major agronomic traits including tiller, panicle, and heading etc. Southern blot analysis demonstrated that these lines on the average had two Ds copies in Donjin genome, resulting in 38.4% of one copy, 32.5% of two copies, 16.7% of three copies, and 11.3% of over four copies. GUS analysis showed that 3.9% of lines (73/1,860) had tissue-specific expression in leaves, nodal parts, floral organs such as stigma and pollen, and roots. Data set obtained from agricultural trait variation and molecular characteristics for individual Ds insertional lines would provide researchers with more information for understanding the function of unknown rice genes controlling economically important traits.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.463-467
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• 2009

Interspecific hybrid plants between Allium cepa L. (2n=2X=16) and A. fistulosum L. (2n=2X=16)and their backcross lines were developed by artificial pollination in order to introduce new desirable characters of A, cepa to A. fistulosum. The 2C nuclear DNA content has been estimated by flow cytometry in 5 Allium fistulosum inbreed lines, 2 interspecific hybrid lines of A. cepa${\times}$A. fistulosum and 34 their backcross lines $BC_1F_1$ to $BC_2F_2$, using propidium iodide (PI) as a fluorescence dye. Estimated 2C DNA values ranged from 22.2 pg to 23.7 pg in 5 A. fistulosum inbreed lines, 37.9 pg in F1 hybrid between A. cepa and A. fistulosum, 24.3 pg to 27.3 pg in 7 backcross lines in $BC_1F_1$, 21.9 pg to 24.4 pg in 9 $BC_1F_2$, 22.9 pg to 25.1 pg in 14 $BC_2F_1$, 22.6 pg to 23.4 pg in 4 $BC_2F_2$. This study showed mean 2C nuclear DNA content of $F_1$ hybrid was higher than their backcross progeny lines, while it was lower than female parental line, A. cepa (2C DNA=33.2 pg). Mean 2C DNA content of backcross lines, $BC_1F_1$ to $BC_2F_2$ was not significantly different but their 2C DNA contents in the more progress generation from $BC_1F_1$ to $BC_2F_2$ were reduced.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.405-412
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• 2011

Knowledge of genetic diversity and genetic relationships among inbred lines gives a significant impact on the selection of parental lines for hybrid maize varieties. Genetic diversity and genetic relationships among 86 popcorn inbred lines were analyzed using 50 SSR markers distributed over the whole genome. A total of 256 alleles were identified at all the SSR loci with an average of 5.1 and a range between two and sixteen per locus. The gene diversity values varied from 0.21 to 0.831 with an average of 0.579. The cluster tree generated using the described SSR markers recognized three major groups at 35.8% genetic similarity. Groups I, II, III respectively included 40, 39 and 7 inbred lines. The present study indicates that the SSR markers chosen for this analysis are effective for the assessment of genetic diversity and genetic relationships among 86 popcorn inbred lines in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.103-111
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• 2019

DNA methylation is involved in diverse processes in bacteria, including maintenance of genome integrity and regulation of gene expression. CcrM, the DNA methyltransferase conserved in Alphaproteobacterial species, carries out $N^6$-adenine or $N^4$-cytosine methyltransferase activities using S-adenosyl methionine as a co-substrate. Celeribacter marinus IMCC12053 from the Alphaproteobacterial group was isolated from a marine environment. Single molecule real-time sequencing method (SMRT) was used to detect the methylation patterns of C. marinus IMCC12053. Gibbs motif sampler program was used to observe the conversion of adenosine of 5'-GANTC-3' to $N^6$-methyladenosine and conversion of $N^4$-cytosine of 5'-GpC-3' to $N^4$-methylcytosine. Exocyclic DNA methyltransferase from the genome of strain IMCC12053 was chosen using phylogenetic analysis and $N^4$-cytosine methyltransferase was cloned. IPTG inducer was used to confirm the methylation activity of DNA methylase, and cloned into a pQE30 vector using dam-/dcm- E. coli as the expression host. The genomic DNA and the plasmid carrying methylase-encoding sequences were extracted and cleaved with restriction enzymes that were sensitive to methylation, to confirm the methylation activity. These methylases protected the restriction enzyme site once IPTG-induced methylases methylated the chromosome and plasmid, harboring the DNA methylase. In this study, cloned exocyclic DNA methylases were investigated for potential use as a novel type of GpC methylase for molecular biology and epigenetics.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.64-70
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• 2019

Dirofilaria immitis (D. immitis) is a filarial nematode that causes cardiopulmonary dirofilariasis in dogs. In the late stages of infection, infected dogs show one or more symptoms and advanced heart disorder with perivascular inflammation. To detect D. immitis specifically and efficiently in the early stages of infection, a duplex TaqMan qPCR assay was developed based on previous studies using primers and probes specialized to detect D. immitis cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and dog glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). As positive controls, plasmid DNAs were constructed from D. immitis COI or dog GAPDH and a TA-cloning vector. Simplex and duplex TaqMan qPCR assays were performed using the specific primers, probes, and genomic or plasmid DNA. The duplex reaction developed could detect D. immitis COI and dog GAPDH in the same sample simultaneously after optimization of the primer concentrations. The limit of detection was 25 copies for the simplex and duplex assays, and both showed good linearity, high sensitivity, and excellent PCR efficiency. The duplex assays for pathogen detection reduce the costs, labor, and time compared to simplex reactions. Therefore, the duplex TaqMan qPCR assay developed herein will allow efficient D. immitis detection and quantification from a large number of samples simultaneously.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1536-1544
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• 2018

Depression is a common, serious, and recurring mental disorder. The pathogenesis of depression involves many factors such as environmental factor, genetic factor and alteration of structure and function in neurobiological systems. Increasing evidence supports that epigenetic alteration may be associated with depression. The epigenetics is explained as the mechanisms by which environmental factor causes changes in chromatin structure and alters gene expression without changing DNA base sequence. DNA methylation and histone modification involving histone acetylation and methylation are the main epigenetic mechanisms. Animal studies have shown that stressful environment such as early life stress can leave persistent epigenetic marks in the genome, which alter gene expression and influence neural and behavioral function through adulthood. A potentially important gene in depression is brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF plays a central role in depression and antidepressant action. In studies of the rodent, exposure to stress at prenatal, postnatal, and adult stages alters BDNF expression through histone modification and DNA methylation of the BDNF gene which results in anxiety and depressive-like behavior. This review discusses recent advances in the study of the epigenetic mechanisms that contribute to depression, particularly histone modification and DNA methylation of the BDNF gene, that may help in the development of new targets for depression treatment.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1164-1170
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• 2019

The present study was carried out to evaluate extracts of Ginko biloba's outer seed coat, their antioxidative effects, and their ability to protect against DNA damage due to hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) treatments in cultured human keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells. The bioassays applied for determining the antioxidant effects of a G. biloba outer seed coat water extract (GOSWE) and a G. biloba outer seed coat methanol extract (GOSME) included the DPPH and $H_2O_2$ radical scavenging assays. Our results revealed that GOSME had higher activity than GOSWE against $H_2O_2$ radical scavenging activity in in vitro and in vivo bioassays. Treatment with GOSME significantly increased the viability of $H_2O_2-treated$ HaCaT cells. GOSME's ability to protect against DNA damage was observed via the analysis of plasmids in vitro and genomic DNA in $H_2O_2-treated$ HaCaT cells. According to our data, GOSME is able to protect HaCaT cells from $H_2O_2-induced$ DNA damage and apoptosis by blocking cellular damage related to oxidative stress. In conclusion, our study indicated GOSME might serve as a novel agent for the treatment and prevention of skin disorders caused by oxidative stress.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.297-309
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• 2020

Coronaviruses were originally discovered as enzootic infections that limited to their natural animal hosts, but some strains have since crossed the animal-human species barrier and progressed to establish zoonotic diseases. Accordingly, cross-species barrier jumps resulted in the appearance of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 that manifest as virulent human viruses. Coronaviruses contain four main structural proteins: spike, membrane, envelope, and nucleocapsid protein. The replication cycle is as follows: cell entry, genome translation, replication, assembly, and release. They were not considered highly pathogenic to humans until the outbreaks of SARS-CoV in 2002 in Guangdong province, China. The consequent outbreak of SARS in 2002 led to an epidemic with 8,422 cases, and a reported worldwide mortality rate of 11%. MERS-CoVs is highly related to camel CoVs. In 2019, a cluster of patients infected with 2019-nCoV was identified in an outbreak in Wuhan, China, and soon spread worldwide. 2019-nCoV is transmitted through the respiratory tract and then induced pneumonia. Molecular diagnosis based on upper respiratory region swabs is used for confirmation of this virus. This review examines the structure and genomic makeup of the viruses as well as the life cycle, diagnosis, and potential therapy.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.249-255
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• 2022

Metabolism is essential for survival and reproduction, and there is a metabolic pathways entry in the clusters of orthologous groups of proteins (COGs) database, updated in 2020. In this study, the metabolic pathways of 1309 prokaryotes were analyzed using COGs. There were 822 COGs associated with 63 metabolic pathways, and the mean for each taxon was between 200.50 (mollicutes) and 527.07 (cyanobacteria) COGs. The metabolic pathway composition ratio (MPCR) was defined as the number of COGs present in one genome in relation to the total number of COGs constituting each metabolic pathway, and the number of pathways with 100% MPCR ranged from 0 to 26 in each prokaryote. Among 1309 species, the 100% MPCR pathways included murein biosynthesis associated with cell wall synthesis (922 species); glycine cleavage (918); and ribosomal 30S subunit synthesis (903). The metabolic pathways with 0% MPCR were those involving photosystem I (1263 species); archaea/vacuolar-type ATP synthase (1028); and Na⁺-translocation NADH dehydrogenase (976). Depending on the prokaryote, three to 49 metabolic pathways could not be performed at all. The sequence of most highly conserved metabolic pathways was ribosome 30S subunit synthesis (96.1% of 1309 species); murein biosynthesis (86.8%); arginine biosynthesis (80.4%); serine biosynthesis (80.3%); and aminoacyl-tRNA synthesis (82.2%). Protein and cell wall synthesis have been shown to be important metabolic pathways in prokaryotes, and the results of this study of COGs related to such pathways can be utilized in, for example, the development of antibiotics and artificial cells.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.239-248
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• 2022

The taxonomy of bacteria in the field of clinical microbiology is in a state of constant flux. A large-scale revamping of the classification and nomenclature of anaerobic bacteria has taken place over the past few decades, mainly due to advances in molecular techniques such as 16S rRNA and whole genome sequencing (WGS). New genera and species have been added, and existing genera and species have been reclassified or renamed. A major role of the clinical microbiological laboratories (CMLs) is the accurate identification (ID) and appropriate antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) for clinically important bacteria, and rapid reporting and communication of the same to the clinician. Taxonomic changes in anaerobic bacteria could potentially affect the choice of appropriate antimicrobial agents and the antimicrobial breakpoints to use. Furthermore, current taxonomy is important to prevent treatment failures of emerging pathogenic anaerobes with antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, CMLs should periodically update themselves on the changes in the taxonomy of anaerobic bacteria and suitably inform clinicians of these changes for optimum patient care. This article presents an update on the taxonomy of clinically important anaerobic bacteria, together with the previous names or synonyms. This taxonomy update can help guide antimicrobial therapy for anaerobic bacterial infections and prevent treatment failure and can be a useful tool for both CMLs and clinicians.