• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.183-191
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• 2002

Purpose : X-linked agammaglobulinemia(XLA) is an immunodeficiency caused by abnormalities in Bruton's tyrosine kinase(Btk), and is characterized by a deficiency of peripheral blood B cells. We studied the cytoplasmic expression of Btk protein and analyzed the Btk gene in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from two siblings and one cousin with XLA, as well as additional family members. Methods : Btk protein expression was analyzed by flow cytometry. Isolation of the coding sequence of the Btk gene was performed by amplification using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) technique. Sequence alterations were screened by the single-stranded conformation polymorphism(SSCP) method and characterized by standard sequencing protocols. Results : Cytoplasmic expression of Btk protein in monocytes was not detected in three patients with XLA. In addition, Btk protein analysis clearly showed cellular mosaicism in monocytes from four obligate carriers, findings further supported by SSCP. A single base pair mutation(T to C) in Btk-exon three, which encodes the PH domain, was identified in four XLA patients. A diagnostic sequencing analysis was established to detect heterozygotic pattern in 4 carrier females. Furthermore, we found significant clinical heterogeneity in individuals with the same gene mutation. Conclusion : The implicating genetic alteration provided valuable clues to the pathogenesis of XLA in Korea and the flow cytometric analysis was suggested as a useful tool for rapid detection of XLA patients and carriers. The present study has identified a genetic mutation in the Btk coding region and demonstrated heterogeneity in clinical manifestations among patients with the same mutation. A flow cytometric analysis was found to be informative in establishing a deficiency of Btk protein in both patients and carriers and is recommended as a frontline procedure in the molecular diagnosis and work-up of XLA.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.29-46
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• 2001

This study attempted to demonstrate that the integration of the two premises in linear syllogism is mediated by the middle term the term that is repeated in the two premises. In Experiment 1. we examined whether representing the middle term is more important than representing the end terms. We asked a question to each premise. Depending on the order of the questions either the two end terms or the middle term became the answer in both premises. Participants solved the problems better when the middle term became the answer suggesting that it is more important to represent the middle term than the end terms. In Experiment 2 we examined whether additional processing is needed for the integration beyond establishing co-referential link through the middle term. We pronominalized the middle term in the second premise and provided two kinds of information to disambiguate the pronoun. In the direct information condition we provided information about who the pronoun is whereas in the indirect information condition we provided information about the relative location of the pronoun. Participants solved the problems more quickly in the indirect information condition than in the direct information condition indicating that mere co-referential link was not enough and that the relative location of the middle term needs to be computed for the integration of the two premises.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.163-187
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• 2006

Taxonomic studies were conducted to evaluate the interspecific relationships in Viola albida var. albida and its related taxa using seven populations for morphology, palynology and anatomy. Molecular phylogenetic studies were also examined in 28 populations including 19 Korean, four Chinese, two Japanese, one American population and two outgroups using nrITS, and 27 populations except V pinnata for trnL-F region of chloroplast DNA. Morphological differences was observed among seven populations of three species in leaf shape, but characters such as serrate number of leaf margins, petal size, pistil shape were showed overlap between populations. Pollen shape of seven populations was monad and grain shape on the polar axis was semi-angular. Morphology of aperture was tri-colporate, and the surface sculpturing was scabrate in rugulate. The grain shape of equatorial view of five populations was prolate whereas V albida var. taknhashii type 1 and V albida var. chaerophylloides type 3 were subprolate. The anatomical characters of rnidvein of leaf, petiole, peduncle, root were also described for the species. The stomatal apparatus of the leaves was observed only in abaxial surface, and the number of stoma per unit ($mm^2$) were abundant in incised than lobate or cleft margin of the leaves. The nrITS analysis shows that V. pinnata and V. dissecta was monophyletic and occupied a basal position in the V. albida var. albida and its related taxa. The other clade including infraspecific populations of V. albida, and V. eizanensis was paraphyletic. The trnL-F noncoding region analysis was similar to the ITS tree. According to the above observations in morphology, palynology, anatomy, and molecular phylogenetic analysis, the significant differences were not found except for leaf shape in Viola albida var. albida and its related taxa, therefore V. albida var. takanhashii and V. albida var. chaerophylloides were considered to be an infraspecific taxa of V. albida var. albida rather than an independent species, subvariety or variety of V. pinnata and V. dissecta.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.281-294
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• 2018

Molecular analysis using the internal transcribed spacer region sequences revealed that the strains used in this study, which were formerly identified as Panellus serotinus, are Panellus edullis. After Universal Fungal PCR Fingerprinting (UFPF) analysis, eight strains of P. edulis were divided into two groups. We conducted fundamental research on mycelial growth and sawdust cultivation to understand the cultural characteristics of eight wild P. edulis strains collected from Korean forests. All strains showed faster and denser mycelial growth on potato dextrose agar (PDA) than on other media (malt extract agar, Sabouraud dextrose agar). Optimal conditions for mycelial growth were: $20^{\circ}C$ on PDA, $25^{\circ}C$ on potato dextrose broth (PDB), and pH 5~8 on PDB at $25^{\circ}C$. Two strains (NIFoS 2407, 3993) were selected as excellent strains based on mycelial growth and density on PDA. NIFoS 2792 showed high cellulase activities on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) agar, and NIFoS 2387 and 2804 exhibited high laccase activities on ABTS-containing agar media. The mycelial growth of P. edulis was the fastest on Quercus acutissima and Q. mongolica sawdust media, and mycelial density was the highest on Quercus spp. sawdust-containing media. Sawdust cultivation of P. edulis was successful. The conditions were 80~85 days of cultivation period after spawn inoculation, 10~11 days for primordial formation at $17{\sim}18^{\circ}C$, and 15~20 days for fruiting growth. NIFoS 2804 and 3993 were selected as good strains in terms of cultivation period and mushroom production. These results could be useful for the artificial cultivation of P. edulis.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.99-104
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• 2005

Corynebacterial clones which exert regulatory effects on the expression of the glyoxylate bypass genes were isolated using a reporter plasmid carrying the enteric lacZ fused to the aceB promoter of Corynebacterium glutamicum. Some clones carried common fragments as turned out by DNA mapping technique. Subcloning analysis followed by the measurement of $\beta-galactosidase$ activity in Escherichia coli identified the region responsible for the aceB-repressing activity. Sequence analysis of the DNA fragment identified two independent ORFs of ORF1 and ORF2. Among them, ORF2 was turned out to be responsible for the aceB-repressing activity. ORF1 encoded a 23,216 Da protein composed of 206 amino acids. Sequence similarity search indicated that the ORF may encode a ECF-type $\sigma$ factor and designated sigH. To identify the function of sigH, C. glutamicum sigH mutant was constructed by gene disruption technique and the sigH mutant showed growth retardation as compared to the wild type strain. In addition, the mutant strain showed sensitivity to oxidative-stress generating agent plumbagin. This result imply that sigH is probably involved in the stress response occurring during normal cell growth.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.93-101
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• 2012

We analyzed mupirocin resistance rates among staphylococcal isolates collected from a Korean hospital in 2003 (100 isolates), 2005 (195 isolates), 2006 (151 isolates), and 2009 (112 isolates). In Staphylococcus aureus, rates of high-level mupirocin resistance (MIC, minimal inhibitory concentration ${\geq}512{\mu}g/ml$) decreased and did not appear since 2005. In contrast, low-level mupirocin resistance (MIC $8-256{\mu}g/ml$) was not detected in 2003 and 2005 but its rates later increased to 6.9% in 2009. Total resistance rates of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) were significantly higher than those of S. aureus. The rates of high-level resistance of CNS increased from 16.0% in 2003 to 31.5% in 2009. The rate of low-level resistance of CNS was 8.0% in 2003 and around 11% later. In all high-level resistant isolates, the ileS-2 gene was detected. All low-level resistant isolates contained the known V588F mutation in ileS gene. Previously unknown mutations such as V458G in S. aureus and D172A, Y490H and I750V in CNS were identified additionally. One S. aureus isolate with high-level resistance was resistant to oxacillin and several topical antibiotics commonly used for the treatment of skin infection. Ten S. aureus isolates with low-level resistance were also resistant to all of these antibiotics except fusidic acid. CNS isolates with high-level (61 isolates) and low-level resistance (27 isolates) exhibited significantly higher resistance rates to these antibiotics than mupirocin-susceptible CNS isolates (167 isolates). In conclusion, prevention of the emergence of mupirocin resistance is necessary for the effective treatment of skin infection by staphylococci.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.134-140
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• 2012

Asian dust storms originating in the arid desert of China and Mongolia usually occur from late winter through spring, and more than one million tons of dust per year is transported to the Korean Peninsula by the prevalent westerly winds. We supposed that these dust particles could include bioaerosols and act as carriers of microorganisms. In order to clarify the dynamics of microorganisms moving with these particles, the concentration and composition of microorganisms associated with settled particles were compared between samples collected during Asian dust events and those under non-dust periods. From February to April 2008, settled dust particles were collected at one location in Ulsan using rainfall meter of 200 mm diameter. During this period, there was one Asian dust event in Ulsan. The bacterial concentrations were higher in samples collected during Asian dust event than those under non-dust period, whereas fungal concentrations were rather similar regardless of the Asian dust event. We analyzed 16S rRNA gene sequences of 45 bacterial isolates obtained from the settled particle samples. These isolates belonged to either genus Bacillus or genus Streptococcus and were tentatively identified as B. amyloliquefaciens, B. aryabhattai, B. atrophaeus, B. licheniformis, B. megaterium, B. methylotrophicus, B. pumilus, B. sonorensis, B. subtlis, B. vallismortis, S. epidermidis, and S. succinus. In cases of fungal isolates, genera such as Mucor, Alternaria, Cladosporium, and Aspergillus were tentatively identified from samples collected at both Asian dust and non-Asian dust periods. It appears that endospore-forming bacteria such as Bacillus sp. rather than fungal spores are more likely to be associated with Asian dust particles.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.406-414
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• 2016

Among 6 leu codons, CUG is the most frequently used codon in E. coli. It is recognized by leu-tRNA(CAG) encoded by four genes scattered on two chromosomal loci (leuT and leuPQV ). In the process of constructing a strain with no functional leu-tRNA (CAG) gene on chromosome, we made two mutant strains separately, one on leuPQV locus (${\Delta}leuPQV$), and the other on leuT locus [$leuT^*$(GAG)], where the anticodon of leuT was changed from CAG to GAG, thereby altering its recognition codon from CUG to CUC. We attempted to combine these two mutations by transduction using $leuT^*$(GAG) strain as a donor and ${\Delta}leuPQV$ strain as a recipient. Large and small colonies appeared from this transduction. From PCR and DNA sequencing, large colony was confirmed to be the reciprocal recombinant as expected, but the small colonies contained both mutant $leuT^*$(GAG) and wild type leuT (CAG) genes in the cell. This heterozygous diploid strain did not show any unusual morphology under microscopic observation, but, interestingly, it showed a linear growth curve in rich medium with much slower growth rate than wild type cell. It always formed homogenous small colonies in the selection medium, but, when there was no selection, it readily segregated into $leuT^*$(GAG) and leuT (CAG). From these observations, we suggested that the strain with both $leuT^*$(GAG) and leuT (CAG) genes was not a partial diploid (merodiploid), but a full diploid cell having two different chromosomes. We proposed a model explaining how such a heterozygous diploid cell was formed and how and why its growth showed a linear growth curve.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.11
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• pp.1626-1631
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• 2012

Sixty strains of lactic acid bacteria were isolated from kimchi and used as a starter for fermented tofu. Among the isolated strains, strain KL-6 showed antimicrobial activity against various pathogens, antioxidative activity, and viability in artificial gastric juice and artificial bile acid. The selected strain KL-6 was identified as Pediococcus acidilactici KL-6 by morphological and physiological tests, including Gram staining, catalase test, and 16S rRNA sequencing. The fermentation characteristics of tofu with a kimchi ingredient mixture (Control) consisting of red pepper, garlic, ginger, sugar, salt, jeotgal, and juice of chinese cabbage were compared with those of tofus inoculated with strain KL-6 and the kimchi ingredient mixture (TL) or a pre-fermented kimchi ingredient mixture (TPL) for 24 hr at $37^{\circ}C$. The pH levels of all tested tofu samples decreased after 1 week of fermentation, reaching 3.96 (control), 3.97 (TL), and 4.03 log cfu/g (TPL) after fermentation for 14 weeks at $20^{\circ}C$. Total aerobe content of fermented tofu increased until 2 weeks of fermentation, but decreased steadily thereafter. The number of lactic acid bacteria reached $10^6$ cfu/g after 1 week of fermentation in TL and TPL, whereas it took 2 weeks for the control. The number of lactic acid bacteria in all tested tofu samples reached $10^3$ cfu/g after 14 weeks of fermentation at $20^{\circ}C$. Coliform bacteria were not detected in TL or TPL after 1 week of fermentation. The sensory scores of TL and TPL were higher than that of control in terms of taste, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability. The sensory quality of TPL was the best among all tested fermented tofu samples.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.5 no.4 s.20
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• pp.228-237
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• 2005

Purpose: We investigated the impacts of the methylation states of the P16 and the hMLH1 genes on pathogenesis and genetic expression of stomach cancer and their relationships with Helicobater pylori infection, and with other clinico-pathologic factors. Material and Methods: In our study, to detect protein expression and methylation status of the P16 and the hMLH1 genes in 100 advanced gastric adenocarcinomas, used immunohistochemical staining and methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and direct automatic genetic sequencing analysis. Results: Methylation of the P16 gene was observed in 19 out of 100 cases (19%) and in the 18 of those cases (94.7%) loss of protein expression was seen. We were sble to show that loss of P16 gene expression was related to methylation of the P16 gene (kappa coefficient=0.317, p=0.0011). Methylation of the hMLH1 gene was observed in 27 cases (27%), and in 24 cases of those 27 cases (88.8%), loss of protein expression was seen, which suggested that loss of protein expression in the hMLH1 gene is related to methylation of hMLH1 gene (kappa coefficient=0.675, P<0.0001). Also methylation of the hMLH1 gene was related to age, size of the mass, and lauren's classification. Conclusion: We found that methylation of DNA plays an important role in inactivation of the P16 and the hMLH1 genes. The methylation of the hMLH1 genes is significantly related to age, size of the mass, and lauren's classification.