• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1273-1279
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• 2015

Agarase from a novel agar-degrading bacterium isolated from seawater in Namhae at Gyeongsangnamdo province of Korea was characterized. The SH-1 strain was selected from thousands of colonies on Marine agar 2216 media. Almost full 16S rRNA gene sequence of the agarolytic SH-1 strain showed 99% similarity with that of bacteria of Simiduia genus and named as Simiduia sp. SH-1. Agarase production was growth related, and activity was declined from stationary phase. Secreted agarase was prepared from culture media and characterized. It showed maximum activity of 698.6 units/L at pH 7.0 and 30℃ in 20 mM Tris-HCl buffer. Agarase activity decreased as the temperature increased from an optimum of 30℃, with 90% and 75% activity at 40℃ and 50℃, respectively. Agarase was not heat resistant. Slightly lower agarase activity was observed at pH 6.0 than at pH 7.0, without statistical difference, and 80% and 75% activity were observed at pH 5.0 and 8.0, respectively. Neoagarotetraose and neoagarobiose were the main final products of agarose, indicating that it is β-agarase. Simiduia sp. SH-1 and its β-agarase would be useful for the industrial production of neoagarotetraose and neoagarobiose, which have a whitening effect on skin, delaying starch degradation, and inhibiting bacterial growth.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.236-243
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• 2013

Many plant species in subalpine regions are under threat of extinction as a result of climate change. In this study, the genetic diversity and geographic differentiation of three regions and six populations of Primula farinosa subsp. modesta (Bisset & Moore) Pax in Korea were assessed using the ISSR (Inter Simple Sequence Repeat) marker. The average genetic diversity (P = 60.62, SI = 0.299, h = 0.190) was relatively lower than that of other long-lived perennials, even though it is a self-incompatible species. AMOVA analysis showed that 50% of the total genetic diversity was partitioned among regions and Bayesian cluster analysis showed some remarkable geographic trends that were structured into 2 or 3 regions, suggesting limited gene flow among regions. Considering the population fragmentation, low level genetic diversity, and high genetic differentiation, it is essential to establish in situ and ex situ conservation strategies for P. farinosa subsp. modesta.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.148-154
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• 2009

Composting is a biological process converting solid organic waste into valuable materials such as fertilizer. The change of bacterial populations in a composting reactor of food waste was investigated for 2 months. Based on shifts in temperature profile, the composting process could be divided into the first phase ($2^{\circ}C\sim55^{\circ}C$), the second phase ($55^{\circ}C\sim97^{\circ}C$), and the third phase ($50^{\circ}C\sim89^{\circ}C$). The number of total bacteria was $1.66\times10^{11}$ cell/g, $0.29\times10^{11}$ cell/g, and $0.28\times10^{11}$ cell/g in the first, second, and third stages, respectively. The proportions of thermophiles increased from 33% to 89% in the second stage. T-RFLP analysis and nucleotide sequencing of 16S rRNA gene demonstrated that the change of bacterial community structure was coupled with shifts in composting stages. The structure of bacterial community in the ultra-thermophilic second stage reflected that of seeding starter. The major decomposers driving the ultra-thermophilic composting were identified as phylotypes related to Bacillus and Pseudomonas.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.177-186
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• 2005

Xenotransplantation may help to overcome the critical shortage of human tissues and organs for human transplantation, Swine represents an ideal source of such organs owing to their anatomical and physiological similarities to human besides their plentiful supply, However, the use of organs across the species barrier may be associated with the risk of transmission of pathogens, specially porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs).• Although most of these potential pathogens could be eliminated by pathogen-free breeding, PERVs are not eliminated by this treatment. PERVs are integrated into the genome of all pigs and produced by normal pig cells and infect human cells. They belong to gamma retroviruses and are of three classes viruses: A, B and C. In the present study, PCR based cloning was performed with chromosomal DNA extracted from pigs from domestic pigs in Korea. Amplified PCR fragments of about 1.5 Kb, covering the partial env gene, were cloned into pCR2.l-TOPO vectors and sequenced. A total of 91 env clones were obtained from domestic pigs, Berkshire, Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire in Korea. Phylogenetic analysis of these genes revealed the presence of only PERV class A and B in the proportion of 58 % and 42 %, respectively. Among these, 28 clones had the correct open reading frame: 18 clones in class A and 10 clones in class B. Since both these PERV classes are polytropic and have the capacity to infect human cells, our data suggest that proviral PERVs have the potential to generate infectious viruses during or after xenotransplantation in human.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.1057-1063
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• 2013

Citri Pericarpium is one of the most commonly used traditional herbal medicines in Korea, China, and Japan. Its extracts have many properties including the treatment of indigestion and inflammatory respiratory syndromes such as bronchitis and asthma. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of anti-cancer activity and molecular targets are not fully understood. In this work, we investigated the anti-proliferative activity of Citri Pericapium (EMCP) methanol extract on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the association of these effects with apoptotic cell death using U937 human leukemia cells in vitro. EMCP treatment decreased cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner following an increase of the sub-G1 phase, the down-regulation of Bax proteins, the activation of caspases, the degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase proteins (PARP), and the induction of ROS generation. However, the quenching of ROS generation by N-acetyl-L-cysteine administration, a scavenger of ROS, reversed the EMCP-induced apoptosis effects. In addition, heme oxygenase-1 expression also recovered by inhibiting the nuclear translocation of phosphorylated NF-E2-related factor 2. Taken together, our data indicate that ROS are involved as key mediators in the early molecular events in the EMCP-induced apoptotic pathway.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.125-134
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• 2013

Lipid droplets called plastoglobules are present in all plastid types. In chloroplasts, they are surrounded by the outer lipid monolayer from and connected to thylakoid membrane. The plastoglobule core contains the neutral lipids, which includes prenylquinones, triacylglycerols, and carotenoids. During stress and various developmental stages such as senescence, the size and number of plastoglobules increase due to the accumulation of lipids. Plastoglobules proteome revealed the presence of metabolic enzymes as well as structural proteins, plastoglobulins/fibrillins. Among the metabolic enzymes, the tocopherol cyclase, VTE1 and the NADPH quinine dehydrogenase, NDC1 have demonstrated that these participate in isoprenoid lipid metabolic pathways at the plastoglobule, notably in the metabolism of prenylquinones (tocopherol, plastoquinol and phylloquinone).

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.35-39
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• 2015

Medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency is the most common mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation disorder which is inherited as an autosomal recessive pattern. MCAD deficiency is caused by mutations in the ACADM gene; medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase gene (ACADM; OMIM 607008) on chromosome 1p31 which encodes MCAD, the mitochondrial enzyme which catalyzes the first reaction in beta-oxidation of fatty acids with medium-chain length. Here, we describe one Korean pediatric case of MCAD deficiency, which was diagnosed during newborn screening by tandem mass spectrometry and confirmed by molecular analysis. The level of hexanoyl (C6), octanoyl (C8), decenoyl (C10:1) carnitine, and C8/C2 ratio was elevated. Homogenous c.1189T>A (p.Tyr397Asn) mutation of ACADM gene was identified by direct sequencing. He has been asymptomatic and has shown normal growth and development by 25 months of age without any intervention. There was no episode of metabolic acidosis during follow-up period.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.191-198
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• 2005

In order to optimize tissue culture conditions for genetic transformation of orchardgrass, the effects of culture medium supplements on tissue culture responses were investigated with mature seeds of 3 cultivars, 'Frode'. 'Roughrider' and 'Frontier' as explant tissues. Callus induction medium containing 3mg/L 2,4-D or 3mg/L dicamba each with 0.1mg/L BA was optimal fer embryogenic callus formation from mature seed and had a strong effect on successive plant regeneration. The regeneration frequency from embryogenic callus among cultivars were descending order of Roughrider > Frode > Frontier. Supplementation of the regeneration media with 10mg/L $AgNO_3$ and 40mg/L cysteine enhanced frequency of plant regeneration. Efficient regeneration system established in this study will be useful fur molecular breeding of orchardgrass through genetic transformation.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.99-106
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• 2011

In order to investigate rice stem proteome in response to heat stress, rice plants were subjected to heat treatment at 42$^{\circ}C$ and total soluble proteins were extracted from stem tissues, and were fractionated with 15% PEG (poly ethylene glycol) and separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE). After staining of 2-DE gels, 46 of differentially expressed proteins were extracted, digested by trypsin, and subjected to matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis. Proteins were identified through database search by using peptide mass fingerprints. Among them, 10 proteins were successfully identified. Seven proteins were up- and 3 proteins were down-regulated, respectively. These proteins are involved in energy and metabolism, redox homeostasis, and mitochondrial small heat shock proteins. The identification of some novel proteins in the heat stress response provides new insights that can lead to a better understanding of the molecular basis of heat-sensitivity in plants, and also useful to molecular breeding of thermotolerant forage crops.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1340-1348
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• 2017

Sanguinarine is a benzophenanthridine alkaloid derived from the roots of Sanguinaria canadensis L., which is used for the purpose of treating various diseases. Although studies of anticancer activities have been performed using various cancer cell lines, the phenomenon of inducing apoptosis in cancer cells by using sanguinarine requires more research. Therefore, this study investigated the anti-cancer activities and related mechanisms of sanguinarine used with Hep3B human hepatocellular carcinoma cells in terms of the regulation of apoptosis. Sanguinarine inhibited the proliferation of Hep3B cells in a concentration-dependent manner, which was associated with the induction of apoptosis. Sanguinarine also increased the activity of caspase-3, which is a typical effector caspase, and the activities of caspase-8 and caspase-9, which are key when initiating extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways, respectively. In addition, sanguinarine increased the expression of death receptor-related genes and pro-apoptotic BAX, which belongs to the Bcl-2 family, while suppressing the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2. Sanguinarine promoted the truncation of Bid and enhanced the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria to the cytoplasm due to a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. Furthermore, the reduction of a survival rate that was induced by sanguinarine and the induction of apoptosis disappeared with the inhibition of artificial caspase activity. Therefore, the results of the study indicated that sanguinarine-induced apoptosis in Hep3B cells involves both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways; such apoptosis is a caspase-dependent phenomenon.