• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.211-219
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• 2022

Over the past decade, double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-mediated gene silencing technology has progressed significantly for pest management in agriculture and for protecting beneficial insects from pathogens. Recently, breakthroughs in RNA interference (RNAi) applications for insect pest management by academia and commercial entities have provided RNAi products as commercial biopesticides. Although RNAi technology has vast potential and advantages for pest control, challenges, and limitations remain in practical applications. This review explores current challenges in the development of dsRNAs as a pest management tool and considers new approaches to overcome biological and environmental obstacles, such as poor stability and resistance.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.601-616
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• 2022

In the era of the fourth industrial revolution technology, the inclusion of personalized nutrition for healthcare (PNH), when establishing a healthcare platform to prevent chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, and inflammatory diseases, enhances the national competitiveness of global healthcare markets. Furthermore, since the government experienced COVID-19 and the population dead cross in 2020, as well as numerous health problems due to an increasing super-aged Korean society, there is an urgent need to secure, develop, and utilize PNH-related technologies. Three conditions are essential for the development of PNH technologies. These include the establishment of causality between obesity genome (genotype) and prevalence (phenotype) in Koreans, validation of clinical intervention research, and securing PNH-utilization technology (i.e., algorithm development, artificial intelligence-based platform, direct-to-customer [DTC]-based PNH, etc.). Therefore, a national control tower is required to establish appropriate PNH infrastructure (basic and clinical research, cultivation of PNH-related experts, etc.). The post-corona era will be aggressive in sharing data knowledge and developing related technologies, and Korea needs to actively participate in the large-scale global healthcare markets. This review provides the importance of scientific evidence based on a huge dataset, which is the primary prerequisite for the DTC obesity gene-based PNH technologies to be competitive in the healthcare market. Furthermore, based on comparing domestic and internationally approved DTC obese genes and the current status of Korean obesity genome-based PNH research, we intend to provide a direction to PNH planners (individuals and industries) for establishing scientific PNH guidelines for the prevention of obesity.

• Advanced Industrial SCIence
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.36-43
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• 2023

Native plants thrive naturally in specific areas without human intervention, offering significant potential as genetic resources and biotechnological assets across multiple sectors. To harness this potential, our focus was on analyzing domestic patents related to native plants, investigating their uses, effectiveness, active components, and extraction methods. Using the Korea Forest Service's National Standard Plant List, we gathered data from 988 patents on native plants and 430 patents on the use of native plant seeds. This comprehensive patent analysis aimed to reveal research patterns, technology levels, and emerging trends. The goal is to identify research trends, current technology levels, and provide insights for future patent applications involving native plants.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.153-161
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• 2002

Sox4, a transcription factor, consists of three functional domains: an HMG-box domain as a DNA binding domain, serine rich region as a transactivation domain and glycine rich region (GRR), an unknown functional domain. Although Sox4 is known to be functionally involved in heart, B-cell and reproductive system development, its physiological function remains to be elucidated. We used pGEX expression system to develop a simple and rapid method for purifying Sox4 protein in suitable forms for biochemical studies of their functions. Unexpectedly, we observed that full-length Sox4 appears to be protease-sensitive during expression and purification in E. coli. To map the protease-sensitive site in Sox4, we generated various constructs with each of functional domains of Sox4 and purified as the GST-Sox4 fusion proteins using glutathione beads. We found that the specific cleavage site for the proteolytic enzyme, which exists in E. coli, is localized within the novel GRR of Sox4. Our study suggest that the GRR of Sox4 may a target for the cellular protease action and this cleavage in the GRR may be involved in regulating physiological function of Sox4. Additionally, our study may provide a useful method for investigating the proteolytic cleavage of the target molecule in E. coli.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.354-361
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• 2021

Understanding the phytotoxic mechanism of methyl bromide (MB), an essential fumigant during the quarantine and pre-shipment process, is urgently needed to ensure its proper use and reduce international economic losses. In a previous study, two main MB-induced toxic mechanisms such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and auxin distribution were selected by analyzing transcriptomic analysis. In the study, a 3-week-old A. thaliana was supplied with 1 mM ROS scavengers [N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) or L-glutathione (GSH)] and 1µM indole-3-acetic acid(IAA) three times every 12 h, and visual and gene expression assessments were performed to evaluate the reduction in phytotoxicity by supplements. Phytotoxic effects on the MB-4h exposed group were decreased with GSH application compared to the other single supplements and a combination of supplements at 7 days post fumigation. Among these supplements, GSH at a concentration of 1, 2, and 5mM was suppled to A. thaliana with MB-fumigation. During a long-term observation of 2 weeks after the fumigation, 5 mM GSH application was the most effective in minimizing MB-induced phytotoxic effects with up-regulation of HSP70 expression and increase in main stem length. These results indicated that ROS was a main key factor of MB-induced phytotoxicity and that GSH can be used as a supplement to reduce the phytotoxicity of MB.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.228-233
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• 2001

The acid tolerance response (ATR) of log-phase Salmouella enterica seroyar Typhimurium is induced by acid adaptation below pH4.5 and will protect cells against more severe acid. Two distinctive ATR systems in thisorganism are a log-phase and stationary-phase ATR in which acid adaptations trigger the synthesis of acid shockproteins (ASPs). We found that log-phase ATR system was strongly affected by environmental factor, low tem-perature, $25^{\circ}C$. Exposure to low temperature and mild acid has been shown to increase acid survival dra-matically, and this survival rate was showed higher than $37^{\circ}C$. Especially unadapted cells at $25^{\circ}C$ presented tenthousand folds survival increasing when compared with cells at $37^{\circ}C$. The degree of acid tolerance of rpoSwhich is blown to be required for acid tolerance more increase than $37^{\circ}C$. Even though AIR pattern of rpoSbetween unadapted and adapted was showed similar at pH 3.1, rpoS-dependent ATR system also has beendetected in low temperature because rpoSAp prevents sustained acid survival at $25^{\circ}C$. Therefore the resultssuggest low temperature ATR system requires rpoS-dependent and -independent both. To investigate the basisfor low temperature related ATR system, gene that was participated for low temperature acid tolerance (lat) wasscreened in virulent S. enterica serovar Typhimurium UKl Using the technique of P22- MudJ (Km, lacZ)-directed lacZ operon fusion, LF452 latA‥‥MudJ was isolated. The latA‥‥MudJ of S. enterica Typhimurium pre-vented low temperature acid tolerance response. Therefore latA is considered one of the important genes for acidadaptation.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.278-285
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• 2016

The bifunctional PheA protein, having chorismate mutase and prephenate dehydratase (CMPD) activities, is one of the key regulatory enzymes in the aromatic amino acid biosynthesis in Escherichia coli, and is negatively regulated by an end-product, phenyalanine. Therefore, PheA protein has been thought as useful for protein engineering to utilize mass production of essential amino acid phenylalanine. To obtain feedback resistant PheA protein against phenylalanine, we mutated by using random mutagenesis, extensively screened, and obtained $pheA^{FBR}$ gene encoding a feedback resistant PheA protein. The mutant PheA protein contains substitution of Leu to Phe at the position of 118, displaying that higher affinity (about $290{\mu}M$) for prephenate in comparison with that (about $850{\mu}M$) of wild type PheA protein. Kinetic analysis showed that the saturation curve of $PheA^{FBR}$ against phenyalanine is hyperbolic rather than that of $PheA^{WT}$, which is sigmoidal, indicating that the L118F mutant enzyme has no cooperative effects in prephenate binding in the presence of phenylalanine. In vitro enzymatic assay showed that the mutant protein exhibited increased activity by above 3.5 folds compared to the wild type enzyme. Moreover, L118F mutant protein appeared insensitive to feedback inhibition with keeping 40% of enzymatic activity even in the presence of 10 mM phenylalanine at which the activity of wild type $PheA^{WT}$ was not observed. The substitution of Leu to Phe in CMPD may induce significant conformational change for this enzyme to acquire feedback resistance to end-product of the pathway by modulating kinetic properties.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2010

Xenotransplantation of pig organs is complicated by the existence of polytropic replication-competent porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERV) capable of infecting human cells. Two classes of infectious human-tropic replication-competent PERVs (PERV-A and PERV-B) and one class of ecotropic PERV-C are known. The potential for recombination between ecotropic PERV-C and human-tropic PERVs adds another level of infectious risk. A recombinant PERV-A/C (PERV-A14/220) virus is 500-fold more infectious than PERV-A. Two determinants of this high infectivity was identified; one was isoleucine-to-valine substitution at position 140 in RBD (receptor binding domain), and the other lies within the PRR (proline rich region) of the envelope protein. To examine whether the effects of the cytoplasmic tail of the PERV-C Env on fusogenesity also influences infectivity, we constructed a pseudotype retroviral vectors containing MoMLV core protein and PERV envelopes. Pseudotyping experiments with the PERV envelope glycoproteins indicated that recombinant PERV-A/C virus is 10-fold more infectious than PERV-A by lacZ staining. This result supports the suggestion that viral transduction of PERV-A/C is enhanced by a membrane-proximal cytoplasmic amphiphilic ${\alpha}$-helix in PERV-C Env tail.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.208-218
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• 2018

Autophagy is a cellular process whereby cytosolic materials or organelles are taken up in a double-membrane vesicle structure known as an autophagosome and transported into a lysosome for degradation. Although autophagy has been studied at the genetic, cellular, or biochemical level, systematic ultrastructural quantitative analysis of autophagosomes during the autophagy process by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has not yet been reported. In this study, we performed ultrastructural analysis of autophagosomes in wild-type (WT) mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and autophagy essential gene (atg5) knockout (KO) MEFs. First, we performed ultrastructural analysis of autophagosomes in WT MEFs compared to atg5 KO MEFs in basal autophagy or starvation-induced autophagy. Although we observed phagopore, early, late autophagosomes, or autolysosomes in WT MEFs, atg5 KO MEFs had immature autophagosomes that showed incomplete closure. Upon starvation, late autophagosomes accumulated in WT MEFs while the number of immature autophagosomes significantly increased in atg5 KO MEF indicating that atg5 plays an important role in the maturation of autophagosomes. Next, we examined autophagosomes in the cell model expressing polyQ-expanded N-terminal fragment of huntingtin. Our TEM analysis indicates that the number of late autophagosomes was significantly increased in the cells expressing the mutant huntingtin, indicating that improving the fusion of autophagosome with lysosome may be effective to enhance autophagy for the treatment of Huntington's disease. Taken together, the results of our study indicate that ultrastructural and quantitative analysis of autophagosomes using TEM can be applied to various human cellular disease models, and that they will provide an important insight for cellular pathogenesis of human diseases associated with autophagy.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.796-803
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• 2008

Mutations in the APP gene lead to enhanced cleavage by ${\beta}-$ and ${\gamma}-secretase$, and increased $A{\beta}$ formation, which are closely associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD)-like neuropathological changes. Recent studies have shown that exercise training can ameliorate pathogenic phenotypes ($A{\beta}-42$, BDNF, GLUT-1 and HSP70) in experimental models of Alzheimer's disease. Here, we have used NSE/APPsw transgenic mice to investigate directly whether exercise training ameliorates pathogenic phenotypes within Alzheimer's brains. Sixteen weeks of exercise training resulted in a reduction of $A{\beta}-42$ peptides and also facilitated improvement of cognitive function. Furthermore, GLUT -1 and BDNF proteins produced by exercise training may protect brain neurons by inducing the concomitant expression of genes that encode proteins (HSP-70) which suppress stress induced neuron cell damages from APPsw transgenic mice. Thus, the improved cognitive function by exercise training may be mechanistically linked to a reduction of $A{\beta}-42$ peptides, possibly via activation of BDNF, GLUT-1, and HSP-70 proteins. On the basis of the evidences presented in this study, exercise training may represent a practical therapeutic management strategy for human subjects suffering from Alzheimer's disease.