• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.28 no.12
• /
• pp.1424-1431
• /
• 2018

We prepared flocculated detritus-like organic marine snow originating from various organisms by fermentation using microorganisms; this fermented organic material was fed to the leptocephali of the eel (Anguilla japonica) to investigate whether or not such organic matter was an appropriate food source for the larvae. A strain was isolated from a biofloc technology system used to culture fish, and seven types of organic material from hen's egg, eel muscle, tuna muscle, lugworm, shrimp, manila clam, mussel, and sea squirt were fermented using isolated bacteria (Bacillus sp.). The fermented matter did not show any specific form and was larger than $10-20{\mu}m$ but no more than $100{\mu}m$ in size. Four diets (A-D) were prepared using the various fermented products, and the larvae were fed the prepared food from 20 days after hatching. The leptocephali fed the A, B, and C diets survived until 37, 39, and 37 days after hatching, respectively. However, the leptocephali fed the D diet survived for 60 days after hatching. The protein content of each diet was very similar, but the n-3 HUFA concentration in the D diet was approximately twice as high as that of the others.

• Journal of fish pathology
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.127-138
• /
• 2020

We attempted to isolate and identify potentially pathogenic bacteria from geoduck clam (Panopea japonica) larvae, juvenile and adult, focusing on Vibrios. The isolates were identified by molecular approach and biochemical characterization. In particular, we applied MLSA (multilocus sequence analysis) to the isolated Vibrios for clear identification and phylogenetic relationships, by combining 16s rDNA and several houskeeping genes (pyrH, recA, rpoA). We obtained 141 isolates; 10 from healthy adults, 52 from moribund adults with blisters and 79 from larvae. 46 from the moribund adults and 39 from the larvae were identified as Vibrio species, while the rest of these samples and all the isolates from healthy adult were identified as marine general bacteria. Among Vibrio species, Vibrio splendidus was the most frequently identified from the moribund adults and clustered with the known V. splendidus in GenBank by MLSA. However, it was still unclear that V. splendidus was the cause of blisters because the artificial infection experiment was not conducted and V. splendidus was isolated also from the larvae. Further studies are necessary to clarify the etiological agent of the blisters found in geoduck clam in this study.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.128-135
• /
• 2023

The present study was tried to identify whether the eel's larva was close to a conger (Conger myriaster), a pipe conger (Muraenesox cinereus) or four species of Anguilla. Experimental fishes were collected by set net in the gulf of enggang, Namhae, Korea from May to June. Their morphological characteristics were compared with adult fishes of a conger, a pipe conger and four species of Anguilla. For genetic classification, DNA was isolated and amplified by using 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA primer set. The PCR products were direct sequencing in both directions. The nucleotide sequences were analyzed using softwares. As results of morphological measurement on eel's larva, the percentages of head length and preanal length against total length were similar with a conger. Based on the nucleotide sequences, the phylogenetic tree also revealed a close relationship to a conger. Therefore, eel's larva, caught in Namhae from May to June, was identified into a conger's larva.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.399-407
• /
• 2024

Angiogenesis is the process by which new blood vessels form from existing blood vessels. This phenomenon occurs during growth, healing, and menstrual cycle changes. Angiogenesis is a complex and multifaceted process that is important for the continued growth of primary tumors, metastasis promotion, the support of metastatic tumors, and cancer progression. Impaired angiogenesis can lead to cancer, autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and delayed wound healing. Currently, there are only a handful of effective antiangiogenic drugs. Recent studies have shown that natural marine products exhibit antiangiogenic effects. In a previous study, we reported that the hexane extract of H. fusiformis (HFH) could inhibit the development of new blood vessels both in vitro and in vivo. The aim of this study was to describe the inhibitory effect of chloroform extracts of H. fusiformis on angiogenesis. To investigate how chloroform extract prevents blood vessel growth, we examined its effects on HUVEC, including cell migration, invasion, and tube formation. In a mouse Matrigel plug assay, H. fusiformis chloroform extract (HFC) also inhibited angiogenesis in vivo. Certain proteins associated with blood vessel growth were reduced after HFC treatment. These proteins include vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal transduction kinase, and serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT). These studies have shown that the chloroform extract of H. fusiformis can inhibit blood vessel growth both in vitro and in vivo.

• Journal of fish pathology
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.71-79
• /
• 2018

Wild walleye pollock were caught from Goseong, The East Sea of Korea and examined for the existence of several fish pathogenic viruses; viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV), nervous necrosis virus (NNV) and marine birnavirus (MABV). We collected 1,253 wild walleye pollock in total during February 2015 and August 2018. 324 spleen sample sets and 259 brain sample sets were made, and examined for the existence of the viruses mentioned above by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). None of the target viruses were detected by one-step PCR. When some of these samples were further examined by two-step PCR, 19.7% (36/183) of spleen sample sets were positive for VHSV, and 4.4% (8/183) of spleen sample sets and 1.2% (3/259) of brain sample sets were positive for NNV. The target sequences of these viruses were clustered with those previously reported in Korea (Genotype IVa of VHSV, RGNNV genotype of NNV) by phylogenetic analysis. The activity of these viruses are not clear because virus isolation was not attempted, but probably very low because all the positive samples were detected by two-step PCR.

• Food Science and Industry
• /
• v.53 no.4
• /
• pp.390-396
• /
• 2020

We investigated the anti-obesity effect of Gelidium elegans extract (GE) on 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and a high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced mouse model. The results of the present study demonstrated that GE prevents weight gain induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) by modulating the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-PR domain-containing 16 (PRDM16)-uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1) pathway in a mice model. Moreover, in vitro results show that GE suppressed adipocyte differentiation by modulating adipogenic regulators, stimulated lipolysis by activating ATGL, and inhibited adipogenesis by downregulating various enzymes associated with triglyceride synthesis. GE was also found to upregulate AMPK phosphorylation as well as the expression of UCP1 and PRDM16 proteins, leading to measurable changes in the beige-like phenotype differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells. Taken together, these findings suggest the role of GE as a functional food ingredient extracted from Gelidium elegans to increase energy expenditure and anti-obesity efficacy.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.33 no.9
• /
• pp.703-712
• /
• 2023

Angiogenesis, the formation of blood vessels from pre-existing vessels, is a multistep process regulated by modulators of angiogenesis. It is essential for various physiological processes, such as embryonic development, chronic inflammation, and wound repair. Dysregulation of angiogenesis causes many diseases, such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and delayed wound healing. However, the number of effective anti-angiogenic drugs is limited. Recent research has focused on identifying potential drug candidates from natural sources. For example, marine natural products have been shown to have anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and wound-healing effects. Thus, this study aimed to describe the angiogenesis inhibitory effect of Hizikia fusiforms (brown algae) extract. The hexane extract of H. fusiformis has shown inhibitory effects on in vitro angiogenesis assays, such as cell migration, invasion, and tube formation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The hexane extract of H. fusiformis (HFH) inhibited in vivo angiogenesis in a mouse Matrigel gel plug assay. In addition, the protein expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal kinase, and AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 decreased following treatment with H. fusiformis extracts. Our results demonstrated that the hexane extract of H. fusiformis (HFH) inhibits angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.28 no.12
• /
• pp.1477-1488
• /
• 2018

This study investigated the muscles, intestines, and gonads of Sulculus diversicolor supertexta to examine the diversity of microbial communities within examples collected from the Jeju Coast. Using different media, initial pure isolation in MA, 1% BHIA, and 1% TSA indicated that the muscles, intestines, and gonads supported more communities, respectively. In analysis of relative similarity with 16s rRNA sequencing, 190 pure colonies were isolated, and further analysis with NBLAST identified 71 species, 39 genera, 25 families, and five phyla. Homogeny with the reference strain was 91-100%. Microbial communities in S. supertexta consisted of gamma and alpha Proteobacteria (48%), Actinobacteria (32.5%), Firmicutes (16.9%), Deinococcus-Thermus (1.3%), and Bacteroides (1.3%). In all tissue, Psychrobacter cibarius in Moraxellaceae was dominant. Alteromonadaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Pasturellaceae, Moraxellaceae, Rhodobacteraceae, Geminicoccaceae, Dietziaceae, Intrasporangiaceae, Microbacteriaceae, Micrococcaceae, Micromonosporaceae, Streptomycetaceae, Aerococcaceae, Bacillaceae, Paenibacillaceae, Planococcaceae, and Staphylcoccaceae were commonly isolated across all tissues, and Flavobacteriaceae, Corynebacteriaceae, Yesiniaceae, Vibrionaceae, Hahellaceae, Pseudomonadaceae were also identified from the intestines. In microbial monitoring of four harmful bacteria, Streptomyces albus (96%) showed antibacterial activity against all four strains, and Agrococcus baldri (99%) and Psychrobacter nivimaris (99%) presented against E. Coli and E. aerogens. In addition, some strains with low homogeny were isolated and further experiments are therefore required, for example to refine the antimicrobial substances including new strain investigations. These additional experiments would aim to establish generic resources for the microbial communities in S. Supertexta and provide basic data for applied microbiological research.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.33 no.10
• /
• pp.808-819
• /
• 2023

This study was conducted to develop a selection marker for the identification of the Bacillus licheniformis K12 strain in microbial communities. The strain not only demonstrates good growth at moderate temperatures but also contains enzymes that catalyze the decomposition of various polymer materials, such as proteases, amylases, cellulases, lipases, and xylanases. To identify molecular markers appropriate for use in a microbial community, a search was conducted to identify variable gene regions that show considerable genetic mutations, such as recombinase, integration, and transposase sites, as well as phase-related genes. As a result, five areas were identified that have potential as selection markers. The candidate markers were two recombinase sites (BLK1 and BLK2), two integration sites (BLK3 and BLK4), and one phase-related site (BLK5). A PCR analysis performed with different Bacillus species (e.g., B. licheniformis, Bacillus velezensis, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus cereus) confirmed that PCR products appeared at specific locations in B. licheniformis: BLK1 in recombinase, BLK2 in recombinase family protein, and BLK3 and BLK4 as site-specific integrations. In addition, BLK1 and BLK3 were identified as good candidate markers via a PCR analysis performed on subspecies of standard B. licheniformis strains. Therefore, the findings suggest that BLK1 can be used as a selection marker for B. licheniformis species and subspecies in the microbiome.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.144-151
• /
• 2012

In the course of this study aimed at the development of functional food ingredients from seaweeds, the in vitro antimicrobial activities of methanol extracts prepared from 35 different seaweeds (17 phaeophyta, 11 rhodophyta and 7 chlorophyta) were determined against food-borne diseases and pathogenic microorganisms including multi-drug resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas sp. and Candida sp. Based on disc-diffusion assays at 500 g/disc concentration of the methanol extracts, Ishige okamurai, I. foliacea, Sargassum confusum, and S. yamade exhibited strong antibacterial activities in a broad-spectrum, except against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition to the latter four seaweeds, Ecklonia stolonifera, E. cava and Eisenia bicyclis also demonstrated antifungal activity against C. albicans. Among these 8 selected seaweeds, I. okamurai, I. foliacea, and S. yamade exhibited strong hemolytic activity (55-93%) at 500 g/ml against human RBC. Organic solvent sequential fractions using hexane, ethylacetate and butanol, and water residues were prepared from the 8 selected seaweeds and their anti-Candida sp. activities were further determined. The ethylacetate and butanol fraction of I. okamurai, and the hexane fraction of I. foliacea demonstrated antifungal activity against MDR-pathogenic Candida sp. Although the solvent fractions had no activity against MDR-Pseudomonas sp., our results suggest that seaweeds, especially Ishige okamurai, I. foliacea, S. confusum, and S. yamade could be developed as broad-spectrum antimicrobial ingredients.