• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.100-108
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• 2017

Cathepsin F, which is encoded by CTSF, is a cysteine proteinase ubiquitously expressed in several tissues. In a previous study, novel transcripts of the CTSF gene were identified in the crab-eating monkey deriving from the integration of an Alu element-AluYRa1. The occurrence of AluYRa1-derived alternative transcripts and the mechanism of exonization events in the CTSF gene of human, rhesus monkey, and crabeating monkey were investigated using PCR and reverse transcription PCR on the genomic DNA and cDNA isolated from several tissues. Results demonstrated that AluYRa1 was only integrated into the genome of Macaca species and this lineage-specific integration led to exonization events by producing a conserved 3' splice site. Six transcript variants (V1-V6) were generated by alternative splicing (AS) events, including intron retention and alternative 5' splice sites in the 5' and 3' flanking regions of CTSF_AluYRa1. Among them, V3-V5 transcripts were ubiquitously expressed in all tissues of rhesus monkey and crab-eating monkey, whereas AluYRa1-exonized V1 was dominantly expressed in the testis of the crab-eating monkey, and V2 was only expressed in the testis of the two monkeys. These five transcript variants also had different amino acid sequences in the C-terminal region of CTSF, as compared to reference sequences. Thus, species-specific Alu-derived exonization by lineage-specific integration of Alu elements and AS events seems to have played an important role during primate evolution by producing transcript variants and gene diversification.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.34-40
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• 2014

Mesoporous SAPO-34 catalyst was successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal method using carbon nanotube (CNT) as a secondary template. The effects of CNT contents (0.5, 1.5, 2.5, and 4.5 mol%) on catalytic performances were investigated. The synthesized catalysts were characterized with XRD, SEM, nitrogen physisorption isotherm and $NH_3$-TPD. Among the synthesized catalysts, SAPO-34 catalyst prepared by the addition of 1.5 mol% CNT (1.5C-SAPO-34) observed not only the largest amounts of mesopore volume but also acid sites. However, the mesopore volume was relatively decreased by further increasing of CNT contents due to the formation of small crystalline. The catalytic lifetime and the selectivity of light olefins ($C_2{\sim}C_4$) were examined for the dimethyl ether to olefins reaction. As a result, the 1.5C-SAPO-34 catalyst showed an improvement of ca. 36% in a catalytic lifetime and a better selectivity to light olefins as compared with the general SAPO-34 catalyst.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.1169-1175
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• 2011

The soil chemical properties, microbial community structures and biochemical properties of lettuce or cucumber-cultivated greenhouse soil samples were analyzed to assess soil health and characterize microbial distribution in 8 locations in Korea. Although most of chemical properties were within the soil management guidelines, the available phosphate, and the contents of exchangeable potassium and calcium were higher than those of recommended levels. In the culture-dependent analysis, 841 bacterial strains were isolated from the greenhouse soils and were identified at the genus level by 16S rRNA gene sequences analysis. The dominant bacterial genera were Bacillus (35.7%), Microbacterium (9.3%), Arthrobacter (5.7%) and Lysobacter (5.1%). The abundance of pseudomonads was highly variable depending on the soil samples. In the culture-independent analysis, soil microbial community was investigated by using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) method. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that a specific grouping for microbial community structure in the greenhouse soils was not observed based on cultivated crops and investigated sites. The results revealed that the greenhouses soils examined are relatively sound managed in terms of soil chemical contents and microbial properties.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.479-485
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• 2021

Background: Vibrio vulnificus has been frequently detected in seawater, fish, and shellfish mainly in the coastal areas of Chungcheongnam-do Province. Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the analyzed biochemical properties, genetic characteristics, and distribution of Vibrio vulnificus isolated from environmental sources in coastal areas of Chungcheongnam-do Province from 2019 to 2020. Methods: A total of 1,510 samples were obtained from six different sites in Chungcheongnam-do Province. Isolated strains from the samples were identified by a VITEK 2 system and MALDI-TOF. Antibiotic susceptibility testing for 85 isolates was done by microdilution minimum inhibitory concentration methods, and 11 isolates were analyzed for 16s rRNA sequences in multiple alignments. Results: Among the 1,510 samples taken during the investigation period, 306 strains were isolated and the detection rate of V. vulnificus was 20.3%. One hundred eighty-eight strains (24.6%) from seawater and 118 strains (15.8%) from mud flats were isolated. It was mainly detected in July (17.3%), August (36.5%), and September (28.8%), and the proportion was 82.0%. Based on the CLSI-recommended breakpoints, V. vulnificus isolates were all susceptible to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, amikacin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. However, nonsusceptible isolates to ampicillin, ampicillin/sulbactam, cefazolin, cefoxitin, imipenem, tetracycline and chloramphenicol were identified. In the analysis of the nucleotide sequences for 16s rRNA of V. vulnificus isolates, it was confirmed that mutations frequently occurred between nucleotide number 922 and 952, and 98.2% to 100% nucleotide identities between isolates was verified. Conclusions: The results of this study can be used as a basic data for infection control and prevention of Vibrio vulnificus infection by describing the distribution and characteristics of Vibrio vulnificus strains isolated in coastal areas of Chungcheongnam-do Province.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.60 no.12
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• pp.32.1-32.10
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• 2018

Background: Necdin (NDN), a member of the melanoma antigen family showing imprinted pattern of expression, has been implicated as causing Prader-Willi symptoms, and known to participate in cellular growth, cellular migration and differentiation. The region where NDN is located has been associated to QTLs affecting reproduction and early growth in cattle, but location and functional analysis of the molecular mechanisms have not been established. Methods: Here we report the sequence variation of the entire coding sequence from 72 samples of cattle, yak, buffalo, goat and sheep, and discuss its variation in Bovidae. Median-joining network analysis was used to analyze the variation found in the species. Synonymous and non-synonymous substitution rates were determined for the analysis of all the polymorphic sites. Phylogenetic analysis were carried out among the species of Bovidae to reconstruct their relationships. Results: From the phylogenetic analysis with the consensus sequences of the studied Bovidae species, we found that only 11 of the 26 nucleotide changes that differentiate them produced amino acid changes. All the SNPs found in the cattle breeds were novel and showed similar percentages of nucleotides with non-synonymous substitutions at the N-terminal, MHD and C-terminal (12.3, 12.8 and 12.5%, respectively), and were much higher than the percentage of synonymous substitutions (2.5, 2.6 and 4.9%, respectively). Three mutations in cattle and one in sheep, detected in heterozygous individuals were predicted to be deleterious. Additionally, the analysis of the biochemical characteristics in the most common form of the proteins in each species show very little difference in molecular weight, pI, net charge, instability index, aliphatic index and GRAVY (Table 4) in the Bovidae species, except for sheep, which had a higher molecular weight, instability index and GRAVY. Conclusions: There is sufficient variation in this gene within and among the studied species, and because NDN carry key functions in the organism, it can have effects in economically important traits in the production of these species. NDN sequence is phylogenetically informative in this group, thus we propose this gene as a phylogenetic marker to study the evolution and conservation in Bovidae.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.65-76
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• 2019

Bacillus genus are found abundantly in various sites and their secondary metabolites were used as potential agents in agriculture, notably plant growth promoting and bio-control. The objective of this study was to develop the culture conditions of GH1-13 strain including higher cell growth, stable endospore-forming and enhancement of potential agents which are related with plant growth promoting and phytopathogen suppression. The optimal carbon and nitrogen sources were determined by glucose and soy bean flour, respectively, then resulted in $7.5{\times}10^9cells/mL$, $6.8{\times}10^9\;endospore\;cells/mL$ and sporulation yield of 90% after 30 h cultivation in 500 L submerged fermenter at $37^{\circ}C$, pH 7.0. Cells and cell-free supernatant of GH1-13 strains showed the potent antifungal activity against phytopathogenic fungi of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. It was also confirmed that indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production of GH1-13 strain was greatly increased by addition of 0.3% tryptophan.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.611-619
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• 2019

This study was carried out to investigate fuel decomposition characteristics and coke formation according to types of endothermic fuels and methods of catalyst molding. Methylcyclohexane (MCH), n-dodecane, and exo-tetrahydrodipentadiene (exo-THDCP) were used as the endothermic fuels. As a catalyst, USY720 supported with platinum was used. It was manufactured by only using pressure to disk-type, or pelletized with a binder and a silica solution. The characteristics of the catalysts according to the molding method were analyzed by X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm, and ammonia temperature programmed desorption analysis. The reaction was carried out under conditions of high temperature and high pressure ($500^{\circ}C$, 50 bar) in which the fuel could exist in a supercritical state. The product was analyzed by gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer and the coke produced by the catalyst was analyzed by thermogravimetric analyzer. After the reaction, the composition of the products varied greatly depending on the structure of the fuel. In addition, the crystallinity and surface properties of the catalysts were not changed by the method of catalyst molding, but the changes of the acid sites and the pore characteristics were observed, which resulted in changes in the amount and composition of products and coke.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.1104-1111
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• 2019

Objective: The aim of this study was to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of G protein-coupled receptor 54 (GPR54) gene and explore association of this candidate gene with reproductive traits in Jiaxing Black sows. Methods: Six pairs of primers of the gene were designed to amplify all exons thus sequences of which were detected by means of direct sequencing and then SNP loci were scanned. The effects of SNPs on total number of piglets born (TNB), number of piglets born alive (NBA), number of still born piglets (NSB), and litter weight at birth (LWB) of Jiaxing Black sows were analyzed. Results: Three SNP loci, including T3739C, C3878T and T6789C, were identified via comparison of sequencing and two genotypes (AB, BB) at each SNP site were observed. T3739C resulted in the change of amino acid ($Leu{\rightarrow}Pro$) in corresponding protein, and C3878T resulted in synonymous mutation ($Ile{\rightarrow}Ile$). Statistical results demonstrated that allele B was the preponderant allele at the three SNP loci and Genotype BB was the preponderant genotype. Meanwhile, Chi-Square test of these three SNPs indicated that all mutation sites fitted in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p>0.05). For GPR54-T3739C locus, Jiaxing Black sows with genotype BB had 1.23 TNB and 1.28 NBA (p<0.01) that were more than those with genotype AB, respectively. Jiaxing Black sows that had the first two parities with genotype BB had additional 2.23 TNB, 2.27 NBA (p<0.01), and 1.94 LWB (p<0.05) compared to those with genotype AB, respectively. However, for other two loci, no significant difference was found between TNB, NBA, NSB, and LWB, and different genotypes of Jiaxing Black sows. Conclusion: In conclusion, the polymorphisms of GPR54-T3739C locus were significantly associated to TNB, NBA, and LWB and could be used as a potential genetic marker to improve reproductive function of Jiaxing black sows.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.100 no.4
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• pp.681-686
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• 2011

The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of soil biota across forest types and soil depths in Gwangneung Experimental Forest. We selected 5 sites, which are 3 deciduous- and 2 coniferous forests. The abundance of microflora in these areas was analyzed by the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) indicators, and the density of mesofauna was measured by the abundance of nematodes and microarthropods. The abundance of soil microflora was higher in the A layer than in the B layer based on the PLFA indicators, but there were no differences between deciduous and coniferous forests. Average density of nematodes was higher in the A horizon than in the B horizon. The density of fungivorous nematodes was higher in the deciduous forests. Mean densities of Collembola and Oribatida were 44% and 42% of microarthropods in soil samples, respectively. The results of microbial PLFA indicators were significantly correlated with the density of their consumers, which reflected that the food web in fungi- and bacteria-based soil developed in this forests. This study suggested that the distribution of soil organisms largely separated by soil depths and was slightly affected by the forest type in the Gwangneung Experimental Forest.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.305-311
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• 2021

Effects of chitosan as a mesopore directing agent of SAPO-34 catalysts were investigated to improve the catalytic lifetime in DTO reaction. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherm and NH₃-temperature programmed desorption (TPD). The modified SAPO-34 catalysts prepared by varying the added amount of chitosan showed the same cubic morphology and chabazite structure as the conventional SAPO-34 catalyst. As the added amount of chitosan increased to 3 wt%, the surface area, mesopore volume and concentration of weak acid sites of modified SAPO-34 catalysts increased. The modified SAPO-34 catalysts showed enhanced catalytic lifetime and high selectivity for light olefins in the DTO reaction. In particular, the SAPO-CHI 3 catalyst (3 wt%) exhibited the longest catalytic lifetime than that of the conventional SAPO-34. Therefore, it was confirmed that chitosan was a suitable material as a mesopore directing agent to delay deactivation of the SAPO-34 catalyst.