• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.759-771
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• 2023

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are naturally occurring bacteria that intensively colonize plant roots and are crucial in promoting the crop growth. These beneficial microorganisms have garnered considerable attention as potential bio-inoculants for sustainable agriculture. PGPR directly interacts with plants by providing essential nutrients through nitrogen fixation and phosphate solubilization and accelerating the accessibility of other trace elements such as Cu, Zn, and Fe. Additionally, they produce plant growth-promoting phytohormones, such as indole acetic acids (IAA), indole butyric acids (IBA), gibberellins, and cytokinins.PGPR interacts with plants indirectly by protecting them from diseases and infections by producing antibiotics, siderophores, hydrogen cyanide, and fungal cell wall-degrading enzymes such as glucanases, chitinases, and proteases. Furthermore, PGPR protects plants against abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity by producing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase and modulating plant stress markers. Bacteria belonging to genera such as Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, Pantoa, and Enterobacter exhibit multiple plant growth-promoting traits, that can enhance plant growth directly, indirectly, or through synergetic effects. This comprehensive review emphasizes how PGPR influences plant growth promotion and presents promising prospects for its application in sustainable agriculture.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.21-30
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• 2020

Natural products are widely used due to their various biological activities which include anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-obesity effects. In this study, we determined the antioxidative and anti-obesity effects of Polygonum cuspidatum 50% ethanol extract (PEE). The antioxidative effect of PEE was evaluated using its radical scavenging activity, total phenolic content, and reducing power. The anti-obesity effect of PEE was investigated using 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The antioxidative activity of PEE was progressively increased in various concentrations, mainly due to the presence of phenolic compounds. PEE also alleviated lipid accumulation on 3T3-L1 adipocytes and downregulated the mRNA and protein production of adipogenesis-related (SREBP-1c, PPARγ, C/EBPα) and lipogenesis-related (aP2, FAS, ACC) markers. Furthermore, we found that the inhibitory effect on lipid accumulation via PEE was caused by the alleviation of NF-κB, p38 MAPK, ERK1/2, and JNK at the protein level. Taken together, our results imply that PEE is a potential antioxidant that can prevent obesity-associated disorders.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.81-101
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• 1995

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technology, a recent approach in molecular genetics, is much usable to select the elite trees and to maximize the genetic gain in forest tree breeding program, providing a clue to determine the genetic marker-trait correlation. This review intorduces research on bark thickness and breeding strategy in Pinus elliottii, Pinus caribaea and their hybrid by Queensland Forest Service and ForBio Research Pty Ltd, University of Queensland, which employ RAPD technology. Genetic linkage map of $F_1$ hybrids includes 186 RAPD markers and 16 linkage groups (1641 cM long in total) and 6 quantitative trait loci are located putatively for bark thickness. Following recent research results and experiences in pine breeding programs, the forseeable stages in the application and development are proposed for marker assisted selectin; stage 1-determination of species specific markers for genes controlling traits of commercial interest, and stage 2-determination of marker-allele association for specific allelic variants within pure species. As pines inherit their megagametophytes from the seed parent and zygotic embryos from both male and female parents, the determination of marker-trait correlation is possible even in embryo stage, eventually making ways for the early selection of elite individuals.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.38 no.8
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• pp.626-636
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• 2005

This study was undertaken to examine effects of dietary intake of garcinia cambogia extract, soy peptide and L-carnitine mixture on body weight gain and obesity-related bio-markers in rats fed high-fat diet for 9 weeks with or without regular treadmill exercise. Forty 5-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups; sedentary control group (SC), exercised control group (EC), sedentary formula-fed group (SF), and exercised formula-fed group (EF). The SC and EC rats were fed high-fat control diet (fat comprises$40\%$ of total caloris), and SF and EF rats were fed high-fat formula (composed of garcinia cambogia, soy peptide and L-carnitine) supplemented diet. Statistical analyses by two-way ANOVA indicated that the regular treadmill exercise significantly lowered cumulative body weight gain, total visceral fat mass, and epididymal, perirenal and retroperitoneal fat pad weights, and serum concentrations of total cholesterol and LDL + VLDL cholesterol, insulin, c-peptide and leptin. Feeding the formula also resulted in significant reductions in cumulative body weight gain and visceral fat pad weights, along with other related parameters including serum total and LDL + VLDL cholesterol levels, and hepatic enzyme activities involved in fatty acid synthesis. Statistical analyses by one-way ANOVA revealed that the formula consumption significantly improved body weight gain ($18\%$ reduction), total visceral fat weight ($20\%$ reductions), and serum total ($43\%$ reduction) and LDL + VLDL cholesterol ($54\%$ reduction) levels, as well as serum levels of insulin ($49\%$ reduction), and c-peptide ($41\%$ reduction) in sedentary rats, but failed to exhibit significant reductions in these indices in animals under treadmill exercise program. Taken together, these results suggest that the treadmill exercise per n exhibited significant improvements in body fat reduction and other related bio-markers, and so the formula consumption did not achieve a further significant reductions in these bio-markers in exercised rats. Nevertheless, animals fed the formula with regular exercise showed the most efficient weight reduction compared to other groups either fed formula without exercise or received regular exercise without dietary supplementation.

• Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2008

Korean cultivated bramble, which is known as Bokbunja-ddal-gi is regarded to be originated from Korea native Rubus coreanus. However, little scientific evidence and significant morphological differences between Korean cultivated bramble(KCB) and R. coreanus throw doubt on the ancestry of KCB. This study was carried out to obtain phylogenetic information on KCB by comparing its nuclear genomic background with those of R. coreanus, black(R. occidentalis) and red(R. idaeus) raspberry, blackberry(R. lanciniatus) and R. crataegifolius. A total of 99 random amplified polymorphic DNA(RAPD) markers were generated and used for phylogenetic analysis of 76 Rubus accessions. Accessions of each species were grouped into each distinct subclade by the RAPD markers at a similarity coefficient of about 0.59. The KCB subclade formed a clade with R. occidentalis and R. crataegifolius subclades at a similarity coefficient of 0.47. The R. coreanus subclade formed a clade with R. idaeus, R. lanciniatus and R. crataegifolius subclades at a similar similarity coefficient. Only one KCB accession from Hoengsung was included in R. coreanus subclade. The accession shows leaf and flower characteristics different from the rest of the KCB accessions. The phylogenetic relationship inferred from the RAPD markers suggests that the nuclear genomic background of KCB accessions which show morphological similarity to black raspberry is more closely related to black raspberry than to R. coreanus. This brings about the need for close scientific evaluations on the ancestry of KCB at both morphological and molecular levels.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2001

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are widely used for various food fermentation. With the recent advances in modern biotechnology, a variety of bio-products with the high economic values have been produced using microorganisms. For molecular cloning and expression studies on the gene of interest, E. coli has been widely used mainly because vector systems are fully developed. Most plasmid vectors currently used for E, coli carry antibiotic-resistant markers. As it is generally believed that the antibiotic resistance markers are potentially transferred to other bacteria, application of the plasmid vectors carrying antibiotic resistance genes as selection markers should be avoided, especially for human consump-tion. By contrast, as LAB have some desirable traits such that the they are GRAS(generally recognized as safe), able to secrete gene products out of cell, and their low protease activities, they are regarded as an ideal organism for the genetic manipulation, including cloning and expression of homologous and heterologous genes. However, the vec-tor systems established for LAB are stil insufficient to over-produce gene products, stably, limiting the use of these organisms for industrial applications. For a past decade, the two popular plasmid vectors, pAM$\beta$1 of Streptococcus faecalis and pGK12 theB. subtilis-E. coli shuttle vector derived from pWV01 of Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris wg 2, were most widely used to construct efficient chimeric vectors to be stably maintained in many industrial strains of LAB. Currently, non-antibiotic markers such as nisin resistance($Nis^{r}$ ) are explored for selecting recombi-nant clone. In addition, a gene encoding S-layer protein, slp/A, on bacterial cell wall was successfully recombined with the proper LAB vectors LAB vectors for excretion of the heterologous gene product from LAB Many food-grade host vec-tor systems were successfully developed, which allowed stable integration of multiple plasmid copies in the vec-mosome of LAB. More recently, an integration vector system based on the site-specific integration apparatus of temperate lactococcal bacteriophage, containing the integrase gene(int) and phage attachment site(attP), was pub-lished. In conclusion, when various vector system, which are maintain stably and expressed strongly in LAB, are developed, lost of such food products as enzymes, pharmaceuticals, bioactive food ingredients for human consump-tion would be produced at a full scale in LAB.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.196-204
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• 2008

Despite increasing awareness of the importance of WRKY genes in plant defense signaling, the locations of these genes in the Capsicum genome have not been established. To develop WRKY-based markers, primer sequences were deduced from the conserved sequences of the DNA binding motif within the WRKY domains of tomato and pepper genes. These primers were derived from upstream and downstream parts of the conserved sequences of the three WRKY groups. Six primer combinations of each WRKY group were tested for polymorphisms between the mapping parents, C. annuum 'CM334' and C. annuum 'Chilsung-cho'. DNA fragments amplified by primer pairs deduced from WRKY Group II genes revealed high levels of polymorphism. Using 32 primer pairs to amplify upstream and downstream parts of the WRKY domain of WRKY group II genes, 60 polymorphic bands were detected. Polymorphisms were not detected with primer pairs from downstream parts of WRKY group II genes. Half of these primers were subjected to $F_2$ genotyping to construct a linkage map. Thirty of 41 markers were located evenly spaced on 20 of the 28 linkage groups, without clustering. This linkage map also consisted of 199 AFLP and 26 SSR markers. This WRKY-based marker system is a rapid and simple method for generating sequence-specific markers for plant gene families.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.273-278
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• 2006

Objectives : Biochemical markers can provide an objective evidence of heavy alcohol drinking. The purpose of this study was to compare and evaluate the usefulness of biological markers detecting alcohol dependence, such as mean corpuscular volume(MCV), gamma-glutamyl transferase(GGT), and carbohydrate-deficient transferrin(CDT) in the patients of an alcohol counseling center. Methods : This study was done with 64 patients with alcohol dependence and 36 healthy subjects. Relative values(%) of CDT were determined in their sera with turbidimetric immunoassay(Bio-Rad %CDT assay, Axis-Shield ASA, Oslo, Norway), and were compared with conventional markers of alcohol consumption, GGT and MCV. Results : Among the patients with alcohol dependence, 78.1% showed abnormal %CDT levels compared with GGT(61.9%) and MCV(20.7%). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curves(95% confidence interval) for %CDT, GGT, and MCV were 0.934(0.866-0.973), 0.871(0.789-0.930), and 0.575 (0.472-0.673), respectively. Conclusion : %CDT seems to be the most reliable biological marker for the detection and monitoring of alcohol consumption in the patients with alcohol dependence of the alcohol counseling center.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.267-267
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• 2006

Human umbilical cord blood was stored at $4^{\circ}C$ in the Pluronic-immobilized flask as well as commercially available bio-inert flasks, and flow cytometric analysis of surface markers was performed on hematopoietic stem cells after cultivation. The number of cells expressing $CD34^{+}$ in umbilical cord blood on the Pluronic-immobilized flask was extremely higher than those obtained using other flasks. It is concluded that the flexible and hydrophilic segments of Pluronic conjugated on the flask surface are the reason for the effective preservation of hematopoietic stem cells in the Pluronic-immobilized flask.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.434-441
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• 2018

High-density genetic linkage mapping is critical for undertaking marker-assisted selection and confirming quantitative trait loci, as well as helping to build pseudomolecules of genomes. We constructed a genetic map using 94 $F_1$ populations generated from the interspecific cross between Korean cultivar "Wonwhang" (Pyrus pyrifolia, NCBI BioSample SAMN05196235) and European cultivar "Bartlett" (Pyrus communis). We designed a total of 24,267 SSR markers based on the genome sequences of "Wonwhang" for this. To select the markers that are linked to the traits important in pear breeding programs, SSR-containing genomic sequences were subjected to nucleotide sequence homology searches, which resulted in 510 SSR markers with high similarity to genes encoding proteins with putative functions such as transcription factors, resistance proteins, flowering time, and regulatory genes. Of these, 70 markers showed polymorphisms in parents and segregating populations and were used to construct a genetic linkage map, together with the unpublished 579 SNPs obtained from genotyping by sequencing analysis. The genetic linkage map covered 3,784.2 cM and the average distance between adjacent markers was 5.8 cM. Seventy SSR markers were distributed across 17 chromosomes with more than one locus.