• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.118-122
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• 2015

Noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) is a novel screening method for the diagnosis of fetal chromosomal aneuploidies. NIPT is based on technology that detects cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma and analyzes it with massively parallel sequencing technology to determine whether the fetus is at risk of trisomy 21, trisomy 18, trisomy 13 or sex chromosome abnormalities (SCAs). NIPT has been reported to have sensitivity of 99% and a false positive rate of less than 1% for detecting trisomy 21 and trisomy 18. Although extension of the application of NIPT to other SCAs has been attempted, there are concerns in extending NIPT to SCAs because of maternal or fetal mosaicism, undetected maternal SCAs, and multiple pregnancies. Recently, we assessed a pregnancy with the rare Turner syndrome mosaicism 45, X/47, XXX, which was reported as 45, X with NIPT. We present the case here and briefly review the current literatures on NIPT in testing for fetal monosomy X. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the 45, X/47, XXX mosaicism in Korea to be reported as 45, X by NIPT with whole genome sequencing. This case report will provide valuable information for counseling women who want to undergo NIPT.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.744-750
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• 1999

Forty alcohol yeast strains were isolated from the main mashes (10 strains from each mash) for brewing of 4 different kinds of Korean traditional liquor (3 different types of Yakju and 1 Takju). Thirty-eight out of 40 strains were identified to be the same strain, Saccharomyces boulardii, by the Automated Bacteria, Yeast, and Fungi Identification System (Biolog Co., U.S.A.) based on the metabolic fingerprints. One strain that showed the highest ethanol production among the 38 strains in YPD medium, designated SHY 111, was selected and used for differentiating from other yeast type strains using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Amplified DNA, from transcribed internal spacers of SHY 111 chromosomal DNA, was found to be the same in both size and sequence as those of S. cerevisiae KCCM 11215 (formerly S. coreanus) and S. boulardii along with that of S. cerevisiae AB 972, which was used as a type strain for the yeast genome project. However, when PCR was carried out with the intron splice site primer, it resulted in the amplification of the SHY 111-specific DNA fragment which was about 200 bp in size. When PCR was carried out using the primer to test diversity of 40 isolated yeast strains, it was found that the PCR patterns were similar to each other except for the 200 bp bands derived from all the 10 strains from one Yakju, and 2 strains from another Yakju. These results suggest the strain identified as S. boulardii by the Automated Identification System to be a dominant strain for the fermentation of Korean traditional liquors.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.279-286
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• 2009

Streptomyces is well known for their ability to synthesize enormous varieties of antibiotics as secondary metabolites. Among them, S. avermitilis produces avermectins, a group of antiparasitic agents used in human and veterinary medicine. However, S. avermitilis also produces oligomycin, which is a potential toxic inhibitor of oxidative phosphorylation in mammalian cells. Therefore, we decided to disrupt oligomycin synthetase gene to prevent co-production of oligomycin in S. avermitilis. To create plasmid for disruption, the smallest gene of oligomycin synthetase gene cluster was obtained by PCR from S. avermitilis chromosome. Then, apramycin resistance gene was inserted in oligomycin synthetase gene for selection. After transformation of this plasmid, oligomycin synthetase gene (olmA5) in the chromosome was displaced with disruption cassette on the plasmid via homologous recombination. As a result of this gene replacement, we obtained mutants (olmA5::apra) that no longer makes the toxic oligomycin. And the mutants confirmed by PCR and HPLC analysis. However, showed no increasement of avermectin production in the mutant was observed.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2008

It was previously pointed out that mutation is the ultimate source of variation. Adequate variation is needed for plant breeding if there is a limitation in natural genetic resources. When the ionizing radiation has been known to cause chromosomal and genomic alternations, it is widely used for inducing mutagenesis. The electron beam as an ionizing radiation is the principal physical mutagens that induces mutation and effectively used in plant breeding. Since dose-response relationships of electron beam in plant species are rarely known, we investigated the seed germination rate and early seedling growth of irradiated seeds of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis palustris Huds., cv Penn-A1) with various electron beam irradiating conditions (1, 1.3, 2 MeV at both 0.03 mA and 0.06 mA with dose of 100 Gy (Gray) and 0.03, 1, 1.3, 2 MeV at 0.03 mA with dose of 200 Gy, respectively) using electron accelerator at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The growth parameters in terms of shoot length, primary root length, and secondary root length showed similar response between 0.06 / 1 (mA / MeV) at 100 Gy and 0.03 / 0.3 (mA / MeV) at 200 Gy. Bentgrass seed germination was mainly affected by the intensity of irradiated dose (Gray). Germination rate was lowered as the irradiated dose increased. On the other hand, early seedling growth was mainly governed not by the dose of radiation but by voltage.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.7129-7138
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• 2015

Background: The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), characterized by hyperandrogenism and chronic anovulation, is a common endocrine disorder in women. PCOS, which is associated with polycystic ovaries, hirsutism, obesity and insulin resistance, is a leading cause of female infertility. In this condition there is an imbalance in female sex hormones. All the sequelae symptoms of PCOS gradually lead to cancer in the course of time. It is heterogeneous disorder of unknown etiology so it is essential to find the exact cause. Materials and Methods: In this study both invasive and non-invasive techniques were employed to establish the etiology. Diagnosis was based on Rotterdam criteria (hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction, PCOM) and multiparameters using buccal samples and dermatoglypic analysis and cytogenetic study for 10 cases and four age and sex matched controls. Results: In clinical analysis we have observed the mean value of total testosterone level was 23.6nmol/L, total hirsutism score was from 12-24, facial acne was found in in 70% patients with 7-12 subcapsular follicular cysts, each measuring 2-8 mm in diameter. In dermatoglypic analysis we observed increases in mean value ($45.9^{\circ}$) of ATD angle when compared with control group and also found increased frequency (38%) of Ulnar loops on both fingers (UU), (18%) whorls on the right finger and Ulnar loop on left finger (WU) and (16%) arches on right and left fingers (AA) were observed in PCOS patients when compared with control subjects. Features which could be applied as markers for PCOS patients are the presence of Ulnar loops in middle and little fingers of right and left hand. The buccal micronucleus cytome assay in exfoliated buccal cells, we found decrease in frequency of micronuclei and significant increases in frequency of karyolysed nuclei in polycystic ovarian syndrome patients. Chromosome aberration analysis revealed a significant increase in frequency of chromosome aberrations (CAs) in PCOS patients when compared with controls. Conclusions: From this present work it can be concluded that non-invasive technique like dermatoglypics analysis and buccal micronucleus cytome assays with exfoliated buccal cell can also be effective biomarkers for PCOS, along with increased CAs in lymphocytes as a sign of genetic instability. There is a hypothesis that micronuclei and chromosomal aberrations could have a predictive value for cancer. From this present work it can be concluded to some extent that non-invasive technique like dermatoglypics and buccal cell analysis can also be effective for diagnosis.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.436-439
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• 1989

The chromosomal DNA fragments of thermophilic alkalophilic Bacillus sp, K-17, a potent xylanhydrolyzing bacterium, were ligated to a vector plasmid pBR322 and transformed into Escherichia coli HB101. The plasmid pAX278, isolated from a transformant forming yellow color on the LB agar plate containing 1 mM p-nitrophenyl- $\beta$-xylopyranoside, was found to enable the transformants to produce p-xylosidase. The 5.0 kilobase insert of pAX278 had single sites for EcoRI, PstI, XbaI, and PvuII, and 2 sites for BglII. Biotinylated pAX218 was hybridized to 0.9 kb as well as 5.0 kb fragment from Bacillus sp. K-17 DNA on nitrocellulose filter. pGX718 was constructed by inserting the 5.0 kb HindIII fragment of pGX278 at the HindIII site of pGR71, E. coli and B. subtilis shuttle vector. The enzymatic properties of $\beta$-xylosidase from E. coli HB101 carrying recombinant plasmid were the same those of $\beta$-xylosidase from Bacillus sp. K-17.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.133-133
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• 2017

Lodging is one of the important constraints in rice production. The lodging destroys the canopy structure, and sharply reduces the capacity of photosynthetic rate and dry matter production. In cereal crops, stem lodging can be classified into two types: stem breaking type and stem bending type. To improve stem lodging resistance, it is important to reveal strong culm traits of superior lodging resistant varieties. There are large varietal differences in parameters associated with the bending moment at breaking (M) and flexural rigidity (FR). The indica variety Takanari possesses large M due to its large section modulus (SM) despite of its small bending stress (BS), while Takanari also has large FR due to its large secondary moment of inertia (SMI) and Young's modulus (YM). To identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and the corresponding genes associated with the parameters for M ($=SM{\times}BS$) and FR ($=SM{\times}YM$) should enable to develop lodging resistant varieties, efficiently. In order to identify QTLs for cell wall materials such as cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin associated with BS and YM, a set of Chromosome Segment of Substitution Lines (CSSLs) consisted of 37 lines with chromosome segments of Koshihikari in the genetic background of Takanari were used. Takanari had large M and small BS as compared with Koshihikari. The QTLs for BS were estimated on chromosomes 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Koshihikari alleles increased BS in these QTLs. Takanari had a large FR due to its large SMI and YM as compared with Koshihikari. The YM was increased by substitution of the Koshihikari chromosomal segments on chromosomes 2, 10 and 11. Other QTLs estimated on chromosomes 7 and 12 that Koshihikari alleles contributed to the decrease of YM. For lignin, only one major QTL for lignin density was detected on chromosome 11. Hollocellulose densities were increased by the substitution of Koshihikari segments on chromosomes 5 and 11. On the other hand, these were decreased on chromosomes 1 and 3 by substitution of Koshihikari segments. QTLs for cellulose density were estimated on chromosomes 1, 3 and 5 by substitution of Koshihikari segments. For hemicellulose, QTL on chromosome 3 showed that hemicellulose density decreased by the substitution of Koshihikari segment. However, hemicellulose densities on chromosomes 5, 8 and 11 showed the opposite effects. The QTLs for hemicellulose, cellulose, and hollocelulose densities identified on chromosome 5 overlapped with that for bending stress, indicating the positive effect of Koshihikari segment on increasing bending stress. These results suggest that some QTLs for the densities of cell wall materials contribute to increasing bending stress and Young's modulus, and could be utilized to improve the lodging resistance for both types of breaking and bending in rice varieties.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.100-106
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• 2017

This study was conducted to evaluate the genotoxicity of balanced nutritional formular for patients containing various ingredients after gamma irradiation at 4 kGy. Since viable bacteria were not observed within the detection limit of 1 log CFU/g, a dose of 4 kGy was appropriate for the pasteurization of the formular. In a bacterial reverse mutation assay, both hot water and methanol extracts of the formular exhibited dose-independent responses, which was similar to those obtained from that of the negative control (distilled water or dimethyl sulfoxide). In a chromosomal aberration test using lung fibroblast cells of Chinese hamster, the numbers of normal chromosomes were comparable to those observed in the negative control, regardless of the treatment dose and metabolic activation system. Furthermore, no significant increases in the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes were observed relative to the control, when mice were fed with the formular at doses up to 2,000 mg/kg body weight. Therefore, the balanced nutritional formular for patients did not exhibit genotoxicity when pasteurization by gamma irradiation at 4 kGy.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2014

The total production volume has been sharply increased from year 2008 in Gyeongnam province, South Korea by the policy of preservation and promotion of indigenous balloon flower germ lines. In an attempt to assist the Gyeongnam province's policy, in this study, we tried to establish a technique to differentiate the indigenous balloon flower germ lines with those collected within South Korea and China. Our preliminary results indicated that RAPD analyses with five different primers exhibited high frequency of polymorphic DNA bands up to 76.9% and phylogenetic tree indicated that some of the indigenous lines can be easily differentiated with others. However, it was suggested that more advanced techniques such as single nucleotide polymorphic markers need to be developed in particular, by using extra-chromosomal DNA.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.394-408
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• 2007

Several genes/QTLs governing resistance/tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses have been reported and mapped in rice. A QTL for submergence tolerance was found to be co-located with a major QTL for broad-spectrum bacterial leaf blight (bs-blb) resistance on the long arm of chromosome 5 in indica cultivars FR13A and IET8585. Using the Nipponbare (japonica) and 93-11 (indica) genome sequences, we identified, in silico, candidate genes in the chromosomal region [Kottapalli et al. (2006)]. Transcriptional profiling of FR13A and IET8585 using a rice 22K oligo array validated the above findings. Based on in silico analysis and arraying we observed that both cultivars respond to the above stresses through a common signaling system involving protein kinases, adenosine mono phosphate kinase, leucine rich repeat, PDZ/DHR/GLGF, and response regulator receiver protein. The combined approaches suggest that transcription factor EREBP on long arm of chromosome 5 regulates both submergence tolerance and blb resistance. Pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase, co-located in the same region, are candidate downstream genes for submergence tolerance at the seedling stage, and t-snare for bs-blb resistance. We also detected up-regulation of novel defense/stress-related genes including those encoding fumaryl aceto acetate (FAA) hydrolase, scramblase, and galactose oxidase, in response to the imposed stresses.