• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 2017

Background: Telbivudine is a nucleoside analogue used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, but it often develops mitochondrial toxicity leading to symptomatic myopathy. In this study, three patients with telbivudine induced myopathy were enrolled in order to investigate the nature and pathogenesis of mitochondrial toxicity caused by long-term use of telbivudine. Methods: Clinical features, laboratory findings, muscle pathology, and quantitation of mitochondrial DNA were studied in three patients. Results: Patients presented with progressive muscle weakness with high serum creatine kinase levels. Light microscopic findings of muscle pathology showed ragged red fibers that reacted strongly with succinate dehydrogenase stain, but negative for cytochrome c oxidase activities. Electron microscopy revealed abnormal mitochondrial accumulation with rod shaped inclusions. The quantitative peroxidase chain reaction showed a depletion of mitochondrial DNA in skeletal muscle of the patients. Conclusions: Nucleoside analogues including telbivudine are potent inhibitors of viral DNA polymerases. However, they are not specific for viral DNA and can disturb mitochondrial replication at the same time. All nucleotide analogues should be used with close clinical observation in order to avoid development of mitochondrial myopathy.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.339-343
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• 2012

The 5th outbreak of trichinosis occurred in a mountainous area of North Vietnam in 2012, involving 24 patients among 27 people who consumed raw pork together. Six of these patients visited several hospitals in Hanoi for treatment. Similar clinical symptoms appeared in these patients within 5-8 days after eating infected raw pork, which consisted of fever, muscle pain, difficult moving, edema, difficult swallowing, and difficult breathing. ELISA revealed all (6/6) positive reactions against Trichinella spiralis antigen and all cases showed positive biopsy results for Trichinella sp. larvae in the muscle. The larvae detected in the patients were identified as T. spiralis (Vietnamese strain) by the molecular analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit III (cox3) gene.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.599-605
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• 2017

Korean native honey (KNH) is much more expensive than European honey (EH) in Korea, because KNH is a favored honey which is produced less than EH. Food fraud of KNH has drawn attention of the government office concerned, which is in need of a method to differentiate between KNH and EH which are produced by the Asiatic honeybee, Apis cerana and the European honeybee, Apis mellifera, respectively. A method to discriminate KNH and EH was established by using duplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in this study. Immunochromatographic assay (IC) was examined to analyze the duplex PCR product. The DNA sequences of primers for the duplex PCR were determined by comparing cytochrome C oxidase genes of the two honey bee species. Chelex resin method was more efficient in extracting genomic DNA from honey than the other two procedures of commercial kits. The duplex PCR amplifying DNA of 133 bp were more sensitive than that amplifying DNA of 206 bp in detecting EH in the honey mixture of KNH and EH. Agarose gel electrophoresis and IC detected the DNA of 133 bp at the ratios of down to 1% and 5% EH in the honey mixture, respectively and also revealed that several KNH products distributed by internet shopping sites were actually EH. In conclusion, the duplex PCR with subsequent IC could also discriminate between KNH and EH and save time and labor.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.220-227
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• 2007

The development of suitable genetic markers would be useful for defining species and delineating the species boundaries of morphologically indistinguishable sponges. In this study, genetic variation in the sequences of nuclear rDNA and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 and 3 (CO1 and CO3) regions were compared in morphologically indistinguishable Korean Halichondriidae sponges in order to determine the most suitable species-specific molecular marker region. The maximal congeneric nucleotide divergences of Halichondriidae sponges in CO1 and CO3 are similar to those found among anthozoan cnidarians, but they are 2- to 8-fold lower than those found among genera of other triploblastic metazoans. Ribosomal internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS: ITS1 + ITS2) showed higher congeneric variation (17.28% in ITS1 and 10.29% in ITS2) than those of CO1 and CO3. Use of the guidelines for species thresholds suggested in the recent literature indicates that the mtDNA regions are not appropriate for use as species-specific DNA markers for the Halichondriidae sponges, whereas the rDNA ITS regions are suitable because ITS exhibits a low level of intraspecific variation and a relatively high level of interspecific variation. In addition, to test the reliability of the ITS regions for identifying Halichondriidae sponges by PCR, a species-specific multiplex PCR primer set was developed.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.52-57
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• 2020

Bacterial symbionts are common across insects, including ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Reproduction-manipulating endosymbionts, such as Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, Rickettsia, and Cardinium, are closely associated with many aspects of host-insect life. In addition, phage WO plays an essential role in the phenotypic effects of Wolbachia. Although endosymbionts are possible biological control agents, there is a lack of knowledge of their rate of infection of ants in Korea. We tested a range of Korean ant species for the presence of Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, Rickettsia, Cardinium, and phage WO by extracting DNA from the ants and using specific primer sets to test the status of infections. In addition, the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene of the host ants was amplified to confirm the molecular identification and phylogenetic relationship between the hosts. We found that infection with Wolbachia (29.6% of species) is relatively common when compared with that of other endosymbionts. Only one species was infected with Spiroplasma. Infection with Rickettsia and Cardinium was not detected in the examined ants. Most Wolbachia in ants were infected with phage WO. Although the phenotypic effects of endosymbionts in ants are still unknown, this first survey of endosymbionts in Korea is the first step toward the use of reproduction-manipulating endosymbionts.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.97-103
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• 2004

The cytotoxic effect of iron was examined in peritoneal macrophage to determine contributing factors by iron injection to rat. Viability was reduced by 24% by the iron-overload and by 30% by short-term iron addition. Total iron was increased by 45% in the iron-overloaded with remarkable elevation (9 to 14 fold) in the presence of $FeSO_4$. Free calcium was also increased by 19% in control and 44% in iron-overloaded group due to additional $FeSO_4$ NO and MDA were increased by 40% and 136%, respectively, with significant reduction (37%) of NAD(P)H. RCR and cytochrome c oxidase activity were lowered approximately by 10% with reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential. Addition of iron was frequently associated with altered distribution of mitochondria of high membrane potential in the iron-overloaded macrophage. These results suggest altered mitochondria with high NO and low NAD(P)H due to iron.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.444-449
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• 2018

Two specimens of Scomberoides tol (99.0 mm and 124.5 mm in total length), belonging to the family Carangidae, order Perciformes were collected from Korean waters using a gape net with wings and a hand net between 2014 and 2017. These specimens are characterized by having the origin of the soft-rayed portion of the dorsal fin just above the origin of the soft-rayed portion of the anal fin, dorsal spines not connected by fin membranes and posterior end of the maxilla and upper jaw not extending beyond the posterior margin of the eye. A comparison of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences indicated that these specimens matched Scomberoides tol (K2P distance, d = 0.002), but differed from other Scomberoides species (6.9-9.1%). This is the first reliable report of Scomberoides tol from Korea.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2020

A new dragonfly species, Nannophya koreana sp. nov., is described from Korea on the basis of morphology and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) gene sequences. Nannophya materials from Korea and other areas in Southeast Asia were compared. The new species was previously recognized in Korea as the endangered pygmy dragonfly Nannophya pygmaea Rambur, 1842, which is widely distributed in insular and peninsular Southeast Asia. However, male adults of the Nannophya population in Korea could be distinguished from other N. pygmaea populations by the presence of a thick, incomplete black stripe on the lateral synthorax that terminated at half-length (vs. continuous to wing base), light orange (vs. red) anal appendages, and 4-5 (vs. 2-3) black teeth on the ventral superior appendages. In addition, the body length of N. koreana was generally larger (1.2-1.4 times) than that of N. pygmaea, regardless of life stage. COI gene sequences from the two groups exhibited substantial genetic differences (>12%), thereby sufficiently substantiating their differentiation. The taxonomic status, distribution, and habitat of the new species are discussed.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.313-320
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• 2012

Genetic variation was surveyed at four microsatellite loci and 1416 base pairs (bp) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome c oxidase I gene (COI) to clarify the genetic structure of the small yellow croaker, Larimichthys polyactis, in the Yellow and East China Seas, especially regarding four provisional populations, (one Korean and three Chinese populations). Based on microsatellite DNA variations, the estimated expected heterozygosity ($H_E$) in each population ranged from 0.776 to 0.947. The microsatellite pairwise $F_{ST}$ estimates showed no significant genetic differentiation between the populations. MtDNA variations also indicated no genetic structure in L. polyactis, but very high variability. The absence of genetic differentiation among and within populations of L. polyactis may either result from the random migration of the adult or the passive dispersal of the eggs and larvae.

• ALGAE
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.29-39
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• 2017

Geographic distributions of pathogens are affected by dynamic processes involving host susceptibility, availability and abundance. An oomycete, Pythium porphyrae, is the causative agent of red rot disease, which plagues Pyropia farms in Korea and Japan almost every year and causes serious economic damage. We isolated an oomycete pathogen infecting Pyropia plicata from a natural population in Wellington, New Zealand. The pathogen was identified as Pythium porphyrae using cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 and internal transcribed spacer of the rDNA cistron molecular markers. Susceptibility test showed that this Pythium from New Zealand was able to infect several different species and genera of Bangiales including Pyropia but is not able to infect their sporophytic (conchocelis) phases. The sequences of the isolated New Zealand strain were also identical to Pythium chondricola from Korea and the type strain from the Netherlands. Genetic species delimitation analyses found no support for separating P. porphyrae from P. chondricola, nor do we find morphological characters to distinguish them. We propose that Pythium chondricola be placed in synonymy with P. porphyrae. It appears that the pathogen of Pyropia, both in aquaculture in the northern hemisphere and in natural populations in the southern hemisphere is one species.