• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.243-249
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• 2012

This study was conducted to screen an alginate-degrading microorganism and to investigate the characteristics of the alginate-degrading activity of its crude enzyme. A marine bacterium which produces extracellular alginate-degrading enzymes was isolated from the brown alga Sargassum thunbergii. 16S rRNA sequence analysis and physiological profiling resulted in the bacterium's identification as a Vibrio crassostreae strain, named Vibrio crassostreae PKA 1002. Its optimal culture conditions for growth were pH 9, 2% NaCl, $30^{\circ}C$ and a 24 hr incubation time. The optimal conditions for the alginate degrading ability of the crude enzyme produced by V. crassostreae PKA 1002 were pH 9, $30^{\circ}C$, a 48 hr incubation time and 8% alginic acid. The alginate degrading crude enzyme produced 3.035 g of reducing sugar per liter in 4% (w/v) alginate over 1 hr.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 2014

This study was conducted to investigate optimum conditions for the production of cellulose-degrading crude enzymes by an isolated marine bacterium. A marine microorganism producing an extracellular cellulose-degrading enzyme was isolated from the red seaweed, Grateloupia elliptica Holmes. The isolated bacterium was identified as Cellulophaga lytica by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence analysis and physiological profiling and designated as Cellulophaga lytica PKA 1005. The optimum conditions for the growth of Cellulophaga lytica PKA 1005 were pH 7, 2% NaCl, and $30^{\circ}C$ with 36 h incubation time. To obtain the crude enzyme, the culture medium of the strain was centrifuged for 30 min at $12,000{\times}g$ and $4^{\circ}C$, and the supernatant was used as crude enzyme. The optimum conditions for the production of the cellulose-degrading crude enzyme were pH 8, $35^{\circ}C$, 8% carboxyl methyl cellulose, and 60 h reaction time.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.323-328
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• 2016

Pressurized membrane used for side-stream MBR process requires fouling control strategy both for normal and abnormal operation conditions for stable operation of the facilities. In this study, $85m^3/day$ of pilot-scale side-stream MBR process was constructed for the evaluation of fouling mitigation by air bubble injection into the membrane module. In addition, fouling phenomena at abnormal operation conditions of low influent and/or loading rate were also investigated. Injection of air bubble was found to be effective in delaying transmembrane pressure (TMP) increase mainly due to scouring effect on the membrane surface, resulting in expanded filtration cycle at a high flux of $40L/m^2{\cdot}h$ (LMH). At abnormal operation condition, injection of PACl (53 mg/L as Al) into the bioreactor showed 19% reduction of TMP increase. However, inhibition of nitrifying bacteria by continuous PACl injection was observed from batch experiments. In contrast, injection of powdered activated carbon (PAC, 0.6 g/L) was able to maintain the initial TMP of $0.2kg/cm^2$ for 5 days at the abnormal conditions. It may have been caused from the adsorption of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which was known to be excessively released during growth inhibition condition and act as the major foulants in MBR operations.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.233-245
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• 2013

Muscle satellite cell (SC) is responsible for postnatal muscle growth, repair, and regeneration. Satellite cell is an important source of multi-potent stem cell process and differentiation into adipogenic, myogenic, and osteoblastogenic. The objective of this study was to identify alter of transcriptome during differentiation in porcine satellite cell and to elevated transcriptome at different stages of postnatal development to gain insight into the differences in differentiated PSC. We used RNA-seq technique to investigate the transcriptomes during differentiation in pig muscle. Sequence reads were obtained from Illumina HiSeq2000. Differentially expressed genes (DEG) were detected by EdgeR. Gene ontology (GO) terms are powerful tool for unification among representation genes or products. In study of GO biological terms, functional annotation clustering involved in cell cycle, apoptosis, extracellular matrix, phosphorylation, proteolysis, and cell signaling in differences stage. Taken together, these results would be contributed to a better understanding of muscle biology and processes underlying differentiation. Our results suggest that the source of DEGs could be better understanding of the mechanism of muscle differentiation and transdifferentiation.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.547-556
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• 2016

Myometrial relaxation of mouse via expression of two-pore domain acid sensitive (TASK) channels was studied. In our previous report, we suggested that two-pore domain acid-sensing $K^+$ channels (TASK-2) might be one of the candidates for the regulation of uterine circular smooth muscles in mice. In this study, we tried to show the mechanisms of relaxation via TASK-2 channels in marine myometrium. Isometric contraction measurements and patch clamp technique were used to verify TASK conductance in murine myometrium. Western blot and immunehistochemical study under confocal microscopy were used to investigate molecular identity of TASK channel. In this study, we showed that TEA and 4-AP insensitive non-inactivating outward $K^+$ current (NIOK) may be responsible for the quiescence of murine pregnant longitudinal myometrium. The characteristics of NIOK coincided with two-pore domain acid-sensing $K^+$ channels (TASK-2). NIOK in the presence of $K^+$ channel blockers was inhibited further by TASK inhibitors such as quinidine, bupivacaine, lidocaine, and extracellular acidosis. Furthermore, oxytocin and estrogen inhibited NIOK in pregnant myometrium. When compared to non-pregnant myometrium, pregnant myometrium showed stronger inhibition of NIOK by quinidine and increased immunohistochemical expression of TASK-2. Finally, TASK-2 inhibitors induced strong myometrial contraction even in the presence of L-methionine, a known inhibitor of stretch-activated channels in the longitudinal myometrium of mouse. Activation of TASK-2 channels seems to play an essential role for relaxing uterus during pregnancy and it might be one of the alternatives for preventing preterm delivery.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.245-251
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• 2008

Single-channel recordings of TASK-1 and TASK-3, members of two-pore domain $K^+$ channel family, have not yet been reported in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, even though their mRNA and activity in whole-cell currents have been detected in these neurons. Here, we report single-channel kinetics of the TASK-3-like $K^+$ channel in DRG neurons and up-regulation of TASK-3 mRNA expression in tissues isolated from animals with spinal cord injury (SCI). In DRG neurons, the single-channel conductance of TASK-3-like $K^+$ channel was $33.0{\pm}0.1$ pS at - 60 mV, and TASK-3 activity fell by $65{\pm}5%$ when the extracellular pH was changed from 7.3 to 6.3, indicating that the DRG $K^+$ channel is similar to cloned TASK-3 channel. TASK-3 mRNA and protein levels in brain, spinal cord, and DRG were significantly higher in injured animals than in sham-operated ones. These results indicate that TASK-3 channels are expressed and functional in DRG neurons and the expression level is up-regulated following SCI, and suggest that TASK-3 channel could act as a potential background $K^+$ channel under SCI-induced acidic condition.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.3-10
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Sargassum horneri is an edible brown alga that grows in the subtidal zone as an annual species along the coasts of South Korea, China, and Japan. Recently, an extreme amount of S. horneri moved into the coasts of Jeju Island from the east coast of China, which made huge economic and environmental loss to the Jeju Island. Thus, utilization of this biomass becomes a big issue with the local authorities. Therefore, the present study was performed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory potential of crude polysaccharides (CPs) extracted from S. horneri China strain in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. MATERIALS/METHODS: CPs were precipitated from S. horneri digests prepared by enzyme assistant extraction using four food-grade enzymes (AMG, Celluclast, Viscozyme, and Alcalase). The production levels of nitric oxide (NO) and pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$ and interleukin (IL)-$1{\beta}$ were measured by Griess assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. The levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), nuclear factor (NF)-${\kappa}B$, and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) were measured by using western blot. The IR spectrums of the CPs were recorded using a fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectrometer. RESULTS: The polysaccharides from the Celluclast enzyme digest (CCP) showed the highest inhibition of NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells ($IC_{50}$ value: $95.7{\mu}g/mL$). Also, CCP dose-dependently down-regulated the protein expression levels of iNOS and COX-2 as well as the production of inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-$1{\beta}$, compared to the only LPS-treated cells. In addition, CCP inhibited the activation of NF-${\kappa}B$ p50 and p65 and the phosphorylation of MAPKs, including p38 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase, in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, FT-IR analysis showed that the FT-IR spectrum of CCP is similar to that of commercial fucoidan. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that CCP has anti-inflammatory activities and is a potential candidate for the formulation of a functional food ingredient or/and drug to treat inflammatory diseases.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.199-207
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• 2018

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Fermented Laminaria japonica (FL), a type sea tangle used as a functional food ingredient, has been reported to possess cognitive improving properties that may aid in the treatment of common neurodegenerative disorders, such as dementia. MATERIALS/METHODS: We examined the effects of FL on scopolamine (Sco)- and ethanol (EtOH)-induced hippocampus-dependent memory impairment, using the Passive avoidance (PA) and Morris water maze (MWM) tests. To examine the underlying mechanisms associated with neuroprotective effects, we analyzed acetylcholine (ACh) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, brain tissue expression of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR), cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) and extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2), and immunohistochemical analysis, in the hippocampus of mice, compared to current drug therapy intervention. Biochemical blood analysis was carried out to determine the effects of FL on alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) levels. 7 groups (n = 10) consisted of a control (CON), 3 Sco-induced dementia and 3 EtOH-induced dementia groups, with both dementia group types containing an untreated group (Sco and EtOH); a positive control, orally administered donepezil (Dpz) (4mg/kg) (Sco + Dpz and EtOH + Dpz); and an FL (50 mg/kg) treatment group (Sco + FL50 and EtOH + FL50), orally administered over the 4-week experimental period. RESULTS: FL50 significantly reduced EtOH-induced increase in AST and ALT levels. FL50 treatment reduced EtOH-impaired step-through latency time in the PA test, and Sco- and EtOH-induced dementia escape latency times in the MWM test. Moreover, anticholinergic effects of Sco and EtOH on the brain were reversed by FL50, through the attenuation of AChE activity and elevation of ACh concentration. FL50 elevated ERK1/2 protein expression and increased p-CREB (ser133) in hippocampus brain tissue, according to Western blot and immunohistochemistry analysis, respectively. CONCLUSION: Overall, these results suggest that FL may be considered an efficacious intervention for Sco- and EtOH-induced dementia, in terms of reversing cognitive impairment and neuroplastic dysfunction.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.262-268
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• 2014

A fungal isolate DUCC5000 from a garden plant Pachysandra terminalis was identified as Paraconiothyrium brasiliense based on the results of morphological and molecular studies. The fungus formed brown to black conidiomata of (0.2-0.7)-2(-3.5) mm singly or as a group on PDA. Conidia measured $2-5{\times}1.8-3{\mu}m$ in size, hyaline, ellipsoid to short-cylindrical, and rounded at both ends. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) DNA of the isolate shared 100% nucleotide sequence homology with those of known P. brasiliense isolates. Phylogenetic tree inferred from the ITS sequence analysis showed that the DUCC5000 isolate formed a clade with known isolates of P. brasiliense. The fungal mycelia grew better on oatmeal agar than on MEA and PDA. On PDA media under various pH conditions, fungal mycelial growth was observed at pH 9. Colony morphology of the fungus tended to alter depending on the kinds of nutrient media and pH condition. On chromagenic media, the fungus demonstrated its ability to produce extracellular enzymes including amyalse, avicelase, ${\beta}$-glucosidase, protease, and xylanase. However, in pathogenicity testing, no disease symptoms were observed on the leaves of P. terminalis. This strain is the first report on P. terminalis in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.145-160
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• 2018

Members of Chlorociboria are soft-rot ascomycetes that produce blue-green pigment. We investigated the growth characteristics of two Korean species of Chlorociboria, eight strains of Chlorociboria aeruginascens and Chlorociboria poutoensis, under various culture conditions (solid media, temperature, pH) and screened them for extracellular enzyme activity. Although the growth rate was slow, all tested strains of Chlorociboria spp. grew well on potato dextrose agar (PDA; 16.3~42.6 mm after 60 days) or Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA), but not on malt extract agar (MEA). Compared with C. aeruginascens strains, C. poutoensis strains exhibited higher expression of blue-green pigments on both PDA and SDA media. The optimal temperature for mycelial growth was $20{\sim}25^{\circ}C$, and mycelial growth was lower at $30^{\circ}C$ than at $10^{\circ}C$. All strains tended to have increased mycelial growth as the incubation temperature increased in the range of 10 to $20^{\circ}C$. The optimal pH of potato dextrose broth (PDB) for mycelial growth varied according to the strain under static culture conditions. Maximum biomass production was obtained at pH 6.0 for NIFoS 579 ($114.3{\pm}5.1mg/60days$), but it maintained a stable pigment expression under a broad pH spectrum. The activities of both cellulase and laccase were observed in all tested strains of Chlorociboria spp. Enzyme activities of NIFoS 579 were remarkably higher than those of the other strains. From these results, we suggest that C. poutoensis NIFoS 579 is a potential candidate for use as a source of natural blue-green dye.