• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.205-210
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• 2013

Lumazine protein is a fluorescent protein isolated from the bioluminescent bacteria of Photobacterium species. To generate minimal size of lumazine protein with possessing fluorescent characteristic, the gene coding for the wild type N-terminal domain of lumazine protein (N-LumP 118) containing amino acids up to 118 from Photobacterium leiognathi was produced. In addition, the genes coding for the variant proteins of N-LumP 118, replaced with one tryptophan amino acid (N-LumP 118 V41W, S48W, T50W, D64W, and A66W), were also constructed by Polymerase Chain Reaction and Site Directed Mutagenesis. These proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli by transformation with recombinant plasmids and purified by 6X-His tagging system. Spectroscopic studies have show that the purified proteins are capable of binding to the fluorescent ligand 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine, resulted in showing of fluorescent characteristic with the minimal size of protein. From these studies, the mutant proteins containing single tryptophan amino acid residue, possessing its own intrinsic flouophore character at the different position, will be able to the use as a probe for further studies to deduce their three dimensional structure and the binding modes.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.146-153
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• 2000

To elucidate succession of bacterial populations, especially nitrifying bacteria during the composting of cattle manure with apple pomace, fluorescent in situ hybridization(FISH) using rRNA targeted oligonucleotide probes were applied. The density of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria was ranged from $3,3{\times}10^6cells/g$ dw to $13,4{\times}10^6cells/g$ dw with the peak value after 26 composting days whereas that of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria varied between $6.0{\times}10^6cells/g$ dw and $17.2{\times}10^6cells/g$ dw with the peak value after 7 composting days. And the tendency that the numbers of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria were higher than those of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, and the peak-time of their densities were the same as that of data determined by the ratio of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria to eubacteria. The peak of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria followed the peak of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, at the late phase of composting process could be probably caused by the depletion of volatile ammonia of composting materials. Besides these results indicate that FISH method is a useful tool for detection of slow growing nitrifying bacteria.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.84-87
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• 2007

Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 (SCA 3) is a rare autosomal dominative disorder in which one of the neurodegenerative disorders is caused by a CAG repeat expansion on chromosome 14q32.1. The age at onset of disease is related to the size of the expanded CAG repeat. We present the prenatal diagnosis of SCA3 in a woman whose husband was known to carry an unstable CAG repeat expansion in the MJD gene. The diagnosis was made using PCR with a fluorescent probe for an expanded MJD allele. The normal ranges of (CAG)n of SCA3 are 14~38 repeats. The husband, who had a family history of SCA 3, has an expanded allele of 69 CAG repeats with a normal allele of 27 repeats. His wife had two normal alleles with 26 and 32 CAG repeats. The fetus had two normal alleles with 26 and 27 CAG repeats; consequently, the baby w as healthy. We report a case of prenatal diagnosis of SCA3 using a fluorescent PCR which is rapid and accurate.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.253-257
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• 2013

This study examined the mechanism of action of a local anesthetic, lidocaine HCl. Energy transfer between the surface fluorescent probe, 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid, and the hydrophobic fluorescent probe, 1,3-di(1-pyrenyl) propane, was used to determine the effect of lidocaine HCl on the thickness (D) of the synaptosomal plasma membrane vesicles (SPMV) isolated from the bovine cerebral cortex, and liposomes of the total lipids (SPMVTL) and phospholipids (SPMVPL) extracted from the SPMV. The thickness (D) of the intact SPMV, SPMVTL and SPMVPL were $1.044{\pm}0.008$, $0.914{\pm}0.005$ and $0.890{\pm}0.003$ (arbitrary units, n=5) at $37^{\circ}C$ (pH 7.4), respectively. Lidocaine HCl decreased the thickness of the neuronal and model membrane lipid bilayers in a dose-dependent manner with a significant decrease in the thickness, even at 0.1 mM. The decreasing effect of lidocaine HCl on the membrane thickness might be responsible for some, but not all of its anesthetic action.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.323-331
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• 1996

Predetermination of sex in mammalian species has many aspects of application including the prenatal diagnoses of genetic disorders in humans and sex-selected breeding programs in the animal industry. Embryos sexing can be carried out using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify specific sequences present in the sex chromosomes, or by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) of specific probes to the X and Y chromosomes. A 3.3 kb porcine male-specific DNA fragment (pEM39) was cloned previously in our laboratory. In this study, FISH and PCR methods were employed to examine if the pEM39 can be used a sex-specific DNA probes Porcine ovaries were obtained from a local slaughter house and oocytes collected. All oocytes were subjected to in vitro maturation followed by 1n vitro fertilization. Parthenogenetically activated embryos were served as a negative control. Embryonic samples were collected at the 2-cell stages and PCR was performed to analyze DNA. Among 10 embryos examined, four embryos were identified as males and six were females. The cloned male-specific DNA fragment showed male-specificity for the cells in the liver tissue and the porcine early embryos by FISH. It was also demonstrated that the cloned male-specific DNA is localized on the hetero chromatic region of the long arm in the Y chrom-osome (Yq) as shown by the FISH and karyotyping. The results suggest that the cloned male-specific DNA fragment may be useful for predetermination of sex with a few embryonic cells. The porcine male-specific sequence can be a reliable index for embryo sexing by PCR.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.229-236
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• 1999

The recA gene plays a central role in genetic recombination and SOS DNA repair in Escherichia coli (E. coli). We have previously identified a 42 kDa RecA-like protein inducible by a variety of DNA damages from a fluorescent Pseudomonas strain sp. and characterized its inducible kinetics. In the present study, we cloned and characterized the gene encoding the RecA-like protein by immunological screening of Pseudomonas genomic expression library using polyclonal E. coli anti-RecA antibodies as a probe. From 10$^{5}$ plaques screened, five putative clones were finally isolated. Southern blot analysis indicated that four clones had the same DNA inserts and the recA-like gene was located within the 3.2 kb EcoRI fragment of Pseudomonas chromosomal DNA. In addition, the cloned recA-like gene was transcribed into an RNA transcript approximately 1.1 kb in size, as judged by Northern blot analysis. The cellular level of RNA transcript of the cloned recA-like gene was increased to an average of 5.15- fold upon treatment with DNA damaging agents such as ultraviolet (UV)- light, nalidixic acid (NA), methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), and mitomycin-C (MMC). These results suggest that the cloned gene is inducible by DNA damage similarly to the recA gene in E. coli. However, the cloned gene did not restore the DNA damage sensitivity of the E. coli recA-mutant.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.278-284
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• 2004

Changes in the soil bacterial community of a coniferous forest were analyzed to assess microbial responses to wildfire. Soil samples were collected from three different depths in lightly and severely burned areas, as well as a nearby unburned control area. Direct bacterial counts ranged from $3.3­22.6\times10^8\;cells/(g{\cdot}soil).$ In surface soil, direct bacterial counts of unburned soil exhibited a great degree of fluctuation. Those in lightly burned soil changed less, but no significant variation was observed in the severely burned soil. The fluctuations of direct bacterial count were less in the middle and deep soil lay­ers. The structure of the bacterial community was analyzed via the fluorescent in situ hybridization method. The number of bacteria detected with the eubacteria-targeted probe out of the direct bacterial count varied from $30.3\;to\;84.7\%,$ and these ratios were generally higher in the burned soils than in the unburned control soils. In the surface unburned soil, the ratios of $\alpha,\;\beta\;and\;gamma-proteobacteria,$ Cytoph­aga-Flavobacterium group, and other eubacteria groups to total eubacteria were 9.9, 10.6, 15.5, 9.0, and $55.0\%,$ respectively, and these ratios were relatively stable. The ratios of $\alpha,\;\beta\;and\;gamma-proteobacteria,$ and Cytophaga-Flavobacterium group to total eubacteria increased immediately after the wildfire, and the other eubacterial proportions decreased in the surface and middle layer soils. By way of contrast, the composition of the 5 groups of eubacteria in the subsurface soil exhibited no significant fluctuations dur­ing the entire period. The total bacterial population and bacterial community structure disturbed by wildfire soon began to recover, and original levels seemed to be restored 3 months after the wildfire.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to detect cell death in the liver of mice treated with thioacetamide (TAA) using fluorescence bioimaging and compare this outcome with that using conventional histopathological examination. At 6 weeks of age, 24 mice were randomly divided into three groups: group 1 (G1), control group; group 2 (G2), fluorescence probe control group; group 3 (G3), TAA-treated group. G3 mice were treated with TAA. Twenty-two hours after TAA treatment, G2 and G3 mice were treated with Annexin-Vivo 750. Fluorescence in vivo bioimaging was performed by fluorescence molecular tomography at two hours after Annexin-Vivo 750 treatment, and fluorescence ex vivo bioimaging of the liver was performed. Liver damage was validated by histopathological examination. In vivo bioimaging showed that the fluorescence intensity was increased in the right upper part of G3 mice compared with that in G2 mice, whereas G1 mice showed no signal. Additionally ex vivo bioimaging showed that the fluorescence intensity was significantly increased in the livers of G3 mice compared with those in G1 or G2 mice (p < 0.05). Histopathological examination of the liver showed no cell death in G1 and G2 mice. However, in G3 mice, there was destruction of hepatocytes and increased cell death. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling staining confirmed many cell death features in the liver of G3 mice, whereas no pathological findings were observed in the liver of G1 and G2 mice. Taken together, fluorescence bioimaging in this study showed the detection of cell death and made it possible to quantify the level of cell death in male mice. The outcome was correlated with conventional biomedical examination. As it was difficult to differentiate histological location by fluorescent bioimaging, it is necessary to develop specific fluorescent dyes for monitoring hepatic disease progression and to exploit new bioimaging techniques without dye-labeling.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2013

Palladium plays a pivotal role in the production of dental and medicinal devices, medicinal substances, jewellery, automobile and high-performance adhesives. Despite the frequent and fruitful use of such reactions, one major setback is the high level of palladium in the resultant compounds which can harm the human body. Among the palladium species, $PdCl_2$ is the most toxic. As a consequence it is desirable to detect the $Pd^{2+}$ cations by fluorescence spectra because it can provide an operationally simple and cost-effective detection method together with high sensitivity and selectivity. Herein, an ${\alpha}$-carbonyl substituted pyrene derivative, ${\gamma}$-oxo-1-pyrenebutyric acid (OPBA), was demonstrated to be a highly sensitive and selective fluorescent probe for $Pd^{2+}$ among the metal cations examined in aqueous solutions.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.43-52
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• 2003

Microarray technology allows the simultaneous analysis of gene expression patterns of thousands of genes, in a systematic fashion, under a similar set of experimental conditions, thus making the data highly comparable. In some cases arrays are used simply as a primary screen loading to downstream molecular characterization of individual gene candidates. In other cases, the goal of expression profiling is to begin to identify complex regulatory networks underlying developmental processes and disease states. Microarrays were originally used with ceil lines or other simple model systems. More recently, microarrays have been used in the analysis of more complex biological tissues including neural systems and the brain. The application of cDNA arrays in neuropsychiatry has lagged behind other fields for a number of reasons. These include a requirement for a large amount of input probe RNA In fluorescent-glass based array systems and the cellular complexity introduced by multicellular brain and neural tissues. An additional factor that impacts the general use of microarrays in neuropsychiatry is the lack of availability of sequenced clone sets from model systems. While human cDNA clones have been widely available, high qualify rat, mouse, and drosophilae, among others are just becoming widely available. A final factor in the application of cDNA microarrays in neuropsychiatry is cost of commercial arrays. As academic microarray facilitates become more commonplace custom made arrays will become more widely available at a lower cost allowing more widespread applications. in summary, microarray technology is rapidly having an impact on many areas of biomedical research. Radioisotope-nylon based microarrays offer alternatives that may in some cases be more sensitive, flexible, inexpensive, and universal as compared to other array formats, such as fluorescent-glass arrays. In some situations of limited RNA or exotic species, radioactive membrane microarrays may be the most practical experimental approach in studying psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, and other complex questions in the brain.