• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2011

The functional cardiovascular system is comprised of distinct mesoderm-derived lineages including endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells and other mesenchymal cells. Recent studies in the human embryonic stem cell differentiation model have provided evidence indicating that these cell lineages are developed from the common progenitors such as hemangioblasts and cardiovascular progenitor cells. Also, the studies have suggested that these progenitors have a common primordial progenitor, which expresses KDR (human Flk-1, also known as VEGFR2, CD309). We demonstrate here that sustained activation of BMP4 (bone morphogenetic protein 4) in hESC line, CHA15 hESC results in $KDR^+$ mesoderm specific differentiation. To determine whether the $KDR^+$ population derived from hESCs enhances potential to differentiate along multipotential mesodermal lineages than undifferentiated hESCs, we analyzed the development of the mesodermal cell types in human embryonic stem cell differentiation cultures. In embryoid body (EB) differentiation culture conditions, we identified an increased expression of $KDR^+$ population from BMP4-stimulated hESC-derived EBs. After induction with additional growth factors, the $KDR^+$ population sorted from hESCs-derived EBs displays mesenchymal, endothelial and vascular smooth muscle potential in matrix-coated monolayer culture systems. The populations plated in monolayer cultures expressed increased levels of related markers and exhibit a stable/homologous phenotype in culture terms. In conclusion, we demonstrate that the $KDR^+$ population is stably isolated from CHA15 hESC-derived EBs using BMP4 and growth factors, and sorted $KDR^+$ population can be utilized to generate multipotential mesodermal progenitors in vitro, which can be further differentiated into cardiovascular specific cells.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.344-351
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• 2009

A biocontrol bacterium Bacillus licheniformis N1 grown in nutrient broth showed no chitinolytic activity, while its genome contains a gene which encodes a chitinase. The gene for chitinase from B. licheniformis N1 was amplified by PCR and the deduced amino acid sequence analysis revealed that the chitinase exhibited over 95% identity with chitinases from other B. licheniformis strains. Escherichia coli cells carrying the recombinant plasmid displayed chitinase activity as revealed by the formation of a clear zone on chitin containing media, indicating that the gene could be expressed in E. coli cells. Chitinase gene expression in B. licheniformis N1 was not detected by RT-PCR analysis. The protein was over-expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein. The protein could also be produced in B. subtilis 168 strain carrying the chitinase gene of N1 strain. The crude protein extract from E. coli BL21 carrying GST fusion protein or culture supernatant of B. subtilis carrying the chitinase gene exhibited enzyme activity by hydrolyzing chitin analogs, 4-methylumbelliferyl-$\beta$-D-N,N'-diacetylchitobioside and 4-methylumbelliferyl-$\beta$-D-N,N',N"-triacetylchitotrioside. These results indicated that even though the chitinase gene is not expressed in the N1 strain, the coding region is functional and encodes an active chitinase enzyme. Furthermore, B. subtilis 168 transformants expressing the chitinase gene exhibited antifungal activity against Fulvia fulva by suppressing spore germination. Our results suggest that the proper engineering of the expression of the indigenous chitinase gene, which will lead to its expression in the biocontrol strain B. licheniformis N1, may further enhance its biocontrol activity.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.630-638
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• 2019

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 310 times higher than that of carbon dioxide. In this study, an N₂O-reducing consortium was obtained by enrichment culture using advanced treatment sludge as the inoculum. The dominant bacteria in the consortium were Sulfurovum (17.95%), Geobacter (14.63%), Rectinema (11.45%), and Chlorobium (8.24%). The consortium displayed optimal N₂O reducing activity when acetate was supplied as the carbon source at a carbon/nitrogen ratio (mol·mol^-1) of 6.3. The N₂O reduction rate increased with increasing N₂O concentration at less than 3,000 ppm. Kinetic analysis revealed that the maximum N₂O reduction rate of the consortium was 163.9 ㎍-N·g-VSS^-1·h^-1. Genes present in the consortium included nosZ (reduction of nitrous oxide to N₂), narG (reduction of nitrate to nitrite), nirK (reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide), and norB (reduction of nitric oxide to nitrous oxide). These results indicate that the N₂O-reducing consortium is a promising bioresource that can be used in denitrification and N₂O mitigation.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.225-230
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• 2012

Interferon induced transmembrane protein-1 (Ifitm-1) has been reported to have an important role in primordial germ cell formation, and it has expressed in female reproductive organ. In the present study, Ifitm-1 gene expression was identified in testes and all part of epididymis using western immunoblot and immunohistochemistry. Interestingly, Ifitm-1 expression was observed on the head of spermatozoa. To investigate the role of Ifitm-1 gene expression in behavior of spermatozoa after acrosome reaction, fresh sperm was incubated with calcium ionophore to induce acrosome reaction, whereas the expression of Ifitm-1 was not altered after the acrosome reaction. Then to identify the effect of Ifitm-1 in sperm motility and other seminal parameters, different concentration of Ifitm-1 antibody was incubated with spermatozoa, and seminal parameters were assessed using computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA). Interestingly, motility, progressive, and VAP were increased in the sperm with Ifitm-1 antibody treated compared to rabbit serum, however other parameters such as straightness were not changed. In order to identify the functional significance of Ifitm-1 in fertilization, capacitated spermatozoa were pre-incubated with anti-Ifitm-1 antibody and subsequently examined the ability to adhere to mouse oocytes. However, any defection or alteration in sperm-egg fusion was not found, Ifitm-1 antibody treated or non-treated spermatozoa showed a normal penetration. Although the precise role of Ifitm-1 in sperm motility and following fertilization need to be elucidated, this study suggests that the activation of Ifitm-1 on the sperm may enhance the motility of spermatozoa in mice.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1537-1544
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• 2015

Meat and carcass quality attributes are of crucial importance influencing consumer preference and profitability in the pork industry. A set of 400 Berkshire pigs were collected from Dasan breeding farm, Namwon, Chonbuk province, Korea that were born between 2012 and 2013. To perform genome wide association studies (GWAS), eleven meat and carcass quality traits were considered, including carcass weight, backfat thickness, pH value after 24 hours (pH24), Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage lightness in meat color (CIE L), redness in meat color (CIE a), yellowness in meat color (CIE b), filtering, drip loss, heat loss, shear force and marbling score. All of the 400 animals were genotyped with the Porcine 62K SNP BeadChips (Illumina Inc., USA). A SAS general linear model procedure (SAS version 9.2) was used to pre-adjust the animal phenotypes before GWAS with sire and sex effects as fixed effects and slaughter age as a covariate. After fitting the fixed and covariate factors in the model, the residuals of the phenotype regressed on additive effects of each single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) under a linear regression model (PLINK version 1.07). The significant SNPs after permutation testing at a chromosome-wise level were subjected to stepwise regression analysis to determine the best set of SNP markers. A total of 55 significant (p<0.05) SNPs or quantitative trait loci (QTL) were detected on various chromosomes. The QTLs explained from 5.06% to 8.28% of the total phenotypic variation of the traits. Some QTLs with pleiotropic effect were also identified. A pair of significant QTL for pH24 was also found to affect both CIE L and drip loss percentage. The significant QTL after characterization of the functional candidate genes on the QTL or around the QTL region may be effectively and efficiently used in marker assisted selection to achieve enhanced genetic improvement of the trait considered.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.14.1-14.10
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• 2016

Isoelectric solubilization/precipitation (ISP) processing allows selective, pH-induced water solubility of proteins with concurrent separation of lipids and removal of materials not intended for human consumption such as bone, scales, skin, etc. Recovered proteins retain functional properties and nutritional value. Four roe protein isolates (RPIs) from yellowfin tuna roe were prepared under different solubilization and precipitation condition (pH 11/4.5, pH 11/5.5, pH 12/4.5 and pH 12/5.5). RPIs contained 2.3-5.0 % moisture, 79.1-87.8 % protein, 5.6-7. 4 % lipid and 3.0-3.8 % ash. Protein content of RPI-1 and RPI-2 precipitated at pH 4.5 and 5.5 after alkaline solubilization at pH 11, was higher than those of RPI-3 and RPI-4 after alkaline solubilization at pH 12 (P < 0.05). Lipid content (5.6-7.4 %) of RPIs was lower than that of freeze-dried concentrate (10.6 %). And leucine and lysine of RPIs were the most abundant amino acids (8.8-9.4 and 8.5-8.9 g/100 g protein, respectively). S, Na, P, K as minerals were the major elements in RPIs. SDS-PAGE of RPIs showed bands at 100, 45, 25 and 15 K. Moisture and protein contents of process water as a 2'nd byproduct were 98.9-99.0 and 1.3-1.8 %, respectively. Therefore, yellowfin tuna roe isolate could be a promising source of valuable nutrients for human food and animal feeds.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.253-263
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• 2006

Objective: Identification of the regulatory mechanism for arrest and initiation of primordial follicular growth is crucial for female fertility. Previously, we found 15 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) that were specifically abundant in the day-S-subtracted cDNA library and that the B357 clone was novel. The present study was conducted to obtain the whole sequence of the novel gene including B357 and to characterize its mRNA and protein expression in mouse ovary and testis. Methods: The extended sequence of the 2,965-bp cDNA fragment for the clone B357 was named ${\underline{5}}-{\underline{d}}ay-{\underline{o}}vary-{\underline{s}}pecific\;gene-{\underline{1}}$ (5DOS1) and submitted to GenBank (accession number ${\underline{AY751521}}$). Expression of 5DOS1 was characterized in both female and male gonads at various developmental stages by Northern blotting, real-time RT-PCR, in situ hybridization, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Results: The 5DOS1 transcript was highly expressed in the adult testis, brain, and muscle as compared to the other tissues. In the ovary, the 5DOS1 transcript was detected in all oocytes from primordial to antral follicles, and highly expressed at day 5 after birth and decreased thereafter. In contrast, expression of 5DOS1 showed a gradual increase during testicular development and its expression was limited to various stages of male germ cells except spermatogonia. Conclusions: This is the first report on the expression and characterization of the 5DOS1 gene in the mouse gonads. Further functional analysis of the 5DOS1 protein will be required to predict its role in gametogenesis.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.287-292
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• 2009

The nucleocapsid (N) protein of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is a basic multifunctional protein which has been reported to be a serine phosphoprotein with yet-identified functions. As a first step towards understanding the general role of N protein phosphorylation during virus replication, the non-phosphorylated mutant N gene was constructed by mutating all serine residues to alanine. This recombinant N protein was identified to be unphosphorylated, confirming that serine residues truly function as core amino acids responsible for N protein phosphorylation. The PRRSV N protein has been shown to possess the biological features of nuclear localization and N-N homodimerization which individually play critical roles in virus infection. In the present study, therefore, it was attempted to investigate whether these two properties of the N protein are modulated by its phosphorylation status. However, experimental results showed that the non-phosphorylated N protein was still present in the nucleus and nucleolus, and was able to associate with itself by non-covalent interactions. Taken together, the data suggest phosphorylation-independent regulation of N protein nuclear transport or oligomerization, thereby implying the potential involvement of phosphorylation in regulating the activities of the N protein at other levels including RNA-binding capacity.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2013

This study was conducted to improve the yield of extracts from Alaska pollock Theragra chalcogramma head and sea tangle Laminaria japonica byproducts using various commercial enzymes, such as Alcalase, Flavourzyme, Neutrase (NH), and Protamex. Among the enzymatic hydrolysates, the yield was highest in hydrolysate incubated with NH for 4 h. NH-treated hydrolysates (NHH) also improved functional properties, such as angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryldrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, as compared to extracts from Alaska pollock head and sea tangle byproducts. Total free amino acid and taste values of NHH were 379.7 mg/100 mL and 24.03, respectively, after digestion for 4 h. These values are 2.2-fold and 1.9-fold higher compared with those of water soluble fractions extracted from Alaska pollock head and non-forming sea tangle, respectively. According to the taste value results, the major taste-active compounds among free amino acids of NHH were glutamic acid and aspartic acid. These results suggest that NHH can be used as an ingredient for natural seasoning preparation.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.359-366
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• 2002

Bacillus polyfermenticus SCD which is commonly called as Bisroot strain is being used for functional foods through the treatment of long-term intestinal disorders, since the live strains in the form of active endospores can successfully reach the target intestine in humans. The cells of B. polyfermenticus SCD were treated for 4h in artificial gastric juice (pH 2.0,3.0) and bile acid. Final viability of the strain in artificial gastric Juice (pH 2.0, 3.0) is reached to 62.8% and 81.2% respectively B. polyfermenticus SCD is resistant to antibiotics such as streptomycin, rifampicin, nystatin and ampicilin. B. polyfermenticus SCD is well known supplies the nutrients by synthesizing vitamin $B_1$, $B_2$, C and K. B. polyfermenticus SCD produces various digestive enzymes and the enzymes enable to completely digest diets in our body. Above all, $\alpha$-amylase and pretense activities are very higher than B. subtilis KCTC 1020, about two fold and twenty five fold respectively. B. polyfermenticus SCD is very stable during long-term storage period in phosphate buffers of wide-range pH, solutions of various concentrations of sodium chloride, 5% glucose solution and water.