• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.144-155
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• 2023

Objective: Adipocyte differentiation is regulated by a variety of functional genes and noncoding RNAs. However, the role of miRNAs in lipid deposition of goat white adipose tissue is still unclear. Therefore, this study revealed the miRNA expression profile in goat subcutaneous adipocytes by sRNA-seq. Methods: The miRNA expressed in goat subcutaneous preadipocytes and the mature adipocytes were sequenced by sRNA-seq. The differentially expressed miRNAs (DEm) were screened and gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia for genes and genomes (KEGG) analyses were performed. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function combined with oil red O staining, Bodipy staining, and quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) were utilized to determine the effect of miR-133a-3p on adipocyte differentiation. Results: A total of 218 DEm were screened out. The target genes of these DEm were significantly enriched in GO items such as biological regulation and in KEGG terms such as FAK signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway. qPCR verified that the expression trend of miRNA was consistent with miRNA-seq. The gain-of-function or loss-of-function of miR-133a-3p showed that it promoted or inhibited the accumulation of lipid droplets, and CCAAT enhancer binding protein α (C/EBPα) and C/EBPβ were extremely significantly up-regulated or down-regulated respectively (p<0.01), the loss-of-function also led to a significant down-regulation of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) (p<0.01). Conclusion: This study successfully identified miRNAs expression patterns in goat subcutaneous adipocytes, and functional identification indicates that miR-133a-3p is a positive regulator of the differentiation process of goat subcutaneous adipocytes. Our results lay the foundation for the molecular mechanism of lipid deposition in meat-source goats from the perspective of miRNA.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.12.01-12.10
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• 2022

Background: Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae are the main cause of clinical mastitis in dairy cattle in Argentina, whereas coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) and environmental streptococci are the main cause of subclinical mastitis. Bacteria isolated from infected animals show increasing antimicrobial resistance. Objectives: This study aims to determine the antimicrobial resistance of staphylococci and streptococci isolated from milk with mastitis, and to genotypically characterize the methicillin-resistant (MR) staphylococci. Methods: Isolation was performed on blood agar and identification was based on biochemical reactions. Antimicrobial susceptibility was according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. The antimicrobial resistance genes, SCCmec type and spa type were detected by the polymerase chain reaction method. Results: We isolated a total of 185 staphylococci and 28 streptococci from 148 milk samples. Among the staphylococcal isolates, 154 were identified as CNS and 31 as S. aureus. Among the 154 CNS, 24.6% (n = 38) were resistant to penicillin, 14.9% (n = 23) to erythromycin, 17.5% (n = 27) to clindamycin, 6.5% (n = 10) to cefoxitin and oxacillin. Among the S. aureus isolates, 16.1% (n = 5) were resistant to penicillin, 3.2% (n = 1) to cefoxitin and oxacillin (MRSA). Six MR isolates (5 CNS and 1 MRSA) were positive to the mecA gene, and presented the SCCmec IVa. The MRSA strain presented the sequence type 83 and the spa type 002. Among the 28 streptococcal isolates, 14.3% (n = 4) were resistant to penicillin, 10.7% (n = 3) to erythromycin and 14.3% (n = 4) to clindamycin. Conclusions: The present findings of this study indicate a development of antimicrobial resistance in main bacteria isolated from cows with mastitis in Argentina.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.281-289
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• 2022

Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize the exopolysaccharides (EPS)-producing lactic acid bacteria from Taiwanese ropy fermented milk (TRFM) for developing a clean label low-fat fermented milk. Methods: Potential isolates from TRFM were selected based on the Gram staining test and observation of turbid suspension in the culture broth. Random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and API CHL 50 test were used for strain identification. After evaluation of EPS concentration, target strains were introduced to low-fat milk fermentation for 24 h. Fermentation characters were checked: pH value, acidity, viable count, syneresis, and viscosity. Sensory evaluation of fermented products was carried out by 30 volunteers, while the storage test was performed for 21 days at 4℃. Results: Two EPS-producing strains (APL15 and APL16) were isolated from TRFM and identified as Lactococcus (Lc.) lactis subsp. cremoris. Their EPS concentrations in glucose and lactose media were higher than other published strains of Lc. lactis subsp. cremoris. Low-fat fermented milk separately prepared with APL15 and APL16 reached pH 4.3 and acidity 0.8% with a viable count of 9 log colony-forming units/mL. The physical properties of both products were superior to the control yogurt, showing significant improvements in syneresis and viscosity (p<0.05). Our low-fat products had appropriate sensory scores in appearance and texture according to sensory evaluation. Although decreasing viable cells of strains during the 21-day storage test, low-fat fermented milk made by APL15 exhibited stable physicochemical properties, including pH value, acidity, syneresis and sufficient viable cells throughout the storage period. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that Lc. lactis subsp. cremoris APL15 isolated from TRFM had good fermentation abilities to produce low-fat fermented milk. These data indicate that EPS-producing lactic acid bacteria have great potential to act as natural food stabilizers for low-fat fermented milk.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.67 no.4
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• pp.274-284
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• 2022

To use kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) as a fiber and livestock feed, a high-yielding variety needs to be identified. For this, accurate phenotyping of plant height is required for this breeding purpose due to the strong relationship between plant height and yield. Plant height can be estimated using RGB images from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV-RGB) and photogrammetry based on Structure from Motion (SfM) algorithms. In kenaf, accurate measurement of height is limited because kenaf stems have high flexibility and its height is easily affected by wind, growing up to 3 ~ 4 m. Therefore, we aimed to identify a method suitable for the accurate estimation of plant height of kenaf and investigate the feasibility of using the UAV-RGB-derived plant height map. Height estimation derived from UAV-RGB was improved using multi-point calibration against the five different wooden structures with known heights (30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 cm). Using the proposed method, we analyzed the variation in temporal height of 23 kenaf cultivars. Our results demontrated that the actual and estimated heights were reliably comparable with the coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.80 and a slope of 0.94. This method enabled the effective identification of cultivars with significantly different heights at each growth stages.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.593-600
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• 2019

We identified how plants affected by the human behavior of crushing plants respond and what kind of plants responded sensitively. We investigated Lactuca sativa "Gaesebadak", Syneilesis palmata and Peucedanum japonicum as plants that humans use for edible purposes, and Achyranthes japonica and Bidens bipinnata as wild plants that stick to people's clothes and disperse seed. Plants exposed to human breathing air were compared with those exposed to human breathing air after being crushed. Methyl jasmonate (MeJA), a chemical word, was measured using Syft/MS, which detects real-time VOC, and related genes were analyzed. The amount of MeJA of Syneilesis palmata and Peucedanum japonicum as edible plants was greater than that of non-edible plants that disperse seeds using humans. The amount of MeJA ranged from 0.20 ppb to 0.35 ppb when the control group were not exposed to human breathing air. On the other hand, MeJA decreased after increasing for the first hour in human breathing air. Also, MeJA affected by human breathing after crushing plants was higher than that affected by just human breathing air. Peucedanum japonicum showed the most distinctive difference between the treatment with human breathing after crushing plants and the treatment with just human breathing. In addition, the gene activity of JAR1 and JMT increased 3 hours after the treatment with human breathing after crushing plants. Therefore, in the treatment with human breathing after crushing plants, the concentration of MeJA and the activity of related genes showed the same tendency to increase. As a result, the plant that responded sensitively to human behavior was Peucedanum japonicum. Plants released MeJA as a chemical word in the treatment with human breathing air after crushing plants.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.44-44
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• 2003

As a basic measurement tool in the areas of animal models of human disease, gene expression and therapy, and drug discovery and development, small animal PET imaging is being used increasingly. An ideal small animal PET should have high sensitivity and high and uniform resolution across the field of view to achieve high image quality. However, the combination of long narrow pixellated crystal array and small ring diameter of small animal PET leads to the degradation of spatial resolution for the source located at off center. This degradation of resolution can be improved by determining the depth of interaction (DOI) in the crystal and by taking into account the information in sorting the coincident events. Among a number of 001 identification schemes, dual layer phsowich detector has been widely investigated by many research groups due to its practicability and effectiveness on extracting DOI information. However, the effects of each crystal length composing dual layer phoswich detector on DOI measurements and image qualities were not fully characterized. In order to minimize the DOI effect, the length of each layer of phoswich detector should be optimized. The aim of this study was to perform simulations using a simulation tool, GATE to design the optimum lengths of crystals composing a dual layer phoswich detector. The simulated small PET system employed LSO front layer LuYAP back layer phoswich detector modules and the module consisted of 8${\times}$8 arrays of dual layer crystals with 2 mm ${\times}$ 2 mm sensitive area coupled to a Hamamatsu R7600 00 M64 PSPMT. Sensitivities and variation of radial resolutions were simulated by varying the length of LSO front layer from 0 to 10 mm while the total length (LSO + LuYAP) was fixed to 20 mm for 10 cm diameter ring scanner. The radial resolution uniformity was markedly improved by using DOI information. There existed the optimal lengths of crystal layers to minimize the variation of radial resolutions. In 10 cm ring scanner configuration, the radial resolution was kept below 3.4 mm over 8 cm FOV while the sensitivity was higher than 7.4% for LSO 5 mm : LuYAP 15 mm phoswich detector. In this study, the optimal length of dual layer phoswich detector was derived to achieve high and uniform radial resolution.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.231-236
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• 2022

Oxypetalum coeruleum, commonly known as Tweedia, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Apocynaceae family native to southern Brazil and Uruguay. Tweedia plants are grown as one of the most popular ornamental flowers for floral arrangement in Korea. In May 2021, several tweedia plants in a single greenhouse in Gimje, Jeollabuk-do were found to show virus-like symptoms including necrotic rings, vein-clearing, chlorotic mottle, and mosaic on the leaves, and necrosis on the stems. Here, we have identified tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) in symptomatic tweedia leaves by applying high-throughput RNA sequencing. In the result, a single infection by TSWV was verified without mixed infections of different virus species. To confirm the presence of TSWV, a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was performed with a specific primer set to the N gene of TSWV. The complete genomic sequence of L, M, and S segments of TSWV 'Oxy' isolate were determined and deposited in GenBank under accession numbers LC671525, LC671638, and LC671639, respectively. In the phylogenetic tree analysis by maximum likelihood method, 'Oxy' isolate showed a high relationship with TSWV 'Gumi' isolate from Gerbera jamesonii in Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea; for all three RNA segments. To our knowledge, this is the first report of TSWV infection of O. coeruleum in Korea.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.9-18
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• 2023

The rapid detection of bacteria in the oral cavity, its species identification, and bacterial count determination are important to diagnose oral diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria. The existing clinical microbial diagnosis methods are time-consuming as they involve observing patients' samples under a microscope or culturing and confirming bacteria using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) kits, making the process complex. Therefore, it is required to analyze the development status of substances and systems that can rapidly detect and analyze pathogenic microorganisms in the oral cavity. With research advancements, a close relationship between oral and systemic diseases has been identified, making it crucial to identify the changes in the oral cavity bacterial composition. Additionally, an early and accurate diagnosis is essential for better prognosis in periodontal disease. However, most periodontal disease-causing pathogens are anaerobic bacteria, which are difficult to identify using conventional bacterial culture methods. Further, the existing PCR method takes a long time to detect and involves complicated stages. Therefore, to address these challenges, the concept of point-of-care (PoC) has emerged, leading to the study and implementation of various chair-side test methods. This study aims to investigate the different PoC diagnostic methods introduced thus far for identifying pathogenic microorganisms in the oral cavity. These are classified into three categories: 1) microbiological tests, 2) microchemical tests, and 3) genetic tests. The microbiological tests are used to determine the presence or absence of representative causative bacteria of periodontal diseases, such as A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis, P. intermedia, and T. denticola. However, the quantitative analysis remains impossible, and detecting pathogens other than the specific ones is challenging. The microchemical tests determine the activity of inflammation or disease by measuring the levels of biomarkers present in the oral cavity. Although this diagnostic method is based on increase in the specific biomarkers proportional to inflammation or disease progression in the oral cavity, its commercialization is limited due to low sensitivity and specificity. The genetic tests are based on the concept that differences in disease vulnerability and treatment response are caused by the patient's DNA predisposition. Specifically, the IL-1 gene is used in such tests. PoC diagnostic methods developed to date serve as supplementary diagnostic methods and tools for patient education, in addition to existing diagnostic methods, although they have limitations in diagnosing oral diseases alone. Research on various PoC test methods that can analyze and manage the oral cavity bacterial composition is expected to become more active, aligning with the shift from treatment-oriented to prevention-oriented approaches in healthcare.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.25-25
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• 2022

Drought becomes frequent and severe because of continuous global warming, leading to a significant loss of crop yield. In soybean (Glycine max [L.]), most of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) analyses for drought tolerance have conducted by investigating yield changes under water-restricted conditions at the reproductive stages. More recently, the necessity of QTL studies to use physiological indices responding to drought at the early growth stages besides the reproductive ones has arisen due to the unpredictable and prevalent occurrence of drought throughout the soybean growing season. In this study, we thus identified QTLs conferring wilting scores and moisture contents of soybean subjected to drought stress in the early vegetative stage using an recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between Taekwang (drought-sensitive) and SS2-2 (drought-tolerant). For the two traits, the same major QTL was located on chromosome 10, accounting for up to 11.5% of phenotypic variance explained with LOD score of 12.5. This QTL overlaps with a reported QTL for the limited transpiration trait in soybean and harbors an ortholog of the Arabidopsis ABA and drought-induced RING-D UF1117 gene. Meanwhile, one of important features of plant drought tolerance is their ability to limit transpiration rates under high vapor pressure deficiency in response to mitigate water loss. However, monitoring their transpiration rates is time-consuming and laborious. Therefore, only a few population-level studies regarding transpiration rates under the drought condition have been reported so far. Via employing an Arduino-based platform, for the reasons addressed, we are measuring and recording total pot weights of soybean plants every hour from the 1^st day after water restriction to the days when the half of the RILs exhibited permanent tissue damage in at least one trifoliate. Gradual decrease in moisture of soil in pots as time passes refers increase in the severity of drought stress. By tracking changes in the total pot weights of soybean plants, we will infer transpiration rates of the mapping parents and their RILs according to different levels of VPD and drought stress. The profile of transpiration rates from different levels of severity in the stresses facilitates a better understanding of relationship between transpiration-related features, such as limited maximum transpiration rates, to water saving performances, as well as those to other drought-responsive phenotypes. Our findings will provide primary insights on drought tolerance mechanisms in soybean and useful resources for improvement of soybean varieties tolerant to drought stress.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2020.08a
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• pp.33-33
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• 2020

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a non-seasonal, economically important, cucurbit cultivated throughout the world with Asia as a continent contributing the most. As part of the effort in diversifying watermelon genetic resources in the already cultivated group, this study was devoted to providing baseline data on morphological quality traits and health-beneficial phytonutrients of watermelon germplasm collections, thereby promoting watermelon research and cultivation programs. To this end, we reported morphological traits, citrulline, and arginine levels of watermelon genetic resources obtained from the gene bank of Agrobiodiversity Center, Republic of Korea, and discussed the relationship between each other. Diverse characteristics were observed among many of the traits. But, most of the genetic resources (>90%) were either red or pink-fleshed. Korean origin fruits contained intermediate levels of soluble solid content (SSC) while The USA, Russian, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Taiwan, and Uruguay originated had generally the highest levels of soluble solids. The citrulline and arginine contents using HPLC method were ranged from 6.9 to 52.1 mg/g (average, 27.3 mg/g) and 1.8 to 21.3 mg/g (average, 9.8 mg/g), respectively. The citrulline content determined using Citrulline Assay Kit was ranged from 6.5 to 42.8 mg/g (average, 27.0 mg/g). Resources with high citrulline and arginine levels contained low SSC. Whereas, red- and pink-colored flesh samples had less citrulline compared to yellow and orange. In addition to the profiling of morphological characters and phytonutrients, molecular marker characterization and identification of sources of resistance to diseases and pests are recommended for a more complete diversity analysis of watermelon genetic resources.