• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.1393-1403
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• 2003

The genetic effects of restraint stress challenge on HPA axis and the therapeutic effect of Boshimgeonbi-Tang on the stress were studied with cDNA microarray analyses on hypothalamus using an immobilization-stress mouse as stress model. Male CD-1 mice were restrained in a tightly fitted and ventilated vinyl holder for 2hours once a day, and this challenge was repeated for seven consecutive days. The body weights of the immobilization-stress mice were diminished about 25 percent degree as compared to normal ones. Seven days later, total RNA was extracted from the organs of the mouse, body-labeled with CyDye/sup TM/ fluorescence dyes (Amersham Bioscience Co., NJ), and then hybridized to cDNA microarray chip. Scanning and analyzing the array slides were carried out using GenePix 4000 series scanner and GenePix Pro/sup TM/ analyzing program, respectively. The expression profiles of 109 genes out of 6000 genes on the chip were significantly modulated in hypothalamus by the immobilization stress. Energy metabolism-, lipid metabolism-, apoptosis- and signal transduction-related genes were transcriptionally activated whereas DNA repair-, protein biosynthesis-, and structure integrity-related genes were down-regulated in hypothalamus. The 58 genes were up-regulated by the mRNA expression folds of 1.5 to 7.9. and the 51 genes were down-regulated by 1.5 - 3.5 fold. The 20 genes among them were selected to confirm the expression profiles by RT-PCR. The mRNA expression levels of Tnfrsf1a (apoptosis), Calm2 (cell cycle), Bag3 (apoptosis), Hspe1 (protein folding), Aatk (apoptosis), Dffa (apoptosis), Itgb1 (cell adhesion), Vcam1 (cell adhesion), Fkbp5 (protein folding), BDNF (neuron survival) were restored to the normal one by the treatment of Boshimgeonbi-Tang.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.39-43
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• 2006

A detailed karyotype analysis was carried out in five Korean native Iridaceae species; Iris pseudoacorus, I. pallasii. var. chinensis, I. tectrum, I. dichotoma and Belamcanda chinensis. Chromosome compositions of the five species showed that they have different karyotypic formulae; I. pseudoacorus 2n=34=10m+16smn+8st including two pairs of satellite chromosomes, I. pallasii var. chinensis 2n=40=26m+12sm+2st including two pairs of satellite chromosomes, I. tectrum 2n=30=14m+16sm including five pairs of satellite chromosomes, I. dichotoma 2n=32=22m+10sm including two pairs of satellite chromosomes, and B. chinensis 2n=32=20m+10sm+2st including one pair of satellite chromosomes. These results will supplement the previous cytogenetic reports in Iridaceae species and enhance our understanding on the genetic structure, which will be useful in clarifying the unique characteristics of each species for practical breeding programs for horticultural and pharmaceutical purposes.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.103 no.2
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• pp.165-174
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• 2014

This study was conducted to investigate composition of understory vegetation and indicator species by altitude and slope azimuth in Mt. Gyebang designated as Protected Area for Forest Genetic Resource Conservation and National Park. Tracheophytes were 350 taxa; 80 families, 203 genera, 303 species, 38 varieties, 5 forma and 4 sub-species in research area. The species of greatest importance value were Tripterygium regelii (9.143%), Acer pseudosieboldianum (7.594%), Symplocos chinensis for. pilosa (6.347%) in the shrub layer and were Sasa borealis (8.653%), Isodon excisus (2.936%) and Carex siderosticta (2.897%). In the herb layer as a result of NMS analysis, the distribution range of the major species were found to be affected by the altitude (shrub layer: $R^2$ > 0.3, herb layer: $R^2$ > 0.6). The result of plexus diagram analysis showed that Acer pseudosieboldianum was associated with Magnolia sieboldii, Acer barbinerve, Euonymus oxyphyllus etc. in the shrub layer; Meehania urticifolia was associated with Aconitum jaluense, Veratrum oxysepalum, Prunus padus etc. in the herb layer. The significant indicator species were analyzed for 60 species by the altitude and investigated for 30 species in accordance with the slope azimuth. As a consequence of MRPP, interspecies composition along the altitude group was heterogeneous and the species composition according to the azimuth slope was extremely different between the NE and SW.

• ALGAE
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2018

Members of the family Parviluciferaceae (Alveolata, Perkinsozoa) are the well-known dinoflagellate parasitoids along with Amoebophrya ceratii species complex and parasitic chytrid Dinomyces arenysensis and contain six species across three genera (i.e., Parvilucifera infectans, P. sinerae, P. rostrata, and P. corolla, Dinovorax pyriformis, and Snorkelia prorocentri) so far. Among Parvilucifera species, the two species, P. infectans and P. sinerae, are very similar or almost identical each other morphologically and genetically, thereby make it difficult to distinguish between the two. The only main difference between the two species known so far is the number of sporangium wall (i.e., 2 layers in P. infectans vs. 3 layers in P. sinerae). During sampling in Masan bay, Korea during the spring season of 2015, the dinoflagellate Akashiwo sanguinea cells infected by the parasite Parvilucifera were observed and this host-parasite system was established in culture. Using this culture, its morphological and ultrastructural features with special emphasis on the variation in the number of sporangium wall over developmental times, were investigated. In addition, the sequences of rDNA regions and ${\beta}-tubulin$ genes were determined. The result clearly demonstrated that the trophocyte at 36 h was covered with 4 layers, and then outer layer of the sporocyte gradually degraded over time, resulting in wall structure consisting of two layers, with even processes being detached from 7-day-old sporangium with smooth surface, indicating that the difference in the number of layers seems not to be an appropriate ultrastructural character for distinguishing P. infectans and P. sinerae. While pairwise comparison of the large subunit rDNA sequences showed 100% identity among P. infectans / P. sinerae species complex, genetic differences were found in the small subunit (SSU) rDNA sequences but the differences were relatively small (11-13 nucleotides) compared with those (190-272 nucleotides) found among the rest of Parvilucifera species (P. rostrata and P. corolla). Those small differences in SSU rDNA sequences of P. infectans / P. sinerae species complex may reflect the variations within inter- strains of the same species from different geographical areas. Taken together, all morphological, ultrastructural, and molecular data from the present study suggest that they are the same species.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.1345-1354
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• 2014

Copy number variations (CNVs), important genetic factors for study of human diseases, may have as large of an effect on phenotype as do single nucleotide polymorphisms. Indeed, it is widely accepted that CNVs are associated with differential disease susceptibility. However, the relationships between CNVs and gene expression have not been characterized in the horse. In this study, we investigated the effects of copy number deletion in the blood and muscle transcriptomes of Thoroughbred racing horses. We identified a total of 1,246 CNVs of deletion polymorphisms using DNA re-sequencing data from 18 Thoroughbred racing horses. To discover the tendencies between CNV status and gene expression levels, we extracted CNVs of four Thoroughbred racing horses of which RNA sequencing was available. We found that 252 pairs of CNVs and genes were associated in the four horse samples. We did not observe a clear and consistent relationship between the deletion status of CNVs and gene expression levels before and after exercise in blood and muscle. However, we found some pairs of CNVs and associated genes that indicated relationships with gene expression levels: a positive relationship with genes responsible for membrane structure or cytoskeleton and a negative relationship with genes involved in disease. This study will lead to conceptual advances in understanding the relationship between CNVs and global gene expression in the horse.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.163-169
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• 2012

Interferon regulatory factor 6 (IRF6) gene is a member of the IRF-family, and plays functionally diverse roles in the regulation of the immune system. In this report, the 13,720 bp porcine IRF6 genomic DNA structure was firstly identified with a putative IRF6 protein of 467 amino acids. Alignment and phylogenetic analysis of the porcine IRF6 amino acid sequences with their homologies to other species showed high identity (over 96%). Tissues expression of IRF6 mRNA was observed by RT-PCR, the results revealed IRF6 expressed widely in eight tissues. One SNP (HQ026023:1383 G>C) in exon7 and two SNPs (HQ026023:130 G>A; 232 C>T) in the 5′ promoter region of porcine IRF6 gene were demonstrated by DNA sequencing analysis. A further analysis of SNP genotypes associated with immune traits including IFN-${\gamma}$ and IL10 concentrations in serum was carried out in three pig populations including Large White, Landraces and Songliao Black pig (a Chinese indigenous breed). The results showed that the SNP (HQ026023:1383 G>C) was significantly associated with the level of IFN-${\gamma}$ (d 20) in serum (p = 0.038) and the ratio of IFN-${\gamma}$ to IL10 (d 20) in serum (p = 0.041); The other two SNPs (HQ026023:130 G>A; 232 C>T) were highly significantly associated with IL10 level in serum both at the day 20 (p = 0.005; p = 0.001) and the day 35 (p = 0.004; p = 0.006). Identification of the porcine IRF6 gene will help our further understanding of the molecular basis of the IFN regulation pathway in the porcine immune response. All these results should indicate that the IRF6 gene can be regarded as a molecular marker associated with the IL10 level in serum and used for genetic selection in the pig breeding.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.335-339
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• 2003

Purpose : Surfactant protein A(SP-A) is involved in surfactant physiology and structure, and plays a major role in innate host defense and inflammatory processes in the lung. Steroid therapy is widely used for mothers who threaten to deliver prematurely and also used commonly in the management of preterm infants with chronic lung disease. Two SP-A genes(SP-A1, SP-A2) and several alleles have been characterized for each SP-A gene in human. Preliminary evidence indicates that differences may exist among alleles in response to Dexamethasone(Dexa) and that the SP-A 3'UTR plays a role in this process. We studied whether 3'UTR-mediated differences exist among the most frequently found SP-A alleles in response to Dexa. Methods : Constructs containing the 3'UTR from eight different SP-A alleles were made using luciferase as a the reporter gene. These constructs were driven by the SV40 promotor and were transfected along with a transfection control vector in H441 cells that express SP-A. The activity of the reporter gene in the presence or absence of Dexa(100 nM) treatment was measured. All the experiments for the eight SP-A alleles studied, were performed in triplicate and repeated five times. The results were normalized to the transfection control. Results : Expression of alleles of 6A3, 6A, 1A were significantly decreased in response to Dexa. Conclusion : Three UTR mediated differences exist among human SP-A variants both in the basal expression and in response to Dexa. These genotype-dependent differences may point to a need for a careful consideration of individual use of steroid treatment in the prematurely born infant.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.157-161
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• 2002

A lactic acid bacteria with ${\beta}$-gal activity was isolated from Kimchi, a traditional fermented vegetable food in Korea. The isolate was identified as a Lactococcus lactis strain and named L. lactis A2. The gene encoding ${\beta}$-gal of L. lactis A2 was cloned as a 5.8 kb PstI fragment. DNA sequencing identified the complete lacA (galactoside acetyltransferase)-lacZ (${\beta}$-galactosidase) genes together with the 3' part of upstream galT (galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase), and the 5'region of downstream galE (UDP-galactose-4-epimerase) genes. L. lactis A2 had the same gal/lac operon structure as in L. lactis subsp. lactis 7962. Other genes of the Leloir pathway are most likely to be located in the 5'upstream of the 5.8 kb fragment on the A2 chromosome. Sequences downstream of galE were different from those of L. lactis subsp. lactis 7962.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.156-170
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• 2006

Determining the best visibility positions on terrain surface has been one of the frequently used analytical issues in GIS visibility analysis and the search for a solution has been carried out effectively using spatial search techniques. However, the spatial search process provides operational and methodological challenges for finding computational algorithms suitable for solving the best visibility site problem. For this problem, current GIS visibility analysis has not been successful due to limited algorithmic structure and operational performance. To meet these challenges, this paper suggests four algorithms explored robust search techniques: an extensive iterative search technique; a conventional solution based on the Tornqvist algorithm; genetic algorithm; and simulated annealing technique. The solution performance of these algorithms is compared on a set of visibility location problems and the experiment results demonstrate the useful feasibility. Finally, this paper presents the potential applicability of the new spatial search techniques for GIS visibility analysis by which the new search algorithms are of particular useful for tackling extensive visibility optimization problems as the next GIS analysis tool.

• Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.60-65
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• 2005

The human solute carrier, SLC41Al, is a $Mg^{2}+$ transporter that is regulated by extracellular magnesium. Although intracellular magnesium plays a fundamental role in cellular metabolism, little is known about how $Mg^{2}+$ is taken up and controlled by cells. Magnesium plays a fundamental role in cellular metabolism so that its control within the body is critical. Magnesium homeostasis is principally a balance between intestinal absorption of dietary magnesium and renal excretion of urinary magnesium. The kidney, mainly the distal convoluted tubule, controls magnesium reabsorption. Although renal reabsorption is under the influence of many hormones, selective regulation of magnesium transport is due to intrinsic control involving transcriptional processes and synthesis of transport proteins. Using microarray analysis, identification of the genetic elements involved with this transcriptional control has been begun. SLC41A1(GenBank Accession No. AJ514402), comprises 10 putative transmembrane domains, two of which are highly homologous to the integral membrane part of the prokaryote transports $Mg^{2}+$ and other divalent cations $Sr^2+,\;Zn^2+,\;Cu^2+,\;Fe^2+,\;Co^2+,\;Ba^2+,\;and\;Cd^2+,\;but\;not\;Ca^2+,\;Mn^2+,\;and\;Ni^2+.$ Transport of $Mg^{2}+$ by SLC41Al is rheogenic, voltage dependent, and not coupled to Na or Cl. Expressed SLC41Al transports a range of other divalent cations: $Mg^{2+},\;Sr^{2+},\;Zn^{2+},\;Cu^{2+},\;Fe^{2+},\;Co^{2+},\;Ba^{2+},\;and\;Cd^{2+}$. The divalent cations $Ca^{2+},\;Mn^{2+},\;and\;Ni^{2+}$and the trivalent ion $Gd^{3+}$ did not induce currents nor did they inhibit $Mg^{2+}$ transport. The nonselective cation $La^{3+}$ abolishes $Mg^{2+}$ uptake. Computer analysis of the SLC41Al protein structure reveals that it belongs to MgtE protein family & suggested that the human solute carrier, SLC41Al, might be a eukaryotic $Mg^{2+}$ transporter closely related $(60-70\%)$ protein encoded by SLC41A2 is a $Mg^{2}+$ transporter that might be involved in magnesium homeostasis in epithelial cells also transports a range of other divalent cations: $Ba^2,\;Ni^2,\;CO^2,\;Fe^2,\;or\;Mn^2,\;but\;not\;Ca^2,\;Zn^2,\;or\;Cu^{2+}$ that may have related functional properties.