• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.196-203
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• 2015

AbstractLiving modified organisms (LMO) are one of the most widespread products of modern biotechnology after DNA discovery. Due to the decline of grain self-sufficiency rate and the increase of reliance on LMO imports in Korea, a series of concerns with regard to safety of living modified(LM) crops has been raised. The aim of this study is to establish the detection methods for unintentional release or growing of LMO plants in environmental conditions. To detect LM crop events, general concepts of specific primer design and PCR conditions were provided by the Joint Research Centre (JRC). The certified reference materials of seven LM events (4 soybean, 2 cotton and 1 corn) were obtained from the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) and the American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS). Genomic DNA from seven LM events were purified and PCR amplifications were carried out by using individual event-specific primer sets. LM-specific PCR products of all seven events were efficiently amplified by our methods. The results indicate that the established detection method for LMOs is suitable as a scientific tool to monitor whether the crops found in natural environments are LMOs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.775-778
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• 2006

Sarabi cows (n = 136) from the Sarabi Breeding Station were genotyped at bovine lymphocyte antigen (BoLA)-DRB3.2 locus by a genotyping system that used the polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood samples. A two-step polymerase chain reaction was carried out in order to amplify a 284 base-pair fragment of target gene. Nested-PCR products were digested with three restriction endonuclease enzymes RsaI, BstYI and HaeIII. Digested fragments were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Twenty-six BoLA-DRB3.2 alleles were identified with frequencies ranging from 0.4 to 15.1%. Six new allele types observed in this study have not been reported previously. Identified alleles include: BoLA-DRB3.$2^*1$, $^*2$, $^*4$, $^*6$, $^*8$, $^*12$, $^*13$, $^*14$, $^*15$, $^*16$, $^*17$, $^*23$, $^*24$, $^*25$, $^*28$, $^*32$, $^*34$, $^*35$, $^*36$, $^*37$, $^*42$, $^*46$, $^*51$, $^*kba$, $^*laa$ and $^*vaa$. Their frequencies were found to be 0.4, 0.4, 0.7, 11.4, 1.1, 1.8, 2.9, 2.2, 4.4, 9.6, 1.1, 13.6, 0.4, 0.4, 1.1, 0.7, 0.4, 6.2, 2.2, 3.7, 1.1, 7.7, 1.5, 15.1, 2.6 and 7.3% respectively. The six most frequent alleles (DRB3.2 $^*6$, $^*16$, $^*23$, $^*46$, $^*kba$ and $^*vaa$) accounted for 64.7% of the alleles in the population of this herd. Numerous studies on this locus, covering different breeds, has revealed the existence of various alleles in this locus, and new investigations have introduced novel alleles. With respect to the high number of the observed alleles in this survey and the novelty of some alleles with no previous record of reporting, it is plausible to conclude that the BoLA-DRB3.2 locus is highly polymorphic in Iranian native Sarabi cows.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2018

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to test the association between APOA5 3'-UTR variants (rs662799) and cardiometabolic traits in Koreans. SUBJECTS/METHODS: For this study, epidemiological data, Apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) genotype information, and lymphoblastoid cell line (LCL) biospecimens from a subset of the Ansung-Ansan cohort within the Korean Genome and Epidemiology study (KoGES-ASAS; n = 7,704) as well as epidemiological data along with genomic DNA biospecimens of participants from a subset of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES 2011-12; n = 2,235) were obtained. APOA5 mRNA expression was also measured. RESULTS: APOA5 rs662799 genotype distributions in both the KoGES-ASAS and KNHANES groups were 50.6% for TT, 41.3% for TC, and 8.1% for CC, which are similar to those in previous reports. In both groups, minor C allele carriers, particularly subjects with CC homozygosity, had lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and higher triglyceride levels than TT homozygotes. Linear regression analysis showed that the minor C allele significantly contributed to reduction of circulating HDL cholesterol levels [${\beta}=-2.048$, P < 0.001; ${\beta}=-2.199$, P < 0.001] as well as elevation of circulating triglyceride levels [${\beta}=0.053$, P < 0.001; ${\beta}=0.066$, P < 0.001] in both the KoGES-ASAS and KNHANES groups. In addition, higher expression levels of APOA5 in LCLs of 64 healthy individuals were negatively associated with body mass index (r = -0.277, P = 0.027) and circulating triglyceride level (r = -0.340, P = 0.006) but not significantly correlated with circulating HDL cholesterol level. On the other hand, we observed no significant difference in the mRNA level of APOA5 according to APOA5 rs662799 polymorphisms. CONCLUSIONS: The C allele of APOA5 rs662799 was found to be significantly associated with cardiometabolic traits in a large Korean population from the KoGES-ASAS and KNHANES. The effect of this genotype may be associated with post-transcriptional regulation, which deserves further experimental confirmation.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.100-105
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• 2020

Northern pipevine (Aristolochia contorta) commonly inhabits marginal areas between waterside and terrestrial vegetation. In particular, A. contorta is ecologically important in the marginal areas as a food plant of dragon swallowtail butterfly (Sericinus montela), which is designated as vulnerable species in the Republic of Korea. For long-term sustainability of the plant population, assessment of the genetic diversity of exist populations should be conducted. Genomic DNA of A. contorta leaf samples were extracted from four populations where the vigorous growth were observed in the South Korea. Intra-population genetic diversity and inter-population genetic distance were assessed using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) with five polymorphic random primers. Overall genetic diversity was lower, compared to other wetland species (h: 0.0607 ~ 0.1401; I: 0.0819 ~ 0.1759), while GP showed the highest intra-population genetic diversity. Despite of the geographical distance, GP showed the larger genetic distance from other populations. This result seemed to be caused by the fragmented habitat and lower sexual reproduction of A. controta. Mixture of the different source populations and construction of the proper environmental condition such as shade and physical support for sexual reproduction should be considered for conservation of A. contorta population.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.98-108
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• 2015

Staphylococcus aureus is an important foodborne pathogen that causes diverse diseases ranging from minor infections to life-threatening conditions in humans and animals. To further understand its pathogenesis, the genome of the strain S. aureus FORC_001 was isolated from a contaminated food. Its genome consists of 2,886,017 bp double-stranded DNA with a GC content of 32.8%. It is predicted to contain 2,728 open reading frames, 57 tRNAs, and 6 rRNA operons, including 1 additional 5S rRNA gene. Comparative phylogenetic tree analysis of 40 complete S. aureus genome sequences using average nucleotide identity (ANI) revealed that strain FORC_001 belonged to Group I. The closest phylogenetic match was S. aureus MRSA252, according to a whole-genome ANI (99.87%), suggesting that they might share a common ancestor. Comparative genome analysis of FORC_001 and MRSA252 revealed two non-homologous regions: Regions I and II. The presence of various antibiotic resistance genes, including the SCCmec cluster in Region I of MRSA252, suggests that this strain might have acquired the SCCmec cluster to adapt to specific environments containing methicillin. Region II of both genomes contains prophage regions but their DNA sequence identity is very low, suggesting that the prophages might differ. This is the first report of the complete genome sequence of S. aureus isolated from a real foodborne outbreak in South Korea. This report would be helpful to extend our understanding about the genome, general characteristics, and virulence factors of S. aureus for further studies of pathogenesis, rapid detection, and epidemiological investigation in foodborne outbreak.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.125-132
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• 2010

Rice is the staple food of more than 50% of the worlds population. Cultivated rice has the AA genome (diploid, 2n=24) and small genome size of only 430 megabase (haploid genome). As the sequencing of rice genome was completed by the International Rice Genome Sequencing Project (IRGSP), many researchers in the world have been working to explore the gene function on rice genome. Insertional mutagenesis has been a powerful strategy for assessing gene function. In maize, well characterized transposable elements have traditionally been used to clone genes for which only phenotypic information is available. In rice endogenous mobile elements such as MITE and Tos (Hirochika. 1997) have been used to generate gene-tagged populations. To date T-DNA and maize transposable element systems has been utilized as main insertional mutagens in rice. A main drawback of a T-DNA scheme is that Agrobacteria-mediated transformation in rice requires extensive facilities, time, and labor. In contrast, the Ac/Ds system offers the advantage of generating new mutants by secondary transposition from a single tagged gene. Revertants can be utilized to correlate phenotype with genotype. To enhance the efficiency of gene detection, advanced gene-tagging systems (i.e. activation, gene or enhancer trap) have been employed for functional genomic studies in rice. Internationally, there have been many projects to develop large scales of insertionally mutagenized populations and databases of insertion sites has been established. Ultimate goals of these projects are to supply genetic materials and informations essential for functional analysis of rice genes and for breeding using agronomically important genes. In this report, we summarize the current status of Ac/Ds-mediated gene tagging systems that has been launched by collaborative works from 2001 in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 2017

Methylation of CpG islands in the promoter region of genes acts as a significant mechanism of epigenetic gene silencing in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). DNA methylation markers are particularly advantageous because DNA methylation is an early event in tumorigenesis, and the epigenetic modification, 5-methylcytosine, is a stable mark. In the present study, we assessed the genome-wide preliminary screening and were to identify novel methylation biomarker candidate in HNSCC. Genome-wide methylation analysis was performed on 10 HNSCC tumors using the Methylated DNA Isolation Assay (MeDIA) CpG island microarray. Validation was done using immunohistochemistry using tissue microarray of 135 independent HNSCC tumors. In addition, in vitro proliferation, migration/invasion assays, RT-PCR and immunoblotting were performed to elucidate molecular regulating mechanisms. Our preliminary validation using CpG microarray data set, immunohisto-chemistry for HNSCC tumor tissues and in vitro functional assays revealed that methylation of the Homeobox B5 (HOXB5) and H6 Family Homeobox 2 (HMX2) could be possible novel methylation biomarkers in HNSCC.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.203-211
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• 2008

Rapid detection-method for Shiga toxin type 1 that was produced from Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) was developed by two-step ultra-rapid real-time (URRT) PCR. The specific primers were deduced from 80 bp stable region of stx type 1 (stxl) gene among various informations of STEC strains. URRT PCR is a microchip-based real-time PCR using 6 ${\mu}l$ of reaction volume with extremely short denaturation step and annealing/extension step (1 sec, 3 sec, respectively) in each cycle of PCR. Using the stx1-specific URRT PCR, 35 cycled PCR were finished in time of 6 min and 38 see, also measured 7 min and 28 see including melting temperature (Tm) analysis. The detection-limit of stxl-specific URRT-PCR was estimated until 3 colony forming units / PCR with products with stable Tm at $81.42{\pm}0.34^{\circ}C$. In the applications to various STEC strains and contaminated genomic DNAs, stx1-specific URRT-PCR were tested and shown that it would be expected an useful method for the rapid detection of stx1-coded STEC strains.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.25 no.3 s.82
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• pp.202-208
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• 1997

In this study, we evaluated the use of RAPD method to discriminate among strains of Fusarium species including F. oxysporum and f. sp. of F. oxysporum. As a result of the amplication, fifteen primers showed total 180 bands ranging from 0.2 to 3 Kb. Among those 180 bands, 126 polymorphic bands were used for bionominal matrix code (0, 1), and UPGMA dendrogram analysis. Fusarium oxysporum isolate 355 showed high similarity with F. oxysporum isolate 358 at 0.9603. Fusarium roseum isolate 87 and F. oxysporum isolate 358, F. o. f. sp. lycopersici isolate 69 and F. o. f. sp. melongena 68 showed low similarity of 0.3809. Fusarium oxysporum isolate 361 and F. o. f. sp. raphani isolate 218 showed similarity of 0.8730, F. oxysoprum isolate 354 and unidentified Fusarium sp. isolate 228 showed similarity matrix of 0.7936, and F. roseum isolate 87 and F. o. f. sp. raphani isolate 57 showed similarity matrix of 0.5873.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.84-89
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• 2005

Phosphomannomutase (PMM) is a key enzyme in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, which catalyzes the conversion of ${\alpha}$-D-mannose 6-phosphate to ${\alpha}$-D-mannose 1-phosphate. The latter is the substrate for the synthesis of GDP-mannose, which serves as the mannosyl donor for many metabolic pathways in the cells. We report here on the isolation of a gene from a genomic library of Sphingomonas chungbukensis DJ77, the pmmC gene encoding phosphomannomutase. The gene was cloned into E. coli expression vector, and the sequence was analyzed. The ribosomal binding site GGAAG lays 5 bp upstream of the ORF of 750 bp, which is initiated by ATG codon and terminated by TAG. The predicted sequence of the enzyme consists of 249 amino acids with a molecular mass of 27.4 kDa and showed $86.9\%$ similarity to that of eukaryotic phosphomannomutase after bioinformatical analyses with the conserved domain search of NCBI. The purified gene product revealed the activity of phosphomannomutase. In conclusion, we confirmed that pmmC gene encodes phosphomannomutase actually.