• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.33-63
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• 2016

This paper compares and contrasts the concept of nature and the theory of evolution held by leading synthetic biologists and transhumanists in the post-genomic era. Synthetic biology, which emerged in the early 2000s, aims to design biological systems that perform specific functions with the two key concepts of "rational design" and "directed evolution". However, synthetic biology has also raised serious concerns about the creation of man-made biological materials and the manipulation of the direction and speed of evolution. It is no wonder that transhumanists, who dream of creating new, enhanced human species, have welcomed the arrival of synthetic biology. How, then, can we deal with the nature reinvented by synthetic biology? By what means can one justify research that may affect the process of evolution? What intellectual resources do synthetic biology and transhumanism share in common? What influence would the new trend of commercialization of science and technology exert upon the development of synthetic biology? Addressing those questions, this paper argues that the moral authority of nature can be restored in this post-genomic era.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.367-374
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• 2016

Since the RNA world hypothesis was proposed, a large number of regulatory noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been identified in many species, ranging from microorganisms to mammals. During the characterization of these newly discovered RNAs, RNAs having both coding and noncoding functions were discovered, and these were considered bifunctional RNAs. The recent use of computational and high-throughput experimental approaches has revealed increasing evidence of various sources of bifunctional RNAs, such as protein-coding mRNAs with a noncoding isoform and long ncRNAs bearing a small open reading frame. Therefore, the genomic diversity of Janusfaced RNA molecules that have dual characteristics of coding and noncoding indicates that the functional roles of RNAs have to be revisited in cells on a genome-wide scale. Such studies would allow us to further understand the complex gene-regulatory network in cells. In this review, we discuss three major genomic sources of bifunctional RNAs and present a handful of examples of bifunctional RNA along with their functional roles.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Sericultural Science Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.136-137
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• 2003

Fireflies, the luminescent insect, have species specific flash patterns, being recognized as sexual communication. The lucifrrase gene is sole enzyme responsible for bioluminescence. The firefly luciferase gene is widely used as a genetic marker or as a reporter gene in a variety of organism including bacteria, plants and animals. In this study, we illustrate the complete organization of the genomic structure of the luciferase gene from L. lateralis sampled in Boun and Muju, Korea. (omitted)

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.420-422
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• 2005

TMC (Tautomycetin) is a liner polyketide immunosuppressive antifungal compound produced by Streptomyces spp. Inhibition of T cell proliferation with TMC was observed highly efficient at 100-fold lower than those needed to achieve maximal inhibition with cyclosporin A. To elucidate the biosynthetic pathway of TMC, a genomic DNA library was constructed using a E. coil-Streptomyces shuttle cosmid vector, pOJ446. The DNA libraries were screened by colony blot hybridization using several polyketide ${\beta}-ketosynthase$ (KS) probes amplified from TMC-producing Streptomyces genomic DNA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), of which the degenerate primers were designed based on the highly conserved sequences present in KS domains of various type I polyketide synthase genes in Streptomyces species. This library construction and screening approach led to the isolation of several positive cosmid clones representing type I polyketide biosynthetic gene clusters. In addition, a Streptomyces regulatory gene called afsR2 (a global regulatory gene stimulating antibiotic production in both S. coelicolor and S. lividans) was successfully integrated into the TMC-producing Streptomyces chromosome via E. coil-Streptomyces heterologous conjugation mehtod. The more detailed results of production improvement and genetic characterization of TMC-producing Streptomyces spp. will be discussed.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.45-50
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• 2003

The diversity and change of microbial communities during kimchi fermentation at $4^{\circ}C$ were analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Kimchi samples were taken every 5 days over the fermentation periods (for 60 days) to extract total DNA for DGGE analysis. Touchdown polymerase chain reaction was performed to amplify the V3 region of 16S rRNA gene. Sequencing results of partial 16S rDNA amplicons from DGGE profiles revealed that lactic acid bacteria (LAB), especially Weissella koreensis, Lactobacillus sakei and Leuconostoc gelidum were dominants in kimchi fermentation at $4^{\circ}C$. And we knew that W. koreensis steadily existed throughout the whole fermentation period, also Lb. sakei and Leuc. gelidum appeared from 10th day and 30th day of fermentation time, respectively and then these species were to be dominant microorganisms.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1928-1935
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• 2015

Microbial growth kinetics is often used to optimize environmental processes owing to its relation to the breakdown of substrate (contaminants). However, the quantification of bacterial populations in the environment is difficult owing to the challenges of monitoring a specific bacterial population within a diverse microbial community. Conventional methods are unable to detect and quantify the growth of individual strains separately in the mixed culture reactor. This work describes a novel quantitative PCR (qPCR)-based genomic approach to quantify each species in mixed culture and interpret its growth kinetics in the mixed system. Batch experiments were performed for both single and dual cultures of Pseudomonas putida and Escherichia coli K12 to obtain Monod kinetic parameters (μ_max and K_s). The growth curves and kinetics obtained by conventional methods (i.e., dry weight measurement and absorbance reading) were compared with that obtained by qPCR assay. We anticipate that the adoption of this qPCR-based genomic assay can contribute significantly to traditional microbial kinetics, modeling practice, and the operation of bioreactors, where handling of complex mixed cultures is required.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.635-643
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• 2019

To detect Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni, a loopmediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) detection method were developed. The LAMP assay was designed to test crude plant tissue without pre-extraction, or heating incubation, and without advanced analysis equipment. The LAMP primers were designed by targeting an ABC transporter ATP-binding protein, this primer set was tested using the genomic DNA of Xanthomonas and non-Xanthomonas strains, and a ladder product was generated from the genomic DNA of X. arboricola pv. pruni strain but not from 12 other Xanthomonas species strains and 6 strains of other genera. The LAMP conditions were checked with the healthy leaves of 31 peach varieties, and no reaction was detected using either the peach leaves or the peach DNA as a template. Furthermore, the high diagnostic accuracy of the LAMP method was confirmed with 13 X. arboricola pv. pruni strains isolated from various regions in Korea, with all samples exhibiting a positive reaction in LAMP assays. In particular, the LAMP method successfully detected the pathogen in diseased peach leaves and fruit in the field, and the LAMP conditions were proven to be a reliable diagnostic method for the specific detection and identification of X. arboricola pv. pruni in peach orchards.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.250-255
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• 2018

Pine wilt disease, caused by the nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is one of the most devastating conifer diseases decimating several species of pine trees on a global scale. Here, we report the draft genome of Raoultella ornithinolytica MG, which is isolated from mountain-cultivated ginseng plant as an bacterial endophyte and shows nematicidal activity against B. xylophilus. Our analysis of R. ornithinolytica MG genome showed that it possesses many genes encoding potential nematicidal factors in addition to some secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters that may contribute to the observed nematicidal activity of the strain. Furthermore, the genome was lacking key components of avermectin gene cluster, suggesting that nematicidal activity of the bacterium is not likely due to the famous anthelmintic agent of wide-spread use, avermectin. This genomic information of R. ornithinolytica will provide basis for identification and engineering of genes and their products toward control of pine wilt disease.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.205-210
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• 2015

Prevotella intermedia-specific quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) primers were previously designed based on the nucleotide sequences of RNA polymerase ${\beta}$-subunit gene (rpoB). However, the several clinical strains isolated from Korean populations are not detectable by the qPCR primers. The purpose of this study was to develop new P. intermedia-specific qPCR primers based on the rpoB. The specificity of the primers was determined by conventional PCR with 12 strains of P. intermedia and 52 strains (52 species) of non-P. intermedia bacteria. The sensitivity of primers was determined by qPCR with serial dilutions of the purified genomic DNAs (40 ng to 4 fg) of P. intermedia ATCC $25611^T$. The data indicated that only P. intermedia strains were detected by the P intermedia-specific qPCR primers (RTPiF2/RTPiR2); in addition, as little as 40 fg of P. intermedia genomic DNA could be detected. These results suggest that these qPCR primers are useful in detecting P. intermedia from the bacterial infectious lesions including dental plaque and oral tissue lesions.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.303-309
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• 2013

Microsatellite markers are important for gene mapping and for marker-assisted selection. Sixty-five polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed with an enriched partial genomic library from olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus an important commercial fish species in Korea. The variability of these markers was tested in 30 individuals collected from the East Sea (Korea). The number of alleles for each locus ranged from 2 to 33 (mean, 17.1). Observed and expected heterozygosity as well as polymorphism information content varied from 0.313 to 1.000 (mean, 0.788), from 0.323 to 0.977 (mean, 0.820), and from 0.277 to 0.960 (mean, 0.787), respectively. Nine loci showed significant deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium after sequential Bonferroni correction. Analysis with MICROCHECKER suggested the presence of null alleles at five of these loci with estimated null allele frequencies of 0.126-0.285. These new microsatellite markers from genomic libraries will be useful for constructing a P. olivaceus linkage map.