• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1539-1546
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• 2016

Specific patterns of the hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndrome are related to mutations in the BRCA1 gene. One hundred unrelated breast cancer patients were interviewed to obtain clinical symptoms and signs, pedigree and familial history of HBOC syndrome related cancer. Subsequently, data were calculated using the Breast and Ovarian Analysis of Disease Incidence and Carrier Estimation Algorithm (BOADICEA) risk prediction model. Patients with high score of BOADICEA were offered genetic testing. Eleven patients with high score of BOADICEA, 2 patients with low score of BOADICEA, 2 patient's family members and 15 controls underwent BRCA1 genetic testing. Mutation screening using PCR-HRM was carried out in 22 exons (41 amplicons) of BRCA1 gene. Sanger sequencing was subjected in all samples with aberrant graph. This study identified 10 variants in the BRCA1 gene, consisting of 6 missense mutations (c.1480C>A, c.2612C>T, c.2566T>C, c.3113A>G, c.3548 A>G, c.4837 A>G), 3 synonymous mutations (c.2082 C>T, c.2311 T>C and c.4308T>C) and one intronic mutation (c.134+35 G>T). All variants tend to be polymorphisms and unclassified variants. However, no known pathogenic mutations were found.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.219-223
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• 2016

Background: Promoter hypermethylation is a frequent epigenetic mechanism for gene transcription repression in cancer and is one of the hallmarks of the disease. Cadherin EGF LAG seven-pass G-type receptor 3 (CELSR3) contributes to cell contact-mediated communication. Dysregulation of promoter methylation has been reported in various cancers. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to investigate the CELSR3 hypermethylation level in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) using methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting analysis (MS-HRM) and to correlate CELSR3 methylation with patient demographic and clinicopathological parameters. Materials and Methods: Frozen tissue samples of healthy subjects' normal mucosa and OSCCs were examined with regard to their methylation levels of the CELSR3 gene using MS-HRM. Results: MS-HRM analysis revealed a high methylation level of CELSR3 in 86% of OSCC cases. Significant correlations were found between CELSR3 quantitative methylation levels with patient ethnicity (P=0.005), age (P=0.024) and pathological stages (P=0.004). A moderate positive correlation between CELSR3 and patient age was also evident (R=0.444, P=0.001). Conclusions: CELSR3 promoter hypermethylation may be an important mechanism involved in oral carcinogenesis. It may thus be used as a biomarker in OSCC prognostication.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.385-400
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• 2018

Marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC) is useful for selecting offspring with a highly recovered genetic background for a recurrent parent at early generation unlike rice and other field crops. Molecular marker sets applicable to practical MABC are scarce in vegetable crops including tomatoes. In this study, we used the National Center for Biotechnology Information- short read archive (NCBI-SRA) database that provided the whole genome sequences of 234 tomato accessions and selected 27,680 tag-single nucleotide polymorphisms (tag-SNPs) that can identify haplotypes in the tomato genome. From this SNP dataset, a total of 143 tag-SNPs that have a high polymorphism information content (PIC) value (> 0.3) and are physically evenly distributed on each chromosome were selected as a MABC marker set. This marker set was tested for its polymorphism in each pairwise cross combination constructed with 124 of the 234 tomato accessions, and a relatively high number of SNP markers polymorphic for the cross combination was observed. The reliability of the MABC SNP set was assessed by converting 18 SNPs into Luna probe-based high-resolution melting (HRM) markers and genotyping nine tomato accessions. The results show that the SNP information and HRM marker genotype matched in 98.6% of the experiment data points, indicating that our sequence analysis pipeline for SNP mining worked successfully. The tag-SNP set for the MABC developed in this study can be useful for not only a practical backcrossing program but also for cultivar identification and F1 seed purity test in tomatoes.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.693-705
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• 2020

Grapes (Vitis spp. L.) are the third most produced fruit in the world. Crown gall disease caused by Agrobacterium vitis forms galls in the stems of the grapevines and reduces the vitality of the fruit trees, resulting in reduced yields. This pathogen has occurred in vineyards worldwide and caused serious economic losses. It is a soil-borne disease, so Agrobacterium vitis can survive for several years in vineyards and is difficult to control. Additionally, since there is no effective chemical control method, the most effective control method is the breeding of resistant varieties. To make the resistant variety, marker-assisted selection (MAS) enables fast breeding with low cost. In this study, we applied a genome-wide association study (GWAS), by combining phenotyping and genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), for the development of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker set related to crown gall disease using 350 grapevine varieties. As a result of the GBS based genotyping analysis, about 58,635 SNPs were obtained. In addition, the phenotypic analysis showed 35.2% resistance, 73% moderate susceptibility and 16.4% highly susceptibility. Moreover, after confirmation, two genes (VvARF4 and VvATL6-like) were shown to be related to crown gall disease based on the results of GWAS analysis, using the phenotypic data, and GBS. High-resolution melting analysis (HRMA) was performed using the Luna^® Universal Probe with real-time PCR to distinguish the melting peaks of the resistant and susceptible varieties. Our data show that these SNP markers are expected to be helpful in evaluating resistance against grapevine crown gall disease and in breeding.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.547-553
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• 2016

Black carbon (BC) contained in particulate matter (PM) originating from the exhaust gases of ships' diesel engines has been receiving great attention as a cause of glacial melting and warming in the polar regions. In this study, we took samples from various locations of PM emitted from the training ship (T/S) HANBADA's main engine, in cooperation with the Korea Maritime and Ocean University. We analyzed the structure and characteristics of these samples using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and applied our findings as fundamental research for developing PM reduction technology. We also employed our results to determine appropriate preemptive action to meet upcoming PM/BC regulations. In addition, we confirmed the emission trend of pollutants from exhaust gases under various engine operating conditions using an exhaust gas analyzer. Results obtained from the analysis of HR-TEM images showed that the structure of the PM is chain-like wispy agglomerates consisting of a number of individual spherical particles. As the sampling location was moved away from the turbo charger (T/C) towards the funnel, more condensates were observed at a low temperature and the molecular structure of the PM lost its characteristic BC structure as an amorphous structure gradually appeared. Furthermore, through the analysis of exhaust gases, we predicted a decrease in PM concentration in the exhaust stream as engine rpm increase.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1801-1808
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• 2019

Objective: As an iconic symbol of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and of high altitude, yak are subjected to hypoxic conditions that challenge aerobic metabolism. Matrix metalloproteinases-3 (MMP3) is assumed to be a key target gene of hypoxia-inducible factor-$1{\alpha}$ that function as a master regulator of the cellular response to hypoxia. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to identify the DNA polymorphism of MMP3 gene in domestic yak and to explore its possible association with high-altitude adaptation. Methods: The single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyping and mutations scanning at the MMP3 locus were conducted in total of 344 individuals from four domestic Chinese yak breeds resident at different altitudes on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, using high-resolution melting analysis and DNA sequencing techniques. Results: The novel of SNPs rs2381 $A{\rightarrow}G$ and rs4331 $C{\rightarrow}G$ were identified in intron V and intron VII of MMP3, respectively. Frequencies of the GG genotype and the G allele of SNP rs2381 $A{\rightarrow}G$ observed in high-altitude Pali yak were significantly higher than that of the other yak breeds resident at middle or low altitude (p<0.01). No significant difference was mapped for SNP rs4331 $C{\rightarrow}G$ in the yak population (p>0.05). Haplotype GC was the dominant among the 4 yak breeds, and Pearson correlation analysis showed that the frequencies of GC was significantly lower in Ganan (GN), Datong (DT), and Tianzhu white yaks (TZ) compared with Pali (PL) yak. The two SNPs were in moderate linkage disequilibrium in high-altitude yaks (PL) but not in middle-altitude (GN, DT) and low-altitude (TZ) yaks. Conclusion: These results indicate that MMP3 may have been subjected to positive selection in yak, especially that the SNP rs2381 $A{\rightarrow}G$ mutation and GC haplotypes might contribute to adaptation for yak in high-altitude environments.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.102-109
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• 2018

Thistle is a perennial plant that is widely used for medicinal purposes. Information on the genetic diversity of thistle populations are great important for their conservation and germ plasmic utilization. Although thistle is an important medicinal plant species registered in South Korea, no molecular markers are currently available to distinguish them from other similar species from different countries. In this study, we developed single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers derived from the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of genomic sequences to identify distinct Korean-specific thistle species via an amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS)-PCR and high resolution melting (HRM) curve analyses. We performed molecular authentication of four different kinds of thistle species from different regions using DNA sequences in the ITS intergenic region. We also developed a quantitative PCR assay using species-specific ITS primers, which allowed us to estimate the ratio of Korean-specific thistle species using varying ratios of mixed genomic DNA templates from the two species. The SNP markers developed in this study are useful for rapidly identifying specific thistle species from different countries.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.730-736
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• 2015

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) causes one of the most destructive viral diseases that threatens global tomato production. Sw-5b was reported as the resistance gene effective against TSWV. The objective of this research was to develop a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker to distinguish tomato cultivars resistant to TSWV from susceptible cultivars for marker-assisted breeding. First, we determined genotypes for TSWV resistance in 32 commercial tomato cultivars using the previously reported Sw-5b gene-based marker. Then, DNA sequences of Sw-5b alleles in tomato cultivars showing resistant or susceptible genotypes were analyzed; a single SNP was found to distinguish tomato cultivars resistant to TSWV from susceptible cultivars. Based on the confirmed SNP, a SNP primer pair was designed. Using this new SNP sequence and high-resolution melting analysis, the same 32 tomato cultivars were screened. The results were perfectly correlated with those from screening with the Sw-5b gene-based marker. These results indicate that the SNP maker developed in this study will be useful for better tracking of resistance to TSWV in tomato breeding.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.28-39
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• 2017

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can affect epigenetic mechanisms and obesity development. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)-widely used to make flames-are one of the important POPs. Prenatal exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as POPs, may affect global DNA methylation in long interspersed nuclear elements (LINE-1), increasing the risk of obesity later in life. Therefore, pregnant Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were used to elucidate whether BDE-47 and BDE-209 transferred through placenta and breast milk cause epigenetic changes in LINE-1 and increase genetic susceptibility to obesity as obesogen during the developmental periods. Global DNA methylation in LINE-1 and gene expression related to obesity were measured in dams and offspring, using a methylation-sensitive high resolution melting analysis (MS-HRM) and direct bisulfite sequencing and quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), respectively. The results of MS-HRM showed global DNA hypomethylation patterns in LINE-1 of exposed offspring (2 of total 4) at PND 4, but bisulfite sequencing showed no difference in both the exposed and non-exposed groups. Gene expression in dams related to ${\beta}$-oxidation pathway and those related to adipokines showed different patterns between the two groups. On the contrary, gene expressions of offspring showed a similar pattern. Gene expressions related to ${\beta}$-oxidation pathway and obesity were significantly increased when compared with 'at birth', but not $PPAR-{\alpha}$. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the possibility that co-exposure to BDE-47 and BDE-209-via the placenta and breast milk-may affect epigenetic changes and modulate gene expression levels related to obesity.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9327-9333
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• 2014

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer deaths in women. Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway mutations are associated with cancer and phosphatidylinositol-4, 5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA) gene mutations have been observed in 25-45% of breast cancer samples. Insulin growth factor binding protein-5 (IGFBP-5) can show different effects on apoptosis, cell motility and survival in breast cancer. We here aimed to determine the association between PIK3CA gene mutations and IGFBP-5 expressions for the first time in breast cancer patients. Frozen tumor samples from 101 Turkish breast cancer patients were analyzed with high resolution melting (HRM) for PIK3CA mutations (exon 9 and exon 20) and 37 HRM positive tumor samples were analyzed by DNA sequencing, mutations being found in 31. PIK3CA exon 9 mutations (Q546R, E542Q, E545K, E542K and E545D) were found in 10 tumor samples, exon 20 mutations (H1047L, H1047R, T1025T and G1049R) in 21, where only 1 tumor sample had two exon 20 mutations (T1025T and H1047R). Moreover, we detected one sample with both exon 9 (E542Q) and exon 20 (H1047R) mutations. 35% of the tumor samples with high IGFBP-5 mRNA expression and 29.4% of the tumor samples with low IGFBP-5 mRNA expression had PIK3CA mutations (p=0.9924). This is the first study of PIK3CA mutation screening results in Turkish breast cancer population using HRM analysis. This approach appears to be a very effective and reliable screening method for the PIK3CA exon 9 and 20 mutation detection. Further analysis with a greater number of samples is needed to clarify association between PIK3CA gene mutations and IGFBP-5 mRNA expression, and also clinical outcome in breast cancer patients.