• Title/Summary/Keyword: Korea Polar Research Institute

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Analysis of Expressed Sequence Tags from the Antarctic Psychrophilic Green Algae, Pyramimonas gelidicola

  • Jung, Woongsic;Lee, Sung Gu;Kang, Se Won;Lee, Yong Seok;Lee, Jun Hyuck;Kang, Sung-Ho;Jin, Eon Seon;Kim, Hak Jun
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.22 no.7
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    • pp.902-906
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    • 2012
  • Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from the Antarctic green algae Pyramimonas gelidicola were analyzed to obtain molecular information on cold acclimation of psychrophilic microorganisms. A total of 2,112 EST clones were sequenced, generating 222 contigs and 219 singletons, and 200 contigs and 391 singletons from control ($4^{\circ}C$) and cold-shock conditions ($-2^{\circ}C$), respectively. The complete EST sequences were deposited to the DDBJ EST database (http://www.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/index-e.html) and the nucleotide sequences reported in this study are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank. These EST databases of Antarctic green algae can be used in a wide range of studies on psychrophilic genes expressed by polar microorganisms.

Observations of the Aurora by Visible All-Sky Camera at Jang Bogo Station, Antarctica

  • Jee, Geonhwa;Ham, Young-Bae;Choi, Yoonseung;Kim, Eunsol;Lee, Changsup;Kwon, Hyuckjin;Trondsen, Trond S.;Kim, Ji Eun;Kim, Jeong-Han
    • Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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    • v.38 no.4
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    • pp.203-215
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    • 2021
  • The auroral observation has been started at Jang Bogo Station (JBS), Antarctica by using a visible All-sky camera (v-ASC) in 2018 to routinely monitor the aurora in association with the simultaneous observations of the ionosphere, thermosphere and magnetosphere at the station. In this article, the auroral observations are introduced with the analysis procedure to recognize the aurora from the v-ASC image data and to compute the auroral occurrences and the initial results on their spatial and temporal distributions are presented. The auroral occurrences are mostly confined to the northern horizon in the evening sector and extend to the zenith from the northwest to cover almost the entire sky disk over JBS at around 08 MLT (magnetic local time; 03 LT) and then retract to the northeast in the morning sector. At near the magnetic local noon, the occurrences are horizontally distributed in the northern sky disk, which shows the auroral occurrences in the cusp region. The results of the auroral occurrences indicate that JBS is located most of the time in the polar cap near the poleward boundary of the auroral oval in the nightside and approaches closer to the oval in the morning sector. At around 08 MLT (03 LT), JBS is located within the auroral oval and then moves away from it, finally being located in the cusp region at the magnetic local noon, which indicates that the location of JBS turns out to be ideal to investigate the variabilities of the poleward boundary of the auroral oval from long-term observations of the auroral occurrences. The future plan for the ground auroral observations near JBS is presented.

Morphology and Molecular Data for Antarctic Cryophilic Microalga, Porosira pseudodenticulata (남극 호냉성 미세조 Porosira pseudodenticulata의 형태와 분자적 자료)

  • Jung, Woong-Sic;Joo, Hyoung-Min;Hong, Sung-Soo;Kang, Jae-Shin;Choi, Han-Gu;Kang, Sung-Ho
    • ALGAE
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    • v.21 no.2
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    • pp.169-174
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    • 2006
  • We have cultured more than 100 Arctic and Antarctic cryophilic microalgal strains in KOPRI culture collections of polar microorganisms (KCCPM). Among them, we tried to identify an Antarctic strain, KOPRI AnM0008 by morphological and molecular analysis. Nuclear SSU rDNA and plastid rbcL sequences were used to identify the strain. It was identified as Porosira pseudodenticulata based on SSU sequence data showing 99% identity with GenBank X85398. This result was supported by morphological features like solitary labiate process, external foramina and internal cribra by optical and scanning electron microscope. Morphological identification and molecular analysis on polar cryophilic microalgae will be accomplished to construct the databases for KCCPM.

Blood transcriptome resources of chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarcticus) and gentoo (Pygoscelis papua) penguins from the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

  • Kim, Bo-Mi;Jeong, Jihye;Jo, Euna;Ahn, Do-Hwan;Kim, Jeong-Hoon;Rhee, Jae-Sung;Park, Hyun
    • Genomics & Informatics
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    • v.17 no.1
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    • pp.5.1-5.9
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    • 2019
  • The chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarcticus) and gentoo (P. papua) penguins are distributed throughout Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands. In this study, high-quality de novo assemblies of blood transcriptomes from these penguins were generated using the Illumina MiSeq platform. A total of 22.2 and 21.8 raw reads were obtained from chinstrap and gentoo penguins, respectively. These reads were assembled using the Oases assembly platform and resulted in 26,036 and 21,854 contigs with N50 values of 929 and 933 base pairs, respectively. Functional gene annotations through pathway analyses of the Gene Ontology, EuKaryotic Orthologous Groups, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases were performed for each blood transcriptome, resulting in a similar compositional order between the two transcriptomes. Ortholog comparisons with previously published transcriptomes from the $Ad{\acute{e}}lie$ (P. adeliae) and emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri) penguins revealed that a high proportion of the four penguins' transcriptomes had significant sequence homology. Because blood and tissues of penguins have been used to monitor pollution in Antarctica, immune parameters in blood could be important indicators for understanding the health status of penguins and other Antarctic animals. In the blood transcriptomes, KEGG analyses detected many essential genes involved in the major innate immunity pathways, which are key metabolic pathways for maintaining homeostasis against exogenous infections or toxins. Blood transcriptome studies such as this may be useful for checking the immune and health status of penguins without sacrifice.

Inter-laboratory Comparison of Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopic Composition Data Using Elemental Analyzer-isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometers

  • Kim, Jung-Hyun;Kang, Sujin;Bong, Yeon-Sik;Park, Kwangkyu;Kang, Tae-Woo;Park, Yong-Se;Kim, Dahae;Choi, Seunghyun;Joo, Young Ji;Choi, Bohyung;Nam, Seung-Il;Lee, Sang-Mo;Shin, Kyung-Hoon
    • Journal of Environmental Analysis, Health and Toxicology
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    • v.21 no.4
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    • pp.229-236
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    • 2018
  • In this study, inter-laboratory comparison was done using elemental analyzer-isotope ratio mass spectrometers (EA-IRMSs) to determine carbon and nitrogen contents as well as stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions (${\delta}^{13}C$ and ${\delta}^{15}N$) of five environmental samples containing lake and marine sediments, higher plant leaves, and fish muscle, and one organic analytical standard (Protein (Casein) Standard OAS). Five national laboratories participated in this comparison study, and each laboratory analyzed all five samples and the analytical standard. Results showed that variations in total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents as well as ${\delta}^{13}C_{TOC}$ and ${\delta}^{15}N_{TN}$ values among the laboratories were large compared to the analytical uncertainties. The results highlighted the inhomogeneity of the test samples and thus, the need to select suitable standard reference materials for future inter-laboratory studies. Further inter-laboratory comparison exercises could promote good measurement practices in the acquisition of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition data.

A Modified Cryopreservation Method of Psychrophilic Chlorophyta Pyramimonas sp. from Antarctica

  • Hong, Sung-Soo;Lee, Soo-Young;Kim, Young-Nam;Kang, Sung-Ho;Kim, Hak-Jun
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.33 no.3
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    • pp.303-308
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    • 2011
  • Polar psychrophiles which thrive under extreme conditions such as cold temperature, high salinity, and high dose ultraviolet light, emerge as novel targets for biotechnology. To prevent genetic drift and the possibility of contamination by subculturing, cryopreservation was employed for two psychrophilic microalgae, Porosira sp. (KOPRI AnM0008) and Pyramimonas sp. (KOPRI AnM0046), which have anti-freeze activities. Five cryoprotectants (dimethyl sulphoxide, ethylene glycol, glycerol, methanol and propylene glycol) showed toxicity at 20-30% (v/v). The optimal cryoprotectant concentration and equilibration time were less than 20% and 10 min, respectively. Cryopreservation was carried out in the presence of cryoprotectants either by direct freezing in liquid nitrogen ($LN_2$) or controlled freezing using a controlled rate freezer followed by storage in the $LN_2$ tank. As a result, Pyramimonas sp. (KOPRI AnM0046), a psychrophilic chlorophyta was revived. Cryopreserved Porosira sp. was not revived from either freezing protocols probably due to the silicic cell wall and its relatively large cell size. In the case of Pyramimonas sp. (KOPRI AnM0046), the controlled freezing method showed higher revival yield than the direct freezing method.