• 천문학회보
• /
• 제46권1호
• /
• pp.56.2-56.2
• /
• 2021

Constraining the structure and thus the fate of giant molecular clouds (GMCs), the primary sites of star formation in galaxies, is crucial to understand the evolution of galaxies themselves. Exploiting the unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution of the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA), we have measured the spatially-resolved (~ 20 pc resolution) properties of the GMCs in two nearby late-type galaxies, NGC 5806 (SAB(s)b) and NGC 6753 ((R)SA(r)b), as part of the WISDOM project. Although these results are preliminary, we identified ~ 200 resolved GMCs in NGC 5806 within a radius of 500 pc, most within a nuclear ring structure, and ~ 400 resolved GMCs in NGC 6753 within a radius of 2 kpc, most within a flocculent spiral structure. The GMCs of NGC 5806 have similar sizes but slightly higher linewidths than clouds in the Milky Way disc. Because the GMCs also have higher surface densities, the calculated cloud Virial parameters are nevertheless about unity, suggesting that the GMCs of NGC 5806 are in gravitational equilibrium and thus long lived. This is contrary to other WISDOM results on earlier-type galaxies, where large cloud linewidths are likely due to shear associated with the local (circular) orbital motions (rather than the clouds' self-gravity), and the clouds are either marginally or not gravitationally bound. These results support the notion that spheroids alter the dynamical states of clouds (morphological quenching), that are otherwise (i.e. in galaxy discs) fairly homogenous and similar to those of the Milky Way.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
• /
• 제39권3호
• /
• pp.99-113
• /
• 2023

The nudibranch is one of the most colorful gastropod species found in oceans worldwide. Unlike many other gastropod groups, the nudibranch loses an external shell in the adult stage, but instead develops various chemical defense systems. More than 2,500 nudibranch species have been reported worldwide, and 73 species are currently recorded in Korean waters. In this study, we present morphological descriptions, DNA barcode information of mtDNA cox1 sequence, and taxonomic review for five nudibranch species: Apata pricei (MacFarland, 1966), Doto rosacea Baba, 1949, Janolus toyamensis Baba and Abe, 1970, Polycera abei (Baba, 1960), and Trinchesia sibogae (Bergh, 1905). Of these, we also provide in-depth discussion of taxonomic issue of A. pricei that was previously subdivided into two subspecies, A. pricei pricei and A. pricei komandorica. Our morphological examination and molecular analyses of the mtDNA cox1 sequences indicate that these two subspecies are not taxonomically warranted. The phylogenetic information for the other nudibranch species from mtDNA cox1 sequence analysis is also included, providing a molecular basis for species identification and inferring their local phylogenies within each of the species groups discussed herein.

• 한국균학회지
• /
• 제27권1호통권88호
• /
• pp.27-31
• /
• 1999

먹물버섯속(Coprinus spp.)의 분자 생물학적 분류 가능성을 모색하기 위해 rDNA의 cluster중 ITS II영역을 PCR 증폭하여 염기서열을 밝혔다. 이들의 ITS II 영역은 $253{\sim}275$ 염기쌍으로 이루어져 있었으며 균주간 ITS II염기서열의 유사도는 $50.3{\sim}100%$로 나타났다. 이들의 염기서열을 이용해 분류도를 작성한 결과, Singer의 형태적 분류체계와 거의 유사한 결과를 보였으나 이들 그룹의 기준종(type species)인 C. comatus는 기타 종들과의 유사도에서 50% 수준의 저조한 상동성을 보여 주었다. 이와 같은 결과로 볼 때 이 종은 기존의 다수 학자들이 보고한 단일 계통진화를 해온 속이란 점에서는 다소 의문점을 남기었고, ITS II 영역은 종내 변이는 없는 것으로 보여지며 종내의 균주간의 변이가 밝혀진 그룹에 대해서는 종에 대한 재검토가 필요하다고 본다.

• 환경생물
• /
• 제40권4호
• /
• pp.464-476
• /
• 2022

가속화되는 기후변화로 인해 전 세계 각지의 연안에서 해조류 대발생(macroalgal bloom)이 빈번하게 일어나고 있다. 특히, 녹조류의 대량 증식으로 인한 녹조(파래) 대발생(green tide) 현상은 지역 경제뿐만 아니라 연안 생태계 환경에도 막대한 피해를 주고 있다. 우리나라의 경우 2000년대부터 제주도 동북부 해안을 중심으로 파래대발생이 연중 지속적으로 관찰되며, 최근에는 남해와 동해 일대에서도 국지적으로 관찰되고 있다. 파래대발생의 원인 종은 갈파래속(Chlorophyta; genus Ulva)으로 알려져 있으며, 기후변화의 영향으로 해수 온도의 상승과 담지하수 및 인근지역 오염수 배출로 인한 질소와 인의 대량 유입으로 인한 영양염류 증가가 주요 원인으로 추정되고 있다. 갈파래속은 환경변화에 의해 형태적 발현의 가소성이 높은 표현형 적응성(phenotypic plasticity) 때문에 형태적 종 동정은 거의 불가능하다. 갈파래류 종 판별을 위해서는 분자유전학적 분석이 수행되어야 하나 현재 분자데이터를 이용한 갈파래 종 분포, 군집구조와 같은 생태조사연구는 매우 미흡한 실정이다. 파래대발생 피해 저감을 위해서는 파래대발생 주요 종들을 분자계통학적 분석을 통하여 정확하게 파악하는 것이 우선이다. 선행 연구에서는 2015년 파래대발생을 일으키는 주요 종 파악을 위해 핵 DNA ITS와 엽록체 DNA tufA (chloroplast elongation factor Tu) 유전자를 이용하여 분자계통학적 분석을 수행하였으며, 종 동정에는 tufa 유전자가 더 정확한 결과를 나타냈다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 tufA 유전자를 이용해 2015~2020년 제주도 연안에서 파래대발생을 일으키는 주요 구성 갈파래 종의 군집구조 및 종 다양성을 파악하고 종 구성의 시간적 변이를 확인하고자 하였다. 본 연구에서는 온대와 아열대 해역에서 주로 생장하는 것으로 알려진 큰갈파래와 구멍갈파래 종이 파래대발생의 주요 구성 종임을 확인하였다. 구멍갈파래는 2015년(35.75%)에서 2020년(36.18%) 기간 상대빈도의 변화가 거의 없고 안정적으로 유지되었으나, 큰갈파래의 경우 2015년(20.77%)에 비해 2020년(36.84%) 빈도가 대략 16% 증가하였다. 이러한 결과는 기후변화와 연관된 평균 해수면 온도의 상승에 큰갈파래의 높은 성장률 및 적응력과 관련이 있을 수 있으며, 제주도의 갈파래 군집을 구성하는 종 수는 2015년에는 9종이었으나 2020년에는 7종으로 감소하는 것으로 나타났다. 또한, 유럽 원산지 외래종인 긴통갈파래와 굽은갈파래가 2015년과 2020년 모두 제주 연안에서 관찰되어 이 두 종에 대한 향후 지속적인 모니터링이 필요하다. 본 연구의 결과는 우리나라 연안에서 발생하는 파래대발생의 저감을 위해 주요 종인 갈파래속(genus Ulva)에 대한 분자유전학적 데이터에 대한 정보를 제공하고자 한다.

• 농업과학연구
• /
• 제43권1호
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2016

Climate changes are shifting the perception of C4 photosynthetic crops due to their superior adaptability to harsh conditions. The tribe Andropogoneae includes some economically important grasses, such as Zea mays, Sorghum bicolor, Miscanthus spp., and Saccharum spp., representing C4 photosynthetic grasses. Although the Andropogoneae grasses diverged fairly recently, their genomic structures are remarkably different from each other. As previously reported, the family Poaceae shares the pan-cereal duplication event occurring ca. 65 MYA. Since this event, Sorghum bicolor has never experienced any additional duplication event. However, some lineage-specific duplication events were reported in Z. mays and Saccharum spp., and, more recently, it was revealed that a shared allotetraploidization event occurred before the divergence between Miscanthus and Saccharum (but after the divergence from S. bicolor), which provided important clues to those two species having large genome sizes with complicated ploidy numbers. The complex genomic structures of sugarcane and Miscanthus (defined as the Saccharum complex along with some other taxa) have had a limiting effect on the use of their molecular information in breeding programs. For the last decade, genomics-associated technologies have become an important tool for molecular crop breeding (genomics-assisted breeding, GAB), but it has not been directly applied to sugarcane and Miscanthus due to their complicated genome structures. As genomics research advances, molecular breeding of those crops can take advantage of technical improvements at a reasonable cost through comparative genomic approaches. Active genomic research of non-model species using closely related model species will facilitate the improvement of those crops in the future.

• BMB Reports
• /
• 제42권1호
• /
• pp.22-27
• /
• 2009

Replication Protein A (RPA) is a single stranded DNA-binding protein involved in DNA metabolic activities such as replication, repair, and recombination. RPA-Interacting Protein $\alpha$ ($RIP{\alpha}$) was originally identified as a nuclear transporter of RPA in Xenopus. The human $RIP{\alpha}$ gene encodes several splice isoforms, of which $hRIP{\alpha}$ and $hRIP{\beta}$ are the major translation products in vivo. However, limited information is available about the alternative splicing of $RIP{\alpha}$ in eukaryotes, apart from that in humans. In this study, we examined the alternative splicing of RIP{\alpha} in the Drosophila, Xenopus, and mouse system. We showed that the number of splice isoforms of RIP{\alpha} was species-specific, and displayed a tendency to increase in higher eukaryotes. Moreover, a mouse ortholog of $hRIP{\alpha}$, $mRIP{\beta}2$, was not SUMOylated, in contrast to $hRIP{\alpha}$. Based on these results, we suggest that the $RIP{\alpha}$ gene gains more splice isoforms and additional modifications after molecular evolution.

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
• /
• 제23권4호
• /
• pp.333-344
• /
• 2019

In vertebrate reproductive system, estrogen receptor (ER) plays a pivotal role in mediation of estrogenic signaling pathways. In the present study, we report the cDNA cloning, expression analysis, and transcriptional activity of ERβ1 subtype from medaka Oryzias dancena. The deduced O. dancena ERβ1 (odERβ1; 519 amino acids) contained six characteristic A/B to E/F domains with very short activation function 2 region (called AF2). A phylogenetic analysis indicated that odERβ1 was highly conserved among teleost ERβ1 subgroup. A conventional RT-PCR revealed that the odERβ1 transcripts were widely distributed in the multiple tissues, the ovary, brain, gill, intestine, kidney, and muscle. Further, the relatively higher odERβ1 expressions in the ovary and brain were clearly reproduced in RT-qPCR assay. When HA-fused odERβ1 expression vector was transfected into HEK293 cells, an immunoreactivity for odERβ1 was mainly detected in the nucleus part. Finally, an estrogen responsive element driven luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that the transcriptional activity of odERβ1 significantly increased by estradiol-17β (E2) in a dose dependent manner (p<0.05). However, fold-activation of odERβ1 in the presence of E2 was markedly weak, when it compared with those of O. latipes ERβ1. Taken together, these data suggest that odERβ1 represents a functional variant of teleost ERβ subtype and provides a basic tool allowing future studies examining the function of F domain of ERβ1 subtype and expanding our knowledge of ERβ evolution.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• 제28권2호
• /
• pp.123-136
• /
• 2012

Diseases caused by begomoviruses (family Geminiviridae, genus Begomovirus) constitute a serious constraint to tropical and sub-tropical agro-ecosystems worldwide. In recent years, they have also introduced in temperate regions of the world where they have great impact and are posing a serious threat to a variety of greenhouse crops. Begomoviral diseases can in extreme cases reduce yields to zero leading to catastrophic losses in agriculture. They are still evolving and pose a serious threat to sustainable agriculture across the world, particularly in tropics and sub-tropics. Till recently, there have been no records on the occurrence of begomoviral disease in South Korea, however, the etiology of other plant viral diseases are known since last century. The first begomovirus infected sample was collected from sweet potato plant in 2003 and since then there has been gradual increase in the begomoviral epidemics specially in tomato and sweet potato crops. So far, 48 begomovirus sequences originating from various plant species have been submitted in public sequence data base from different parts of the country. The rapid emergence of begomoviral epidemics might be with some of the factors like evolution of new variants of the viruses, appearance of efficient vectors, changing cropping systems, introduction of susceptible plant varieties, increase in global trade in agricultural products, intercontinental transportation networks, and changes in global climatic conditions. Another concern might be the emergence of a begomovirus complex and satellite DNA molecules. Thorough understanding of the pathosystems is needed for the designing of effective managements. Efforts should also be made towards the integration of the resistant genes for the development of transgenic plants specially tomato and sweet potato as they have been found to be widely infected in South Korea. There should be efficient surveillance for emergence or incursions of other begomoviruses and biotypes of whitefly. This review discusses the general characteristics of begomoviruses, transmission by their vector B. tabaci with an especial emphasis on the occurrence and distribution of begomoviruses in South Korea, and control measures that must be addressed in order to develop more sustainable management strategies.

• Animal cells and systems
• /
• 제5권3호
• /
• pp.163-177
• /
• 2001

Most, if not all, aphids harbor intracellular bacterial symbionts, called Buchnera, in their bacteriocytes, huge cells differentiated for this purpose. The association between Buchnera and aphids is so intimate, mutualistic and obligate that neither of them can any longer reproduce independently. Buchnera are vertically transmitted through generations of the host insects. Evidence suggests that Buchnera were acquired by a common ancestor of aphids 160-280 million years ago, and have been diversified, since then, in parallel with their aphid hosts. Molecular phylogenetic analyses indicate that Buchnera belong to the g subdivision of the Proteobacteria. Although Buchnera are close relatives of Escherichia coli, they contain move than 100 genomic copies per cell, and their genome size is only one seventh that of E. coli. The complete genome sequence of Buchnera revealed that their gene repertoire is quite different from those of parasitic bacteria such as Mycoplasma, Rickettsia and Chlamydia, though their genome sizes have been reduced to a similar extent. Whereas these parasitic bacteria have lost most genes for the biosynthesis of amino acids, Buchnera retain many of them. In particular, Buchnera's gene repertoire is characteristic in the richness of the genes for the biosynthesis of essential amino acids that the eukaryotic hosts are not able to synthesize, reflecting a nutritional role played by these symbionts. Buchnera, when housed in the bacteriocyte, selectively synthesize a large amount of symbionin, which is a homolog of GroEL, the major stress protein of E. coli. Symbionin not only functions as molecular chaperone, like GroEL, but also has evolutionarily acquired the phosphotransferase activity through amino acid substitutions. Aphids usually profit from Buchnera's fuction as a nutritional supplier and, when faced with an emergency, consume the biomass of Buchnera cells as nutrient reserves.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• 제19권1호
• /
• pp.104-113
• /
• 2005

Large inversions are well characterized in the chloroplast genomes of land plants. In contrast, reports of small inversions are rare and involve limited plant groups. In this study, we report the widespread occurrence of small inversions ranging from 5 to 50 bp in fully and partially sequenced chloroplast genomes of both monocots and dicots. We found that small inversions were much more common than large inversions. The small inversions were scattered over the chloroplast genome including the IR, SSC, and LSC regions. Several small inversions were uncovered in chloroplast genomes even though they shared the same overall gene order. The majority of these small inversions were located within 100 bp downstream of the 3' ends of genes. All had inverted repeat sequences, ranging from 11 to 24 bp, at their ends. Such small inversions form stem-loop hairpin structures that usually have the function of stabilizing the corresponding mRNA molecules. Intra-molecular recombination between the inverted sequences in the stem-forming regions are responsible for generating flip-flop orientations of the loops. The presence of two different orientations of the stem-loop in the trnL-F noncoding region of a single species of Jasminum elegans suggests that a short inversion can be generated within a short period of time. Small inversions of non-coding sequences may influence sequence alignment and character interpretation in phylogeny reconstructions, as shown in nine species of Jasminum. Many small inversions may have been generated by parallel or back mutation events during chloroplast genome evolution. Our data indicate that caution is needed when using chloroplast non-coding sequences for phylogenetic analysis.