• Molecules and Cells
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.220-227
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• 2007

The development of suitable genetic markers would be useful for defining species and delineating the species boundaries of morphologically indistinguishable sponges. In this study, genetic variation in the sequences of nuclear rDNA and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 and 3 (CO1 and CO3) regions were compared in morphologically indistinguishable Korean Halichondriidae sponges in order to determine the most suitable species-specific molecular marker region. The maximal congeneric nucleotide divergences of Halichondriidae sponges in CO1 and CO3 are similar to those found among anthozoan cnidarians, but they are 2- to 8-fold lower than those found among genera of other triploblastic metazoans. Ribosomal internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS: ITS1 + ITS2) showed higher congeneric variation (17.28% in ITS1 and 10.29% in ITS2) than those of CO1 and CO3. Use of the guidelines for species thresholds suggested in the recent literature indicates that the mtDNA regions are not appropriate for use as species-specific DNA markers for the Halichondriidae sponges, whereas the rDNA ITS regions are suitable because ITS exhibits a low level of intraspecific variation and a relatively high level of interspecific variation. In addition, to test the reliability of the ITS regions for identifying Halichondriidae sponges by PCR, a species-specific multiplex PCR primer set was developed.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 2010

Expensive herbs such as ginseng are always a possible target for fraudulent labeling. New mountain ginseng strains have occasionally been found deep within mountain areas and commercially traded at exorbitant prices. However, until now, no scientific basis has existed to distinguish such ginseng from commonly cultivated ginseng species other than by virtue of being found within deep mountain areas. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of the internal transcribed spacer has been shown to be an appropriate method for the identification of the most popular species (Panax ginseng) in the Panax ginseng genus. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) has been identified between three newly found mountain ginseng (KGD4, KGD5, and KW1) and already established Panax species. Specific PCR primers were designed from this SNP site within the sequence data and used to detect the mountain ginseng strains via multiplex PCR. The established multiplex-PCR method for the simultaneous detection of newly found mountain ginseng strains, Korean ginseng, and foreign ginseng in a single reaction was determined to be effective. This study is the first report of scientific discrimination of "mountain ginsengs" and describes an effective method of identification for fraud prevention and for uncovering the possible presence of other, cheaper ginseng species on the market.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.680-686
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• 2014

Acanthopanacis Cortex has been used for oriental medicinal purposes in Asian countries especially in Korea and China. In the Korean Pharmacopeia, the cortexes of the dried roots, stems and branches of all species in Eleutherococcus and Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus are known as 'Ogapi'. Mostly the cortexes of E. gracilistylus roots and E.senticosus roots were used as 'Ogapi' in China and Japan, respectively. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine and compare the molecular authentication of Korean 'Ogapi' by using the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. The ITS region has the highest possibility of effective and successful identification for the widest variety of molecular authentication. The ITS region was targeted for molecular analysis with Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) specific for morphologically similar to E. gracilistylus, E. senticosus, E. sessiliflorus from their adulterant, moreover, E. sieboldianus were detected within sequence data. Thus, based on these SNP sites, specific primers were designed and multiplex PCR analysis were conducted for molecular authentication of four plants (E. gracilistylus, E. senticosus, E. sessiliflorus, and E. sieboldianus). The findings of results indicated that ITS region might be established multiplex-PCR analysis systems and hence were proved to be an effective tools for molecular evaluation and comparison of 'Ogapi' with other plants.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.5-14
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• 2022

Trichoderma is known as pathogen caused serious green mold disease on commercial production. T. pleuroti and T. pleuroticola were common species in various mushroom media. Many strains of T. pleuroti, known as aggressive species causing major economic losses in Korea, showed benomyl resistance. Accurate identification and detection of Trichoderma species associated with oyster mushrooms is very important for disease control. We developed species-specific primers for T. pleuroticola, T. pleuroti, T. harzianum, and T. atroviride based on species-specific fragments isolated from amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis. PCR products corresponding to the predicted fragment of 500bp, 230bp, 180bp, and 410bp were amplified from T. pleuroticola, T. pleuroti, T. harzianum, and T. atroviride, respectively. Multiplex PCR assay using species-specific primers quickly and accurately identified and detected T. pleuroti from mushroom media in which various species co-exist. Our results can be useful for the effective control of mushroom disease.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.105 no.4
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• pp.422-428
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• 2016

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba L.) is one of the most appropriate roadside trees because of a good transplantation nature and ability to grow well in urban environment. Ginkgo is a dioecious species. Sex discrimination of ginkgo is possible through comparing morphological characters of reproductive organs. However, it needs more than about twenty years for reproductive organs to appear after sexual maturity. Until now, ginkgo trees for roadside plantation have been planted without discriminating the sex because ginkgo trees have been usually planted before sexual maturity. Ginkgo nuts from the female ginkgo trees planted along the roadside emit a foul odor, and make much pollution on the streets. Thus in this study a novel SCAR marker (SCAR-GBM) for the early sex discrimination was developed. Primers were developed on the basis of the sequence of male-specific RAPD variants reported previously. False-negative problem of SCAR marker, probably caused by dominant nature, was resolved by using multiplex PCR using primers of both the SCAR-GBM and a universal primer set of atp1 region in mitochondria DNA, which resulted in improved discrimination efficiency. The results showed that DNA bands of 1,039 bp were commonly amplified by the atp1 primer set in male and female trees, and SCAR-GBM markers of 675 bp were specifically amplified only in male trees. Reproducible and specific discrimination of the multiplex PCR was finally confirmed by applying multiple male and female individuals.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2010

Definitive identification of original plant species is important for standardizing herbal medicine. The herbal medicines Cynanchi Wilfordii Radix (Baekshuoh in Korean and Beishuwu in Chinese) and Polygoni Multiflori Radix (Hashuoh in Korean and Heshuwu in Chinese) are often misidentified in the Korean herbal market due to morphological similarities and similar names. Therefore, we developed a reliable molecular marker for the identification of Cynanchi Wilfordii Radix and Polygoni Multiflori Radix. We used random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis of three plant species, Polygoni multiflorum, Cynanchum wilfordii, and Cynanchum auriculatum, to obtain several species-specific RAPD amplicons. From nucleotide sequences of these RAPD amplicons, we developed six sequence characterized amplification region (SCAR) markers for distinguishing Polygoni Multiflori Radix and Cynanchi Wilfordii Radix. Furthermore, we established SCAR markers for the simultaneous discrimination of the three species within a single reaction by using multiplex-PCR. These SCAR markers can be used for efficient and rapid authentication of these closely related species, and will be useful for preventing the distribution of adulterants.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2013

Taenia solium, T. saginata, and T. asiatica are taeniid tapeworms that cause taeniasis in humans and cysticercosis in intermediate host animals. Taeniases remain an important public health concerns in the world. Molecular diagnostic methods using PCR assays have been developed for rapid and accurate detection of human infecting taeniid tapeworms, including the use of sequence-specific DNA probes, PCR-RFLP, and multiplex PCR. More recently, DNA diagnosis using PCR based on histopathological specimens such as 10% formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded and stained sections mounted on slides has been applied to cestode infections. The mitochondrial gene sequence is believed to be a very useful molecular marker for not only studying evolutionary relationships among distantly related taxa, but also for investigating the phylo-biogeography of closely related species. The complete sequence of the human Taenia tapeworms mitochondrial genomes were determined, and its organization and structure were compared to other human-tropic Taenia tapeworms for which complete mitochondrial sequence data were available. The multiplex PCR assay with the Ta4978F, Ts5058F, Tso7421F, and Rev7915 primers will be useful for differential diagnosis, molecular characterization, and epidemiological surveys of human Taenia tapeworms.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.133-140
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• 2021

With the recent isolation of a new betanodavirus in shellfish, Korean Shellfish Nervous Necrosis Virus (KSNNV), it has also been identified the reassortant KSNNV of two RNA segments, in which one segment is KSNNV genotype but the other one is known genotype. In this study, we confirmed that the ressortant KSNNVs obtained in previous screening study of our laboratory for betanodaviruses in shellfish were KS/RGNNV and RG/KSNNV type by performing two consecutive multiplex RT-PCR on each RNA1 and RNA2 segment (R1- and R2-discriminative multiplex two-step RT-PCR, respectively) to determine the genotype of each segment based on the size of amplicon. In the pathogenicity analysis, none of the reassortants induced specific external symptoms or mortality of VNN, but viruses of 2 × 10⁴~10⁵ copies/mg or more were detected at 14 days after injection (10⁷ copies/fish) in brain tissues of 4 species except for crucian carp and common carp among the 6 species of juvenile fish used. In addition, the histopathological features of weak but distinct vacuole formation were also found in the brain of these infected fish, but no difference was found between the two reassortants KS/RGNNV-KG and RG/KSNNV-CM.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.1051-1065
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• 2021

Recent times have seen sustained increases in genetically modified (GM) crops not only for cultivation but also for the utility of food and feed worldwide. Domestically, commercial planting and the accidental or unintentional release of living modified (LM) crops into the environment are not approved. Many detection methods had been devised in an effort to realize effective management of the safety of agricultural genetic resources. In order to develop event-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) markers for LM crops, we analyzed the genetic information of LM crops. Genetic components introduced into crops are of key importance to provide a basis for the development of detection methods for LM crops. To this end, a total of 18 varieties from four major LM crop species (maize, canola, cotton, and soybeans) were subjected to an analysis. The genetic components included introduced genes, promoters, terminators and selection markers. Thus, if proper monitoring techniques and single or multiplex PCR strategies that rely on selection markers can be established, such an accomplishment can be regarded as a feasible solution for the safe management of staple crop resources.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.253-262
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• 2015

The authentication and implications of misleading labeling in milk and dairy products is important to protect against cheating consumers from adulteration and to alert sensitive consumers to any undeclared potential allergens. This need to support milk and dairy products labeling has led to the development of specific analytical techniques for the analysis of milk and dairy products ingredients. Recently, several methods based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR), including restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), multiplex PCR, species-specific PCR, and real-time PCR, have been proposed as useful means for identifying species of origin in milk and dairy products, as well as quantifying and detecting any adulteration. These methods have particular advantages owing to their high specificity and sensitivity, as well as rapid processing time. In this review, we provide an updated and extensive overview of the PCR-based methods used for milk and dairy products authentication with a particular focus on the application of PCR methods to detect adulteration.