• Journal of Microbiology
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• 제40권4호
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• pp.274-281
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• 2002

The competitive quantitative PCR method targeting pcbC gene was developed for monitoring 4-chlorobiphenyl(4CB)-degrading bacteria, Pseudomonas sp. strain DJ-12, in soil microcosms. The method involves extraction of DNA from soil contaminated with 4CB, PCR amplification of a pcbC gene fragment from the introduced strain with a set of strain-specific primers, and quantification of the elec-trophoresed PCR product by densitometry. To test the adequacy of the method, Pseudomonas sp. strain DJ-12 was introduced into both contaminated and non-contaminated soil microcosms amended with 4CB. Pseudomonas sp. strain DJ-12 was monitored and quantified by a competitive quantitative PCR in comparison with 4CB degradation and the result was compared to those obtained by using the conventional cultivation method. We successfully detected and monitored 4CB-degrading bacteria in each microcosm and found a significant linear relationship between the number of 4CB-degrading bacteria and the capacity for 4CB biodegradation. The results of DNA spiking and cell-spreading experiments suggest that this competitive quantitative PCR method targeting the pcbC gene for monitoring 4CB- degrading bacteria appears to be rapid, sensitive and more suitable than the microbiological approach in estimating the capacity of 4CB biodegradation in environmental samples.

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제3권1호
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• pp.29-38
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• 1999

자궁내막증은 흔한 부인과적 질병이며 여성 불임의 한 원인이 되나 그 발생 원인에 대하여서는 아직 논란의 여지가 많다. 최근 월경혈의 역류가 한 원인이며 자궁내막증 환자가 정상여성에서 보다 역류되는 월경혈의 양이 많거나 침습성이 강한 것이 자궁내막증의 발생 원인이 될 수 있다는 이론들이 소개되었다. 종양이나 자궁내막 조직의 침습이나 전이에는 세포막외 기질 및 기저막의 파괴가 일어나야 하는데 이 과정에 plasminogen activators (PAs)나 matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs)같은 proteolytic enzyme이 관여한다. 이에 자궁 내막증환자와 대조군의 자궁내막에서 PA나 MMP를 억제하는 plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1)나 tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP-3)의 mRNA 발현의 차이를 quantitative competitive RT PCR로 연구하였으며, 그 결과 자궁내막증 환자의 황체기 자궁내막에서는 정상 대조군 환자에서 보다 PAI-1과 TIMP-3 mRNA발현이 낮음을 알 수 있었다. 따라서 자궁내막증 환자의 자궁내막에서는 PA와 MMP의 활성도가 증가할 수 있으며 이 증가된 proteolytic activity로 인하여 역류된 자궁내 막 조직의 복강내 침습이 보다 쉽게 일어날 가능성이 있다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제12권5호
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• pp.801-806
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• 2002

A multiplex competitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was developed for the rapid identification and quantification of Leuconostoc mesnteroides and Lactobacillus plantarum populations which are the key microorganisms in kimchi fermentation. The strain-specific primers were designed to selectively amplify the target genes encoding 165 rRNA of L. plantarum and dextransucrase of L. mesenteroides. There was a linear relationship between the band intensity of PCR products and the number of colony forming units of each model organism. The PCR quantification method was compared with a traditional plate-counting method f3r the enumeration of the two lactic acid bacteria in a mixed suspension culture and also applied to a real food system, namely, watery kimchi. The population dynamics of the two model organisms in the mixed culture were reliably predictable by the competitive PCR analysis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제11권6호
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• pp.940-945
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• 2001

Symbiobacterium toebii has been previously reported as a novel commensal thermophile exhibiting a commensal interaction with thermophilic Geobacillus sp. SK-1. We investigated the distribution of this commensal thermophile in various soils using molecular methods, such as quantitative PCR and terminal restriction fragment polymorphism analysis. Based on a nested competitive quantitative PCR the 16S rDNA of the commensal thermophile was only detected in compost soils at about $1.0{\times}10^4$ cpoies per gram of soil, corresponding to $0.25{\times}10^4$ cells per gram of soil. However, in an enrichment experiment at $60^{\circ}C$, about $1.0{\times}10^8$ copies of 16S rDNA molecules were detected per ml of enriched culture broth for all the soils, and more than 0.1 mM indole accumulated as the product of commensal bacterial growth. When incubated at $30^{\circ}C$, neither the 16S rDNA of the commensal bacterium nor any indole accumulation was detected. Accordingly, even though the 16S rDNA of the bacterium was only detected in the compost soils by a nested PCR, the presence of the 16S rDNA molecules of commensal thermophile and accumulation of indole in all the enriched cultures appeared to indicate that the commensal thermophile is widely distributed in various soils.

• BMB Reports
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• 제37권1호
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• pp.1-10
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• 2004

DNA and RNA quantifications are widely used in biological and biomedical research. In the last ten years, many technologies have been developed to enable automated and high-throughput analyses. In this review, we first give a brief overview of how DNA and RNA quantifications are carried out. Then, five technologies (microarrays, SAGE, differential display, real time PCR and real competitive PCR) are introduced, with an emphasis on how these technologies can be applied and what their limitations are. The technologies are also evaluated in terms of a few key aspects of nucleic acids quantification such as accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, cost and throughput.

• 한국미생물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국미생물학회 2005년도 International Meeting of the Microbiological Society of Korea
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• pp.210.2-210
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• 2005

• BMB Reports
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.234-236
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• 1997

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with the rapid development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. It has been reported that the amount of HCV RNA may be correlated with the progression of hepatitis and may be a prognostic marker for treatment of HCV patients. The direct detection of HCV RNA by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is widely used to determine the presence of circulating virions. The most relevant limit of this approach is the lack of quantitative information about the viral titer. In the present study, we developed the method for HCV quantitation using competitive reverse transcription (CRT)-PCR using the deleted HCV standard. The serially diluted standard was added in titrated amounts to the target HCV RNA. The mixture was then reverse transcribed and amplified in the same reaction tube. The methods were evaluated using over 110 HCV-PCR positive samples in Koreans. About 59% of the samples were judged to contain $10^{5}-10^{6}$ copies of HCV RNA in 1 ml of serum.

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제4권1호
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• pp.101-108
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• 2000

자궁내막증은 흔한 부인과적 질병이며 여성 불임의 한 원인이 되나 그 발생 원인에 대하여서는 아직 논란의 여지가 많다. 최근 월경혈의 역류에 의하여 자궁내막증이 생긴다는 가설이 가장 유력한데 자궁내막증 환자가 정상여성에서보다 역류되는 월경혈의 양이 많거나 침습성이 강한 것이 자궁내막증의 발생원인이 될 수 있다는 이론들이 소개되었다. Pleitrophin (PTN)이나 midkine(MK)은 성장 및 분화에 관여하는 인자로서 여러 종류의 악성 종양에서 그 발현이 보고되어있으며 종양화 (carcinogenensis), 맥관형성 (angiogenesis), plasminogen activator의 활성화 증가 등에 관여한다고 보고된 바 있다. 이에 자궁내막증 환자의 자궁 내막과 대조군의 자궁내막에서 PTN과 MK mRNA의 발현의 차이를 quantitative competitive RT PCR로 비교하였다. 그 결과 자궁내막증 환자의 황체기 자궁내막에서 대조군의 자궁내막에 비하여 PTN과 MK의 발현이 높게 나타났다. 이러한 PTN과 MK의 발현의 증가로 자궁내막증 환자의 자궁내막이 복강 내에서 더욱 쉽게 맥관형성을 하고 성장이 촉진되어 자궁내막증이 발생될 것으로 생각되어 PTN과 MK가 자궁내막증의 초기 발생과정에 관여할 가능성이 있다.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제38권2호
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• pp.107-110
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• 2000

We investigated the role of recombinant Toxoplasma gondii heat shock protein (rT.g.HSP) 70-full length, rT.g. HSP70-NH2-terminal region, or rT.g. HSP70-carboxy-terminal region in prophylactic immunity in C57BL/6 mice perorally infected with Fukaya cysts of T. gondii. At 3, 4, 5, and 6 weeks after infection, the number of T gondii in the brain tissue of each mouse was measured by quantitative competitive-polymerase chain reaction (QC-PCR) targeting the surface antigen (SAG) 1 gene. Immunization with rT.g.HSP70-full length or rT.g.HSP70-carboxy-terminal region increased the number of T. gondii in the brain tissue after T. gondii infection, whereas immunization with rT.g.HSP70-NHa-terminal region did not. These results suggest that T.g. HSP70-carboxy-terminal region as well as T.g.HSP70-full length may induce deleterious effects on the protective immunity of mice infected with a cyst-forming T. gondii strain, Fukaya.

• 한국수정란이식학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국수정란이식학회 2002년도 국제심포지엄
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• pp.116-116
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• 2002

Further development of reconstructed embryos may be dependent upon the synchronization of donor nucleus and recipient cytoplasm at cell fusion, To control the synchronization of donor and recipient cells, the enucleated MII arrested oocytes are artificially stimulated prior to embryo reconstruction. Destruction of cyclin B results in the exit of cells from M-phase of cell cycle. This study was designed to investigate the effects of single or combined stimulation affected cyclin B1 mRNA and protein levels in mouse oocytes. The oocyte activation was induced by 7% ethanol or 10$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ Ca-ionophore without (single) or with (combined) 10$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ cycloheximide. Competitive quantitative PCR for cyclin Bl mRNA and western blot analysis for cyclin B1 protein was preformed in mouse oocytes. Cyclin B1 mRNA level was significantly reduced in single (P<0.05) and combined (P<0.05) stimulation groups. However, this level did not change in non-activated group and increased in intact group. Cyclin B1 protein level was also significantly reduced in both single (P<0.05) and combined (P<0.05) stimulation groups. In conclusion, single and combined stimulation induces the degradation of cyclin B1 mRNA and protein after activation in enucleated mouse oocytes.