• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.10
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• pp.688-692
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• 2010

In a previous study, we recently claimed that dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-inducible dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) expression is one of the key factors involved in androgen-potentiated balding. We also demonstrated that L-ascorbic acid 2-phosphate (Asc 2-P) represses DHT-induced DKK-1 expression in cultured dermal papilla cells (DPCs). Here, we investigated whether or not L-threonate could attenuate DHT-induced DKK-1 expression. We observed via RT-PCR analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that DHT-induced DKK-1 expression was attenuated in the presence of L-threonate. We also found that DHT-induced activation of DKK-1 promoter activity was significantly repressed by L-threonate. Moreover, a co-culture system featuring outer root sheath (ORS) keratinocytes and DPCs showed that DHT inhibited the growth of ORS cells, which was then significantly reversed by L-threonate. Collectively, these results indicate that L-threonate inhibited DKK-1 expression in DPCs and therefore is a good treatment for the prevention of androgen-driven balding.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.46-50
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• 2010

In order to development medicinal Artemisia herbs of high quality, Korean A. annua L. were investigated with its ecological and morphological characteristics, and basic statistical data of agronomic characteristics. This species, which is annual herb, is mainly distributed to marginal land, riverside, roadside, grassland. Ecological niche is low species in competition of the others. Its pollination is basically anemogamous, but is frequency pollinated by insects. This species is characterized as tap root, 1~3 pinnate compound leaf of ovate or narrowly ovate, stem is green, erect and solitary. Inflorescence is paniculate, receptacle is not hair. Capitulum, consist of ray floret and disk floret, is subglobose shape. Additionally, this species could be easily discriminated from related Artemisia herbs by the capitulum size. Ray floret is female, disk floret is bisexual. Flowering season is from August to October. Seed is achene unattached hair. Stem length ranged from 179 cm to 225 cm, and stem diameter and number of branch were $17.14\;{\pm}\;1.68\;mm$, $2.43\;{\pm}\;0.51\;mm$, respectively. Length and width of leaf were $14.5\;{\pm}\;0.5\;cm$, $15.0\;{\pm}\;1.0\;cm$, and leaf number of main stem were $48.06\;{\pm}\;10.57\;cm$, respectively. Fresh weight of aerial parts and root were $364.7\;{\pm}\;14.1\;g$, $32.6\;{\pm}\;5.1\;g$, and its dry weight were $136.6\;{\pm}\;10.0\;g$, $14.9\;{\pm}\;2.34\;g$, respectively.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2013

Heat shock proteins play an important role in plant stress tolerance and are mainly regulated by heat shock transcription factors (Hsfs). In this study, we generated transgenic rice over-expressing OsHsfA7 and carried out morphological observation and stress tolerance assays. Transgenic plants exhibited less, shorter lateral roots and root hair. Under salt treatment, over-expressing OsHsfA7 rice showed alleviative appearance of damage symptoms and higher survival rate, leaf electrical conductivity and malondialdehyde content of transgenic plants were lower than those of wild type plants. Meanwhile, transgenic rice seedlings restored normal growth but wild type plants could not be rescued after drought and re-watering treatment. These findings indicate that over-expression of OsHsfA7 gene can increase tolerance to salt and drought stresses in rice seedlings.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.129-145
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• 2014

To evaluate the potential of Hypochoeris radicata L. for the development of environment-friendly organic materials, its growth characteristics, allelopathic effects and antifungal activity was investigated. The growth characteristics of H. radicata L. was investigated by measuring comparative number of shoot and flower, and the diameters of clones in mowing areas and non-mowing areas, respectively. As a result, the number of shoot and flower, and diameters of clones of H. radicata L. grown in mowing areas were much higher than those grown in non-mowing areas. Water extracts of H. radicata L. inhibited seed germination, and shoot, root and root hair growth of 14 test plants including Trifolium pratense, Festuca myuros, Bidens bipinnata and finally reduced heir biomass remarkably. The inhibitory effect of the extract was different depending on the kind and the part of tested plants. The extracts showed high antifungal activity against Pythium spp. and Phytophthora However, it showed comparably less antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solani than Pythium spp. and Phytophthora. In conclusion, cutting H. radicata L. resulted increase of its vegetative and seed propagation and helped it to form large colony. Also it had an effect on growth of microbes and germination and growth of other plants. Therefore H. radicata L. holds the competitive dominant position in plant ecosystem in Jeju Island and it can be used as candidate of environment-friendly organic materials.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 1970

In application of manganese and silica to Akiochi soil, growth of rice plant with potassium was remarkably increased, but the growth without potassium was stunted and the number of the tiller was relatively reduced in comparison with that receiving potassium. The minus potassium plant developed tiny brown spots on the leaves and color of the leaves was dark green. They had smaller leaves and shorter stem while heading advanced. Roots with potassium were long and thick, and new ones developed, while roots without K were very poor, the branch and hair roots very thin, and severe root rot was observed. With minus potassium treatment, the root rot of Jin Heung(commercial variety) was more severe than Nonglim 6(Akiochi resistant). Growth of plant without potassium was very poor, and potassium content of the plant was very low, while nitrogen, phosphorus, silica, iron and manganese contents were higher than potassium supplied plant. Application of $Mn+SiO_2$ to Akiochi soil lowered iron content of plant, and iron content of the plant were also reduced by application of potassium. From the results obtained it can be concluded that root damage of minus potassium plant grown in Akiochi soil supplied $Mn+SiO_2$ was caused by potassium deficiency. Potassium, and $Mn+SiO_2$ applications lowered iron content in the plant grown on Akiochi soil.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.431-434
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• 2000

To examine the allelopathic potentials of Chrysanthemum boreale, aqueous extracts and essential oil of the plant were used in these experiments. Seed germination of the receptor species was inhibited by the aqueous extracts and the inhibitory effect was increased in proportion to the concentration of extracts. In contrast, seedling elongation showed varied results. Achyranthes japonica, Bidens bipinnata, Raphanus sativus var. hortensis for. acanthiformis, Plantago asiatica, Pimpinella brachycarpa and Lactuca sativa were inhibited by increasing concentration of the aqueous extract, while Brassica campestris subsp. napus var. pekinensis and Echinochloa crus-galli were stimulated by the extract. Dry weight was also inhibited proportionally by increasing concentration of the aqueous extract, while some species were stimulated by a lower concentration of the extract. The volatile substances of C. boreale did not affect the seed germination of receptor plants, but seedling elongation and dry weight of some species were inhibited dose-dependently. Root hair development of selected plants was inhibited along with the concentration of essential oil. The above mentioned results, therefore, confirmed that the natural substances from C. boreale had allelopathic potentials to other plants.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.285-291
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• 2007

This study describes conditions for the mass production of activation-tagged mutant hairy root lines of ginseng by cocultivation with Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Because it is not currently possible to produce progeny from transgenic ginseng, a loss-of-function approach for functional genomics cannot be appliable to this species. A gain-of-function approach is alternatively the choice and hairy root production by cocultivation of A. rhizogenes would be most practical to obtain a large number of mutants. Various sources of explants were subjected to genetic transformation with various strains of A. rhizogenes harboring the activation-tagging vector pKH01 to determine optimum conditions for the highest frequency of hairy root formation on explants. Petiole explants cocultivated with A. rhizogenes R1000 produced hairy roots at a frequency of 85.9% after 4 weeks of culture. Conditions for maximum growth or branching rate of hairy roots were also investigated by using various culture media. Petiole explants cultured on half strength Schenk and Hildebrandt medium produced vigorously growing branched roots at a rate of 2.6 after 4 weeks of culture. A total of 1,989 lines of hairy root mutants were established in this study. These hairy root lines will be useful to determine functions of genes for biosynthesis of ginsenosides.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.17-17
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• 2010

Ethylene, known as a stress hormone regulate wide developmental processes including germination, root hair initiation, root and shoot primordial formation and elongation, leaf and flower senescence and abscission, fruit ripening. The acceleration of ethylene biosynthesis in plant associated with environmental and biological stresses. 1-Aminocycloprophane-1-carboxlyate deaminase(ACCD) is an enzyme that cleaves ACC into and ammonia, a precursor of the plant hormone ethylene. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) having ACCD can decrease endogenous ACC level of tissue, resulting in reduced production of ethylene in plants. ACC deaminse was a key enzyme for protect stressed plants from injurious effects of ethylene. ACCD gene was encoded from Pseudomonas flourescens, PGPR and was cloned in Escherichia coli. We expressed the recombinant ACCD(rACCD) containing 357 amino acids with molecular weight 39 kDa that revealed by SDS-PAGE and western blot. The rACCD was purified by Ni-NTA purification system. The active form of rACCD having enzyme activity converted ACC to a-ketobutyrate. The optimal pH for ACC deaminase activity was pH 8.5, but no activity below pH 7.0 and a less severe tapering activity at base condition resulting in loss of activity at over pH 11. The optimal temperature of the enzyme was $30^{\circ}$ and a slightly less severe tapering activity at 15 - 30$^{\circ}$, but no activity over $35^{\circ}$. P. flourescens ACC deaminase has a highly conserved residue that plays in allowing substrate accessibility to the active sites. The enzymatic properties of this rACCD will provide an important reference for analysis of newly isolated ACCD and identification of newly isolated PGPR containing ACCD.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.787-799
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• 1994

To elucidate morphologic lesion of porcine exudative epidermitis which is occurred sporadically in Korea, Staphylococcus hyicus subsp. hyicus isolated from the naturally affected pigs was inoculated to suckling pigs. The infected piglets were observed grossly and histopathologically. Although affected piglets were taking acute, subacute, or chronic course, some piglets suffered from chronic disease showed poor prognosis and marked growth depression. Affected peglets had erythematous skin on the face, ear, and abdomen and these localized lesions appear as brownish spots of exudative epidermitis and fromed crust in the early stage. But, after this stage, the skin were covered by viscous greasy exudate and formed blackish brown crust and appeared fissures and hypertrophy. Grossly, there has been hemorrhage with the removal of crust-like materials of epidermis and edematous subcutis. The superficial lymph nodes were edematous and swollen or congested and hemorrhagic. Some piglets had swollen ureters, cysts in the renal cortex, or polyarthritis. A few cases had mild edematous swelling of kidney, intestinal catarrh and congestion of brain. Microscopically, skin lesions had detachment of keralinized layer and parakeratosis of epidermis, hydropic degeneration of epidermal cell, and retrogressive degeneration of hair root sheath. Dermis had edema, and infiltration of neutrophils and mononuclear cells. As the disease was proceeded, there was marked perivasculitis with lots of mononuclear inflammatory cells. More chronic lesions formed granuloma-like bodies(nodules) due to more mononuclear, perivascular inflammatory cell infiltration and proliferation of fibroblast. Lots of plasma cells and eosinophils were also present in dermis. Epidermis was hyperplastic by proliferation of basal cells stratum germinativum and epidermal pegs often extended into the dermis. In secondary infection, lots of neutrophils could be seen in epidermis and derms. Kidney had neutrophilic infiltration, necrotic and cystic glomeruli, and dilation of renal tubules and ureters. Purulent arthritis was sometimes observed in joints. Three days old mice administrated Staphylococcus hyicus subsp hyicus subcutaneously before had focal congestion and hemorrhage, necrosis, and subcutaneous edema of the skin. This observation was also seen in the study of mice administrated exfoliatin toxin of Staphylococcus which evoked human staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome.

• The Journal of the Korean bone and joint tumor society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.65-68
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• 2009

Proliferating trichilemmal tumor(PTT) is a rare neoplasm derived from the outer root sheath of the hair follicle. Malignant transformation is rare, but abrupt enlargement of size, infiltrative growth, and non-scalp location are suggestive of malignant PTT. Histopathologic characteristics of malignant PTT are nuclear atypia, pleomorphism, and mitotic figures. Recurrence and metastasis have been documented in malignant PTT. Wide resection of the tumor with the normal tissue and accurate follow-up is the treatment of choice of the both malignant and benign PTT. We report a 51-year-old man with the mass on right 5th finger distal phalanx for 7 years. The tumor was excised with middle phalangiectomy, and based on the histopathologic findings of the tumor, this case was diagnosed as mailignant PTT. We cannot detect recurrence and metastasis because the patient was lost to follow-up.