• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.273-281
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• 2015

The follistatin (FST) gene encodes a monomeric glycoprotein that plays a role in binding and inhibiting the functions of members of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-${\beta}$ superfamily. Thus, FST facilitates a wide variety of functions, ranging from muscle growth, to inflammation and immunity. In this study, we sought to characterize an FST counterpart, RbFST, which was identified from rock bream Oplegnathus fasciatus. The RbFST cDNA sequence (2,419 bp) contains a 933-bp open reading frame (ORF) that encodes a putative amino acid sequence for RbFST (35 kDa). The putative amino acid sequence contains a Kazal-type serine protease inhibitor domain (51-98 residues) and an EF-hand, calcium-binding domain (191-226 residues). Additionally, this sequence shares a high identity (98.7%) with the Siniperca chuatsi FST sequence, with which it also has the closest evolutionary relationship according to a phylogenetic study. Omnipresent distribution of RbFST transcripts were detected in the gill, liver, spleen, head kidney, kidney, skin, muscle, heart, brain, and intestine of healthy animals, with significantly higher expression levels in the heart, followed by the liver tissue. Under pathogenic stress caused by two bacterial pathogens, Streptococcus iniae and Edwardsiella tarda, RbFST transcription was found to be significantly up-regulated. Altogether, our findings suggest the putative role of RbFST in immune related responses against pathogenic infections, further prefiguring its significance in rock bream physiology.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.1433-1442
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• 2018

To identify and quantify the effects of a combination of dietary $1{\times}10^8CFU/g$ Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis I2 ($LI_2$) and 0.1% ${\beta}$-glucooligosaccharides (BGO) on the growth and immunity of olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), a feeding experiment was conducted. Flounder ($14{\pm}0.5g$) were divided into two groups and fed control and synbiotic feeds for 8 weeks. Investigations were carried out on growth and feed utilization, innate immunity, serum biochemical parameters, intestinal lactic acid bacterial (LAB) viability, microvillus length, and changes in the expression levels of genes encoding pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor $[TNF]-{\alpha}$, interleukin $[IL]-1{\beta}$, and IL-6). Results demonstrated the synbiotic diet had significantly better (p < 0.05) responses in terms of weight gain and specific growth rate, three innate immune parameters (respiratory burst, serum lysozyme, and superoxide dismutase), intestinal LAB viability, and the relative $TNF-{\alpha}$ expression level (p < 0.05). Moreover, after challenge with Streptococcus iniae ($1{\times}10^8CFU/ml$), the synbiotically fed group exhibited significantly higher (p < 0.05) protection against streptococcosis, validating the observed changes in immune parameters and induction of the cytokine-encoding gene. Therefore, according to the results of the present study, synbiotic feed ($LI_2+BGO$) increased growth, modulated innate immune parameters and protected olive flounder against streptococcosis.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.603-610
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• 2014

We investigated a nematode infection in the epithelial tissue of rockfish Sebastes schlegeli cultured in Cheonsu Bay, western Korea, from May 2013 to April 2014. Nematodes infected the epithelial tissues of various external organs, including the fins, operculum, nares, mouth, and head. Over a 1-year period, the overall nematode infection rate in rockfish was 55% (n=89/163): 56.7% (n=17/30) in May 2013, 88% (n=29/33) in August 2013, 0% (n=0/30) in October 2013, 70% (n=21/30) in January 2014, and 55% (n=22/40) in April 2014. During this study, the only mass mortality of cultured rockfish in Cheonsu Bay was in August 2013, when we identified skin wounds on the rockfish caused by the nematodes escaping from their hosts. During this period, the accumulated mortality for 2 weeks was 1.4-22.4% in different farms. In addition, several pathogenic bacteria (Photobacterium damselae, Vibrio spp., and Streptococcus iniae) were isolated from the moribund rockfish; these were thought to be transmitted through the skin wounds caused by the nematodes.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.432-442
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• 2020

Diagnostic monitoring in Korean rockfish cages was performed to survey the prevalence of pathogens in cultured Korean rockfish Sebastes schlegeli from May 2013 to July 2016. A total of 1,945 fish samples collected from the western (Cheonsu Bay and Heuksando), southern (Tongyeong and Namhae), and eastern coasts (Pohang) of Korea were tested for parasites, viruses, and bacteria. In this study, 1,264 and 334 fishes were infected with Microcotyle sebastis and Clavinema mariae, respectively. The prevalence rates of C. clavinema in fishes from Cheonsu Bay, Heuksando, and Tongyeong were 35.3%, 3.9% and 1.9%, respectively. No C. clavinema infection was detected in cultured rockfish from Namhae and Pohang. Furthermore, bacteria including Photobacterium damselae (8.9%), Photobacterium piscicola (2.3%), Photobacterium spp. (8.9%), Aeromonas salmonicida (1.8%), Aeromonas spp. (0.9%), Vibrio scophthalmi (1.5%), Vibrio spp. (3.3%), Streptococcus iniae (1.2%), and others (8.0%) were detected in 373 of 1,364 fishes. No virus was detected in any fish investigated in this study.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.478-483
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• 2011

An antimicrobial material was purified from the acidified whole body extract of the jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai by using C18 reversed phase and cation-exchange high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Whole body extract and the purified compound (JAP-1) showed potent antimicrobial activities against a wide range of microorganisms including Escherichia coli D31, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus iniae and Candida albicans, without significant hemolytic activity. Treatment of JAP-1 with trypsin completely abolished all antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, suggesting that JAP-1 is likely to be a proteinaceous antibiotic. The molecular weight of JAP-1 was determined to be 680.10 Da by MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.346-353
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• 2015

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are steroid hormones regulated through responses to stress to maintain diverse metabolic and homeostatic functions. GCs act on the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), a member of the nuclear receptor family. This study identified and characterized the GR gene from the big-belly seahorse Hippocampus abdominalis designating it HaGR. The open reading frame of the HaGR cDNA was 2,346 bp in length, encoding a 782-amino-acid polypeptide with a theoretical isoelectric point of 6.26 and predicted molecular mass of 86.8 kDa. Nuclear receptors share a common structural organization, comprising an N-terminal transactivation domain, DNA-binding domain, and C-terminal ligand-binding domain. The tissue-specific mRNA expression profile of HaGR was analyzed in healthy seahorses using a qPCR technique. HaGR mRNA was expressed ubiquitously in all of the tissues examined, with the highest expression levels in kidney, intestine, stomach, and gill tissues. The mRNA expression in response to immune challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C), Edwardsiella tarda, and Streptococcus iniae revealed that it is inducible in response to pathogen infection. These results suggest that HaGR is involved in the immune response of the big-belly seahorse.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.654-660
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• 2003

To evaluate the biological diversity of fish pathogenic streptococci, 35 strains isolated from diseased olive flounder (Paralichtys olivaceus), were analyzed using a random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique with the oligonucleotide commercial primer 6 (Amersham Biosciences). Api 20 Strep test, drug resistance and artificial infection were carried out for further characterization of the isolates. RAPD fingerprints showed similar pattern in 25 strains (about $71.4\%$ of 35 isolates) and these strains were designed as RA group 1. Similarities greater than $44\%$ were obtained when the Dice coefficient was applied among the isolates of RA 1. On the other hand, the reference Streptococcus iniae showed a similar RAPD profile to the isolates with similarity levels of $40-93.3\%.$ Rh I was suggested to be the dominant group isolated from olive flounder suffering from streptococcosis. However, the isolates of Rh 1 group were not classified into the same species by the Api 20 Strep identification system. There was no peculiarity in drug resistance patterns of Rh I group isolates against 7 antibacterial agents. However, only 3 of 25 isolates $(0.12\%)$ showed oxytetracycline (OTC) resistance and OTC might be a useful chemotherapeutic agent in controlling the streptococcosis by strains of RA I group in olive flounder. Fish injected intraperitoneally with $10^5$ CFU of an isolate of Rh I and RA III group showed $60\%\;and\;50\%$ accumulative mortality for 20 days, respectively ($20\%$ in control or Rh II). However luther comparative studies about differences in virulence between isolates are needed.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.126-140
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• 2011

Genetic determinants of two metallothionein isoforms (MT-A and MT-B) were isolated and characterized from the perciform species, rockbream (Oplegnathus fasciatus). Rockbream MT-A and MT-B shared a high degree of homology at amino acid levels with representative orthologs from other perciform species, especially with respect to the conserved cysteine residues. At the genomic level, both MT-A and MT-B genes represent a tripartite structure typical of vertebrate MT genes. However, rockbream MT-B showed unusually large introns (1.2 kb and 0.8 kb for intron I and II, respectively), a phenomenon that has rarely been seen in other vertebrate MT genes. MT-A and MT-B transcripts were ubiquitously detected in a wide array of tissues, wherein brain and eye showed the highest basal expression levels, and the fin exhibited the lowest expression of both isoforms. The basal expression of MT-A in most tissues was significantly higher (ranging from 4- to 10-fold) than that of MT-B. Upon heavy metal exposures to Cd, Cu or Zn at 25 ppb for 48 h, MT-A and MT-B transcripts in the liver were significantly activated by Cd and moderately by Zn. On the other hand, exposure to Cu did not result in alterations of MT-A, nor in the significant suppression of MT-B. Following bacterial challenges with Escherichia coli, Edwardsiella tarda or Streptococcus iniae, MT isoforms in the liver, kidney and spleen were highly modulated and exhibited a pattern that was dependent on the bacterial species, tissues and isoforms. These results suggest that the two MT isoforms could be taken into account as potential indicators of metal toxicity and immune perturbations of this aquaculture-relevant species.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.319-329
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• 2021

In the search for antibiotic alternatives from safe and effective medicinal plants against fish pathogenic bacteria, we found that a combined extract (CE) of 1:1 (w/w) ratio of Angelica gigas Nakai roots and aerial parts of Artemisia iwayomogi Kitamura showed antibacterial activity against the fish pathogenic bacteria. By antibacterial activity-guided fractionations and isolations, five compounds were isolated and identified as decursinol angelate (1), decursin (2), xanthotoxin (3), demethylsuberosin (4), and 2,4-dihydroxy-6-methoxyacetophenone (5) through spectroscopic analyses, such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS). Among the compounds, 1 and 2 showed the highest antibacterial activities against Streptococcus iniae and Vibrio anguillarum, showing minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 62.5-250 ㎍/mL. Compounds 3, 4, and 5 were also found to be active, with MICs of 31.25-1,000 ㎍/mL for those strains. Furthermore, active compounds, 1 and 2 in CE were simultaneously quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem MS (HPLC-MS/MS). The average contents of 1 and 2 in CE was 3.68% and 6.14%, respectively. The established method showed reliable linearity (r² > 0.99), good precision, accuracy, and specificity with intra- and inter-day variations of < 2 % and recoveries of 90.13%-108.57%. These results may be helpful for establishing the chemical profile of CE for its commercialization as an antibiotic alternative in aquaculture.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.127-134
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• 2018

In this study, 79 bacterial isolates were collected from the surface of marine algae Umbraulva japonica. As a result of analysis of 16s rRNA gene sequence, the 79 isolated bacteria were divided into 4 major groups: [Proteobacteria (74.69%), Actinobacteria (2.53%), Fimicutes (2.53%), and Bacteroidetes (20.25%)] - 7 classes (Actinobacteria, Flavobacteria, Sphingobacteria, Baciili, Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria), 12 orders, 17 families and 31 genera. The newly isolated 3 strains could be novel species because of less than 97% similarity in 16s rRNA sequence. Therefore, it is considered that additional experiments should be conducted together with the standard strain. Analysis of 79 bacterial antibacterial activity against human and fish pathogens, such as Edwardsiella tarda, Vibrio harveyi, Streptococcus iniae, Steptococcus parauberis, Escherichia coli, Steptococcus mutans, Listeria monocytogenes and Vibrio vulnificus, was performed by using the supernatant liquid and pellet. As a result, pellet of UJT9, UJT20 and UJR17 showed antibacterial activity against V. vulnificus, UJR17 also showed antibacterial activity against S. parauberis. UJT7 and UJT20, UJR17 have been identified as Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. and it may be safely assented that it's beneficial to carry out additional experiments for various applications.