• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.547-554
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• 2004

Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures at the ends of chromosomes consisting of tandem repeat sequences of . (TTAGGG)n. Telomeres serve as guardians of the genome, protect individual chromosomes within the nucleus, and help in meiotic pairing of homologous chromosomes. To investigate the telomere distributions of cattle and pig chromosomes, fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH) was carried out on metaphase spreads of in vitro fibroblast cultures from Holstein and Landrace using a human telomeric DNA repeat probe. Results indicate that the distinct double spots on both ends of chromosomes of cattle and pigs were observed. In cattle, there was a random variation in the intensity of telomere signals among chromosomes. In pigs, an interstitial telomeric signal was observed on the chromosome 6q1 of all the cells examined. According to quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization(Q-FISH) analysis, some chromosomes had consistently much more telorneres at one end of chromosomes. In general, both species had consistently much more telomeres at q-end than p-end on most of chromosomes. The relative amount of telomeres on bovine chromosomes was higher than that on pig chromosomes. In additions, Y chromosome had the highest relative amount of telorneres in cattle and pigs.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.436-444
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• 2005

We describe the morphology and molecular organization of heterochromatin domains in the interphase nuclei, and mitotic and meiotic chromosomes, of Brassica rapa, using DAPI staining and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of rDNA and pericentromere tandem repeats. We have developed a simple method to distinguish the centromeric regions of mitotic metaphase chromosomes by prolonged irradiation with UV light at the DAPI excitation wavelength. Application of this bleached DAPI band (BDB) karyotyping method to the 45S and 5S rDNAs and 176 bp centromere satellite repeats distinguished the 10 B. rapa chromosomes. We further characterized the centromeric repeat sequences in BAC end sequences. These fell into two classes, CentBr1 and CentBr2, occupying the centromeres of eight and two chromosomes, respectively. The centromere satellites encompassed about 30% of the total chromosomes, particularly in the core centromere blocks of all the chromosomes. Interestingly, centromere length was inversely correlated with chromosome length. The morphology and molecular organization of heterochromatin domains in interphase nuclei, and in mitotic and meiotic chromosomes, were further characterized by DAPI staining and FISH of rDNA and CentBr. The DAPI fluorescence of interphase nuclei revealed ten to twenty conspicuous chromocenters, each composed of the heterochromatin of up to four chromosomes and/or nucleolar organizing regions.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.39-43
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• 2008

Objectives: The pathophysiology of restless legs syndrome (RLS) is not obvious, but many promising theories involve dopaminergic deficiency and genetic causes. The RLS is presumed to occur more frequently among schizophrenic patients who take antipsychotics, most of which blocks the dopamine receptors. This study aimed to investigate whether dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) 40 base pair (bp) variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism is associated with the antipsychotic-induced RLS in schizophrenia. Methods: We determined the diagnosis of RLS among the 190 Korean schizophrenic patients by the diagnostic criteria of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG). Genotyping was performed for the 40bp VNTR in DAT1 gene using polymerase chain reaction. Results: We separated the schizophrenic patients into 44 patients with RLS and 146 patients without RLS. The genotype and allele frequencies did not differ significantly between two groups. Conclusions: These results suggest that DAT1 gene 40bp VNTR is not associated with the antipsychotic-induced RLS in schizophrenia. To confirm these results, larger-scale association study is needed in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.123-128
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• 2006

Behcet's disease (BD) is a systemic vasculitis characterized by recurrent oral and genital ulcers, and ocular inflammation, and which may involve the joints, skin, central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract. Although the exact pathogenesis for BD is not completely understood, it has been suggested that the disease is triggered in genetically susceptible individuals by environmental factors, such as microbial agents. It is noted that multiple genes, including MHC (major histocompatibility complex) and non-MHC genes, are implicated in the pathogenesis of BD. This study tries to determine whether IL-6 gene polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to Behcet's disease in Koreans. Gene polymorphisms were typed by VNTR (variable number of tandem repeat), RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism), DHPLC (denaturing high performance liquid chromatography).There were no evidences for genetic association conferred by the IL-6prom polymorphism. However, significant differences in the IL-6vntr genotype and allele frequencies were found between patients with BD and controls. The IL-6vntr*C allele appeared to be an additional susceptibility gene to Korean BD. Further studies in other populations and gene are required to confirm these results.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.740-746
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• 2005

In this article, we report the tandem mass spectrometry investigations for the electron capture efficiencies of the protons belonging to the different locations (generations) in a poly(propylene imine) dendrimer with three layers of a repeat unit (named as the third generation dendrimer). The employed tandem mass spectrometry methods include SORI-CAD (sustained off-resonance irradiation collisional activation dissociation) and ECD(electron capture dissociation) mass spectrometry. We obtained SORI-CAD spectra for the dendrimer ions in the different charge states, ranging from 2+ to 4+. The analysis of fragmentation sites provides the information as to where the protons are distributed among various generations of the dendrimer. Based upon this, a new strategy to study the electron capture efficiencies of the protons is utilized to examine a new type of triplycharged ions by SORI-CAD, i.e., the 3+ ions generated from the charge reduction of the native 4+ ions by ECD: (M+4H)$^{4+}\;+\;e^-\;{\rightarrow}$ (M+4H)$^{3+\bullet}$ ${\rightarrow}\;({H^{\bullet}}_{ejected}$) + (M+3H)$^{3+}\;\rightarrow$ CAD. Interestingly, comparison of these four SORICAD spectra indicates that the proton distribution in the charge-reduced 3+ ions is very close to that in the native 4+ ions. It further suggests that in this synthetic polymer ($\sim$1.7 kDa) with an artificial architecture, the electron capture efficiencies of the protons are actually insensitive to where they are located in the molecule. This is somewhat contradictory to common expectations that the protons in the inner generations may not be well exposed to the incoming electron irradiation as much as the outer ones are, thus may be less efficient for electron capture. This finding may carry some implications for the case of medium sized peptide ions with similar masses, which are known to show no obvious site-specific fragmentations in ECD MS.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.219-232
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• 1997

치아는 성별과 연령의 추정은 물론 혈형 검사와 유전자 검사까지 가능하게 하는 중요한 법의치과학적 자료이다 대부분 치아를 이용한 연구는 핵 DNA가 들어있는 치수에서의 연구로 치수내에는 풍부한 혈액 및 세포가 분포해 있어 핵 DNA가 다량 함유되어 있다. 그러나 순수 상아질에는 핵이 없고 따라서 핵 DNA도 없는 것으로 알려졌지만 치수내에 존재하는 핵 DNA가 상아세관을 통하여 상아질내로 침투할 가능성이 있고 실제 근관치료가 되어 있는 무수치를 감정하게 되는 경우도 있다. 본 연구에서는 이러한 치아중에서도 근관치료를 받은 무수치에서 개인식별에 활용되는 유전자가 검출되는지 여부를 확인하고자 하였다. 40개의 근관치료된 치아상아질에서 DNA출 추출하고 중합효소반응을 이용하여 증폭절편다형(Amp-FLPs)을 실시하고 X-Y homologous amelogenin gene과 STR 유전좌위 F13A01, LPL를 검색하여 다음과 같은 결과를 얻었다. 1. 40개의 근관치료된 치아중 19개에서 DNA가 추출되었다. 2. X-Y homologous amelogenin gene 검색으로 40개의 근관치료된 치아에서 21의 남자 치아중 5개, 19개의 여자치아중 7개 등 모두 12개 치아에서 성별검사가 가능하였다. 3. F13A01 유전자는 43개의 근관치료된 치아중 6개의 치아에서 검색되었으며, 4개의 대립유전자 및 5개의 유전자형을 관찰하였다. 4. LPL_유전자는 40개의 근관치료된 치아중 7개의 치아에서 검색되었으며, 3개의 대립유전자 및 3개의 유건자형을 관찰하였다. 이상의 결과를 종합하여 볼 때 근관치료된 치아상아질에서 중합효소반응을 이용한 성별검사 및 STR 유전자위의 검색은 일부 치아에서만 가능하였으나, 근관치료된 치아들도 개인식별을 위한 법의치과학적 자료로서 유용할 것으로 사료된다.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.179-183
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• 2009

To facilitate the genetic manipulation of Cladosporium phlei, a causal agent of leaf spot disease in timothy (Phleum pretense), protoplast-mediated transformation of C. phlei has been developed and the resulting transformants were characterized in this study. Hygromycin B resistance was applied as a dominant selection marker due to the sensitivity of C. phlei to this antibiotic. The transformation efficiency ranged from approximately 20-100 transformants per experiment. Southern blot analysis of stable transformants revealed that transformation occurred by way of stable integration of the vector DNA into the fungal chromosome. PCR analysis and plasmid rescuing of randomly selected transformants suggested that integration of tandem repeat copies of vector DNA was common. In addition, multiple integrations of the transforming vector at different chromosomal sites were also observed. The establishment of a transformation method for C. phlei facilitates strain improvement of this fungus and can be applied as an initial step in the molecular analysis of pigment production in this fungus.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.709-716
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• 2006

Mammalian polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) acts at various stages in early and late mitosis. Plk1 localizes at the centrosome and maintains this position through mitosis. Thereafter Plk1 moves to the kinetochore and midbody region, important sites during chromosome separation and cytokinesis. The catalytic domain of Plk1 is in the N-terminus region, whereas the non-catalytic region in the C-terminus of Plk1 has a conserved motif, named the Polobox. This motif is critical for Plk localization. EGFP proteins fused with the N-terminus and C-terminus of Plk1 localize in the nucleus and centrosomes, respectively. The core sequences of the polo-box (50 amino acids) also localize in Plk1 target organelles. To screen for domain-specific target proteins of Plk1, we constructed an N-terminal domain and a tandem repeat polo-box motif, and used them as templates in a yeast two-hybrid screen. The HeLa cell cDNA library indicated several proteins including the centrosome/kinetochore components or regulators, to be characterized as positive clones. Through in vitro protein binding analyses, we confirmed an interaction between these proteins and Plk1. The data reported from this study indicate that the N- and C- termini of Plk1 may function through recruitment and/or activation of domain-specific target proteins in dividing cells. Additionally, tandem repeats of the conserved core motif of the polo-box are sufficient for targeting and may be useful as a centrosome/kinetochore-specific targeting peptide.

• The Korean Journal of Legal Medicine
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.32-40
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• 2017

In addition to identifying genetic differences between target populations, it is also important to determine the impact of genetic differences with regard to the respective target populations. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of cases where this approach is needed, and thus various statistical methods must be considered. In this study, genetic data from populations of Southeast and Southwest Asia were collected, and several statistical approaches were evaluated on the Y-chromosome short tandem repeat data. In order to develop a more accurate and practical classification model, we applied gradient boosting and ensemble techniques. To infer between the Southeast and Southwest Asian populations, the overall performance of the classification models was better than that of the decision trees and regression models used in the past. In conclusion, this study suggests that additional statistical approaches, such as data mining techniques, could provide more useful interpretations for forensic analyses. These trials are expected to be the basis for further studies extending from target regions to the entire continent of Asia as well as the use of additional genes such as mitochondrial genes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Developmental Biology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.112-112
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• 2003

Telomere란 진핵세포에 존재하는 DNA-protein 복합체로서 염색체의 말단부에 tandem repeated DNA 서열 (TTAGGG)과 특정 단백질로 구성되어 있으며 세포 분열이 진행함에 따라 이의 길이가 짧아지게 되고 일정 길이 이하가 되면 세포의 사망이 유발된다. 반면 telomerase는 ribonucleoprotein으로서 telomeric DNA의 합성에 관여하는 것으로 염색체의 말단에 telomeric DNA의 소실을 보충하는 역할로 알려져 있다. 최근 암, 노화 등과 관련하여 telomere 및 telomerase의 연구들이 활발히 진행되고 있으며, 다양한 세포들에 있어 이들의 존재와 역할에 대해서도 많은 연구들이 수행되고 있다. 포유동물의 초기 배자에 있어 telomere의 분포 양상과 telomerase의 activity의 분석은 배 발생의 기작과 배자의 세포적 특성을 구명하는데 매우 중요한 과제라 사료된다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 마우스의 초기 배 발생 단계별 수정란의 telomeric DNA의 분포 양상과 각 단계별 배자들의 telomerase activity를 제시하고자 하였다. 시험에 공시된 마우스는 4-6주령된 ICR계통으로 이들을 과배란 처리 후 자연 교배시켜 얻은 2-, 4-, 8-세포기배, 상실배 및 배반포배를 대상으로 하였다. Telomeric DNA의 양적 분석은 각 발생단계별 수정란의 표본을 제작하고 human telomere repeat probe를 이용하여 FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization)를 시행하였으며, 분리된 할구들을 형광현미경으로 관찰 후 상을 포착하고 image analyser program (MataMorph, UIC, USA)을 이용하여 한 개의 세포내 telomere의 상대적 함량을 분석하였다. 발생 단계별 배자의 telomerase activity의 분석은 TRAP (telomeric repeat amplofication protocol) assay로 분석한 바 각 발생 단계별 30개의 수정란으로부터 핵 단백질을 추출하여 telomerase를 신장시키고 PCR을 시행한 후 15% PAGE gel loading하여 이의 activity를 확인하였다. 분석 결과, telomeric DNA의 함유율은 발생단계별 다소의 차이를 나타내었으며 telomerase activity는 모든 발생단계의 수정란에서 확인할 수 있었고, 특히 상실배부터 높게 나타남을 확인하였다.