• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.382-388
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• 2018

In this study, the SELEX method was used to screen for and select aptamers with high selectivity and affinity for Streptococcus mutans, which is the causative agent of dental caries. Aptamers are single stranded oligonucleotides of DNA or RNA with high selectivity and affinity for target molecules because of their specific three-dimensional structures that are used to collect biometric information. When compared to antibodies in vitro, aptamers are more advantageous because of their ease of use in the screening process, low cost, chemical stability, and lack of restrictions on the target molecules. We sorted DNA aptamers, which contain 44 bp or 38 bp primer sequences in 5' and 3', 39 bp random sequences in the middle.We then analyzed the character and affinity to S. mutans. Aptamers of specific oligonucleotides that combine with S. mutans were selected and these results are selectively fused to S. mutans. The results confirmed that DNA aptamers can be used for rapid diagnosis and treatment of dental caries caused by bacteria of the oral cavity, namely S. mutans.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1239-1248
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• 2004

The methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha has been extensively studied as a model organism for methanol metabolism and peroxisome biogenesis. Recently, this yeast has also attracted attention as a promising host organism for recombinant protein production. Here, we describe the fabrication and evaluation of a DNA chip spotted with 382 open reading frames (ORFs) of H. polymorpha. Each ORF was PCR-amplified using gene-specific primer sets, of which the forward primers had 5'-aminolink. The PCR products were printed in duplicate onto the aldehyde-coated slide glasses to link only the coding strands to the surface of the slide via covalent coupling between amine and aldehyde groups. With the partial genome DNA chip, we compared efficiency of direct and indirect cDNA target labeling methods, and found that the indirect method, using fluorescent-labeled dendrimers, generated a higher hybridization signal-to-noise ratio than the direct method, using cDNA targets labeled by incorporation of fluorescence-labeled nucIeotides during reverse transcription. In addition, to assess the quality of this DNA chip, we analyzed the expression profiles of H. polymorpha cells grown on different carbon sources, such as glucose and methanol, and also those of cells treated with the superoxide­generating drug, menadione. The profiles obtained showed a high-level induction of a set of ORFs involved in methanol metabolism and oxidative stress response in the presence of methanol and menadione, respectively. The results demonstrate the sensitivity and reliability of our arrays to analyze global gene expression changes of H. polymorpha under defined environmental conditions.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.695-702
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• 1995

Background: Since polymerase chain reaction(PCR) was devised by Saiki in 1985, it has been used extensively in various fields of molecular biology. Clinically, PCR is especially useful in situation when microbiological or serological diagnosis is limited by scanty amount of causative agents. Thus, PCR can provide rapid and sensitive way of detecting M. tuberculosis in tuberculosis pleurisy which is diagnosed in only about 60 % of cases by conventional method. Method: To evaluate the diagnostic usefulness of PCR in tuberculosis pleurisy, The results of PCR was compared with those of conventional method, including pleural biopsy. The pleural effusion fluid was collected from 7 proven patients, 7 clinically suspected patients and control group(7 patients with malignant effusion). We extracted DNA from pleural fluid by modified method of Eisennach method(1991). The amplification target for PCR was 123 base pair DNA, a part of IS6110. Result: 1) Sensitivity of PCR: We detected upto 50fg DNA. 2) In patients with pleural effusion of proven tuberculosis, the positive rate of PCR was 85.7%(6/7). In patients with pleural effusion of clinically suspected tuberculosis, the positive rate was 71.5%(5/7). In control group, positive rate was 0%(0/7). Conclusion: We concluded that PCR method could be a very rapid, sensitive and specific one for diagnosis of M tuberculosis in pleural effusion. Further studies should be followed for the development of easier method.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.1561-1569
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• 2006

Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) is one of the most frequently used methods for analysis of soil microbial community structure. Unbiased PCR amplification of target DNA templates is crucial for efficient detection of multiple microbial populations mixed in soil. In this study, DGGE profiles were compared using different pairs of primers targeting different hypervariable regions of thirteen representative soil bacteria and clones. The primer set (1070f-1392r) for the E. coli numbering 1,071-1,391 region could not resolve all the 16S rDNA fragments of the representative bacteria and clones, and moreover, yielded spurious bands in DGGE profiles. For the E. coli numbering 353-514 region, various forward primers were designed to investigate the efficiency of PCR amplification. A degenerate forward primer (F357IW) often yielded multiple bands for a certain single 16S rDNA fragment in DGGE analysis, whereas nondegenerate primers (338f, F338T2, F338I2) differentially amplified each of the fragments in the mixture according to the position and the number of primer-template mismatches. A forward primer (F352T) designed to have one internal mismatch commonly with all the thirteen 16S rDNA fragments efficiently produced and separated all the target DNA bands with similar intensities in the DGGE profiles. This primer set F352T-519r consistently yielded the best DGGE banding profiles when tested with various soil samples. Touchdown PCR intensified the uneven amplification, and lowering the annealing temperature had no significant effect on the DGGE profiles. These results showed that PCR amplification bias could be much improved by properly designing primers for use in fingerprinting soil bacterial communities with the DGGE technique.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.628-635
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• 2020

The objective of this study was to detect three non-halal meat products consisted of dog, pork, and rat species in meatball using novel multiplex-PCR with 12S rRNA gene as target sites. A total of 33 self-made meatballs were used, and they were grouped into eleven types of meatball based on meat species origin contained in the meatballs. Each type consisted of three meatballs. Extraction of genomic DNA from the meatballs was used as a DNA template for simplex-, duplex-, and multiplex-PCR processes. The result of simplex-PCR, duplex-PCR, and multiplex-PCR showed that the 12S rRNA primer gene successfully amplified DNA for each species bovine, dog, pig, and rat, which are respectively indicated by 155, 244, 357, and 491 bp of DNA bands. In addition, multiplex-PCR with 12S rRNA gene primers can be uniquely and accurately used for detection bovine, dog, pig, and rat species on beef meatball in one reaction.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.154-160
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• 2015

The plant breeding technology was developed with genetic engineering. Many researchers and breeders have turned from traditional breeding to molecular breeding. Genetically modified organisms (GMO) were developed via molecular breeding technology. Currently, molecular breeding technologies facilitate efficient plant breeding without introducing foreign genes, in virtue by of gene editing technology. Gene targeting (GT) via homologous recombination (HR) is one of the best gene editing methods available to modify specific DNA sequences in genomes. GT utilizes DNA repair pathways. Thus, DNA repair systems are controlled to enhance HR processing. Engineered sequence specific endonucleases were applied to improve GT efficiency. Engineered sequence specific endonucleases like the zinc finger nuclease (ZFN), TAL effector nuclease (TALEN), and CRISPR-Cas9 create DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) that can stimulate HR at a target site. RecQl4, Exo1 and Rad51 are effectors that enhance DSB repair via the HR pathway. This review focuses on recent developments in engineered sequence specific endonucleases and ways to improve the efficiency of GT via HR effectors in plants.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.305-309
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• 1999

The occurrence of tetQ and aacC2 genes encoding tetracycline and gentamicin resistance determinant, respectively, was assessed in total bacterial community DNA isolated from Dongchon stream of Sunchon area. To examine the resistance potential of bacteria that were not cultured, total DNA from 1 liter of stream water was extracted by freeze-thaw method. The PCR technique was employed to determine the abundance of the target genes. The highest frequency of tetQ gene was obtained from site 1, located near the animal farms area, whereas the incidence of aacC2 was highest in site 5, the downstream area. These results showed that the occurrence of antibiotic resistance gene may be used as a convenient marker of water quality related to source.

• BMB Reports
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.20-24
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• 2017

Clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) is a new and effective genetic editing tool. CRISPR was initially found in bacteria to protect it from virus invasions. In the first step, specific DNA strands of virus are identified by guide RNA that is composed of crRNA and tracrRNA. Then RNAse III is required for producing crRNA from pre-crRNA. In The second step, a crRNA:tracrRNA:Cas9 complex guides RNase III to cleave target DNA. After cleavage of DNA by CRISPR-Cas9, DNA can be fixed by Non-Homologous End Joining (NHEJ) and Homology Directed Repair (HDR). Whereas NHEJ is simple and random, HDR is much more complex and accurate. Gene editing by CRISPR is able to be applied to various biological field such as agriculture and treating genetic diseases in human.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.8.1-8.6
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• 2018

Desmarestia japonica (Phaeophyceae, Desmarestiales) was recently established from the Japanese ligulate Desmarestia and is morphologically similar to D. ligulata. This species has been reported only from Japan. However, the taxonomic reports based on additional regional distributions are needed to clarify this taxonomic entity and its species boundaries. Because Desmarestia species have restricted distributions in Korea, we reexamined herbarium specimens of D. ligulata deposited at the National Institute of Biological Resources (South Korea). To improve the amplification efficiency of the polymerase chain reaction and avoid contamination by the DNA of other organisms, we developed taxon-specific molecular markers suitable for DNA barcoding of Desmarestia species. Nuclear ribosomal small subunit RNA (18S rDNA) and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 (cox1) regions were selected as target DNA. As a result, both were successfully isolated from herbarium specimens of D. japonica acquired over 10 years. These molecular markers provide useful genetic information for herbarium specimens for which conventional molecular analysis is challenging.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.295-299
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• 2003

Adenovirus (Ad) precursor to the terminal protein (pTP) plays an essential roles in the viral DNA replication. Ad pTP serves as a primer for the synthesis of a new DNA strand during the initiation step of replication. In addition, Ad pTP forms organized spherical replication foci on the nuclear matrix (NM) and anchors the viral genome to the NM. Here we identified the interferon inducible gene product 1-8D (Inid) as a pTP binding protein by using a two-hybrid screen of a HeLa cDNA library. Of the clones obtained in this assay, nine were identical to the Inid, a 13-kDa polypeptide that shares homology with genes 1-8U and Leu-13/9-27, most of which have little known functions. The entire open reading frame (ORF) of Inid was cloned into the tetracycline inducible expression vector in order to determine the biological functions related with adenoviral infection. When Inid was introduced to the cells along with adenoviruses, fifty to sixty percent of Ad-infected cells expressing Inid had rounded morphology, which was suggestive of apoptosis. Results from the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) and DNA fragmentation assays confirmed that Inid induces apoptosis in Ad-infected or in uninfected cells. The Inid binding to pTP may target the cell for apoptotic destruction as a host defense mechanism against the viral infection.