• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.175-180
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• 2019

Telomeres are nucleoprotein complexes at the physical ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes. They protect the chromosome ends from various external attacks to avoid the loss of genetic information. Telomeres are maintained by cellular activities associated with telomerase and telomere-binding proteins. In addition, epigenetic regulators have pivotal roles in controlling the chromatin state at telomeres and subtelomeric regions, contributing to the maintenance of chromosomal homeostasis in yeast, animals, and plants. Here, we review the recent findings on chromatin modifications possibly associated with the dynamic states of telomeres in Arabidopsis thaliana.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.89-98
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• 2022

This study compared the production and physiological characteristics of male and female Korean native commercial chickens. We investigated the growth performance, vitality, and stress response of 479 male and 608 female chickens from 1 d to 12 weeks of age. The body weight, feed consumption and feed conversion ratio were measured as growth performance. The survival rate, amount of telomeric DNA, DNA damage rate, heterophil-lymphocyte ratio (H/L ratio), and heat shock protein (HSP)-70, HSP-90α, and HSP-90β gene expression levels were analyzed as indicators of vitality and stress response. Body weight was significantly higher in male chickens than in female chickens after 2 weeks of age (P<0.01). Feed intake was higher in male chickens than in female chickens, whereas the feed conversion ratio showed the opposite trend. The survival rate was significantly higher in female chickens than in male chickens (82.8% vs. 73.8%, P<0.05). Stress response analysis revealed no differences between male and female chickens in terms of telomeric DNA content, DNA damage rate, H/L ratio, and HSP gene expression levels. Taken together, it was concluded that there was a significant difference in the growth performance and survival rate between male and female Korean native commercial chickens, whereas there was no difference in the degree of stress response between them. Therefore, in terms of the productivity of Korean native commercial chickens, it is judged that separate-sex rearing is much more advantageous than mixed rearing, regardless of the physiological characteristics of males and females.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.402-407
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• 2003

Karyotype analysis and chromosomal localization of 5S and 45S rDNAs using multi-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (McFISH) technique were carried out in Bupleurum longeradiatum. Somatic metaphase chromosome number was 2n=12. Karyotype was composed of three pairs of metacentrics (No.3, 4 and 6) and three pairs of submetacentrics (No. 1, 2 and 5). The length of somatic prometaphase chromosomes ranges from 2.55 to $5.05{\mu}m$ with total length of $18.15\;{\mu}m$. In FISH experiment, one pair of 5S rDNA signals was detected on the pericentromeric region of chromosome 4 and one pair of 45S rDNA signals was detected on the telomeric region of chromosome 2.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.137-143
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• 2001

Objective : Telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein adds telomere repeats to the ends of telomeres to compensate for the progressive loss. A favorable prognosis associated with low or no telomerase activity in some tumors, and cells transfected with antisense human telomerase lost telomeric repeats and die. We studied about the relationship between telomerase activity and apoptosis in the human brain tumors. Material and Methods : Between July 1998 and December 1999, 62 patients with brain tumors underwent surgery and their surgical specimens were obtained. Telomerase activity was investigated by telomeric repeats amplification protocol(TRAP) assay. Apoptosis was also evaluated by DNA fragmentation analysis. Differences and correlation in data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney test and Wilcoxon-signed rank test. Results : Expression rate of telomerase activity and apoptosis were 80% and 30% in malignant gliomas, 33% and 0% in low grade gliomas, 63% and 38% in meningiomas, 67% and 33% in pituitary adenomas, 33% and 33% in metastatic tumors, 67% and 17% in acoustic neurinomas, 100% and 100% in pineoblastomas, 100% and 0% in the hemangioblastoma, respectively. There was no significant difference of telomerase activity and apoptosis between histological types. But a significant difference was noted in the expression of telomerase activity between malignant gliomas and low grade gliomas(p = 0.022). Brain tumors with telomerase activity expressed the lower rate of apoptosis. A significant correlation was also found between telomerase activity and absence of apoptosis in the human brain tumors(p = 0.005). Conclusions : Our data suggests that telomerase may protect from apoptosis of the human brain tumors and also may play an important role in the biological malignancy of the gliomas.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.443-447
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• 2009

This paper reports on the structural rearrangement of satellite DNA type I repeats and heterochromatin during the dedifferentiation and cell cycling of mesophyll protoplasts of cucumber (Cucumis sativus). These repeats were localized in the telomeric heterochromatin of cucumber chromosomes and in the chromocenters of interphase nuclei. The dramatic reduction of heterochromatin involves decondensation of subtelomeric repeats in freshly isolated protoplasts; however, there are not a great many remarkable changes in the expression profile. In spite of that, reformation of the chromocenters, occurring 48 h after protoplast isolation, is accompanied by recondensation of satellite DNA type I; however, only partial reassembly of these repeats was revealed. In this study, FISH and a flow cytometry assay show a correlation between the partial chromocenter and the repeats reassembly, and with the reentry of cultivated protoplasts into the cell cycle and first cell division. After that, divided cells displayed a higher variability in the expression profile than did leaves' mesophyll cells and protoplasts.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2002.06a
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• pp.15-15
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• 2002

Telomere erosion is the earliest chromatin modification in cells entering the apoptotic regime. The purpose of this investigation was to demonstrate that loss of telomeric DNA was involved in the induction of mitotic catastrophe and cell death of Chinese hamster Don cells that were grown continuously without subculturing for several days. Don, which is a diploid male Chinese hamster-derived cell line, was grown without sub-culturing for one to four days at 37℃ and then harvested for cytological preparations. (omitted)

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2003.10b
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• pp.201.3-201.3
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• 2003

The ethanol extract from the fruit of Terminalia chebula (Combretaceae) and the hook of Uncaria sinensis (Rubiaceae) exhibited significant inhibitory activity on oxidative stress and the age-dependent shortening of the telomeric DNA length. In the peroxidation model using t-BuOOH, human epidermal keratinocytes-neonatal foreskin (HEK-N/F) cells were treated with the T. chebula and U. sinensis extracts. The results showed a notable enhancing effect on the cell viability of 60.5 ${\pm}$ 3.8 and 65.0 ${\pm}$ 3.0%, respectively, by 50 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml of the extracts. (omitted)

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.311-315
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• 2003

This study was carried out to compare chromosomal characteristics between Atractylodes japonica and A macrocephala. Cytogenetic analysis was conducted based on karyotype analysis and physical mapping using fluorescence in situ hybridization. As a result of karyotype analysis by feulgen staining, somatic chromosome numbers of A. japonica and A. macrocephala were 2n=24. The length. of the mitotic metaphase chromosomes of A. japonica ranged from $0.70\;to\;1.60{\mu}m$ with a total length. of $12.11{\mu}m$ and the homologous chromosome complement comprised six metacentrics, five submetacentrics and one subtelocentrics. On the other hand, the length of the mitotic metaphase chromosomes of A. macrocephala ranged from $0.90\;to\;2.35{\mu}m$ with a total length of $16.58{\mu}m$ and the homologous chromosome complement comprised seven metacentrics and five submetacentrics. The total length of A. japonica chromosomes was shorter than that of A. macrocephala, but A. japonica had one subtelocentrics (chromosomes 4) different from A. macrocepha1a. chromosomes. The F1SH technique using 17S and 5S rDNA was applied to metaphase chromosomes. The signals for 17S rDNA were detected on the telomeric regions of chromosomes 4 and 5 in both A japonica and A. macrocephala. The 5S rDNA signal was found in the short arm of chromosome 1.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.77-86
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• 2019

This study was conducted to compare the heat stress response and production performance of chicks hatched in winter and summer. Among the 2,090 Korean native chickens examined, 1,156 hatched in winter and 934 hatched in summer. The amount of telomeric DNA, the expression of heat shock protein (HSP) genes, survival rate, egg production, and body weight were analyzed to evaluate the stress response and production performance of chickens. The results showed that the expression of HSP-70, $HSP-90{\alpha}$, and $HSP-90{\beta}$ genes in the winter-hatched chickens were significantly higher than those in the summer-hatched chickens during the growing and laying period (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the amount of telomeric DNA between summer- and winter-hatched chickens. The survival rate was significantly higher in the summer-hatched chickens than in the winter-hatched chickens at the laying period (P<0.01). The hen-day egg production and egg weight in the summer-hatched chickens were also significantly higher than those in the winter-hatched chickens (P<0.05). In contrast, age of sexual maturity of winter-hatched chickens was significantly earlier than that of summer-hatched chickens (P<0.01). The body weights from birth to 24 weeks were significantly lighter in the summer-hatched chickens than in the winter-hatched chickens, however, it was reversed after 28 weeks (P<0.05). In conclusion, the chicks hatched in the summer are more resistant to heat stress, with better productivity than the chicks hatched in the winter. These results suggest that the chicks grown at high temperatures have greater adaptability to the thermal environment.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.31-40
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• 2013

This study was performed to investigate the investigated effects of dietary supplementation of vitamin C and E on the growth performance and stress response in broiler chickens. Stress response was analyzed by the quantity of telomeric DNA, the rate of DNA damage and the expression levels of heat shock proteins (HSPs) and hydroxyl-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) genes on tissues and blood. The telomere length and telomere shortening rates were analyzed by quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization on the nuclei of lymphocytes and tissues. The DNA damage rate of lymphocytes was quantified by the comet assay. The expression levels of HSP70, HSP90s and HMGCR genes were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in lymphocytes. In results, there was no significant difference among treatments in body weight, weight gain, feed intake and mortality. The telomere shortening rate of the lymphocytes was significantly lower in the vitamin E supplemented group than the control group. The DNA damage was also decreased supplemented with vitamin C and E, as compared to the control group. The vitamin E supplemented group had a significant positive effect on the expressions of HMGCR, HSP90-${\alpha}$ and HSP90-${\beta}$ in lymphocytes, but had no significance on HSP70, as compared to the control group. We concluded that the dietary supplementation of vitamin E (100 mg/kg feed) had reduced the individual physiological stress response without stunt growth in broiler chickens.