• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제31권3호
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• pp.358-367
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• 2021

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as an international health emergency. Current diagnostic tests are based on the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) method, which is the gold standard test that involves the amplification of viral RNA. However, the RT-qPCR assay has limitations in terms of sensitivity and quantification. In this study, we tested both qPCR and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to detect low amounts of viral RNA. The cycle threshold (CT) of the viral RNA by RT-PCR significantly varied according to the sequences of the primer and probe sets with in vitro transcript (IVT) RNA or viral RNA as templates, whereas the copy number of the viral RNA by ddPCR was effectively quantified with IVT RNA, cultured viral RNA, and RNA from clinical samples. Furthermore, the clinical samples were assayed via both methods, and the sensitivity of the ddPCR was determined to be equal to or more than that of the RT-qPCR. However, the ddPCR assay is more suitable for determining the copy number of reference materials. These findings suggest that the qPCR assay with the ddPCR defined reference materials could be used as a highly sensitive and compatible diagnostic method for viral RNA detection.

• 한국식물병리학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국식물병리학회 2003년도 정기총회 및 추계학술발표회
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• pp.123.2-124
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• 2003

Fusarium graminearum (telomorph：Gibberella zeae), an important fungal pathogen of cereal crops with ubiquitous geographic distribution, produces mycotoxins on diseased crops that has threaten human and animal health. Recently severe epidemics of scab diseases of barley and rice by this fungus occurred in Korea, causing serious economic losses. To determine genetic diversity of F. graminearum from rice in Korea, a total of 269 isolates were obtained from Southern part of Korea during 2001-2002. A phylogenetic tree of the isolates was constructed by using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). Population structure of the rice isolates consists of a single lineage (lineage 6). Frequency of female fertility among these Isolates was relatively low (37％) compared to that among lineage 7 isolates from Korean corn. PCR amplification using chemotype specific primers derived from Tri7 and Tri13 genes at the trichothecene biosynthesis gene cluster revealed that most isolates (260) were NIV chemotype；9 isolates were identified as DON chemotype by Tri13 but as either NIV chemotype or unknown by Tri7. The result of chemical analysis also supported the chemotype determination；all of the NIV chemotype isolates produced NIV, whereas the 9 isolates produce either DON or no toxin.

• 한국미생물생명공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국미생물생명공학회 1986년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.516.2-516
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• 1986

DNA subfragments, sopA, sopB, and sopC supporting stable maintenance of an oriC plasmid, were derived from mini-F plasmid DNA (EcoRI restriction fragment, f5) after digestion with restriction endonucleases, and cloned in vector plasmid pBR322. The recombinant plasmid obtained were introduced into E. coli KY7231 and E. coli CSR603, and proteins specified by the mini-F fragments were analysed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Two proteins encoded by the F fragments were detected, having molecular weights of 41,000 and 37.000. The sopA protein (41K) encoded by a plasmid pXX288 was observed in the cytoplasm, whereas the sopB protein (37K) encoded by a plasmid pXX157 was in the membrane fraction. There was no novel protein band detected in the cell with a plasmid pXX300, which contained sopC fragment. Gene products of a plasmid pXX167, which is comprised of sopA, sopB, and sopC, were not detectable. Fluorography after one and two dimensional gel electrophoresis of the lysates showed that these two proteins were overproduced in the cells which were allowed to incorporate radioactive amino acid after plasmid amplification by chloramphenicol treatment. The isoelectric points of the sopA and sepB proteins were 6.6 and 7.0, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제26권5호
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• pp.900-908
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• 2016

The effects of algal inoculation on chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total nitrogen (TN) removal, and indigenous bacterial dynamics were investigated in municipal wastewater. Experiments were conducted with municipal wastewater inoculated with either Chlorella vulgaris AG10032, Selenastrum gracile UTEX 325, or Scenedesmus quadricauda AG 10308. C. vulgaris and S. gracile as fast growing algae in municipal wastewater, performed high COD and TN removal in contrast to Sc. quadricauda. The indigenous bacterial dynamics revealed by 16S rRNA gene amplification showed different bacterial shifts in response to different algal inoculations. The dominant bacterial genera of either algal case were characterized as heterotrophic nitrifying bacteria. Our results suggest that selection of indigenous bacteria that symbiotically interact with algal species is important for better performance of wastewater treatment.

• 대한전자공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한전자공학회 2002년도 하계종합학술대회 논문집(2)
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• pp.45-48
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• 2002

This paper discusses the surface roughness of negative chemically amplified resists, SAL601 exposed by I-beam direct writing. system. Surface roughness, as measured by atomic force microscopy, have been simulated and compared to experimental results. Molecular-scale simulator predicts the roughness dependence on material properties and process conditions. A chemical amplification is made to occur in the resists during PEB process. Monte-Carlo and exposure simulations are used as the same program as before. However, molecular-scale PEB simulation has been remodeled using a two-dimensional molecular lattice representation of the polymer matrix. Changes in surface roughness are shown to correlate with the dose of exposure and tile baking time of PEB process. The result of simulation has a similar tendency with that of experiment.

• 생약학회지
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• 제47권2호
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• pp.137-142
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• 2016

Enterovirus is a common cause of several severe diseases such as myocarditis, hand-foot-mouth disease, and meningitis in children and adult. There are many try to develop new antiviral drug for direct treatment in virus infection. However, synthetic chemical antiviral drug is not working. To overcome this limitation, we examined plant extracts. The antiviral effect of plant extracts was screened by HeLa cell survival assay in coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection. We observed a strong antiviral effect of Poria cocos extract in a dose-dependent manner (1 mg/ml~0.01 mg/ml). P. cocos extract (1 mg/ml) treatment was dramatically decreased virus protease 2A induced eIF4G-I cleavage and virus capsid protein VP1 production. CVB3 positive and negative strand RNA amplification were significantly reduced in P. cocos extract treatment. P. cocos extract completely blocked early time activation of ERK and AKT activity in CVB3 infection. Taken together these data indicate that the treatment of P. cocos extract strongly inhibit CVB3 replication. Poria cocos extract may possible to developed as a therapeutic agent for enterovirus.

• 대한임상검사과학회지
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• 제46권4호
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• pp.136-139
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• 2014

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the severe nosocomial infectious agents. The traditional diagnostic methods including biochemical test, antibiotic susceptibility test and PCR amplification are time consuming and require much work. The Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) biosensor is a rapid and powerful tool for analyzing the chemical composition within a single living cell. To identify the biochemical and genetic characterization of clinical MRSA, all isolates from patients were performed with VITEK2 gram positive (GP) bacterial identification and Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST). Virulence genes of MRSA also were identified by DNA based PCR using specific primers. All isolates, which were placed on a gold coated nanochip, were analyzed by a confocal Raman microscopy system. All isolates were identified as S. aureus by biochemical tests. MRSA, which exhibited antibiotic resistance, demonstrated to be positive gene expression of both femA and mecA. Furthermore, Raman shift of S. aureus and MRSA (n=20) was perfectly distinguished by a confocal Raman microscopy system. This novel technique explained that a SERS based confocal Raman microscopy system can selectively isolate MRSA from non-MRSA. The study recommends the SERS technique as a rapid and sensitive method to detect antibiotic resistant S. aureus in a single cell level.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제17권12호
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• pp.2027-2032
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• 2007

[ ${\alpha}$ ]-Synuclein is the major component of Lewy bodies and responsible for the amyloid deposits observed in Parkinson's disease. Ordered filamentous aggregate formation of the natively unfolded ${\alpha}$-synuclein was investigated in vitro with the periodic ultrasonication. The ultrasonication induced the fibrillation of ${\alpha}$-synuclein, as the random structure gradually converted into a ${\beta}$-sheet structure. The resulting fibrils obtained at the stationary phase appeared heterogeneous in their size distribution, with the average length and height of $0.28\;{\mu}m{\pm}0.21\;{\mu}m$ and $5.6\;nm{\pm}1.9\;nm$, respectively. After additional extensive ultrasonication in the absence of monomeric ${\alpha}$-synuclein, the equilibrium between the fibril formation and its breakdown shifted to the disintegration of the preexisting fibrils. The resulting fragments served as nucleation centers for the subsequent seed-dependent accelerated fibrillation under a quiescent incubation condition. This self-seeding amplification process depended on the seed formation and subsequent alterations in their properties by the ultrasonication to a state that accretes the monomeric soluble protein more effectively than their reassociation of the seeds back to the original fibrils. Since many neurodegenerative disorders have been considered to be propagated via the seed-dependent amyloidosis, this study would provide a novel aspect of the significance of the seed structure and its properties leading to the acce]erated amyloid formation.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제35권5호
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• pp.1455-1459
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• 2014

We report a sensitive and reliable FRET-based nanotechnology assay for efficient detection and quantification of bisulfite-unmodified or modified DNA. Bisulfite-untreated DNA or bisulfite-treated DNA is subjected to PCR amplification with biotin-conjugated primers so that the amounts of bisulfite-untreated and treated DNA can be differentiated. Streptavidin-coated quantum dots (QDs) are used to capture biotinylated PCR products intercalated with SYBR Green, enabling FRET measurement. Key features of our method include its low intrinsic background noise, high resolution, and high sensitivity, enabling detection of as little as 1.75 ng of bisulfite-untreated DNA in the presence of an approximately 1,000-fold excess of bisulfite-untreated DNA compared to bisulfate-treated DNA, with the use of PCR reduced (as low as 15 cycles). SYBR Green as an intercalating dye as well as a FRET acceptor allows for a single-step preparation without the need for primers or probes to be chemically conjugated to an organic fluorophore. Multiple acceptors per FRET donor significantly enhance the signal-to-noise ratio as well. In consideration of the high relevance of bisulfite treatment to DNA methylation quantitation, our system for FRET measurement between QDs and intercalating dyes can be generally utilized to analyze DNA methylation and to potentially benefit the scientific and clinical community.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제27권5호
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• pp.657-662
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• 2006

Identification of accessible sites in targeted RNAs is a major limitation to the effectiveness of antisense oligonucleotides. A class of antisense oligodeoxynucleotides, known as the “10-23” DNA enzyme or DNAzyme, which is a small catalytic DNA, has been shown to efficiently cleave target RNA at purine-pyrimidine junctions in vitro. We have designed a strategy to identify accessible cleavage sites in the target RNA, which is hepatitis C virus nonstructural gene 3 (HCV NS3) RNA that encodes viral helicase and protease, from a pool of random DNAzyme library. A pool of DNAzymes of 58 nucleotides-length that possess randomized annealing arms, catalytic core sequence, and fixed 5'/3'-end flanking sequences was designed and screened for their ability to cleave the target RNA. The screening procedure, which includes binding of DNAzyme pool to the target RNA under inactive condition, selection and amplification of active DNAzymes, incubation of the selected DNAzymes with the target RNA, and target site identification on sequencing gels, identified 16 potential cleavage sites in the target RNA. Corresponding DNAzymes were constructed for the selected target sites and were tested for RNA-cleavage in terms of kinetics and accessibility. These selected DNAzymes were effective in cleaving the target RNA in the presence of $Mg^{2+}$. This strategy can be applicable to identify accessible sites in any target RNA for antisense oligonucleotides-based gene inactivation methods.