• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.101-106
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• 2015

Murine mycoplasmosis, caused by Mycoplasma (M.) pulmonis, is a prominent disease in rodent animals. The aim of this study was to develop a sensitive and specific PCR assay to detect M. pulmonis in animals and to assess the suitability of this assay for the detection of mycoplasmal infection in rats experimentally infected with M. pulmonis. A new PCR assay using the M. pulmonis-specific primer pairs MPul-F and MPul-R was developed. The primers and probe for the assay were designed from regions in the 16S rRNA gene that are unique to M. pulmonis. The novel PCR assay was very specific and sensitive for M. pulmonis, detecting the equivalent of 5 pg of target template DNA. It detected only M. pulmonis and no other Mycoplasma species or other bacterial species. The newly developed PCR assay also effectively detected M. pulmonis infection in rats. These results suggest that this PCR assay using M. pulmonis-specific primer pairs of MPul-F and MPul-R will be useful and effective for monitoring M. pulmonis infection in animals.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.1630-1634
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• 2011

Electroless plating of metallic nickel on carbon fiber surfaces was carried out to control specific electric resistivity of the fibers, and the effects of the nickel content and coating thickness on the electric properties were studied. The structural and surface properties of the carbon fibers were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The specific resistivity of the fibers was measured using a four-point probe testing method. From the XPS results, the oxygen and Ni atomic ratio of the fibers was greatly enhanced as the plating time increased. Additionally, it was observed that the specific electric resistivity decreased considerably in the presence of metallic nickel particles and with the formation of nickel layers on carbon fibers.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1170-1177
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• 2005

Terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis was used to monitor inoculated oil-degrading microorganisms during bioremedial treatability tests. A pair of universal primers, fluorescently labeled 521F and 1392R, was employed to amplify small subunit rDNA in order to simultaneously detect two bacterial strains, Corynebacterium sp. IC10 and Sphingomonas sp. KH3-2, and a yeast strain, Yarrowia lipolytica 180. Digestion of the 5'-end fluorescence/labeled PCR products with HhaI produced specific terminal-restriction fragments (T-RFs) of 185 and 442 bases, corresponding to Corynebacterium sp. IC10 and Y. lipolytica 180, respectively. The enzyme NruI produced a specific T-RF of 338 bases for Sphingomonas sp. KH3-2. The detection limit for oildegrading microorganisms that were inoculated into natural environments was determined to be $0.01\%$ of the total microbial count, regardless of the background environment. When three oil-degrading microorganisms were released into oil-contaminated sand microenvironments, strains IC10 and 180 survived for 35 days after inoculation, whereas strain KH3-2 was detected at 8 days, but not at 35 days. This result implies that T-RFLP could be a useful tool for monitoring the survival and relative abundance of specific microbial strains inoculated into contaminated environments.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.207-212
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• 2012

The shortage of human organs for transplantation has induced the research on the possibility of using animal as porcine. However, pig to human transplantation as known as xeno-transplantation has major problem as immunorejection. Recently, the solutions of pig to human xenotransplantation are commonly mentioned as having a genetically modification which include alpha 1, 3 galatosyl transferase knockout (GTKO) and immune-suppressing gene transgenic model. Unfortunately, the expression level of transgenic gene is very low activity. Therefore, development of gene overexpression system is the most urgent issue. Also, the tissue specific overexpression system is very important. Because most blood vessels are endothelial cells, establishment of the endothelial-specific promoter is attractive candidates for the introduction of suppressing immunorejection. In this study, we focus the ICAM2 promoter which has endothelial-specific regulatory region. To detect the regulatory region of ICAM2 promoter, we cloned 3.7 kb size mini-pig ICAM2 promoter. We conduct serial deletion of 5' flanking region of mini-pig ICAM2 promoter then selected promoter size as 1 kb, 1.5 kb, 2 kb, 2.5 kb, and 3 kb. To analyze promoter activity, luciferase assay system was conducted among these vectors and compare endothelial activity with epithelial cells. The reporter gene assay revealed that ICAM2 promoter has critical activity in endothelial cells (CPAE) and 1 kb size of ICAM2 promoter activity was significantly increased. Taken together, our studies suggest that mini-pig ICMA2 promoter is endothelial cell specific overexpression promoter and among above all size of promoters, 1 kb size promoter is optimal candidate to overcome the vascular immunorejection in pig to human xenotransplantation.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.5
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• pp.977-983
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• 2021

Closely correlated expression patterns between ubiquitin specific peptidase 9X-linked (USP9X) and adherens junction formation factor (Afadin) in mouse testis development suggests that Usp9x regulates the deubiquitination of Af-6 (also known as Afadin, AFDN), and subsequently, the cell adhesion dynamics during gametogenesis. However, this relationship has not yet been tested in other domestic animals. The study was examined the temporal and spatial expression patterns of porcine USP9X and AFDN from the pre-pubertal to adult stages using real time-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, we detected the transcripts of USP9X and AFDN in the testis of 1-, 6- and 12-months old boar, respectively. USP9X and AFDN were found to have similar expressions patterns, with basal expression after 1 month followed by a significant up-regulation from 6 months (puberty) onwards. In addition, neither the AFDN or USP9X proteins were detected in spermatogenic cells but they were expressed in the leydig cells and sertoli cells. USP9X was detected around the basal lamina during pre-puberty, and predominantly expressed in the leydig cells at puberty. Finally, in adult testis, USP9X was increased at the sertoli cell-cell interface and the sertoli cell-spermatid interface. In summary, closely correlated expression patterns between USP9X and AFDN in boar testis supports the previous findings in mice. Furthermore, the junction connections between the sertoli cells may be regulated by the ubiquitination process mediated via USP9X.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.181-188
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• 2008

Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay was used to detect and identify four fish viruses, fish iridovirus, viral hemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV), viral nervous necrosis virus (VNNV), hirame rhabdovirus (HRV). Four viruses were detected by PCR with each specific primers. Identification of iridovirus was achieved by digesting the PCR amplified fragment with a restriction enzyme ApaⅠ. It was possible to distinguish positive from false positive PCR amplicons of VHSV by RFLP of PstⅠ or HindⅢ restriction enzymes. VNNV was identified using RFLP of BamHⅠrestriction enzyme and HRV was identified by XbaⅠ restriction enzyme. This approach can be used for more rapid, simple and specific diagnosis of fish viral diseases.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.58-62
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• 2008

Utilization of carbon sources by Bacillus cereus D324, a biological control agent, and Pythium species, which causes rice seedling disease, was studied with the objective of increasing the efficacy of biological control by providing the biological control agent with specific beneficial carbon sources. D-galactose, D-sorbitol, and D-mannitol were poor carbon sources for Pythium spp. growth but were good for B. cereus D324 growth. Growth in a growth chamber of rice seeds coated with B. cereus D324 amended with specific carbon sources, such as D-galactose and D-sorbitol, showed significantly enhanced seedling emergence compared to seeds coated only with B. cereus D324. Field trials showed that both seedling emergence and yield increased, when the above specific carbon sources were added to B. cereus D324 in seed coating formulations. This result indicated that amending seed coating formulations with specific carbon sources could significantly increase seedling emergence and yield in the field.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.111-114
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• 2014

Purpose: This review aims to introduce aptamers and the methods of its development to improve the sensitivity and selectivity to target bacteria. In this review, we have highlighted current developments and directions in the pathogen detection based on aptamers. Background: Aptamers, the specific nucleic acid sequences, can bind to targets with high affinity and specificity. Some of researches on the use of aptamers for the detection of pathogen have been reported in recent years. Aptamers have more applicability than antibodies for the development of pathogen detection using biosensor; such as easy to synthesis and labeling, lack of immunogenicity, and a low cost of production. However, only few reports on the development and use of aptamers for the detection of pathogen have been published. Review: Aptamers specific to pathogen are obtained by whole-cell systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) process. SELEX process is composed of screening random oligonucleotide bound with target cells, multiple separation and amplification of nucleic acids, final identification of the best sequences. For improving those affinity and selectivity to target bacteria, optimization of multiple separating process to remove unbounded oligonucleotides from aptamer candidates and sorting process by flow cytometry are required.

• Plant Breeding and Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.289-300
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• 2014

A tissue-specific and developmentally expressed gene was isolated from Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis), designated BrREF (B. rapa Rubber elongation factor). BrREF transcripts were expressed at high levels in seedlings and at low levels in flower buds and roots. To study the activity of this promoter, the 2.2 kb upstream sequence of BrREF gene was fused to a β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene and was introduced into Arabidopsis thaliana and B. napus by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Strong expression of GUS driven by the BrREF promoter was detected in the cotyledons and hypocotyls of transgenic plant seedlings, but GUS expression was weak in roots, excluding the root tips. GUS expression in the cotyledons and hypocotyls decreased dramatically as the seedlings matured and was not detected in the tissues of mature plants. During floral development, GUS expression was observed in immature anthers. These findings suggest that the BrREF promoter can modulate the tissue-specific and developmental expression of gene at the early stages of growth and development.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.319-327
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• 2009

Follicular fluid meiosis-activating sterol (FF-MAS) has been suggested as a positive factor which could improve the oocyte quality and subsequent embryo development after in vitro fertilization. However, FF-MAS is a highly lipophilic substance and is hard to detect in studying the relationship between MAS and quality of oocyte maturation. The present study focused on the expression of lanosterol 14${\alpha}$-demethylase (LDM), a key enzyme that converts lanosterol to FF-MAS, on mouse oocyte maturation and its potency on development. LDM expression was strong in gonadotropin-primed germinal vesicle stage oocytes, weak after germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), and then strong in MII stage oocytes. The LDM-specific inhibitor azalanstat significantly inhibited oocyte fertilization (from 79.4% to 68.3%, p<0.05). Also, azalanstat (5 to 50 ${\mu}M$) decreased the percentage of blastocyst development dosedependently (from 78.7% to 23.4%, p<0.05). The specific inhibition of sterol ${\Delta}14$-reductase and ${\Delta}7$-reductase by AY9944 accumulates FF-MAS and could increase blastocyst development rates. Additionally, in the AY9944 group, the rate of inner cell mass (ICM)/ total cells was similar to that of in vivo development, but the rate was significantly decreased in azalanstat treatment. In conclusion, LDM, the key enzyme of FF-MAS production, may play an important role in fertilization and early development of the mouse embryo, especially in vitro.