• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.32-37
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• 2000

A series of transition metal complexes of 3,6-bis(6'-methyl-2'-pyridyl)pyridazine ($L^{1}$) and 3,6-bis(2'-pyridyl)pyridazine ($L^{2}$) as artificial nuclease, $1{\sim}8$ were synthesized. After determining of X-ray crystal structure, hydrolysis rate constants of phosphates, as DNA model compound and biological activities were confirmed. $L^{2}$-Zn(II) complex, 8 was shown the best hydrolysis rate constant. The $L^{2}$-Ni(II) complex, 5 and $L^{2}$-Co(II) complex, 6 showed the highest herbicidal activity against SCP (Scriptus Juncoids) with excellent tolerance to rice, ORY (Oryzae sativa L.). And the $L^{1}$-Co(II) complex, 2, $L^{1}$-Zn(II) complex, 4 and ligand ($L^{1}$ amp; $L^{2}$) displayed above 90% fungicidal activity against MAG (Magnaporthe grisea).

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.25-31
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• 1996

Transgenic tobacco plants expressing calmodulin derivative($lys{\rightarrow}ile$ 115 calmodulin) and hygromycin resistance genes or hygromycin resistance gene alone(control) were generated by Agrobacterium-mediated DNA transfer. Seeds obtained from the transgenic plants($F_o$) were tested for resistance to hygromycin and the expected 3 : 1 ratio was observed. The expression of calmodulin derivative in the tobacco plants was identified by a combined method of Western blot and Chemiluminescence. The effects of surface sterilizers on the germiation of seeds from transgenic tobacco plants were tested in Murashige and Skoog agar medium. Seeds obtained from transgenic tobacoo plants expressing the calmodulin derivative showed no fungi contamination with normal germination by treating with sterilized water alone or sodium hypochlorite(2% effective chlorine). In contrast, seeds from the control transgenic tobacco plants showed severe contamination with fungi by treating with sterilized water alone and showed no contamination with normal germination by treating with sodium hypochlorite(2% chlorine). The effects of calcium concentration on the germination of seeds from transgenic tobacco plants were tested in Murashige and Skoog agar medium. Seeds obtained from transgenic tobacco plants expressing the calmodulin derivative showed better germination frequency than that of the control transgenic tobacco seeds in the medium containing 30 mM $CaCl_2$. The data raise the possibility that the expression of calmodulin derivative gene in tobacco plants could increase adaptability of the seeds to environmental stresses.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.257-264
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• 2017

Mixed substrate oil cakes are known to emit sulfides, ammonia, and amines. Microorganisms capable of removing odorous gases related to these sulfur compounds were isolated from colonies enriched in vials containing oil cakes and water. Activity tests for hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan reduction were performed to measure the sulfide reduction ratio of the isolates. Control groups were prepared with 0.25 g oil cakes and 10 ml water in a 100-ml vial without inoculation. The experimental groups were prepared similarly, albeit with an inoculum. Hydrogen sulfide removal efficiency of >90% was observed for an isolate, which was identified as Brevundimonas diminuta by 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The sequence was deposited in the Korean Collection for Type Cultures under the accession number KCTC11724BP. B. diminuta could remove up to 200 ppmv standard hydrogen sulfide in 24 hours and demonstrated a maximum hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan removal efficiency of 100% at 453 ppmv and 98 ppmv, respectively, in vial tests. Furthermore, B. diminuta cells in 20% (v/w) medium showed removal efficiency of >85% for sulfur compounds in an odor emission chamber for swine manure.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.20
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• pp.9027-9031
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• 2014

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is an established cause of peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. The aim of this study was to identify H. pylori genotypes and to examine their associations with geographical regions and gastritis, peptic ulcers and gastric cancer in Laos. Materials and Methods: A total of 329 Lao dyspeptic patients who underwent gastroscopy at Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Laos during December 2010 - March 2012 were enrolled. Two biopsy specimens (one each from the antrum and corpus) were obtained for CLO testing and only CLO test-positive gastric tissue were used to extract DNA. PCR and sequencing were identified for variants of the cagA and vacA genotypes. Results: Some 119 Laos patients (36.2%) were found to be infected with H. pylori including 83 with gastritis, 13 with gastric ulcers (GU), 20 with duodenal ulcers (DU) and 3 with gastric cancer. cagA was detected in 99.2%. East-Asian-type cagA (62%) and vacA s1c (64.7%) were predominant genotypes in Laos. vacA s1c-m1b was significantly higher in GU than gastritis (53.8% vs. 24.1%; P-value=0.04) whereas vacA s1a-m2 was significantly higher in DU than gastritis (40.0% vs. 16.9%; P-value=0.03). East-Asian-type cagA and vacA s1c were significantly higher in highland than lowland Lao (100% vs. 55.8%; P-value=0.001 and 88.2% vs. 61.5%, P-value=0.03 respectively). Conclusions: H. pylori is a common infection in Laos, as in other countries in Southeast Asia. The cagA gene was demonstrated in nearly all Laos patients, cagA and vacA genotypes being possible important factors in explaining H. pylori infection and disease outcomes in Laos.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.61-70
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• 2011

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are present in many consumer products ranging from fabrics to plastics and electronics. Wide use of flame retardants can pose an environmental hazard, which makes it important to determine the mechanism of their toxicity. In the present study, dose-dependent toxicity of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), a flame retardant, was examined in male prepubertal rats (postnatal day 18) treated orally with TBBPA at 0, 125, 250 or 500 mg/kg for 30 days. There were no differences in body weight gain between the control and TBBPA-treated groups. However, absolute and relative liver weights were significantly increased in high dose of TBBPA-treated groups. TBBPA treatment led to significant induction of CYP2B1 and constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) expression in the liver. In addition, serum thyroxin (T4) concentration was significantly reduced in the TBBPA treated group. These results indicate that repeated exposure to TBBPA induces drug-metabolising enzymes in rats through the CAR signaling pathway. In particular, TBBPA efficiently produced reactive oxygen species (ROS) through CYP2B1 induction in rats. We measured 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a biomarker of DNA oxidative damage, in the kidney, liver and testes of rats following TBBPA treatment. As expected, TBBPA strongly induced the production of 8-OHdG in the testis and kidney. These observations suggest that TBBPA-induced target organ toxicity may be due to ROS produced by metabolism of TBBPA in Sprague-Dawley rats.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.209-215
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• 2005

Lactoferrin is an iron-binding glycoprotein with many biological roles, including the protection against microbial and virus infection, stimulation of the immune system. We developed the transgenic Siberian ginseng (Acanthopanax senticosus) cell cultures producing the human lactoferrin (hLf) protein following Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. A construct containing a targeting signal peptide from tobacco endoplasmic reticulum fused to hLf cDNA under the control of an oxidative stress-inducible SWPA2 promoter was engineered. Transgenic Siberian ginseng cultured cells to produce a recombinant hLf protein were successfully generated and confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analysis. ELISA and western blot analysis showed that full length-hLf protein was synthesized in the transgenic cells. The production of hLf increased proportionally to cell growth and reached a maximal (up to 3% of total soluble proteins) at the stationary phase. These results suggest that the transgenic Siberian ginseng cultured cells in this study will be biotechnologically useful for the commercial production of medicinal plant cell cultures to produce hLf protein.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.65-74
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• 2020

BACKGROUND: Soil carbon sequestration has been investigated for a long time because of its potential to mitigate the greenhouse effect. No- or reduced tillage, crop rotations, or cover crops have been investigated and practiced to sequester carbon in soils but the roles of soil biota, particularly microorganisms, have been mostly ignored although they affect the amount and stability of soil organic matters. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study we analyzed the organic matter and microbial community in organically cultivated corn field soils where no-tillage (NT) or conventional tillage (CT) had been practiced for about three years. The amounts of organic matter and recalcitrant carbon pool were 18.3 g/kg dry soil and 4.1 g C/kg dry soil, respectively in NT soils, while they were 12.4 and 2.5, respectively in CT soils. The amounts of RNA and DNA, and the copy numbers of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and fungal ITS sequences were higher in NT soils than in CT soils. No-tillage treatment increased the diversities of soil bacterial and fungal communities and clearly shifted the bacterial and fungal community structures. In NT soils the relative abundances of bacterial phyla known as copiotrophs, Betaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, increased while those known as oligotrophs, Acidobacteria and Verrucomicrobia, decreased compared to CT soils. The relative abundance of a fungal phylum, Glomeromycota, whose members are known as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, was about two time higher in NT soils than in CT soils, suggesting that the higher amount of organic matter in NT soils is related to its abundance. CONCLUSION: This study shows that no-tillage treatment greatly affects soil microbial abundance and community structure, which may affect the amount and stability of soil organic matter.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.810-820
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• 2016

This study is focused on the investigation of the genes which are induced by various stresses of the halophyte Salicornia herbacea. One of the factors influencing in the germination of Salicornia herbacea is salt stress. The highest germination rate was found in the condition without NaCl, and the upper limit of the NaCl concentration for the germination of Salicornia herbacea was 7%. The optimal temperature of $20^{\circ}C$showed a germination rate of 98%. Among genes induced by stress the 2CysPrx gene was cloned and analyzed for this study. The 2CysPrx gene has two cysteine conserved residues and is composed of 275 amino acids with molecular weight of 30.1kDa. The 2CysPrx gene appeared to be one copy in the genome and consists of 6 introns and 7 exons. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that the highest transcription rate induced by NaCl and $H_2O_2$ appeared to be at the concentration of 3.5% NaCl and 40mM $H_2O_2$, respectively. The amount of transcript induced by high temperature($40^{\circ}C$) and $75{\mu}M$ of ABA was respectively highest. The gene at low temperature ($4^{\circ}C$) appeared not to be expressed. We are conducting to clone other peroxyredoxin genes induced by various environmental stresses.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.388-394
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• 2008

This study was carried out to develop new cultivars using the $T_5$ generation of transformed rice by PCR analysis with DNA marker in each generation $(from\;T_3\;to\;T_5)$. In the previous study, we successfully developed the transgenic rice plants over-expressing the Arabidopsis $H^+/Ca^{2+}$ antiporter CAX 1 (accession no. U57411) gene. The calcium concentration in brown rice of transgenic plants was higher than that of donor plants, Iipum, and was selected 3 lines out of 25 lines at cultured GMO field. The major agronomic traits such as culm length, panicle length and panicle number of 3 lines at transgenic plants $(T_5)$ were similar to wild type. Also these lines appeared to have disease resistance to rice blast, cold resistance as compared with donor types. The grain shape was similar to donor plant, however, the 1000 grain weight of brown rice was different from transgenic plants. These finding would be used for basic data of new variety registration.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.98-104
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• 2018

Naegleria fowleri and Acanthamoeba spp. are free-living amoebas that are widely distributed in natural environments. Although uncommon, infection with these protozoans can cause fatal disease in humans and animals. In this study, in order to select the appropriate method to survey Naegleria fowleri and Acanthamoeba spp. in water samples, four molecular biology techniques and one commercially available kit for real-time PCR were compared. The results indicated that the duplex real-time PCR was the most sensitive, and could be used to simultaneously detect two different free-living amoebas. Using the duplex real-time PCR approach, the two free-living amoebas were surveyed in three local streams in Daejeon, Republic of Korea. The concentrated free-living amoebas were inoculated onto non-nutrient agar plates which had been spread with heat-inactivated Escherichia coli and incubated for 5~7 days. After incubation, gDNA was extracted and used as the template for amplification by duplex real-time PCR. Acanthamoeba spp. and N. fowleri was detected from ten (83.3%) and two (16.6%) of the twelve samples, respectively. As these two free-living amoebas can be fatal, continuous surveillance is needed to track their distribution in the aquatic environment for the drinking water safety.