• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.525-532
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• 2024

The strategy of cultivating healthy fish by manipulating their gut microbiota composition using probiotics is crucial for establishing sustainable fish farms. Information on the gut microbiota composition of healthy fish is important for the efficient development of probiotics and the aquaculture strategies that would apply them. This study assessed the gut microbiota composition of farmed olive flounder according to the growth stage to provide useful information for the development of probiotics. The fish were classified according to their weight, and the intestines of five juveniles weighing less than 100 g and five subadults weighing between 400 and 800 g were used for analysis. The results of alpha diversity analysis confirmed higher richness and diversity in the subadult group than in the juvenile group. Beta diversity analysis revealed clear boundaries and distances between the groups; however, individuals within each group were similar. The two groups showed marked differences in their gut microbiota composition. Phylum-level analysis revealed that the most abundant phylum was Proteobacteria in the juvenile group and Firmicutes in the subadult group. Notably, genus-level analysis revealed that Vibrio accounted for more than 50% of the total composition in the juvenile group. Linear discriminant analysis effect size revealed that the genera Vibrio, Photobacterium, and Leuconostoc were representative of the juvenile group, whereas 19 genera, including Lactococcus and Vagococcus, were representative of the subadult group. Thus, information on the representative microorganisms abundantly present in the intestines of healthy olive flounder can be considered for the selection and development of a probiotic genus for olive flounder farming.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.368-375
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• 2022

Gut contents analysis is essential to predict the impact of organisms on food source changes due to variations of the habitat environment. Previous studies of gut content analysis have been conducted using traditional methods, such as visual observation. However, these studies are limited in analyzing food sources because of the digestive process in gut organ. DNA metabarcoding analysis is a useful method to analyze food sources by supplementing these limitations. We sampled marine fish of Pennahia argentata, Larimichthys polyactis, Crangon affinis, Loligo beka and Sepia officinalis from Gwangyang Bay and Yeosu fisheries market for analyzing gut contents by applying DNA metabarcoding analysis. 18S rRNA v9 primer was used for analyzing food source by DNA metabarcoding. Network and two-way clustering analyses characterized the relationship between organisms and food sources. As a result of comparing metabarcoding of gut contents for P. argentata between sampled from Gwangyang Bay and the fisheries market, fish and Copepoda were analyzed as common food sources. In addition, Decapoda and Copepoda were analyzed as common food sources for L. polyactis and C. affinis, respectively. Copepoda was analyzed as the primary food source for L. beka and S. officinalis. These study results demonstrated that gut contents analysis using DNA metabarcoding reflects diverse and detailed information of biological food sources in the aquatic environment. In addition, it will be possible to provide biological information in the gut to identify key food sources by applying it to the research on the food web in the ecosystem.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.147-153
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• 2014

Structural heterogeneity results in different spatial distributions of microcrustaceans. Thus, in ecosystems with excessive macrophyte development, it may be difficult to determine the microcrustacean species composition. Given the importance of microcrustaceans in the food web, the elucidation of microcrustacean diversity is essential. In vegetated habitats, bluegill sunfish can prey on microcrustaceans, and therefore have a potential role as microcrustacean monitoring agents. In the present study, we compared microcrustacean species compositions in the field with those in the guts of bluegill, in Jangcheok Lake, South Korea. Our results showed that the number of microcrustacean species was higher in bluegill guts than in the field. Further, microcrustacean species, such as Daphnia galeata, Graptoleveris testudinaria, Leydigia leydigii, Rhynchotalona sp., and Simocephalus exponisus, were found only in bluegill guts. Our findings verify the validity of the fish gut analysis to monitor microcrustacean species compositions and to clarify spatial distributions of microcrustacean species in structurally heterogeneous ecosystems with excessive macrophyte development.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.325-338
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• 2020

The animal gut is filled with highly diverse microbes associated with host metabolism, physiology, and pathology. However, numerous animal gut microbes have not been cultured or reported. We isolated various bacterial species using culture-dependent approaches during a comprehensive investigation of endangered endemic vertebrate species in the Republic of Korea. A total of 18 unrecorded bacterial species were isolated from the feces of an Oriental stork (Ciconia boyciana), and from the intestinal tracts of a cobitid fish (Kichulchoia multifasciata) and a Korean splendid dace (Coreoleuciscus splendidus). Based on a phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, we discovered species belonging to the phyla Actinobacteria (eight species), Firmicutes (seven species), Proteobacteria (two species), and Bacteroidetes (one species). Based on their high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities (>98.7%) and formation of monophyletic clades with type species, each species was classified into an independent and predefined bacterial species. Gram-stain reaction, colony and cell morphology, basic biochemical characteristics, isolation source, and NIBR IDs for each species are described in the species description section.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.485-494
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• 2013

An efficient extraction method was developed for the analysis of 16 perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in fish samples. We compared the recoveries from the Ion-Pairing Extraction (IPE), Liquid-Liquid Extraction (LLE), Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE), IPE + SPE method with varying the injection time of the internal standard. As a result, IPE method with the internal standard before extraction was evaluated as the most effective pretreatment method. The RPM (Revolution Per Munite) and pH in IPE-before method were additionally adjusted and the more efficient pretreatment method was established. The total 33 fish samples including liver and gut samples were collected from Korean markets and analyzed PFCs with developed pretreatment method of this study. Total 16 PFC levels in fish samples ranged from ND to 1.67 ng/g with 100% detection frequency. The average PFCs concentrations of muscle, liver and gut samples from fish were compared and showed the following trend: liver (17.8 ng/g) > gut (13.3 ng/g) > muscle (1.67 ng/g). The PFC levels in fish samples were similar or lower than other available previous results of foreign studies.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.34 no.4 s.96
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• pp.310-318
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• 2001

In the large regulated Nakdong River, the Predation effect of juvenile fish on the zooplankton community was evaluated by gut and stomach analyses of fish in 1999. Juvenile fish of five species showed high density from May to early June when river discharge was low and water body became stagnant. During this period, large rotifers, Asplanchna spp. and Brachionus spp. declined and the decrease of cladoceran (Moina micrura and Bosminopsis deitersi) density was also obeserved. At this time, small rotifers including Polyarthra spp. reached maximum density. Gut analysis of fish demonstrated that small-sized juvenile fish (< 15 mm in total length)preferred large rotifers as well as cladocerans, while large sized fish (> 15 mm)selected only cladocerans. On the other hand, juvenile Micropterus salmoides of which size was larger than other juvenile fish consumed not only zooplankton but also other small juvenile fish. Based on these results, the decline of large rotifers and cladocerans during early summer in the river seems to be result of predation by juvenile fish. However, the period when juvenile fish maintained their high density was as short as one month and the decreased density of cladocera rapidly recovered as soon as juvenile fish became scarce. Such a short period of juvenile fish devel-opment in the river can be attributed to the consumption of juvenile fish by the young-of-the-year cohorts as well as adults of M. salmoides. The high trophic state of the river might permit the rapid recovery of the cladoceran community. The predation impact of juvenile fish in the Nakdong River seems to be affected by the existence of piscivore as well as high trophic status.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.13 no.1_2
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• pp.11-17
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• 1998

Cadmium, a major aquatic pollutant in many parts of the world, is toxic and readily accumulated in aquatic organisms. It mainly exists in water as complexes with organic ligands such as dissolved organic carbon and this complexation is known to have effects on the aquatic toxicities. In this study, acute toxicity, histology, and bioaccumulation were studied to evaluate effects of humic acid on cadmium toxicity and bioavailability to fish using Oryzias lalipes and Cyprinus carpio. 96h-LC$_{50}$ of cadmium was 6.38mg/L using Oryzias latipes. However, the mortality showed the dose-dependent decrease when humic acid was added to the test solution. When fish were exposed to 5 mg/L of cadmium, histological changes in the exposed organs (caudal fins, gills, kidney, liver, and gut) of C~lprinus carpio were decreased by humic acid, especially in kidney and liver. Bioaccumulation of cadmium also decreased by treatment of humic acid. It seems that the formation of complexes between cadmium and humic acid may decrease bioavailability of cadmium to fish, and thus reduce the toxic effects of cadmium.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.1416-1426
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• 2022

The need to discover new types of antimicrobial agents has grown since the emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens that threaten human health. The world's oceans, comprising complex niches of biodiversity, are a promising environment from which to extract new antibiotics-like compounds. In this study, we newly isolated Pseudomonas sp. NIBR-H-19 from the gut of the sea roach Ligia exotica and present both phenotypes and genomic information consisting of 6,184,379 bp in a single chromosome possessing a total of 5,644 protein-coding genes. Genomic analysis of the isolated species revealed that numerous genes involved in antimicrobial secondary metabolites are predicted throughout the whole genome. Moreover, our analysis showed that among twenty-five pathogenic bacteria, the growth of three pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus hominis and Rhodococcus equi, was significantly inhibited by the culture of Pseudomonas sp. NIBR-H-19. The characterization of marine microorganisms with biochemical assays and genomics tools will help uncover the biosynthesis and action mechanism of antimicrobial metabolites for development as antagonistic probiotics against fish pathogens in an aquatic culture system.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.686-695
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• 2006

Interleukin-2 enhancer binding factor 2 (ILF2) was reported to regulate transcription of interleukin-2 (IL-2), a central cytokine in the regulation of T-cell responses. This property of ILF2 was well characterized in human and mammals, but little is known in bony fish. In this paper, an ILF2 homologue was cloned and well characterized from Tetraodon nigrovirid is for the further investigation of the function of ILF2 in bony fish. The full-length Tetraodon ILF2 cDNA was 1380 bp in size and contained an open reading frame (ORF) of 1164 bp that translates into a 387 amino-acid peptide with a molecular weight of 42.9 kDa, a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 57 bp, and a 3' UTR of 159 bp containing a poly A tail. The deduced peptide of Tetraodon ILF2 shared an overall identity of 58%~93% with other known ILF2 sequences, and contained two N-glycosylation sites, two N-myristoylation sites, one RGD cell attachment sequence, six protein kinase C phosphorylation sites, one amino-terminal RGG-rich single-stranded RNA-binding domain, and a DZF zinc-finger nucleic acid binding domain, most of which were highly conserved through species compared. Constitutive expression of Tetraodon ILF2 was observed in all tissues examined, including gill, gut, head kidney, spleen, liver, brain and heart. The highest expression was detected in heart, followed by liver, head kidney and brain. Stimulation with LPS did not significantly alter the expression of Tetraodon ILF2. Gene organization analysis showed that the Tetraodon ILF2 gene have fifteen exons, one more than other known ILF2 genes in human and mouse. Genes up- and down-stream from the Tetraodon ILF2 were Rpa12, Peroxin-11b, Smad4, Snapap and Txnip homologue, which were different from that in human and mouse.