• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.83-89
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• 2013

iNOS (Inducible nitric oxide synthase) and TLR-4 (Toll-like Receptor-4) play crucial roles in innate immunity of poultry. iNOS has been mapped to chicken chromosome 14 and implicated in a variety of chicken diseases. iNOS possesses potent antimicrobial activity, including the inhibition of microbes replication in vitro. TLR-4 is a pathogen associated molecular-pattern receptor for bacterial product, such as LPS (lipopolysaccharides) found in Gram negative bacteria, that triggers pro-inflammatory cytokine expression after engagement with ligands. In the previous studies, genetic analysis of iNOS and TLR-4 revealed the possible association of mutation in these genes with the intestinal microflora of cecum when infected with Salmonella spp. This study was aimed to augment previous findings, which show the association of iNOS (C14513T) and TLR-4 (G4409T) polymorphisms with economic traits in Korean Native Black (KNB), Rhode Island Red (RIR) and Cornish chickens. Investigation in the effect of SNPs on economic traits (layday, layw, layno, bw150, bw270, layw270) was conducted. iNOS (C14513T) had a significant effect on the average body weight at 270 days of age (p<0.05) in both KNB and RIR, whereas TLR-4 (G4409T) showed no significant correlation with all traits (p>0.05). The results obtained from using the candidate genes can be useful for the genetic improvement of body weight in both KNB and RIR breeds.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.1114-1119
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• 2012

Bacteria are frequently contaminated during the collection and processing procedures of boar semen. Of the contaminants, Stenotrophomonas (S.) maltophilia is a Gram-negative bacterium that is widely distributed in a variety of habitats. Although PCR assays have been developed for the detection of S. maltophilia, they cross-react with some species of Xanthomonas. In this study, we designed a primer set for the detection of S. maltophilia in order to target the chiA (GenBank accession no. NC_010943) gene. The specific PCR products were amplified from S. maltophilia only, not from other tested strains that are frequently found in semen. The detection limit of the PCR was $1.5{\times}10^3$ CFU/ml with pure-cultured S. maltophilia and $1.5{\times}10^4$ CFU/ml with S. maltophilia spiked in semen. Twenty-six (5.9%) S. maltophilia were isolated from 440 semen samples. The PCR results exhibited 98.9% agreement with a comparison of S. maltophilia isolation. Also, the sensitivity and specificity of the PCR were 100% and 98.7%, respectively. In the antimicrobial susceptibility test, S. maltophilia isolates were highly susceptible to enrofloxacin and florfenicol, while the majority of them were resistant to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, apramycin, ceftiofur, penicillin, and spectinomycin. These results indicated that the PCR using the chiA gene was proven to be reliable and effective for the detection of S. maltophilia with high levels of sensitivity and specificity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.375-384
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• 2011

This study was performed to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of methanol extract from Rosmarinus officinalis L. and its fractions. The ethyl acetate fraction of rosemary had a higher antioxidant activity in both DPPH ($3.22\;{\mu}g/ml$) and ABTS ($5.05\;{\mu}g/ml$) compared to other extracts and fractions. Based on the results of the FRAP assay, the ethyl acetate fraction of rosemary showed a value of $5.9{\pm}0.3\;{\mu}M/{\mu}g$, and buthanol fraction and rosmarinic acid exhibited values of $4.8{\pm}0.2\;{\mu}M/{\mu}g$ and $5.1{\pm}0.1\;{\mu}M/{\mu}M$, respectively. Measurements of the antimicrobial activities of the extracts, fraction against gram positive, negative bacteria revealed that the methanol extract, hexane, ethyl acetate, and chloroform fraction of rosemary caused Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli to form clear zones greater than 12 mm. Furthermore, the methanol extract and chloroform fraction showed high antibacterial activity, with inhibition zone exceeding 13 mm. The methanol extract and chloroform fraction of rosemary had broad antimicrobial spectrums and low MIC values. Therefore, methanol extracts of rosemary could serve as potential antibacterial agents to inhibit pathogen growth in food and hand sanitizers.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.845-852
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• 2010

Our previous study showed that lungs infected by Pseudomonas, a gram-negative bacteria, produce prostaglandin $D_2$ ($PGD_2$) and prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$), the two major prostanoids generated by cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and that the ratio of $PGD_2$ and $PGE_2$ can affect the outcome of the bacterial lung infection. In this study, we sought to uncover the mechanism that determines the ratio of $PGD_2$ and $PGE_2$ produced in lung inflammation. When treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), primary alveolar macrophages, extracted from mouse lung, more $PGE_2$ was produced than $PGD_2$, whereas MH-S, a murine alveolar macrophage cell line, produced more $PGD_2$ than $PGE_2$ in a similar experiment. Western blot analyses showed that the kinetics of COX-2 expression in both cell types is similar and epigenetic silencing of COX-2 expression did not affect expressions of lipocalin-PGD synthase (L-PGDS) and PGE synthase (mPGES-1), major enzymes synthesizing $PGD_2$ and $PGE_2$ in inflammation, respectively, indicating no effect of COX-2 on expressions of the two enzymes. Expressions of L-PGDS and mPGES-1 were also similar in both cell types, suggesting no effect of the two key enzymes in determining the ratio of $PGD_2$ and $PGE_2$ in these cells. A single intraperitoneal injection of LPS to C57BL/6 mice induced COX-2 expression and, similar to alveolar macrophages, produced more $PGE_2$ than $PGD_2$ in the lung. These results suggest that the differential expressions of $PGD_2$ and $PGE_2$ in the lung reflect those in alveolar macrophages and may not be directly determined by the enzymes responsible for $PGD_2$ and $PGE_2$ synthesis.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.279-284
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• 2008

This study was performed to investigate effect of different soil managements on physical properties and microbial activities in volcanic ash citrus orchard soil. Experiment plots had managed to control weeds on soil for 4 years with clean cultivation (CCM) used with herbicide, natural sod cultivation (NSCM), kentucky blue grass sod cultivation (KBG). Soil samples were taken on October, in both 1998 and 2000 from 3 experimental plots. In NSCM, Soil hardness was lower at 11.8 mm than in CCM. And water stable Aggregation coefficient(>0.5 mm) was high at 26.7% compared with CCM. Soil bulk density and porosity showed no significant among the treatments. Soil acid phosphatase was high in sod cultivation plots and the amount of microbial biomass C was about twice higher at $525.4mg\;kg^{-1}$ in KBG than in CCM. Conclusionally, Sod cultivation improved soil physical properties such as aggregation, hardness and increased microbial activities compared with clean cultivation in citrus orchard soil. Soil total PLFA, acid phosphatase, and microbial biomass C contents were investigated on May in nonvolcanic ash citrus soil. Soil samples were collected at 5 sites each; convention cultivation grown with herbicide, natural sod cultivation grown with 1/2 chemicals, organic cultivation. That sites have been managed for 5 years over. PLFA contents were two times higher at $112.2n\;mol\;g^{-1}$ in organic cultivation than in convention cultivation. According to the PLFA indicator, Gram negative bacteria and actinomycetes in organic cultivation were high compared with convention cultivation, which were at 15.1%, 6.6%, respectively. Soil microbial biomass C contents was about twice higher in organic cultivation than in convention cultivation. Soil acid phosphatase was high at 17.6% in organic cultivation compared with convention cultivation.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.64-68
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• 2005

Purpose : Renal abscess is very rare in children and its diagnosis is difficult because symptoms are often nonspecific. In previous studies, on]y 15% to 25% of patients were reported to be diagnosed at the time of admission. Early diagnosis and treatment are important be cause mortality rate correlates positively with the time of diagnosis. The purpose of this study is to clarify the clinical features of children with renal abscess and to investigate the possible indicators of this disease for early diagnosis and Proper treatment. Methods : Twelve children diagnosed with renal abscess from Jan. 1996 to Jul. 2004 were included. The age of patients ranged from S months to 15 years. We retrospectively analyzed the demographics of patients, their symptoms, predisposing factors, diagnostic methods and causative organisms and the treatment modalities. Results : Fever was the most common manifestation, Five children(42%) had vesicoureteral reflux. Renal ultrasonography and computerized tornography were the most frequently used imaging tools to detect renal abscess. Gram negative bacteria were isolated in 7 patients and Staphylococcus aureus grew in 2 patients. All patients received intravenous antibiotics and 4 patients underwent aspiration or drainage of renal abscess. The average admission duration was 30 days. Conclusion : Renal abscess should be included in the differential diagnosis of prolonged fever in children, especially when flank pain is combined. For early diagnosis and a better prognosis, patients should be promptly investigated with ultrasonography or computerized tomography.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.281-288
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• 2015

Vibrio is a genus of Gram-negative, curved, halophilic, and non-spore-forming bacteria. Some of the Vibrio species, such as V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus, often contaminate seafood products and occasionally cause human diseases when the seafood products are ingested. A total of 24 Vibrio strains were isolated from shrimp samples on Thiosulphate citrate bile salt sucrose (TCBS) media in this study. All of the 24 isolates were confirmed to belong to the genus Vibrio by using 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses. Vitek 2 system and species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods were used to further identify a total of 29 Vibrio strains at the species level, including the 24 shrimp Vibrio isolates and five Vibrio reference strains. The specificities of the two methods to identify Vibrio strains at the species level were compared in this study. The species-specific PCR method was designed to detect five different Vibrio species, such as Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificus, Vibrio alginolyticus, and Vibrio mimicus. From the 24 Vibrio shrimp isolates, the Vitek 2 system method could identify 15 (62.5%) strains as Vibrio species and 7 (29.2%) strains as non-Vibrio species, but could not identify the rest 2 (8.3%) strains. But species-specific PCR method could identify 16 (66.7%) strains as Vibrio species and could not identify the rest 8 (33.3%) strains. Among the 24 Vibrio shrimp strains, these two methods could unanimously identify 7 (7/24, 29.2%) strains (2 V. parahaemolyticus, 4 V. alginolyticus, and 1 V. mimicus). Considering that such different identification results were obtained using the two different methods in this study, identification method for Vibrio species must be carefully chosen.