• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.251-256
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• 2005

In this study, we assessed the susceptibility of 12 Lactobacillus strains, all of which had been isolated from the gastrointestinal tracts of chicken, to three antibiotics (chloramphenicol, erythromycin and tetracycline) used commonly as selective markers in transformation studies of lactic acid bacteria. Among these strains, $17\%,\;58\%,\;and\;25\%$ were found to exhibit a high degree of resistance to $200\;{\mu}g/ml$ of tetracycline, erythromycin, and chloramphenicol, respectively. Seven of the 12 Lactobacillus strains exhibiting resistance to at least $50\;{\mu}g/ml$ of chloramphenicol or erythromycin, and five strains exhibiting resistance to at least $50\;{\mu}g/ml$ of tetracycline, were subsequently subjected to plasmid curing with chemical curing agents, such as novobiocin, acriflavin, SDS, and ethidium bromide. In no cases did the antibiotic resistance of these strains prove to be curable, with the exception of the erythromycin resistance exhibited by five Lactobacillus strains (L. acidophilus I16 and I26, L. fermentum I24 and C17, and L. brevis C10). Analysis of the plasmid profiles of these five cured derivatives revealed that all of the derivatives, except for L. acidophilus I16, possessed profiles similar to those of wild-type strains. The curing of L. acidophilus I16 was accompanied by the loss of 4.4 kb, 6.1 kb, and 11.5 kb plasmids.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.337-342
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• 2008

Human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) represent a potentially valuable cell type for clinical therapeutic applications. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of long-term culturing (up to $10^{th}$ passages) of hBM-MSCs from eight individual amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, focusing on functional ion channels. All hBM-MSCs contain several MSCs markers with no significant differences, whereas the distribution of functional ion channels was shown to be different between cells. Four types of $K^+$ currents, including noise-like $Ca^{+2}$-activated $K^+$ current ($IK_{Ca}$), a transient outward $K^+$ current ($I_{to}$), a delayed rectifier $K^+$ current ($IK_{DR}$), and an inward-rectifier $K^+$ current ($K_{ir}$) were heterogeneously present in these cells, and a TTX-sensitive $Na^+$ current ($I_{Na,TTX}$) was also recorded. In the RT-PCR analysis, Kv1.1,, heag1, Kv4.2, Kir2.1, MaxiK, and hNE-Na were detected. In particular, ($I_{Na,TTX}$) showed a significant passage-dependent increase. This is the first report showing that functional ion channel profiling depend on the cellular passage of hBM-MSCs.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.208-219
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• 2017

Heterosis or hybrid vigor describes a phenomenon that superior phenotypes compared to the two parents are observed in the heterozygous $F_1$-hybrid plants. Identification and characterization of heterosis-related genes (HRGs) will facilitate hybrid breeding in crops. To identify HRGs in Brassica rapa, we analyzed transcriptome profiling using a Br300K microarray in non-heading Chinese cabbage at three developmental stages. A large number of genes were differentially expressed in $F_1$ hybrids and non-additive expression was prominent. Genes that are expressed specifically for $F_1$ hybrid at all three stages were Brassica-specific uncharacterized genes and several defense-related genes. Expression of several photosynthesis- and stress-related genes were also $F_1$ hybrid-specific. Thirteen NBS-LRR class genes showed high and specific expression in $F_1$ hybrid Shulu: some of them were characterized as defense genes in Arabidopsis, but most have not been. Further characterization of these defense-related genes in Brassica species and its application will be helpful for understanding the role of defense responses in heterosis. In addition, results obtained in this study will be valuable to develop molecular markers for heterosis and disease resistance in B. rapa.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.552-562
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• 2016

Pathogenesis-related proteins play multiple roles in plant development and biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. Here, we characterize a rice defense related gene named "jasmonic acid inducible pathogenesis-related class 10" (JIOsPR10) to gain an insight into its functional properties. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed up-regulation of JIOsPR10 under salt and drought stress conditions. Constitutive over-expression JIOsPR10 in rice promoted shoot and root development in transgenic plants, however, their productivity was unaltered. Further experiments exhibited that the transgenic plants showed reduced susceptibility to rice blast fungus, and enhanced salt and drought stress tolerance as compared to the wild type. A comparative proteomic profiling of wild type and transgenic plants showed that overexpression of JIOsPR10 led to the differential modulation of several proteins mainly related with oxidative stresses, carbohydrate metabolism, and plant defense. Taken together, our findings suggest that JIOsPR10 plays important roles in biotic and abiotic stresses tolerance probably by activation of stress related proteins.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.63-73
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• 2010

A comprehensive mapping project for agroclimatic zoning in South Korea will end by April 2010, which has required 4 years, a billion won (ca. 0.9 million US dollars) and 22 experts from 7 institutions to complete it. The map database from this project may be categorized into primary, secondary and analytical products. The primary products are called "high definition" digital climate maps (HD-DCMs) and available through the state of the art techniques in geospatial climatology. For example, daily minimum temperature surfaces were prepared by combining the climatic normals (1971-2000 and 1981-2008) of synoptic observations with the simulated thermodynamic nature of cold air by using the raster GIS and microwave temperature profiling which can quantify effects of cold air drainage on local temperature. The spatial resolution of the gridded climate data is 30m for temperature and solar irradiance, and 270m for precipitation. The secondary products are climatic indices produced by statistical analysis of the primary products and includes extremes, sums, and probabilities of climatic events relevant to farming activities at a given grid cell. The analytical products were prepared by driving agronomic models with the HD-DCMs and dates of full bloom, the risk of freezing damage, and the fruit quality are among the examples. Because the spatial resolution of local climate information for agronomic practices exceeds the current weather service scale, HD-DCMs and the value-added products are expected to supplement the insufficient spatial resolution of official climatology. In this lecture, state of the art techniques embedded in the products, how to combine the techniques with the existing geospatial information, and agroclimatic zoning for major crops and fruits in South Korea will be provided.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.157-163
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• 2012

The male reproduction is precisely controlled by a number of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. These factors usually involve in expressional regulation of various molecules influencing on sperm production in the testis. A number of ways are employed to control the transcription of specific genes, including epigenetic modifications of DNA and histone molecules. DNA methylation of CpG dinucleotides is a commonly used regulatory mechanism for testicular genes associated with the fertility. Previous studies have demonstrated the infertility induced by improper DNA methylation of these genes. In the present research, we attempted to determine transcriptional expression of some of these genes in the rat testis at different postnatal ages using real-time PCR analysis. These genes include neurotrophin 3 (Ntf3), insulin-like growth factor II (Igf2), JmjC-domain-containing histone demethylase 2A 1 (Jhm2da), paired box 8 transcription factor (Pax8), small nuclear ribonucleoprotein polypeptide N (Snrpn), and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (Mthfr). The expression levels of Ntf3, Igf2, and Snrpn genes were the highest at the neonatal age, followed by transient decreases at the prepubertal age. Expression of Jhm2da and Mthfr genes were continuously increased from the neonate to 1 year of age. The levels of Pax8 mRNA at the early ages were higher than those at the later ages of postnatal development. These findings suggest that expression of some fertility-associated testicular genes in the rat during postnatal period could be differentially regulated by the control of the degree of DNA methylation.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.239-246
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• 2020

Microorganism residing in the gut has been known to have important roles in the animal body. Microbes and host microenvironment are highly related with host's health including energy metabolism and immune system. Moreover, it reported that gut microbiome is correlated with diseases like obesity in human and dogs. There have been many studies to identify and characterize microbes and their genes in human body. However, there was little information of microbiome in companion animals. Here, we investigated microbiota communities in feaces from twenty - four Beagles (aged 2 years old) and analyzed the taxonomy profile using metagenomics to study the difference among gut microbiome based on body condition score (BCS). gDNA was isolated from feaces, sequenced and clustered. Taxonomy profiling was performed based on the NCBI database. BCS was evaluated once a week according to the description provided by World Small Animal Veterinary Association. Firmicutes phylum was the most abundant followed by Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. That main microbiota in gut were differently distributed based on the BCS. Fusobacteria has been known to be associated with colon cancer in human. Interestingly, Fusobacteria was in the third level from the top in healthy dog's gut microbiome. In addition, Fusobacteria was especially higher in overweight dogs which had 6 scales of BCS. Species Fusobacterium perfoetens was also more abundant when dogs were in BCS 6. It implied that F. perfoetens would be positively related with overweight in dogs. These finding would contribute to further studies of gut microbiome and their functions to improve dog's diets and health condition.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.187-206
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• 1994

Through a computer model study, optimum system configuration and field parameters were determined for high-resolution marine reflection surveys. Characteristics of far-field signatures were analysed in both time and frequency domains for the six individual R/V Onnuri. The analysis shows that the cluster fired at the depth of 2m below the sea surface generates the most ideal far-field signatures among the above seismic sources. Compared with the 96-channel streamer on the R/V Onnuri, the 12-channel streamer is suitable for shallow reflection profiling due to its high resolution both in the vertical and horizontal directions despite its lower signal-to-noise ratio. Considering factors including target depth, frequency range, airgun volume, number of recording channels, and capacity of compressors, optimum values for record length, sample period, and shot interval are believed to be is, 1ms, and 3.125m or 6.25m, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.41-50
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• 2009

Fucoidan is a uniquely-structured sulfated fucose-rich polysaccharide derived from brown algae. Recently, the abalone glycosidase-digested fucoidan extract (fucoidan extract) derived from seaweed Cladosiphon novae-caledoniae Kylin (Mozuku) draws much attention because of its clinical anti-cancer effect in Japan. Here, we report the cancer cells-specific apoptosis inducing effects of the fucoidan extract. The fucoidan extract suppressed the growth of various anchorage-dependent and -independent cancer cells. The fucoidan extract contained low molecular weight components, which induced apoptosis of human leukemic HL 60 cells but not of human lymphocytes. It was shown that the fucoidan extract lead caspase 3/7 activation and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in HL 60 cells. Another function of the fucoidan extract was also observed. It has been known that sugar chain expression on the surface of cancer cell membrane changes dependent on their malignancy. The analysis on sugar chain expression profiling using FITC-labeled lectins revealed that the expression of concanavalin A (Con A) binding sugar chain was enhanced by the treatment of human lung adenocarcinoma A549, human uterine carcinoma HeLa and human fibrosarcoma HT1080 cells with the fucoidan extract. Con A-induced apoptosis of cancer cells was stimulated in a dose-and time-dependent manner by the treatment with the fucoidan extract but not of human normal fibroblast TIG-1 cells.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1993-2005
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• 2016

Bacillus pumilus is one of the most characterized microorganisms that are used for high-level production of select industrial enzymes. A novel B. pumilus SCU11 strain possessing high alkaline protease activity was obtained in our previous work. The culture supernatant of this strain showed efficient dehairing capability with minimal collagen damage, indicating promising potential applications in the leather industry. In this study, the strain's extracellular proteome was identified by LC-MS/MS-based shotgun proteomic analysis, and their related secretory pathways were characterized by BLAST searches. A total of 513 proteins, including 100 actual secreted and 413 intracellular proteins, were detected in the extracellular proteome. The functions of these secreted proteins were elucidated and four complete secretory systems (Sec, Tat, Com, and ABC transporter) were proposed for B. pumilus. These data provide B. pumilus a comprehensive extracellular proteome profile, which is a valuable theoretical and applicative basis for future genetic modifications and development of industrial enzymes.