• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.175-179
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• 2018

Humic substances that can be obtained from coal resources such as leonardite in a bulk scale have been employed as crop stimulators and soil conditioners. The polymeric organics containing a variety of aromatic and aliphatic structures are known to activate plants in a multifunctional way, thus resulting in enhanced germination rate and abiotic stress resistance concomitant with induction of numerous genes and proteins. Although detailed structural-functional relationship of humic substances for plant stimulations has not been deciphered yet, cutting-edge analytical tools have unraveled critical features of humic architectures that could be linked to the action mechanisms of their plant stimulations. In this review article, we introduce key findings of humic structures and related biological functions that boost plant growth and abiotic stress resistance. Oxygen-based functional groups and plant hormone-like structures combined with labile and recalcitrant carbon backbones are believed to be critical moieties to induce plant stimulations. Some proteins such as HIGH-AFFINITY $K^+$ TRANSPORTER 1, phospholipase A2 and $H^+$-ATPase have been also recognized as key players that could be critically involved in humic substance-driven changes in plant physiology.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.81-93
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• 1979

The mycelium of Rhizopus nigricans was harvested at intervals during the sporulation periods, fractioned into various cell components and analyzed the con!eiits of various cell materials in order to clarify the optimum conditions of sporulation and some characteristics of the metabolism during tke sporulation periods. The changes in enzyme activities, such as amylase and protease, were also measured during the sporulation period,. 1. Mycelium in distilled water culture, as control, did not sporulate but mycelial mat cultured in Petridish without mutrient spourulated. Optimum temperature range for sporulation was $20{\sim}25^{\circ}C$. 2. During the sporulation and maturation periods, proteins, especially alkali-labile protein were decreased remarkably but free amino acid and ninhydrin reactive substances in acid soluble fraction were increased, compared with control. 3. Acid solable polyphosphate was decreased but acid insoluble polyphosphate was increased, during the sporulation. 4. Carbohydrate and hexosamine in acid soluble fraction were increased, while carbohydrate in alkali insoluble residual fraction was decreased during the sporulation periods. 5. Amounts of UV-absorbing material in deoxyribonucleic acid fraction was increased a little but those in ribonucleic acid fraction was decreased, compared with control. 6. Intracellular amylases and proteases activities insporulating mycelial mat were increased continuously during the sporulation and maturation periods.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.355-361
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• 2011

Effects of aluminum (Al) on plasma vitellogenin (VTG), alkaline-labile phosphorus (ALPP), calcium (Ca), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), the hepatosomatic index (HSI), and hepatic Al concentration were examined in estradiol-$17{\beta}$ ($E_2$)-administered immature rockfish Sebastes schlegeli. Fish were injected intraperitoneally with $E_2$ (5 mg/kg body weight [BW]) and/or Al (0, 0.1, 1, 5, and 10 mg/kg BW) and plasma and liver samples were extracted 7 days later. After sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the relative amount of VTG was determined by integrated optical density. VTG accounted for 23.6% of the total proteins in the control group, but this value decreased with increasing Al administration. Al reduced the concentrations of ALPP and Ca in a concentration-dependent manner and significant reduction occurred at Al concentrations greater than 5 mg/kg. The concentration of GPT increased in a concentration-dependent manner in all Al-administered rockfish. The concentrations of Al in the liver also increased, and HSI was decreased, in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggest that Al inhibits $E_2$-induced VTG production by being toxic to hepatocytes in marine fish.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.198-205
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• 1996

Two proteases were partially characterized from culture filtrate of Mycobacterium, tuberculosis KIT110. Their molecular weights were approximately 200 and 180 kDa, respectively and they exhibited similar enzymatic characteristics. These enzymes were inhibited significantly by EDTA and to some extent by EGTA. Their activity was enhanced by $Ca^{2+}$ and $Mg^{2+}$ to some degree. However, $Cu^{2+}$ and $Ag^{2+}$ completely inhibited the enzyme activity at the concentration of 2.5 and 5 mM, respectively. The optimal pH was 7.0 and optimal temperature was around $40^{\circ}C$. These enzymes were rapidly inactivated at $80^{\circ}C$. Therefore, they were heat-labile, neutral metalloproteases. These enzymes exhibited antigenicity shown by their reacting with sera from the partients with pulmonary tuberculosis. These enzymes were able to degrade serum proteins including hemoglobin, bovine serum albumin, lysozyme and immunoglobulin G and structural matrix protein such as type I collagen. Therefore, these enzymes may be thought to contribute to tissue necrosis and pathogenesis during infection.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.39-45
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• 2001

The pork meat has been reported as one of the food occurring allergic reactions predominantly to korean. To identify the potential food allergens in pork meat, sera were collected from 25 allergic patients to the pork meat and 10 allergic patients not to pork meat as well as 5 normal subjects after skin prick test and open food challenge test. Crude extracts were prepared by blending raw pork meat in phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.0) and the heat treatment on crude extracts was carried to characterize sensibility of the allergens to heat. ELISA was performed to determine specific IgE antibody levels of allergic patients to pork meat, and resulted in twofold higher mean value than that of tolerated patients. Extracted proteins from pork meat was separated with SDS-PAGE followed by immunoblotting using sera from pork sensitive patients and control subjects, respectively. The IgE binding response to pork meat by immunobots correlated with quantitative specific IgE value of each person. Immunoblots showed four prominent IgE-binding bands (66, 60, 50, 44 kDa) in crude extract, but two bands of those (60, 44 kDa) were heat-labile. These results suggest that most prominent allergens from pork meat are four components(66, 60, 50, 44 kDa) in korean and the heat treatment on allergen is additional parameter to characterize allergen.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.239-243
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• 1995

Deinococcus radiophilus, an UV resistant bacterium seemed to contain three issoenzymes of catalase. Among them, the samllest and most abundant species in cell-free extract, catalase-3 which also exhibited peroxidase activity was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity (145-fold purification) by chromatographic procedures. Its molecular weight was 155 kDa composed of four 38 kDa subunits. The $K_{m}$ value of catalase-3 for H$\_$2/O$\_$2/ was approximately 0.5 mM. This enzyme showed a typical ferric heme spectrum with maximum absorption at 405 nm. Upon binding to cyanide, the 405 nm peak shifted to 420 nm. Catalase-3 was very sensitive to inhibitors of heme proteins, such as cyanide, azide and hydroxylamine. A ratio of A$\_$405/A$\_$28O/ was 0.5 Catalase-3 was active over a wide range of pH, between pH 7 and 10. The enzyme was rather heat-labile and partially sensitive to edthanol-chloroform treatment, but resistant to 3-amino-1, 2, 4-triazole. Catalase-3 of D. radiophilus, which is a bifunction catalatic peroxidatic enzyme seemed to share certain molecular properties with the typical catalase and the catalase-[roxidase along with its own unique features.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.165-174
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• 2022

Three proteins [myosin heavy chain (MHC), filamin-C fragment (FIL-C), and actin 2 (ACT2)] were identified in adductor muscle from diploid and triploid Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and the relationship between the condition index (CI) and mRNA expression of these genes was investigated, together with the mRNA expression of molluscan insulin-related peptide (MIP), C. gigas insulin receptor-related receptor (CIR), and insulin-like growth factor binding protein complex acid labile subunit (IGFBP-ALS). Monthly changes in the CI were similar to the changes in the tissue weight rate in both groups. ACT2 and MHC mRNA expression was statistically higher in the triploid than the diploid, while FIL-C mRNA expression was significantly higher in the diploid (p<0.05). The MIP, CIR, and IGFBP-ALS mRNA expression of the diploid oysters were all significantly higher in July than in other months (p<0.05). The MIP, CIR, and IGFBP-ALS mRNA expression in the triploid oysters was high in July, but there were no significant differences (p>0.05). Changes in the expression levels of the genes investigated in this study could be used as intrinsic indicators of the annual growth, maturity, and spawning period of cultured diploid and triploid C. gigas in Tongyeong, Korea.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.309-316
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• 2016

Background: This study represents the first report that the anti-obesity activity of ethanol extracts of Aronia melanocarpa can be enhanced through ultrasonification at a frequency of 120 kHz at $60^{\circ}C$ (UE). Methods and Results: The amounts of cyanidin-3-O-galactose (cya-gal), a major anthocyanin in A. melanocarpa were higher by up to 402.4 mg/100 g, as compared with 221.4 mg/100 g and 322.1 mg/100 g, for hot water at $100^{\circ}C$ and 70% ethanol at $80^{\circ}C$ respectively. This result should cause the higher antioxidant activities of the UE than extract of hot water and ethanol in DPPH free radical scavenging. It was confirmed that the high antioxidant activity of UE could play an important role in inhibiting the production of proteins related to adipocyte differentiation, such as peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-${\gamma}$ (PPAR-${\gamma}$) and sterol regulatory element binding protein 1 (SREBP1). Conclusions: Ultrasonification at a frequency of 120 kHz at $60^{\circ}C$ should result in better anti-obesity activity than that observed using other processes. It was also observed for the first time that the anti-obesity activity of A. melanocarpa was associated with its antioxidant activity, possibly due to the higher elution of intact cya-gal, owing to efficient low temperature ultrasonification extraction. These results could also be applied to improve other biological activities of medicinal herbs that contain many types of heat-labile bioactive substances.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.315-322
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• 2005

In this study, the authors investigated whether death of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) had a pathological pertinence. Conditioned media obtained from rat aorta smooth muscle cell (SMC) that were induced death by expressing FADD in the absence of tetracycline (FADD-SMC) triggered death of normal SMC. DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 activation were observed in dying SMC by conditioned media. FADD-SMC showed transcriptional activation of tumor necrosis factor $(TNF)-{\alpha}$. Conditioned medium contained $TNF-{\alpha}$, indicating secretion of the cytokine from dying FADD-SMC. It was investigated if secreted $TNF-{\alpha}$ was functional. Conditioned medium activated ERK and p38 MAPK pathways and induced MMP-9 expression, whereas depletion of the cytokine with its soluble receptor (sTNFR) remarkably inhibited induction of MMP-9 by conditioned medium. These findings suggest that $TNF-{\alpha}$ in conditioned medium seems to be active. Then, contribution of $TNF-{\alpha}$ on death-inducing activity of conditioned medium was examined. Depletion of $TNF-{\alpha}$ with soluble $TNF-{\alpha}$ receptor decreased the death activity of conditioned medium by 35%, suggesting that $TNF-{\alpha}$ play a partial role in the death activity. Boiling of medium almost completely abolished the death-inducing activity, suggesting that other heat labile death inducing proteins existed in conditioned medium. Taken together, these results indicate that SMC undergoing death could contribute to inflammation by expressing inflammatory cytokines and pathological complications by inducing death of neighboring cells.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.151-157
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• 1990

The maximum nitrogen fixation activity of the associative, microaerobic and acid tolerant bacteria, Azospirillum amazonense Kp1 was obtained with 0.2Kpa of $O_{2}$ and showed a reversible inhibition by the higher concentrations. Ammonium treatment caused a gradual inhibition of the activity up to 350mM. The nitrogenase systems were purified by gradient chromatography on DEAE-52 cellulose, heat treatment and preparative PAGE. The MoFe protein showed molecular weight of 210,000 including two nonidentical subunits with apparent molecular weights of 55,000 and 50,000 and an isoelectricpoint of 5.2 and contained 2, 24 and 28 atoms of Mo, Fe and acid labile S per molecule. The Fe protein revealed molecular weight of 66,000 including two types of subunits with molecular weights of 35,000 and 31,000 and an isoelectric point of 4.6, and contained 4 atoms of Fe and 6 atoms of S per molecule. The maximum specific nitrogenase activity attained 2,200 and 1,700nM $C_2H_4mg^{-1} min^{-1}$, respectively for MoFe and Fe proteins at pH7 and $35^{\circ}C$. The activity was lost after 10 and 30 days under the cold room ($4^{\circ}C$) condition for Fe and MoFe proteins, respectively.