• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.44-52
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• 2011

Field surveys were conducted in 45 stone fruit orchards in seven districts of Isparta Province located in western Mediterranean region of Turkey important for stone fruit production. Leaf samples were collected from 175 trees showing virus-like symptoms. These samples were first tested by ELISA for five different RNA viruses including Apple mosaic ilarvirus (ApMV), Prunus necrotic ringspot ilarvirus (PNRSV), Prune dwarf ilarvirus (PDV), Plum pox potyvirus (PPV), Apple chlorotic leafspot trichovirus (ACLSV). While no ApMV and PPV infection was found, 46, 24 and 16 samples were tested positive for PDV, ACLSV and PNRSV, respectively, in ELISA showing about 45% of symptomatic trees in the region were infected with at least one of these viruses. In addition, it was found that nine sweet cherry trees were mixed infected with two or three of these viruses and PDV with an infection rate of 26.3% was the most widespread virus in symptomatic trees in western Mediterranean region. Thirty samples were selected and tested by a multiplex RT-PCR (mRT-PCR) for simultaneous detection of these viruses. While PPV was not detected, more than half of the tested 20 samples were individually or mixed infected with ApMV, ACLSV, PNRSV and PDV. The mRT-PCR results were confirmed by detection of these viruses individually in some of the field samples using RT-PCR with primes specific to each virus. Comparison of ELSA and mRT-PCR results of 30 samples showed that numbers of infected and mixed infected samples as well as infection and mixed infection rates were significantly higher in RT-PCR (20 and 66.7%) than in ELISA (14 and 46.7%). The results confirm that mRT-PCR is more sensitive than ELISA.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.193-206
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• 2022

Astringent persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) is an important fruit crop in Korea; it possesses significant medicinal potential. However, knowledge regarding the pathogens affecting this crop, particularly, viruses and viroids, is limited. In the present study, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and high-throughput transcriptome sequencing (HTS) were used to investigate the viruses and viroids infecting astringent persimmons cultivated in Korea. A one-step multiplex RT-PCR (mRT-PCR) method for the simultaneous detection of the pathogens was developed by designing species-specific primers and selecting the primer pairs via combination and detection limit testing. Seven of the sixteen cultivars tested were found to be infection-free. The RT-PCR and HTS analyses identified two viruses and one viroid in the infected samples (n = 51/100 samples collected from 16 cultivars). The incidence of single infections (n = 39/51) was higher than that of mixed infections (n = 12/51); the infection rate of the Persimmon cryptic virus was the highest (n = 31/39). Comparison of the monoplex and mRT-PCR results using randomly selected samples confirmed the efficiency of mRT-PCR for the identification of pathogens. Collectively, the present study provides useful resources for developing disease-free seedlings; further, the developed mRT-PCR method can be extended to investigate pathogens in other woody plants.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.276-282
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• 2004

Marginal Zn deficiency is prevalent through the world and yet human zinc status has not been properly assessed due to the lack of a reliable diagnostic indicator. One potential possibility for zinc status assessment using Zn-binding protein, metallothionein (MT)-mRNA, has been proposed. The purpose of the present study was aimed to show whether measurement of mononuclear cell (MNC) MT mRNA, using a competitive-reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (competitive-RT-PCR) assay, could indicate zinc status in human subjects. In this study, MNC MT-mRNA expression was measured using a competitive-RT-PCR to compare before and after 14 days of zinc supplementation (50 mg Zn/das zinc gluconate). RT-PCR oligonucleotide primers which were designed to amplify both a 278 bp segment of the human MT-2A cDNA and a 198 bp mutant competitor cDNA template from MNCs, were prepared. MT-2A mRNA was normalized by reference to the housekeeping gene, $\beta$-actin, mRNA for which was also measured by competitive-RT-PCR. There was considerable inter-individual variation in MT-mRNA concentration and yet, the mean MT-2A mRNA level increased 4.7-fold after Zn supplementation, as compared to before Zn supplementation. This MT-2A mRNA level was shown as the same pattern and, even more sensitive assay, compared to the conventional plasma and red blood cells (RBCs) Zn assessment in which plasma and RBCs zinc levels increased 2.3- and 1.2-fold, respectively (p<0.05). We suggest that MT competitive-RT-PCR can be a useful assessment tool for evaluating human zinc status.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.139-143
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• 2006

Virion captured reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (VC/RT-PCR) could detect plant virus quickly and accurately. In the VC/RT-PCR, no antibody is needed unlike immuno-captured RT-PCR (IC/RT-PCR) which had been improved method of RT-PCR for plant viruses, and virus nucleic acids can be obtained easily within 30minutes by property of polypropylene PCR tube which is hold and immobilized viral particles on its surface. For the virion capture of Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), the extraction buffer was tested. The optimum macerating buffer for TSWV was 0.01M potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, containing 0.5% sodium sulfite. The viral crude sap was incubated for 30 min at $4^{\circ}C$. The virions in the PCR tubes were washed two times with 0.01M PBS containing 0.05% Tween-20. The washed virions were treated at $95^{\circ}C$ immediately for 1 min containing RNase free water and chilled quickly in the ice. Disclosed virions' RNAs by heat treatment were used for RT-PCR. Dilution end point of $10^{-5}$ from plant's crude sap infected with TSWV showed relatively higher detection sensitivity for VC/RT-PCR. During multiple detection using two or more primers, interference was arisen by interactions between primer-primer and plant species. The result of multiplex RT-PCR was influenced by combinations of primers and the kind of plant, and the optimum extraction buffer for the multiplex detection by VC/RT-PCR should be developed.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.841-848
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• 2004

Rapid detection of viable Salmonella in pasteurized milk is important to protect public health from food poisoning. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) is recognized as a molecular genetical method to differentiate between live and dead bacteria The RT-PCR in this study was designed to detect specifically viable Salmonella in milk by using the primers whose nucleotide sequences were determined based on fimA gene which encodes the submit of type 1 fimbriae. Treatment of RNA preparation with RNase-free DNase was adequate enough to destroy DNA, which may otherwise be amplified in the RT PCR Seven strains of Salmonella were detected in the RT-PCR but Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei, Citrobacter freundii, and Klebsiella pneumoniae were not. $10^7/ml$ and $10^6/ml$ of dead Salmonella which were heat-treated in milk were detectable by using the RT-PCR but $10^5{\sim}10/ml$ of the dead bacteria were not. The sensitivity of the RT-PCR in detecting viable Salmonella was 100 cells/ml.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.34-42
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• 2008

Bovine blood, cell, tissue, and organ are used as raw materials for manufacturing biologics such as biopharmaceuticals, tissue engineered products, and cell therapy. Manufacturing processes for the biologics using bovine materials have the risk of viral contamination. Therefore viral validation is essential in ensuring the safety of the products. Bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) is the most common bovine pathogen and has widely been known as a contaminant of biologics. In order to establish the validation system for the BVDV safety of biologics, a real-time RT-PCR method was developed for quantitative detection of BVDV contamination in raw materials, manufacturing processes, and final products. Specific primers for amplification of BVDV RNA was selected, and BVDV RNA was quantified by use of SYBR Green I. The sensitivity of the assay was calculated to be 1 $TCID_{50}/mL$. The rent-time RT-PCR method was validated to be reproducible and very specific to BVDV. The established real-time RT-PCR assay was successfully applied to the validation of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell artificially infected with BVDV. BVDV RNA could be quantified in CHO cell as well as culture supernatant. Also the real-time RT-PCR assay could detect $10TCID_{50}/mL$ of BVDV artificially contaminated in bovine collagen.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.29-39
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• 2018

In this study, we developed a sensitive and specific reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay for rapid visual detection of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) circulated in Korea. The RT-LAMP was completed in 40 min at $62^{\circ}C$ and the results of the assay were directly detected by naked eye without any detection process. The assay specifically amplified all 7 serotypes of FMDV RNAs but not amplified other viral and cellular nucleic acids. The sensitivity of the RT-LAMP was $10^2$, $10^3$ and $10^3TCID_{50}/mL$ for serotype O, A and Asia 1 FMDV, respectively, which was comparable to conventional reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and relatively lower than that of real time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). Clinical evaluation of the RT-LAMP using different serotypes of Korean and foreign FMDV strains showed a 100% (35/35) agreement with the results of the RT-PCR and qRT-PCR. These results indicated that RT-LAMP assay developed in this study could be a valuable diagnostic method for FMDV monitoring and surveillance.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.31-39
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• 2014

Norovirus causes acute gastroenteritis in all age groups and its food poisoning outbreaks are rapidly increasing in Korea. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is most widely used for the rapid detection of foodborne viruses due to high sensitivity. However, the false positive results of RT-PCR obtained against already inactivated viruses could be a serious drawbacks in food safety area. In this study, we investigated a method to yield true positive RT-PCR results only with alive viruses. To decompose the RNA genes from dead viruses, the enzymatic treatments composed of proteinse K and Ribonuclease A were applied to the sanitized and inactivated virus particles. Another aim of this study was to quantify the efficiencies of several major sanitizing treatments using real-time RT-PCR. Feline calicivirus (FCV) that belongs to the same Caliciviridae family with norovirus was used as a surrogate model for norovirus. The initial level of virus in control suspension was approximately $10^4$ PFU/mL. Most of inactivated viruses treated with the enzymatic treatment for 30 min at $37^{\circ}C$ were not detected in RT-PCR, Quantification results to verify the inactivation efficiencies of sanitizing treatments using real-time RT-PCR showed no false positive in most cases. We could successfully develope a numerical quantification process for the inactivated viruses after major sanitizing treatments using real-time RT-PCR. The results obtained in this study could provide a novel basis of rapid virus quantification in food safety area.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.205-205
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• 2004

최근에 개발된 real time RT-PCR 방법은 소량의 시료에서 특정 유전자의 mRNA 발현 양상을 분석하는데 효율적으로 이용되고 있다. 특히, 난자 또는 배아와 같이 성숙과 발생단계에 따라 유전자의 발현 양상이 현저하게 변화되는 경우에는, 각각의 시료에서 발현 양상이 크게 변하지 않는 대조군으로 사용할 수 있는 유전자를 이용한 비교, 분석이 중요하다. 본 연구에서는 생쥐의 난자와 초기 배아를 이용한 real time RT-PCR에서 mRNA의 추출방법과 형광 probe의 사용 유무 그리고 대조군으로 사용되고 있는 유전자들에 대한 검증을 시행하였다. (중략)

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.407-412
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• 2009

In this study, a rapid and efficient concentrating procedure that can be used for detecting viruses in vegetables was developed. The Sabin strain of poliovirus type 1 was used to evaluate the efficiency of virus recovery. The procedure included: (a) elution with 0.25 M threonine-0.3 M NaCl pH 9.5; (b) polyethylene glycol (PEG) 8000 precipitation; (c) chloroform extraction; (d) 2$^{nd}$ PEG precipitation; (f) RNA extraction; (g) reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) combined with semi-nested PCR. The overall recoveries by elution/concentration were 29.0% from cabbage and 13.7% from lettuce. The whole procedure usually takes 18 hr. The overall detection sensitivity was 100 RT-PCR units of genogroup II norovirus (GII NoV)/25 g cabbage and 100 RT-PCR units of GII NoV/10 g lettuce. The virus detecting method developed in this study should facilitate the detection of low levels of NoV in cabbage and lettuce.