• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.479-483
• /
• 2011

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of E. coli isolated from porcine semen on sperm viability, motility, and semen pH. Semen samples were prepared using commercial extender, $Seminark^{Pro}$ (Noahbio Tech, Korea) that did not contain antibiotics. And 4 different levels of E. coli were artificially innoculated to semen with following concentrations; 4,000 of sperms with 1 of E. coli (T1), 400 with 1 (T2), 40 with 1 (T3), and 4 with 1 (T4). Semen samples were preserved at $17^{\circ}C$ for 5 days in semen storage box until analyzed by flowcytometer. Aliquots were subjected to measure the sperm viability (Live/$Dead^{(R)}$ stain), motility (mitochondrial function), and semen acidity (pH) from day 0 (day of semen collection) to day 5. Sperm motility and viability were significantly decreased (p<0.05) on day 0 (4 hrs after preservation at $17^{\circ}C$) in T3 and T4 compared to control groups and were significantly decreased (p<0.05) in all groups from day 3. Sample pH was acidic in T3 (6.90~6.86) and T4 (6.86~6.65) from day 3 to day 5 (p<0.05). On the other hand, sample pH was maintained 7.0~7.1 in control, T1, and T2 during the experimental period. Sperm motility and viability were significantly decreased from day 0 to day 5 compared to control in samples contaminated with E. coli above a value of 40:1 ($20{\times}10^6$ sperm cells/ml : $5{\times}10^5$ cfu/ml). Even on day 1 in T4 and on day 3 in T3, semen pH was acidic probably due to the acidification of dead spermatozoa. These results suggest that E. coli contamination has a concentration-dependent detrimental effect on extended porcine semen quality.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.37-43
• /
• 2015

We have investigated the effects of the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on the development of aerenchyma in the primary root of maize (Zea mays). Because plant hormones affected the longitudinal organization of the primary root, we need an indicator to direct the positions for comparison between control and hormone-treated roots. Therefore, the zones of the maize primary root were categorized as PR25, PR50 and PR75, where each value indicates the relative position between the root tip (PR0) and the base (PR100). Aerenchyma was not observed at PR25 and PR50 and rarely found at PR75 in the cortex of control roots. The aerenchymal area at PR75 increased in the presence of the ethylene precursor ACC or a natural auxin IAA. On the other hand, MeJA differentially acted on non-submerged and submerged roots. Exogenously applied MeJA suppressed the aerenchyma formation in non-submerged roots. When the primary root was submerged, aerenchymal area expanded prominently. The submergence-induced aerenchyma formation was amplified with MeJA. Lateral root primordia have been known to inhibit aerenchymal death of surrounding cells. All the three hormones stimulating aerenchyma formation as described above did not restore the inhibition caused by lateral root primordia, suggesting that the inhibitory step regulated by lateral root primordia can be located after hormonal signaling steps.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.746-749
• /
• 2006

Two known flavonoids, luteolin (1) and acacetin (2) were isolated from a $CHCI_3$ soluble fraction of the whole plants of Chrysanthemum zawadskii Herbich var. latilobum Kitamura, and their structures were determined by NMR analysis. The luteolin (1) was isolated from this plant for the first time. These compounds were examined for their in vitro cytotoxic activities against four human cancer cell lines including HCT116 (colon), UO-31 (renal), PC-3 (prostate) and A549 (lung) by sulforhodamine B(SRB) assay. Acacetin (2) showed significant cytotoxic activity against HCT116 and UO-31 cells with an $IC_{50}$ of 2.44 and $2.89\;{\mu}g/ml$, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.62-67
• /
• 2016

Anti-oxidant activity of 600 medicinal plants from Jeju was analyzed. Extracts from the leaves of Distylium racemosum have the highest anti-oxidant activity. D. racemosum is an oriental medicinal plant belonging to the Hamamelidacea and grows in the wild in Jeju. This study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant and cell viability of different fractions (n-hexane, methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, buthanol, DW) from D. racemosum. Anti-oxidant activity was measured using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity test and total phenolic content. Cell viability was determined by 3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cell viability assay on HepG2 and A549 cells. Among various extracts, the ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity, reaching approximately 93% at 0.5 mg/mL, higher than that of quercetin used as a positive control. Ethyl acetate fractions showed the highest total phenolic content at 505 mg GAE/g. The phenolic content of each extract showed association with DPPH radical scavenging activity. The ethyl acetate extracts were resistant against hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) treatment in the MTT cell viability assay and showed a higher cell protective effect than other fraction extracts. These results suggest that the ethyl acetate fraction might be a source of anti-oxidants of D. racemosum.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.281-286
• /
• 2006

Tolaasin, a pore-forming toxin, is a 1,985 Da peptide produced by Pseudomonas tolaasii and causes a brown blotch disease on cultivated mushrooms. Tolaasin forms pores on the plasma membrane of various cells including fungi, bacteria, plant as well as erythrocytes, and destroys cell structure. $Zn^{+2}$ has been known to block the tolaasin activity by an unknown mechanism. Thus, we investigated the inhibitory effects of $Zn^{+2}$ on the tolaasin-induced hemolysis to understand the molecular mechanism of tolaasin-induced pore formation. $Zn^{+2}$ and $Cd^{+2}$ inhibited the tolaasin-induced hemolysis in a dose-dependent manner and their Ki values were 170 ${\mu}M$ and 20 mM, respectively. The effect of $Zn^{+2}$ was reversible since the subsequent addition of EDTA chelates $Zn^{+2}$ and removes the inhibitory effect of $Zn^{+2}$. When an osmotic protectant, PEG 2000, was added, the tolaasin-induced hemolysis was not observed. After the removal of osmotic protectant by centrifugation, resuspended erythrocytes with fresh medium were immediately hemolyzed, while the addition of $Zn^{+2}$ prevented from hemolysis, implying that tolaasin-induced pores on the membrane were already formed in the medium containing osmotic protectant. These results suggest that $Zn^{+2}$ inhibits the activity of tolaasin pores and it has minor effects on the membrane binding of tolaasin and the formation of pore.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.168-173
• /
• 1991

The uptake of $Mn^{+2}$, a metal cofactor Mn-SOD, by rice seedings resulted in not only a substantial increase in SOD activity in leaf tissues of the plants, but also a significant enhancement of their cold tolerance : the relative extent of the cold tolerance appeared to accord with relative level of the SOD activity. In contrast, $Fe^{+3},\;Cu^{+2}$ and $Zn^{+2}$, which are the cofactors of Fe-SOD and Cu/Zn-SOD, were found to be ineffective for increasing the SOD activity as well as for improving the chilling-resistant capacity of the plants. The results suggest that Mn-SOD, which is most likely induced by its substrate(superoxide) and activated by the presence of $Mn^{+2}$a at high level, is the enzyme acting as an active component of the defense system against low temperature stress in rice plants. In addition, the application of abscisic acid which has been know to protect to some extent certain plants from chilling injury brought about an increase in SOD activity in rice tissues, providing another affirmative information for the crucial role of SOD under the circumstance of cold stress in plants.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.41 no.3
• /
• pp.164-169
• /
• 2008

This experiment was carried out to find the growth response and changes of nitrate and soluble sugar content in tomato leaves with salt stress. Tomato (Solanum lycopericum) seedlings were grown under different electrical conductivity (EC) levels adjusted with $CaCl_2$ as 1, 2, and $6dS\;m^{-1}$. The growth response and contents of nitrate and soluble sugar in tomato plants were examined at 7 and 14 days after salt treatment. Leaf area and dry weight ratio of shoot to root of tomato plants were decreased as EC level increased. Photosynthetic rate of leaves was reduced under high EC level due to the stomatal closure and the reduction of transpiration rate. The soluble sugar and starch content were lower in the tomato leaves grown under high EC level. Total nitrogen and nitrate contents were decreased in high EC level, whereas the ammonium content was increased. High-salt stress induced the accumulation of salt crystal in mesophyll cells of tomato leaf.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.145-153
• /
• 2007

Elucidation of the roles of circadian associated factors requires a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of circadian rhythms, control of flowering time through photoperiodic pathways, and photosensory signal transduction. In Arabidopsis, the APRR1 quintet, APRRs 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9, are known as central oscillator genes. Other plants may share the molecular mechanism underlying the circadian rhythm. To identify and characterize these circadian response genes in Brassica crops whose genome was triplicated after divergence from Arabidopsis, we identified B. rapa BAC clones containing these genes by BLAST analysis of B. rapa BAC end sequences against the five corresponding Arabidopsis regions. Subsequent fingerprinting, Southern hybridization, and PCR allowed identification of five BAC clones, one for each of the five circadian-related genes. By draft shotgun sequencing of the BAC clones, we identified the complete gene sequences and cloned the five expressed B. rapa circadian-associated gene members, BrPRRs 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that each BrPRR was orthologous to the corresponding APRR at the sequence level. Northern hybridization revealed that the five genes were transcribed at distinct points in the 24 hour period, and Southern hybridization revealed that they are present in 2, 1, 2, 2, and 1 copies, respectively in the B. rapa genome, which was triplicated and then diploidized during the last 15 million years.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.62 no.4
• /
• pp.399-406
• /
• 2019

The roots of Scrophularia buergeriana were extracted with 80% aqueous Methanol and the concentrates were partitioned into EtOAc, n-BuOH, and H₂O fractions. The repeated silica gel or octadecyl SiO₂column, and medium pressure liquid chromatographies for the n-BuOH fraction led to isolation of phenylethanoid glycosides and iridoid glycosides. The chemical structures of these compounds were determined as harpagoside (1), angoroside C (2), aucubin (3) and acetoside (4) based on spectroscopic analyses including nuclear magnetic resonance and MS. A simple and efficient HPLC with UV detection method for the simultaneous determination of the four compounds (1-4) has been developed and applied to their content determination in the S. buergeriana. The roots were extracted by 80% methanol, and the contents of 1, 2, 3, and 4 were determined to 11.5, 7.6, 41.2, and 4.8 mg/g, respectively. Additionally, angoroside C (2) and acetoside (4) exhibited hepatoprotective effect against ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity in HepG2 cell line.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.40 no.6
• /
• pp.567-571
• /
• 1997

Numbers of chemical agents which have been shown to inhibit either auxin signal transduction pathway or ethylene formation in plant cells were applied to cut flower stems of snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus L.) and their effects on the postharvest gravitropic response were studied. The chemical treatments were done by submerging either the stem base or the top part of cut flower, which involves the gravistimulus-sensitive region, for 1 h at $25^{\circ}C$. When the chemicals were supplied from the cut stem base, the gravitropic upward bending of flower stalks kept horizontally after the treatments with 20 mM CDTA or 10 mM $CoCl_2$ was comparable to that of the untreated control, but o-vanadate showed a certain degree of effectiveness for suppressing the bending response. In contrast, the direct application of those agents to the gravitropically sensitive region of cut flowers in the presence of 0.01% Triton X-100 resulted in a substantial reduction of the gravitropic response. In the case of 20 mM $CoCl_2$ treatment, almost total elimination of gravitropism without any significant deterioration of flower quality was observed. The results indicate the possibility of preparation of a protocol involving $CoCl_2$ and a proper surfactant for commercial use to suppress the gravitropic response of cut flowers during postharvest storage and transportation.