• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.7-12
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• 2010

The aims of this study were to investigate the nosocomial infection route of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and explore preventative methods for this pathogen that involve blocking its dispersion. We cultured MRSA from nasal cavity swabs collected between June and July 2008 that we obtained from eight dental healthcare providers, 32 nurses and the sputum specimens of two patients from our hospital. In addition, we used VITEK 2 equipment to measure drug sensitivity, and we further performed biochemical testing and pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to isolate MRSA colonies. The incidence of these bacteria on the nasal swabs was 25.0% from dental clinic healthcare providers, 13.6% from the internal medicine ward nurses and 30.0% from intensive care unit nurses. Moreover, MRSA was detectable in sputum specimens of ward patients. The antimicrobial agents resistance and partial PFGE types of MRSA showed a similar pattern. We suggest from these analyses that nasal cavity infection by MRSA could occur by cross contamination between healthcare providers and patients which underscores the importance of stringent MRSA management practices.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.246-253
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• 2004

The prevalence, genotype for antibiotic resistance and antibiotic susceptibility of vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) were determined. And molecular typings of the Enterococcus faecium isolates were analyzed. Prevalence of VRE in chickens, healthy children and intensive care unit (ICU) patients was 41.6％,7.9％, and 20.4％, respectively. Forty out of 54 isolates from chicken intestines, and 9 out of 11 from ICU patients were identified as Enterococcus faecium. Eleven out of 13 isolates from non-hospitalized young children were E. gallinarium. Twelve strains of E. faecalis were isolated from chicken intestines. The gene for the antibiotic resistance in E. faecium, and E. faecalis was vanA, while that in E. gallinarium was vanC1. E. faecium isolates were resistant to most of antibiotics except ampicillin and gentamicin. Molecular typing of the E. faecium strains obtained by pulse field gel electrophoresis and repetitive sequence-based PCR suggest that VRE transmit horizontally from poultry to humans, especially young children, via the food chains in Korea.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제35권4호
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• pp.185-190
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• 2010

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most prevalent pathogens in hospitals. To investigate cross contamination by this bacterium in both dental and medical settings, the pathogens that cause acute pyogenic infection and one of the major microbes responsible for nosocomial infection were isolated from health care providers, nurses and patients. We used VITEK II to measure drug sensitivity, and we further performed biochemical testing, coagulase serotype testing and pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) for isolated MRSA colonies. The isolation rate of Staphylococcus aureus from nasal swabs was 75.0% from dental health care providers and 18.8% from the medical health care providers. A total of 10 MRSA strains were isolated from 40 health care providers and 2 patients and the prevalent coagulase serotype from patients and health care providers was VII. The antimicrobial drug resistance and partial PFGE types of the isolated MRSA strains showed a similar pattern. These results suggest that MRSA may be one of the principal causes of nosocomial infection in dental and medical hospitals.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• 제43권2호
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• pp.172-178
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• 2005

To determine the prevalence and genotypes of $\beta$-lactamases among clones of a metagenomic library from the cold-seep sediments of Edison seamount (10,000 years old), we performed pulse-field gel electrophoresis, antibiotic susceptibility testing, pI determination, and DNA sequencing analysis. Among the 8,823 clones of the library, thirty clones produced $\beta$-lactamases and had high levels of genetic diversity. Consistent with minimum inhibitory concentration patterns, we found that five ($167\%$) of thirty clones produced an extended-spectrum $\beta$-lactamase. 837- and 259-bp fragments specific to bla$_{TEM}$ genes were amplified, as determined by banding patterns of PCR amplification with designed primers. TEM­1 was the most prevalent $\beta$-lactamase and conferred resistance to ampicillin, piperacillin, and cephalothin. TEM-116 had a spectrum that was extended to ceftazidime, cefotaxime, and aztreonam. The resistance levels conferred by the pre-antibiotic era alleles of TEM-type $\beta$-lactamases were essentially the same as the resistance levels conferred by the TEM-type alleles which had been isolated from clinically resistant strains of bacteria of the antibiotic era. Our first report on TEM-type $\beta$-lactamases of the pre-antibiotic era indicates that TEM-type $\beta$-lactamases paint a picture in which most of the diversity of the enzymes may not be the result of recent evolution, but that of ancient evolution.

• 한국식물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국식물학회 1999년도 제13회 식물생명공학심포지움 New Approaches to Understand Gene Function in Plants and Application to Plant Biotechnology
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• pp.11-15
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• 1999

In order to evlauate feasibility of the gene tagging by the maize transposable element Ac in heterologous plant systems, we have investigated physical distances and directions of transposition of the element in Arabidopsis thaliana and tobacco cultured cell line BY-2. We prepared a T-DNA construct that carried a non-autonomous derivative of Ac with a site for cleavage by endonuclease I-Scel (designated dAc-I-RS element). Another cleavage site was also introduced into the T-DNA region outside dAc-I-RS. A number of transgenic Arabidopsis plants were generated, each of which had a single copy of the T-DNA at a different chromosomal location. To examine the pattern of transposition, three out of these transgenic plants were crossed with the Arabidopsis plant that carried the gene for Ac transposase and progeny in which dAc-I-RS had been transposed were isolated. After digestion of the genomic DNA of these progeny with I-SceI, sizes of segment of DNA were determined byd pulse-field gel electrophoresis. We also performed linkage analysis for the transposed elements and sites of mutations near the elements. Our results with three transgenic lines showed that 50% of all transposition events had occurred within 1,700 kilo-base pairs (kb) on the same chromosome, with 35% within 200 kb, and that the elements transposed in both directions on the chromosome with roughly equal probability. The data thus indicate that the Ac-Ds system is most useful for tagging of genes that are present within 200 kb of the chromosomal site of Ac in Arabidopsis. In addition, determination of the precise localization of the transposed dAc-I-RS element should definitely assist in map-based cloning of genes around insertion sites. In the present paper, we report typical examples of such gene isolation studies.

• 한국식물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국식물학회 1985년도 워크샵 및 심포지엄 북한산국립공원의 식생
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• pp.51-57
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• 1985

In order to evlauate feasibility of the gene tagging by the maize transposable element Ac in heterologous plant systems, we have investigated physical distances and directions of transposition of the element in Arabidopsis thaliana and tobacco cultured cell line BY-2. We prepared a T-DNA construct that carried a non-autonomous derivative of Ac with a site for cleavage by endonuclease I-Scel (designated dAc-I-RS element). Another cleavage site was also introduced into the T-DNA region outside dAc-I-RS. A number of transgenic Arabidopsis plants were generated, each of which had a single copy of the T-DNA at a different chromosomal location. To examine the pattern of transposition, three out of these transgenic plants were crossed with the Arabidopsis plant that carried the gene for Ac transposase and progeny in which dAc-I-RS had been transposed were isolated. After digestion of the genomic DNA of these progeny with I-SceI, sizes of segment of DNA were determined byd pulse-field gel electrophoresis. We also performed linkage analysis for the transposed elements and sites of mutations near the elements. Our results with three transgenic lines showed that 50% of all transposition events had occurred within 1, 700 kilo-base pairs (kb) on the same chromosome, with 35% within 200 kb, and that the elements transposed in both directions on the chromosome with roughly equal probability. The data thus indicate that the Ac-Ds system is most useful for tagging of genes that are present within 200 kb of the chromosomal site of Ac in Arabidopsis. In addition, determination of the precise localization of the transposed dAc-I-RS element should definitely assist in map-based cloning of genes around insertion sites. In the present paper, we report typical examples of such gene isolation studies.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.522-528
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• 2003

본 연구는 출아형 효모 Saccharomyces cerevisiae에서 자외선의 상해 시 이를 정상으로 회복시키는 절제회복 (excision repair) 유전자로 알려진 RADA4의 특성 규명을 위하여 균류 Coprinus cinereus에서 이와 유사한 유전자를 분리하였다. RAD4 유사 유전자를 분리하기 위하여 균류 C. cinereus의 염색체 DNA를 전기영동하여 분리한 다음 효모 RAD4 DNA를 probe로하여 이와 hybridization하였다. 이 결과 RAD4 유사 유전자는 3.2 kb의 insert DNA를 갖고 있었다. 또한 Southern hybridization으로 이 유사 유전자는 fungus C. cinereus의 염색체에 존재함을 확인하였다. 분리한 RAD4 유사 유전자의 전사체 크기는 2.5 kb 였으며, 자외선의 상해 시 전혀 'inducibility가 없음을 Northern hybridization으로 확인하였다. 또한 유사유전자 부분을 삭제하였을 때 이 부분이 없는 세포는 전혀 생존을 못하였다. 이 결과 분리한 RAD4 유사유전자는 세포의 생존에 관여함을 알 수 있었다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제30권12호
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• pp.1862-1869
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• 2020

The spread of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance has posed a serious threat to public health owing to its effects on the emergence of pandrug-resistant bacteria. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and characteristics of mcr-1-positive Escherichia coli isolated from retail meat samples in Korea. In total, 1,205 E. coli strains were isolated from 3,234 retail meat samples in Korea. All E. coli strains were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing and were examined for the presence of mcr-1 gene. All mcr-1-positive E. coli (n = 10, 0.8%) from retail meat were subjected to pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). The transferability of mcr-1 gene was determined by conjugation assays. The mcr-1-positive strains exhibited diverse clonal types. Our mcr-1 genes were located in plasmids belonged to the IncI2 (n = 1) and IncX4 (n = 8) types, which were reported to be prevalent in Asia and worldwide, respectively. Most mcr-1 genes from mcr-1-positive strains (9/10) were transferable to the recipient strain and the transfer frequencies ranged from 2.4 × 10-3 to 9.8 × 10-6. Our data suggest that the specific types of plasmid may play an important role in spreading plasmid-mediated colistin resistance in Korea. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the retail meat may be an important tool for disseminating plasmid-mediated colistin resistance.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제14권6호
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• pp.1023-1027
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• 2004

본 연구는 출아형 효모 Saccharomyces cerevisiae에서 자외선의 상해 시 이를 정상으로 회복시키는 절제회복(excision repair) 유전자로 알려진 RADS의 특성 규명을 위하여 균류 Coprinus cinereus에서 이와 유사한 유전자를 분리하였다. RADS 유사 유전자를 분리하기 위하여 균류 C. cinereus의 염색체 DNA를 전기영동하여 분리한 다음 효모 RADS DNA를 probe로 하여 이와 hybridization하였다. 이 결과 RADS유사 유전자는 3.4kb의 insert DNA를 갖고 있었다. 또한 Southern hybridization으로 이 유사 유전자는 fungus C. cinereus의 염색체에 존재함을 확인하였다. 분리한 RADS 유사 유전자의 전사체 크기는 2.8kb 였으며, 자외선의 상해시 전혀 자외선에 대한 유도성이 없음을 Northern hybridization으로 확인하였다. 또한 유사유전자 부분을 삭제하였을 때 이 부분이 없는 세포는 전혀 생존을 못하였다. 이 결과 분리한 RADS 유사유전자는 세포의 생존에 필수적인 유전자임을 알 수 있었다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.844-854
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• 2005

We constructed a defined physical and genetic map of H. pylori strain 51, previously isolated from a Korean patient with a duodenal ulcer, by combining a restriction analysis by pulse-field gel electrophoresis with the construction of a BAC library. A Notl-digest of H. pylori strain 51 genome yielded seven fragments, from which the genomic size was estimated to be 1,698$\pm$24 kb. The BAC library was constructed from 50 to 200 kb fragments of HindIII-digested genomic DNA. From 700 BAC clones, an ordered overlapping maxi-set of 82 BAC clones was assembled that covered the entire genome. The positions of 15 genes were localized in the strain 51 genome with 4-22 kb of resolution and were compared with their orthologues in strain 26695 and strain J99. The arrangement of the 15 genes was identical in strain 51 and strain J99, except for flaA and hpaA. The plasticity zone of strain 51, like that of strain J99, was located in the single region, and was shorter than those of strain 26695 and strain J99. The strain 51 plasticity zone consisted of ORFs common only to strain 51 and J99 or to strain 51 and 26695, as well as strain 51-specific ORFs. Three genetic translocations and/or inversions were found between orthologue ORFs in strain 51 and strain J99. These results show that the chromosomal organization of strain 51 differs from Western strains such as strain 26695 and strain J99.