• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.219-233
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• 1999

Purpose : Respiratory syncytial virus(RSV) is the major cause of lower respiratory tract infection in infants and young children. This study was performed to analyze antigenic and genetic variation of G protein of subgroup A RSV. Methods : One hundred seventy-nine strains isolated at the Seoul National University Children's Hospital over 8 years-period from 1990 through 1998 were analysed for antigenic and genetic variability. Analysis was made by reactivity with monoclonal antibodies raised against RSV, and by restriction mapping and, for selected strains, nucleotide sequencing following amplification of full sequence of G gene by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Results : Restriction fragment analysis of the amplified G protein gene revealed 23 restriction patterns, 12 of which included more than 2 isolate, and the most frequent genetic type comprised 30% of the strains. Indirect immunofluorescent staining with monoclonal antibodies revealed 6 antigenic types with one predominant pattern accounting for 91% of the total strains. The most frequent antigenic type had 21 restriction patterns, and some viruses with same restiction pattern had different monoclonal antibody reaction pattern. Nucleotide sequence homology of subgroup A was 91~93% between reference(A2, Long) and Korean isolates, 93~99% among Korean isolates. Maximum-parsimony analysis demonstrated that Korean isolates were distinct from reference strains and subgroup A strains were clustered in 4 groups. Conclusion : The restriction analysis pattern of G protein gene identified greater diversity within subgroup A than was seen with the monoclonal analysis and a variety of antigenic and genetic types of RSV are circulating in Korea which are different from reference strains or strains isolated from other countries.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.365-376
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• 2020

Immature embryogenesis is a useful process in wheat tissue culture, including transgenic technology, because of its high regeneration efficiency compared to that in other tissues. However, it is a very labor-intensive and time-restrictive method, because the preparation of immature embryos is limited to the optimal time after flowering. In this experiment, 'Speed Breeding', a breeding technique that accelerates breeding generation advancement by extending the photoperiod, was applied to the wheat variety 'Bobwhite'. A controlled growth room was constructed by adjusting the photoperiod (22-hour light/2-hour dark) using LED lights at temperature of 22℃. After vernalization of the Bobwhite seeds at 4℃ for 4 weeks, the seedlings were grown in a controlled growth room and a greenhouse to compare the heading date. In both conditions, calli were induced from immature embryos on the 11^th day after flowering. After 4 weeks, the calli were transferred to a regeneration medium. Regeneration efficiencies under greenhouse conditions and Speed Breeding conditions were determined as 45.05% and 43.18%, respectively. Antioxidant enzyme activity and reference gene expression analysis were performed to confirm the presence of stress due to an extremely long-day photoperiod. As a result, the antioxidant enzyme activity was not distinguished from that of the greenhouse condition. The reference gene expression analysis revealed that the PsaA and CDC genes were highly expressed under the Speed Breeding condition. However, expression of PsbA was similar expression in both conditions. These results will provide useful information for the application of immature embryogenesis to the wheat transformation system.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.299-305
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• 2015

Tapeworms of the genus Spirometra are pseudophyllidean cestodes endemic in Korea. At present, it is unclear which Spirometra species are responsible for causing human infections, and little information is available on the epidemiological profiles of Spirometra species infecting humans in Korea. Between 1979 and 2009, a total of 50 spargana from human patients and 2 adult specimens obtained from experimentally infected carnivorous animals were analyzed according to genetic and taxonomic criteria and classified as Spirometra erinaceieuropaei or Spirometra decipiens depending on the morphology. Morphologically, S. erinaceieuropaei and S. decipiens are different in that the spirally coiled uterus in S. erinaceieuropaei has 5-7 complete coils, while in S. decipiens it has only 4.5 coils. In addition, there is a 9.3% (146/1,566) sequence different between S. erinaceieuropaei and S. decipiens in the cox1 gene. Partial cox1 sequences (390 bp) from 35 Korean isolates showed 99.4% (388/390) similarity with the reference sequence of S. erinaceieuropaei from Korea (G1724; GenBank KJ599680) and an additional 15 Korean isolates revealed 99.2% (387/390) similarity with the reference sequences of S. decipiens from Korea (G1657; GenBank KJ599679). Based on morphologic and molecular databases, the estimated population ratio of S. erinaceieuropaei to S. decipiens was 35: 15. Our results indicate that both S. erinaceieuropaei and S. decipiens found in Korea infect humans, with S. erinaceieuropaei being 2 times more prevalent than S. decipiens. This study is the first to report human sparganosis caused by S. decipiens in humans in Korea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.358-367
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• 2021

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as an international health emergency. Current diagnostic tests are based on the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) method, which is the gold standard test that involves the amplification of viral RNA. However, the RT-qPCR assay has limitations in terms of sensitivity and quantification. In this study, we tested both qPCR and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to detect low amounts of viral RNA. The cycle threshold (CT) of the viral RNA by RT-PCR significantly varied according to the sequences of the primer and probe sets with in vitro transcript (IVT) RNA or viral RNA as templates, whereas the copy number of the viral RNA by ddPCR was effectively quantified with IVT RNA, cultured viral RNA, and RNA from clinical samples. Furthermore, the clinical samples were assayed via both methods, and the sensitivity of the ddPCR was determined to be equal to or more than that of the RT-qPCR. However, the ddPCR assay is more suitable for determining the copy number of reference materials. These findings suggest that the qPCR assay with the ddPCR defined reference materials could be used as a highly sensitive and compatible diagnostic method for viral RNA detection.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.19-23
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• 2001

Two B. thuringiensis strains, which possess mosquitocidal activities, were isolated from Korean soil samples and named K-1205-1 and K-1381-1. Serological studies indicated that K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 belonged to B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (H3a3b3c) and subsp. aizawai (H7), respectively. K-1205-1 produced typical bipyramidal parasporal inclusions, but K-1381-1 produced irregular bipyramidal shape. Total plasmid DNA patterns analysis shewed that K-1205-1 and K- 1381-1 were different from their reference strains, subsp. kurstaki and subsp. aizawai, respectively, in high molecules, whereas their crystal protein patterns showed no difference. The cry gene contents of K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 were identical with those of the reference strains. Mosquitocidal activities of crystal proteins produced by K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 were significantly high by about 40-50 folds at $LC_50$ when compared to those of subsp. kurstaki and subsp. aizawai. Finally, in southern blot analysis using cry1A-type specific probe, K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 had different bands from subsp. kurstaki and subsp. aizawai, respectively. In conclusion, our results suggest that K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 appear to be new moquitocidal B. thuringiensis strains isolated from Korean soil.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.87-91
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• 2018

Morphological and molecular characteristics of spirometrid tapeworms, Spirometra decipiens, were studied, which were recovered from a heavily infected stray cat road-killed in Eumseong-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do (Province), the Republic of Korea (=Korea). A total of 134 scolices and many broken immature and mature proglottids of Spirometra tapeworms were collected from the small intestine of the cat. Morphological observations were based on 116 specimens. The scolex was 22.8-32.6 mm (27.4 mm in average) in length and small spoon-shape with 2 distinct bothria. The uterus was coiled 3-4 times, the end of the uterus was ball-shaped, and the vaginal aperture shaped as a crescent moon was closer to the cirrus aperture than to the uterine aperture. PCR amplification and direct sequencing of the cox1 target fragment (377 bp in length and corresponding to positions 769-1,146 bp of the cox1 gene) were performed using total genomic DNA extracted from 134 specimens. The cox1 sequences (377 bp) of the specimens showed 99.0% similarity to the reference sequence of S. decipiens and 89.3% similarity to the reference sequence of S. erinaceieuropaei. In the present study, we report a stray cat heavily infected with S. decipiens identified by mitochondrial cox1 sequence analysis and morphological examinations of the adult worms.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1353-1362
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• 2016

Hanwoo, a Korean native cattle (Bos taurus coreana), has great economic value due to high meat quality. Also, the breed has genetic variations that are associated with production traits such as health, disease resistance, reproduction, growth as well as carcass quality. In this study, next generation sequencing technologies and the availability of an appropriate reference genome were applied to discover a large amount of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ten Hanwoo bulls. Analysis of whole-genome resequencing generated a total of 26.5 Gb data, of which 594,716,859 and 592,990,750 reads covered 98.73% and 93.79% of the bovine reference genomes of UMD 3.1 and Btau 4.6.1, respectively. In total, 2,473,884 and 2,402,997 putative SNPs were discovered, of which 1,095,922 (44.3%) and 982,674 (40.9%) novel SNPs were discovered against UMD3.1 and Btau 4.6.1, respectively. Among the SNPs, the 46,301 (UMD 3.1) and 28,613 SNPs (Btau 4.6.1) that were identified as Hanwoo-specific SNPs were included in the functional genes that may be involved in the mechanisms of milk production, tenderness, juiciness, marbling of Hanwoo beef and yellow hair. Most of the Hanwoo-specific SNPs were identified in the promoter region, suggesting that the SNPs influence differential expression of the regulated genes relative to the relevant traits. In particular, the non-synonymous (ns) SNPs found in CORIN, which is a negative regulator of Agouti, might be a causal variant to determine yellow hair of Hanwoo. Our results will provide abundant genetic sources of variation to characterize Hanwoo genetics and for subsequent breeding.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.223-231
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• 2010

A total of 191 samples collected from the commercial swine farms located in Chungnam province were investigated by PCR to estimate the prevalence of Lawsonia (L.) intracellularis infection. In the group of the pigs with proliferative enteritis, 14 (93.3%) of 15 intestinal samples and 12 (80.0%) of 15 feces were positive in PCR. In contrast, a relatively low positive rate (18.0%, 29 of 161 samples) was determined in the group of normal healthy pigs. The group of pigs over 120 days showed the highest positive rates (26.8%, 15 of 56 samples). In the comparison of the sequences of 210bp for species specific fragments and 301bp for outer membrane protein, the isolates (L1. L2) showed almost 100% identity with the reference L. intracellularis (L08049, USA). For the sequences of partial 16s rDNA, the homologies among the 5 isolates (L1-L5) were 97.4% to 99.3%, and those of 5 sequences (L1-L5) versus 5 overseas reference strains of L. intracellularis ranged from 98.6% to 99.8%. In the comparison of the nucleotide sequences among 5 isolates and other species in Desulfovibrionales showed 82.4 to 99.5% identities. The 5 isolates shared relatively low identities (76.9% to 84.4%) with the species of alpha-proteobacteria. In phylogenetic analysis based on the 16s rDNA sequences, all of the 5 isolates (L1-L5) were located in the same branch with the strains of L. intracellularis that were previously isolated from the pigs in USA and China. Seven strains of Desulfovibrio sp. were clustered in the neighboring branches, whereas alpha and gamma Proteobacteria showed distant relationship with L. intracellularis strains. The present findings suggest that L. intracellularis infection is endemic in the swine farms in the regions, and that the domestic isolates maintained very limited genetic variation.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.108-120
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• 2017

Modern watermelon cultivars (Citrullus lanatus [Thunb.] Matsum.& Nakai var. lanatus) have fruits with diverse phenotypes, including fruit shape, rind patterns, and flesh color. Molecular markers enable efficient selection of plants harboring desirable phenotypes. In the present study, publicly available DNA markers tightly linked to fruit shape, rind stripe pattern, and flesh color were evaluated using 85 watermelon accessions with diverse fruit phenotypes. For fruit shape, the dCAPS SUN - Cla011257 marker revealed an 81% of marker - trait match for accessions with elongated or round fruits. For rind stripe pattern, the SCAR wsb6-11marker was effective for selecting Jubilee-type rind pattern from other rind patterns. For flesh color, the Clcyb.600 and Lcyb markers derived from a mutation in the Lycopene ${\beta}$ - cyclase (Lcyb) gene, were effective at selecting red or yellow flesh. Forty-eight accessions possessing diverse fruit - related traits were selected as a reference array and their genetic relationships assessed using 16 SSR markers. At a coefficient of 0.11, the 48 accessions grouped into two major clades: Clade I and Clade II. Clade I subdivided further into subclades I - 1 and I - 2 at a coefficient of 0.39. All accessions with colored flesh were classified into Clade I, whereas those with white - flesh were classified into Clade II. Differences in fruit traits between subclades I - 1 and I - 2 were observed for rind pattern and fruit color; a majority of the accessions with Crimson-type striped or non-striped rind were grouped together in subclade I - 1, while most accessions in subclade I - 2 had a Jubilee - type rind stripe pattern. These results imply that reference array watermelon accessions possess distinguishable genetic structure based on rind stripe pattern. However, no significant grouping pattern was observed based on other fruit-related traits.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.321-326
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• 2016

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between TNF polymorphism and generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAP) in Korean subjects. The study population consisted of 60 subjects with GAP and 81 reference group. Genomic DNA was extracted from the buccal swabs and the polymorphisms of $TNF-{\alpha}-308$, -238 promoter genes, $TNF-{\beta}+252$ and TNFR 2+587 were determined by PCR-RFLP using restriction enzymes. The genotype distribution in the GAP were 3.2%, 38.7%, and 82.35% for A/A, A/G and G/G genotypes of $TNF-{\alpha}-308$. At the position of $TNF-{\alpha}-238$, the genotype distribution in the GAP were 25.5% and 74.5% for A/G and G/G genotypes. Allele A frequency of $TNF-{\alpha}-238$ were 67.6% in GAP and 72.2% in reference group. According to these findings, the polymorphism at $TNF-{\alpha}-308$ and -238 may be associated with GAP in Korean.