• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.291-299
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• 1993

The lipid components of the gonad of sea urchin Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus, ark shell Scapharca bro-ughtonii and "Gaebul" (Korea name, a worm) Urechis unicinctus were investigated. The total lipid (TL) contents of the sea urchin, the ark shell and the "Gaebul" were 6.10, 0.67 and 0.79%, respectively. The percentages of phospholipid (PL) in TL were higher in the "Gaebul"(72.4%) and ark shell(64.9%) compared to the sea urchin (41.7%). The major lipid classes of PL were phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, and the former was rich in the sea urchin (56.2%) and the latter in the "Gaebul"(34.4%). In the class of non-polar lipid (NL), the major lipid classes were different from species ; the sea urchin was rich in triglyceride(TG, 89.0%), the ark shell rich in TG (69.2%) and cholesterol (ST 26.8%) and the "Gaebul"rich in ST (70.7%). The prominent fatty acids of the sea urchin were 16 : 0, 14 : 0, 20 : 5n-3, 20 : 4n-6 and 20 : 4n-6 and 20 : 2NMID(non-methylene interupted dien). The percentage of 20 : 4n-6 was the highest of the investigated invertebrates, accounting for 19.8% in PL, but 22 : 6n-3 was not detected in the sea urchin. In case of the ark shell, the prominent fatty acids were 16 : 0, 18 : 0, 20 : 5n-3, 22 : 6n-3 and 22 : 2NMID, especially 22 : 6n-3(9.58%) was richer compared to that of the "Gaebul". The prominent fatty acids of the "Gaebul"were 20 : 5n-3, 16 : 0, 18 : 0 20 : 1n-9, 16 : 1n-7 and 14 : 0. The percentage of 20 : 5n-3 (22.0%) was highest in the PL of the "Gaebul"among the three invertebrates. These differences in the lipid components of all the sample is considered to be due to the different food habits and environmental condition of the invertebrates.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.121-133
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• 1988

Strongylocentrotus pulcherrimus is one of the very important fishery stock in this country since its high demand for raw gonad. Although the demand has been continuously increasing, the natural stock of this species seems to be decreasing. Since fresh macroalgae are not always available, the substitution of terrestrial vegetables for algae as a principal food was examined for the intensive indoor culture of the sea urchin. The results from the studies on selective and non-selective feeding habits and nutritional efficiencies using 13 food stuffs (6 macroalgae, 5 vegetables and 2 animal products) indicate that algae can be substituted with vegetables in sea urchin culture. Although the growth of body weight was the highest when sea urchins were fed Undaria Pinnatifida, the gonad index of the sea urchins fed on spinach, radish leaf and lettuce was higher than that of this brown alga. Considering the different food efficiencies of body and gonad growth, spinach and radish leaf will be adequate during gonad growth season, while lettuce and Chinese cabbage will be suitable for test growth season. In particular, radish leaf, which is usually not eaten by humans, could be highly beneficial and very economical in the sea urchin culture.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.20-25
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• 2024

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nano-sized lipid bilayer vesicles released by cells. EVs act as messengers for cell-to-cell communication. Inside, it contains various substances that show biological activity, such as proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and metabolites. The study of EVs extracted from terrestrial organisms and stem cells on inflammatory environments and tissue regeneration have been actively conducted. However, marine organisms-derived EVs are limited. Therefore, we have extracted EVs from sea urchins belonging to the Echinoderm group with their excellent regenerative ability. First, we extracted extracellular matrix (ECM) from sea urchin gonads treated with hypotonic buffer, followed by collagenase treatment, and filtration to collect ECM-bounded EVs. The size of sea urchin gonad-derived EVs (UGEVs) is about 20-100 nm and has a round shape. The protein content was higher after EVs burst than before, which is evidence that proteins are contained inside. In addition, proteins of various sizes are distributed inside. PKH-26 was combined with UGEVs, which means that UGEVs have a lipid membrane. PHK-26-labeled UGEVs were successfully uptaken by cells. UGEVs can be confirmed to have the same characteristics as traditional EVs. Finally, it was confirmed that Schwann cells were not toxic by increasing proliferation after treatment.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.140-149
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• 2010

We determined the seasonal gonad maturation in Strongylocentrotus nudus sea urchins inhabiting an artificially enhanced seaweed forest along the Samchuk Coast of Korea from April 2006 to March 2007. A total of 30 sea urchins per month were collected from the study area, and gonadosomatic index (GSI), gonad index (GI), egg diameter, and RNA/DNA variation were measured for each specimen. GSI values of female and male urchins achieved maximums of 17.6 and 17.0, respectively, in June. Based on histological studies, maximum GI values occurred in July (4.6 for females and 4.8 for males). A mean ovarian egg diameter of $73.7\;\pm\;14.2\;{\mu}m$ was measured in August; during the main spawning period in September, mean egg diameter reached a maximum of $74.2\;\pm\;17.8\;{\mu}m$. The RNA/DNA ratio and RNA content for both males and females showed a distinct peak during the ripe stage in July, but another peak occurred in the spring season from March to April, when urchins deposit protein into the nutritive phagocytes of immature gonads prior to gametogenesis. The reproductive cycle of S. nudus is divided into five stages: early active (December-May), late active (March-July), ripe (July-September), spent and degenerative (August-November), and inactive (October-February). Our continuous removal of sea urchins from the study area did not influence the reproductive cycle, as populations quickly recovered, and achieved normal gonad development cycle in the site.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.83-88
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• 2014

A new shell divider was manufactured according to the principle of the lever in order to improve working efficiency in collecting the gonad of Sea Urchin, Anthocidaris crassispina, around the coast of jeju. It was composed of three parts of a pair of handles for grasping power, a fulcrum and a pair of knives for action with 21cm in length and 13cm in width. The operating efficiency of the shell divider was tested out in three place of Jeju coast. Statistical significances of differences of working time between test groups were calculated according to the t-test with the level of significance. In dividing the shell of sea urchin, the average of about 3 seconds of working time by the shell divider was less than that by a knife. At the result of t-test, the statistical significance in the working time existed between the divider group and the knife group. On the other hand, the working time among the divider operators showed no significant differences. It is concluded that the shell divider is more efficient than a knife in traditional operating.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.686-693
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• 2012

The seaweed community and stomach contents of the dominant herbivorous sea urchins Anthocidaris crassispina and Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus were examined from November 2008 to October 2009, in coastal areas of Tongyeong, Korea. Thirty-five seaweeds including two green, nine brown, and 24 red algae, were found over the study period. Seventeen seaweeds (two green, two brown, and 13 red) and two invertebrates were found in the stomachs of A. crassispina. In H. pulcherrimus, stomach contents were two green, one brown, 11 red seaweeds, and two invertebrates. The shell diameter of A. crassispina and H. pulcherrimus ranged from 22.3 to 62.3 mm and 15.3 to 40.1 mm, respectively. Total body weights ranged from 48.5 to 86.7 g for A. crassispina and from 7.7 to 25.9 g for H. pulcherrimus. The total weight of stomach contents were 5.1 to 25.8 g in A. crassispina and 1.7 to 11.8 g in H. pulcherrimus. The range of gonad weight was 3.6 to 17.0 g in A. crassispina and 0.8 to 4.0 g in H. pulcherrimus. The gonad index (GI) for A. crassispina peaked in July and reached a minimum in December, whereas the GI for H. pulcherrimus was highest in February, and lowest in May.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.157-168
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• 2000

Sea urchin S. intermedius occurring in the Korean east coast is a cold water species that belongs to the family Strongylocentrotidae of Echinoidea. Although it is known that there are nine species in the family, species identification criteria, phylogenetic relationships, time and process of evolution of the family members have not been uncovered clearly. In the present study, I tried to find some clues to such problems for S. intermedius by means of DNA sequences. For this, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), one of the mitochondrial genes that evolve fast and follow maternal inheritance was analyzed. DNA was extracted from the female gonad of S. intermedius, a segment of COI gene amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and finally a total of 1077 base pair sequence of COI obtained by cloning and sequencing the PCR product. The sequence was compared with homologous genes of other sea urchins and echinoderm species. Phylogenetic trees of the COI gene segment revealed that S. intenedius is a sister species of S. purpuratus which lives along the east coast of the Paciflc. With reference to the fossil records of sea urchins and genetic distances in the molecular phylogenies, it is estimated that the two species were separated about 0.89 million years ago when the earth temperature fluctuated significantly. The current disjunct distribution patterns of the two species and the climate change of the earth at the time of separation suggest that speciation might have occurred by vicariance. The COI gene sequence obtained here now can be used as a molecular character which discerns S. intermedius from the other sea urchin species of Strongylocentrotidae.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.43-47
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• 2007

Smad proteins mediate transforming growth $factor(TGF)-{\beta}$ signaling and play a pivotal role in embryonic development. The estrogen receptor-related receptors(ERRs), which are structurally similar to estrogen receptors, are members of orphan nuclear receptor in the nuclear receptor superfamily and their functions are known to be involved in the formation of extra-embryonic ectoderm. To investigate the involvement of Smad3 and $ERR{\beta}$ like 1 in reproductive activities and embryogenesis in marine invertebrate, we examined gene expression of Smad3 and $ERR{\beta}$ like 1 in Strongylocentrotus nudus during their seasonal changes and embryonic development using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The Smad3 mRNA levels in gonad showed an increasing pattern from February to June 2004 but decreased at August(spawning season) followed by an elevation of the levels at October and December 2004. The mRNA levels of the $ERR{\beta}$ like 1 significantly elevated during the spawning season. During embryonic development, Smad3 mRNA levels at $8{\sim}16$ cell stages were significantly higher than those of other stages, whereas the mRNA of the $ERR{\beta}$ like 1 was significantly high levels at late development stages, i.e., blastular, gastrula and plutei stages. These results suggest that the Smad3 could be involved at least in part in the early cleavage stages and the $ERR{\beta}$ like 1 may play an important role in the spawning season and late developmental stage in the sea urchin.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.225-231
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• 2010

Gonadal development and reproductive cycles of red sea urchin Pseudocentrotus depressus were investigated based on the monthly variations of gonadosomatic index (GSI), gametogenesis and developmental phases of gonad. The specimens were sampled monthly in the north coastal waters of Ongpo and the south coastal waters Bubhwan of Jeju Island, Korea, from December 1994 to December 1995. Monthly changes of GSI values and reproductive cycles showed similar trends in Ongpo and Bubhwan. In females GSI values were reached the maximum in December ($17.8{\pm}4.04$ in Ongpo, $13.8{\pm}1.51$ in Bubhwan). In males GSI values were reached the maximum in December ($15.4{\pm}1.53$ in Ongpo, $13.6{\pm}1.32$ in Bubhwan). In both Ongpo and Bubhwan major spawning probably occurred between November and February when water temperatures and daylengths decrease. The histological observations of the gonads suggested that this species seemed to have a synchronous gametogenesis and one spawning season a year in Jeju Island costal waters.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.401-419
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• 1998

The structure of benthic algal flora and feeding behavior of sea urchins (Anthocidaris crassispina and Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus), were investigated from the eight different locations along the coast of Cheju Island, Korea. Biomass distribution and dominance of the algal communities were studied in relation to the gut contents and population parameters of the sea urchins. As a result, although the largest algal biomass and biological characteristics of sea urchins, such as test diameter, test hight, body weight, gonad weight, etc. This inhdicated that sea urchins would not be dependednt sorely on the abundance of algal foods, and they might feed on other food items. In order to know such a trend with regard to food selectivity, the diets consumed by sea urchins were analyzed, and it was found that they were composed of benthic and drifted algae, various animal components (sponges, bryozoans, crustaceans, and various unidentified capsulated eggs, etc.) and biets turned out to be smaller than might be expected, and it is postulated that sea urchins were not likely to be the major grazing animals for the formation of algal bed and also canopy deterioration, so-called "white incrustation."