• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.299-308
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• 2015

The six natural zeolites collected in Pohang area, Kyungsangbuk-do, Korea, were characterized by XRD, XRF, DTA, TGA, and CEC analysis. The primary species of these zeolite are modenite, albite, and quarts in Kuryongpo-A (Ku-A), Kuryongpo-B (Ku-B), Kuryongpo-C (Ku-C), Donghae-A (Dh-A), Donghae-B (Dh-B), and Donghae-C (Dh-C) samples. The XRF analysis showed that the six zeolites contain Si, Al, Na, K, Mg, Ca, and Fe. Cation exchange capacity of Kuryongpo-C (Ku-C) zeolite was the highest compared to other zeolites. The capabilities of removing heavy metal ions such as $Pb^{2+}$, $Cd^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$ were compared. The effect of reaction time in removing heavy metal ions was studied. The experimental results showed that the efficiency of removal was low for $Pb^{2+}$, $Cd^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$ ions. These may be caused by the low content of zeolite in the six natural zeolites. This indicates that the adsorption capacity roughly tends to depend on the zeoite contents, ie., the grade of zeolite ore.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.199-204
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• 2006

Streptococcosis of olive flounder(Paralichthys olivaceus) is an important bacterial disease in Jeju island. In this study, we investigated monthly infection pattern of this disease in different size of the flounder fish. Even though the disease occurred throughout the year, the infection ratio was relatively higher in the months with warm water season. The infection was more prevalent in adult flounder over 30 cm total length compare to these of small size fish. Two infectious species of streptococcosis pathogens were detected by multiplex PCR assay. Detection ratios of Streptococcus iniae and S. parauberis reached up to 46% and 54%, respectively, from June 2003 to May 2005 in Jeju island. S. iniae occurred intensively from September to October, whereas S. parauberis reported from March to May. S. iniae and S. parauberis infections of cultured flounder share some common features, but clinical findings showed considerable differences between two diseases. Distended abdomen, protruded anus and ascitic fluid in the peritoneal cavity are evident lesions detected in S. iniae infection, whereas, flounders infected by S. parauberis showed prominent lesions such as darkened surface and haemorrhaging in the non-ocular side. Both streptococcosis pathogens were sensitive to antibiotics, such as ampicillin and amoxicillin. However, S. iniae strains were more sensitive to doxycycline, erythromycin and oxytetracycline than S. parauberis strains.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.246-255
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• 2007

Mutans streptococci have been implicated as cariogenic bacteria in dental caries because they can produce high levels of dental caries-causing lactic acid and extracellular polysaccharide. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize the mutans streptococci from the dental plaque obtained from Koreans. The dental plaque samples were collected from the anterior and molar teeth of both jaws in 155 subjects (aged 2 to 33.2 years, average age $13.7{\pm}4.7\;years$). The samples were diluted by 100-fold in $1{\times}\;PBS$ and plated on mitis-salivarius bacitracin (MSB) agar plates. The mutans streptococci grown on MSB plates were screened by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) targeting dextranase gene (dex). The mutans streptococci were identified at the species level using a 16S rDNA sequencing comparison method. The biochemical tests were carried out to biotype the mutans streptococci. Ninety-five strains of the mutans streptococci out of 358 colonies, which were derived from 141 subjects, were isolated. Of them, 77 strains and 18 strains were Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus, respectively. The biotyping data showed that 62, 1, 20, 10, and 2 strains were biotypes I, II, IV, V and variant, respectively. Of the two strains of variant biotype, one strains was similar to biotype IV except that it was positive to the arginine hydrolysis test. We considered this one strain a new biotype, and classified it as biotype VII. In conclusion, S. mutans and its biotype I was most frequently isolated in Korean dental plaque. The mutans streptococci strains isolated in this study might be useful for the study of the pathogenesis and the prevention of dental caries.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.133-139
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• 2006

In 'solid-phase' PEGylation, the conjugation reaction occurs as the proteins are attached to a solid matrix, and thus it can have distinct advantages over the conventional, solution-phase process. We report a case study: rhIFN-${\alpha}$-2a was first adsorbed to cation exchange resin and then N-terminally PEGylated by aldehyde mPEG of 5, 10, and 20 kD through reductive alkylation. After the PEGylation, salt gradient elution efficiently recovered the mono-PEGylate in a purified form from the unwanted species such as unmodified IFN, unreacted PEG, and others. The mono-PEGylation and its purification were integrated in a single chromatographic step. Depending on the molecular weight of the mPEG aldehyde used, the mono-PEGylation yield ranged 50-64%. We could overcome the major problems of random, or uncontrollable, multi-PEGylation and the post-PEGylation purification difficulties associated with the solution-phase process. N-terminal sequencing and MALDI-TOF MS confirmed that a PEG molecule was conjugated only to the N-terminus. Compared with the unmodified IFN, the mono-PEGylate showed the reduced anti-viral activity as measured by the cell proliferation assay. The bioactivity was reduced more as the higher molecular weight PEG was conjugated. Immunoreactivity, evaluated indirectly by antibody binding activity using a surface plasmon resonance biosensor, also decreased. Nevertheless, trypsin resistance as well as thermal stability was considerably improved.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.229-246
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• 1997

Implantation is a most important biological process during pregnancy whereby conceptus establishes its survival as well as maintenance of pregnancy. During the periimplantation period, both uterine endometriurn and conceptus synthesize and secrete a host of growth factors and cytokines which mediate the actions of estrogen and /or progesterone and also exert their steroid-independent actions. Growth factors expressed by the materno-conceptal unit en masse have important roles in cell migration, stimulation or inhibition of cell proliferation, cellular differentiation, maintenance of pregnancy and materno-conceptal communications in an autorcrine /paracrine manner. The present review focuses on the role of the intrauterine IGF system during periimplantation conceptus development. The IGF system comprises of IGF- I and IGF- II ligands, types I and II IGF receptors and six or more IGF-binding proteins(IGFBPs). IGFs and IGFBPs are expressed and secreted by uterine endometrium with tissue, pregnancy stage and species specificities under the influence of estrogen, progesterone and other growth factor(s). Conceptus also synthesizes components of the IGF system beginning from a period between 2-cell and blastocyst stages. Maternal IGFs are utilized by both maternal and conceptal tissues; conceptus-derived growth factors are believed to be taken up primarily by conceptus. IGFs enhance the development of both maternal and conceptal compartments in a wide range of biological processes. They stimulate proliferation and differentiation of endometrial cells and placental precursor cells including decidual transformation from stromal cells, placental formation and the synthesis of some steroid and protein hormones by differentiated endometrial cells or placenta. It is also well-documented in a number of experimental settings that both IGFs stimulate preimplantation embryo development. In slight contrast to these, prenatal mice carrying a null mutation of IGF and /or IGF receptor gene do not exhibit any apparent growth retardation until after implantation. Reason (s) for this discrepancy between the knock-out result and the in vitro ones, however, is not known. IGFBPs, in general, are believed to inhibit IGF action within the materno-conceptal unit, thereby allowing endometrial stromal cell differentiation as well as dampening ex cessive placental invasion into maternal tissue. There is evidence, however, indicating that IGFBP can enhance IGF action depending on environrnental conditions perhaps by directioning IGF ligand to the target cell. There is also a third possibility that certain IGFBPs and their proteolytic fragments may have their own biological activities independent of the IGF. In addition to IGFBPs, IGFBP proteases including those found within the uterine tissue or lumen are thought to enhance IGF bioavailability by degrading their substrates without affecting their bound ligand. In this regard, preliminary results in early pregnant pigs suggest that a partially characterized IGFBP protease activity in uterine luminal fluid enhances intrauterine IGF bioavailability during conceptus morphological development. In summary, a number of in vitro results indicate that IGFs stimulates the development of the rnaterno-conceptal unit during the periimplantation period. IGFBPs appear to inhibit IGF action by sequestering their ligands, whereas IGFBP proteases are thought to enhance intrauterine bioavailability of IGFs. Much is remaining to be clarified, however, regarding the roles of the individual IGF system components. These include in vivo evidence for the role of IGFs in early conceptus development, identification of IGF-regulated genes and their functions, specific roles for individual IGFBPs, identification and characterization of IGFBP proteases. The intrauterine IGF club house thus will be paying a lot of attention to forthcoming results in above and other areas, with its door wide-open!

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.1330-1335
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• 2012

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is one of the acute infectious diseases in hoofed and even-toed mammals, including pigs, and it occurs via acute infection by Aphthovirus. When FMD is suspected, animals around the location of origin are typically slaughtered and buried. Other methods such as rendering, composting, and incineration have not been verified in practice in Korea. After the FMD incident, the regular monitoring of the microbial community is required, as microorganisms greatly modify the characteristics of the ecosystem in which they live. This is the result of their metabolic activities causing chemical changes to take place in the surrounding environment. In this study, we investigated changes in the microbial community during a 24 week period with DNA extracts from leachate, formed by the decomposition of buried pigs at a laboratory test site, using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) with a genomic DNA. Our results revealed that Bacteroides coprosuis, which is common in pig excreta, and Sporanaerobacter acetigenes, which is a sulfur-reduced microbe, were continuously observed. During the early stages (0~2 weeks) of tissue decomposition, Clostridium cochlearium, Fusobacterium ulcerans, and Fusobacterium sp., which are involved in skin decomposition, were also observed. In addition, various microbes such as Turicibacter sanguinis, Clostridium haemolyticum, Bacteroides propionicifaciens, and Comamonas sp. were seen during the later stages (16~24 weeks). In particular, the number of existing microbial species gradually increased during the early stages, including the exponential phase, decreased during the middle stages, and then increased again during the later stages. Therefore, these results indicate that the decomposition of pigs continues for a long period of time and leachate is created continuously during this process. It is known that leachate can easily flow into the neighboring environment, so a long-term management plan is needed in burial locations for FMD-infected animals.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.215-222
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• 2020

The marine microorganism PX-1, which can hydrolyze xylan, was isolated from coastal sea water of Jeju Island, Korea. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence and chemotaxonomy analysis, PX-1 was identified as a species of the genus Aestuariibacter and named Aestuariibacter sp PX-1. From the culture broth of PX-1, an extracellular xylanase was purified to homogeneity through ammonium sulfate precipitation and subsequent adsorption chromatography using insoluble xylan. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and gel filtration chromatography estimated the molecular weight of the purified putative xylanase (XylA) as approximately 64 kDa. XylA showed xylanase activity toward beechwood xylan, with a maximum enzymatic activity at pH 6.0 and 45℃. Through thin-layer chromatographic analysis of the xylan hydrolysate produced by XylA, it was confirmed that XylA is an endo-type xylanase that decomposes xylan into xylose and xyloligosaccharides of various lengths. The K_m and V_max values of XylA for beechwood xylan were 27.78 mM and 78.13 μM/min, respectively.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.74-82
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• 2017

Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) is a flowering ornamental plant used widely in Korea. In 2015, wilting, damping-off, stunting, and root rot symptoms were observed in lisianthus plants of Yeoju and Gimhae, Korea. Affected seedlings appeared yellow and showed poor development of root systems in the field and in nursery boxes. Furthermore, affected plants were yellow, stunted, and died at approximately 2-3 months after transplanting. Fusarium species were consistently isolated from the basal stems of diseased plants. Nine isolates were identified as Fusarium solani based on morphological characteristics. Macroconidia of isolates were relatively wide, straight-to-slightly curved, and microconidia formed in false heads on long monophialides. Abundant chlamydospores were produced at the middle or tips of hyphae. To confirm this identification, a molecular analysis of the translation elongation factor 1 alpha (TEF) and RNA polymerase II subunit (RPB2) genes was conducted. The sequences of TEF and RPB2 showed 99.2-99.9% and 98.0-98.1% similarity, respectively, to those of reference F. solani strains in NCBI GenBank. Pathogenicity was tested using root dipping inoculation of healthy lisianthus seedlings. Symptoms were observed within 7 days of inoculation only in inoculated plants. This is the first report of F. solani causing Fusarium root rot on lisianthus in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.193-199
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• 2018

The fungus, Podosphaera pannosa, was identified in 1991 as the cause of powdery mildew symptoms on peach (Prunus persica var. persica) fruit from Korea based on the morphological characteristics of the conidial state. Recently, however, in Serbia and France, the cause of 'rusty spot' found on peach fruit was identified as P. leucotricha, and the cause of 'powdery mildew' on nectarine (Prunus persica var. nucipersica) fruit was identified as P. pannosa. To confirm the identity of the Korean pathogen, we collected four samples of powdery mildew from Korean peach fruit: three with the 'powdery mildew' symptom and one with the 'rusty spot' symptom. Morphological examination of the four samples confirmed P. pannosa as the pathogen. Internal transcribed spacer sequences of rDNA were analyzed for molecular characterization. A phylogenetic tree showed that the Korean isolates were clustered into a clade containing P. pannosa from Rosa species, with high sequence similarities of more than 99%. Thus, we showed that the powdery mildew and rusty spot symptoms on peach fruits from Korea are associated with P. pannosa.

• Mycobiology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.297-311
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• 2017

Saprolegniasis is one of the most devastating oomycete diseases in freshwater fish which is caused by species in the genus Saprolegnia including Saprolegnia parasitica. In this study, we isolated the strain of S. parasitica from diseased rainbow trout in Korea. Morphological and molecular based identification confirmed that isolated oomycete belongs to the member of S. parasitica, supported by its typical features including cotton-like mycelium, zoospores and phylogenetic analysis with internal transcribed spacer region. Pathogenicity of isolated S. parasitica was developed in embryo, juvenile, and adult zebrafish as a disease model. Host-pathogen interaction in adult zebrafish was investigated at transcriptional level. Upon infection with S. parasitica, pathogen/antigen recognition and signaling (TLR2, TLR4b, TLR5b, NOD1, and major histocompatibility complex class I), pro/anti-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin $[IL]-1{\beta}$, tumor necrosis factor ${\alpha}$, IL-6, IL-8, interferon ${\gamma}$, IL-12, and IL-10), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP9 and MMP13), cell surface molecules ($CD8^+$ and $CD4^+$) and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase) related genes were differentially modulated at 3- and 12-hr post infection. As an anti-Saprolegnia agent, plant based lawsone was applied to investigate on the susceptibility of S. parasitica showing the minimum inhibitory concentration and percentage inhibition of radial growth as $200{\mu}g/mL$ and 31.8%, respectively. Moreover, natural lawsone changed the membrane permeability of S. parasitica mycelium and caused irreversible damage and disintegration to the cellular membranes of S. parasitica. Transcriptional responses of the genes of S. parasitica mycelium exposed to lawsone were altered, indicating that lawsone could be a potential anti-S. parasitica agent for controlling S. parasitica infection.