• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.237-243
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• 2004

The aim of this study is to investigate the detection rate of putative periodontopathogens, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Actiobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, related to cardiovascular diseases(CVD). Plaques were sampled from 15 subjects (4 sites of denture base and/or tooth) with sterilized explorers and were transported in IX PBS. The detection of periodontopathogens was performed by polymerase chain reaction with species-specific primers based on 16S rDNA. The PCR products were cloned into pGEM-T easy vector and its nucleotides were sequenced in order to confirm the specificity. Our data showed that the detection rate of P. gingivalis and T forsythia in denture base of edentulous patients was 25％ and 75％, respectively. And the detection rate of P. gingivalis and T.forsythia in denture base of patient having one more tooth was 91％. The results indicate that plaque of denture base may serve as reservoirs of oral bacteria related to CVD.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.109-109
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• 2002

Detection of protozoan parasites Perkinsus sp. and P. atlanticus was developed in this study using a specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to diagnose the presence of those organisms that causes extensive mortalities of marine shellfishes. The PCR was conducted together with fluid thioglycollate medium (FTM) method and 2 M NaOH lysis method. For the test, Manila clams, Ruditapes philippinarum, were collected from four coastal locations in Korea including Wando Island, Gimnyeong, Sungsan and Sogwipo in Jeju. In addition, trophozites of Perkinsus sp. cultivated in vitro and the granular ark clam, Tegillarca granosa, taken from Gangjin on the south coast of Korea, were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. Expected DNA bands were detected in the samples from Wando Island, Sungsan and the in vitro cultured Perkinsus sp. when the probes specific for the genus Perkinsus and P. atlanticus were used. The samples were also positively diagnosed by the FTM and 2 M NaOH methods. In contrast, the Manila clams from Gimnyeong and Sogwipo, and the granular arks clams from Gangjin showed no detectable signs of infection with the PCR, the FTM method and the 2 M NaOH lysis method. On the other hand, being amplified by p. atlanticus specific primer, it is suggested that the protozoan parasite Perkinsus sp. found in the Korean Manila clam is P. atlanticus. Finally the PCR- based assay developed in the present study can be used in detection of Perkinsus infection and discrimination of Peykinsus species in quarantine stations or laboratories due to the high sensitivity and specificity as well as its rapid detection.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.1090-1097
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• 2015

Traditionally, mistletoe is known as an effective anti-cancer medicinal plant, and lectin is recognized as a major component with cytotoxic and immuno-stimulant activity in mistletoe. A Korean mistletoe lectin (KML) has specificity to galactose and galactosamine and is distinguish from European mistletoe lectin (EML). When we examined the concentration of lectin in mistletoe originated from five different types of host trees, the result indicate that the lectin concentration is variable depending on the host tree. Noticeably, mistletoe from chestnut tree contains ten folds higher lectins than that of an oak tree. We also tested the concentration of KML and crude extract (KM-110) of Korean mistletoe that shows 90% cytotoxicity in L5178Y-ML25 lymphoma cell. In addition, the cells show 90% and 70% viability by the treatment of two neutralizing antibodies of KML, 9H7-D10 and 8B11-2C5 neutralization effect with two monoclonal antibodies of KML, 9H7-D10 and 8B11-2C5. Therefore, the result expected that the mistletoe contain some other cytotoxic components except lectin. Finally, the production of $TNF-{\alpha}$ and IL-6 by RAW 264.7 cells stimulated with lectin free-crude extract (LFKM-110) following neutralization by 9H7-D10 monoclonal antibody shows higher than that of lectin containing-crude extract (KM-110). These results suggest that the Korean mistletoe lectin ha a great potential to be developed as therapeutic agent of cancer.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.66-75
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• 1989

Heterogeneity in antigenic composition of Aspergillus fumigatus isolates from clinical specimens and in antibody response of patients infected with this fungus was investigated by immunoblotting. A considerable quantitative and qualitative difference was found in composition of the culture filtrate antigens derived from a reference strain (ATCC 13073) and 8 clinical isolates of A. fumigatus on SDS-PAGE and immunoblots. The crude CF antigen of a strain AFG7 was selected to identify the serologically reactive and specific components by immunoblotting. Out of more than 36 components separated by electrophoresis, transblotted to nitrocellulose sheet, and reacted with sera that showed a positive reaction to A. fumigatus or other fungal antigens on immunodiffusion tests, merely four or so were found useful to serodiagnosis of aspergillosis. An antigen of 82KD was found most reactive and specific component so as to be contained in the standard preparation. Several other components, for example 11KD, 26KD, 30KD and 31KD, also possessed relatively high reactivity and specificity and seemed to be worth while purifying and characterizing. Antibody binding activity (reactivity) of the antigenic components was clearly shown on immunoblots because some were faintly stained with Coomassie blue but darkly stained on immunoblots, while some others behaved contrary to them. A number of components seemed to carry not only species specific but cross reactive antigenic determinants. Immunoblotting proved very useful to identify serologically reactive and specific components that should be present in the antigen to be employed to the serodiagnosis of aspergillosis.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2008

We determined the effects of dietary supplements for lactic acid bacteria(LAB) such as Lactobacillus brevis(Lb) and Lactobacillus plantarum(Lp) in juvenile rockfish Sebastes schlegeli cultured in flow-through system for 10 weeks. The experimental diets contained $10^4cfu/g,\;10^6cfu/g\;and\;10^8cfu/g$ level each LAB(Lb-4, Lb-6, Lb-8 or Lp-4, Lp-6, Lp-8), respectively. The effects of LAB supplementation was determined by various factor such as weight gain(WG), specific growth rate(SGR), feeding efficiency(FE) and blood assay. For rearing experiment, Lp-8 treatment had significantly high growth rate than control diet treatment. However, all Lb treatment had no significance effect with control diet treatment. In case of the blood assay, hematocrit(Ht) and hemoglobin(Hb) of fish were not affected by LAB supplemental levels. On the other hand, total cholesterol in plasma of Lb-8, Lp-6 and Lp-8 treatments were significantly low than the control diet treatment. We verified the influence of LAB which was originated from species specificity and amount in diet. Consequently, the dietary supplementation as $10^8cfu/g$ level of L. plantarum could be of help for growth enhancement to the juvenile rockfish.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.323-331
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• 1996

Predetermination of sex in mammalian species has many aspects of application including the prenatal diagnoses of genetic disorders in humans and sex-selected breeding programs in the animal industry. Embryos sexing can be carried out using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify specific sequences present in the sex chromosomes, or by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) of specific probes to the X and Y chromosomes. A 3.3 kb porcine male-specific DNA fragment (pEM39) was cloned previously in our laboratory. In this study, FISH and PCR methods were employed to examine if the pEM39 can be used a sex-specific DNA probes Porcine ovaries were obtained from a local slaughter house and oocytes collected. All oocytes were subjected to in vitro maturation followed by 1n vitro fertilization. Parthenogenetically activated embryos were served as a negative control. Embryonic samples were collected at the 2-cell stages and PCR was performed to analyze DNA. Among 10 embryos examined, four embryos were identified as males and six were females. The cloned male-specific DNA fragment showed male-specificity for the cells in the liver tissue and the porcine early embryos by FISH. It was also demonstrated that the cloned male-specific DNA is localized on the hetero chromatic region of the long arm in the Y chrom-osome (Yq) as shown by the FISH and karyotyping. The results suggest that the cloned male-specific DNA fragment may be useful for predetermination of sex with a few embryonic cells. The porcine male-specific sequence can be a reliable index for embryo sexing by PCR.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.269-274
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• 2005

We evaluated the PCR assay and two commercialized PCR kits for the detection of mycoplasma in veterinary via live vaccines. The PCR assay could specifically detect all the tested Mycoplasma spp. and Acholeplasma spp., whereas two commercialized PCR kits did not. Also, the specificity of the PCR assay showed that 4 reference strains and 7 field isolates belonging to avian mycoplasma species could be all detected. The sensitivity of the PCR assay was determined using pure cultured Mycoplasma spp. and Acholeplasma spp. with a range of 1 to 100 colony forming units/ml in 9 CFR Mycoplasma broth. To test the availability of the PCR assay for veterinary live viral vaccines, A. laidlawii was artificially inoculated into the swine transmissible gastroenteritis-rota virus combined vaccine and canine parvovirus vaccine, respectively and the sensitivity of the PCR assay was similar with the result of cultured samples. In this study, the PCR assays could be used as rapid and sensitive methods for the detection of mycoplasma in veterinary live viral vaccines.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.331-344
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• 2011

The well-conserved NBS domain of resistance (R) genes cloned from many plants allows the use of a PCR-based approach to isolate resistance gene analogs (RGAs). In this study, we isolated an RGA (CapRGC) from Capsicum annuum "CM334" using a PCR-based approach. This sequence encodes a protein with very high similarity to Rx genes, the Potato Virus X (PVX) R genes from potato. An evolutionary analysis of the CapRGC gene and its homologs retrieved by an extensive search of a Solanaceae database provided evidence that Rx-like genes (eight ESTs or genes that show very high similarity to Rx) appear to have diverged from R1 [an NBS-LRR R gene against late blight (Phytophthora infestans) from potato]-like genes. Structural comparison of the NBS domains of all the homologs in Solanaceae revealed that one novel motif, 14, is specific to the Rx-like genes, and also indicated that several other novel motifs are characteristic of the R1-like genes. Our results suggest that Rx-like genes are ancient but conserved. Furthermore, the novel conserved motifs can provide a basis for biochemical structural. function analysis and be used for degenerate primer design for the isolation of Rx-like sequences in other plant species. Comparative mapping study revealed that the position of CapRGC is syntenic to the locations of Rx and its homolog genes in the potato and tomato, but cosegregation analysis showed that CapRGC may not be the R gene against PVX in pepper. Our results confirm previous observations that the specificity of R genes is not conserved, while the structure and function of R genes are conserved. It appears that CapRGC may function as a resistance gene to another pathogen, such as the nematode to which the structure of CapRGC is most similar.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.309-321
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• 1987

For the investigation of microbiological and immunological specificity of Bacteroides gingivalis, Bacteroides gingivalis were isolated, enumerated and characterized from 13 Korean rapidly progressive periodontitis and 7 healthy control by anaerobic culture technique. The total proportion of black-pigmented Bacteroides from Korean R.P.P. patients and healthy control were 8.78% and 0.92%, respectively, among total isolated black-pigmented Bacteroides. In antibiotic susceptibility test, Bacteroides gingivalis isolated from R.P.P. patients were sensitive to Ampicillin and Tetracycline, and resistant to Gentamicin and Erythromycin in disc diffusion method. In antibiotic broth dilution method, the minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC) to Bacteroides gingivalis was 2 unit/ml of Penicillin and $0.25{\sim}1{\mu}g/ml$ of Tetracycline, respectively. The concentration of serum IgG in rapidly progressive periodontitis patients were sigificantly higher than that of healthy control, and concentration of diluted gingival crevicular IgG has not any significant differences between two groups. Serum and gingival crevicular IgG antibody to Bacteroides gingivalis were significantly higher titer in rapidly progressive periodontitis patients to compare with healthy control. The lipopolysaccharide profiles of 2 Korean B. gingivalis in silver stained sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were similar to type strains of B. gingivalis and typical LPS band were appeared around the 24-Kd molecular weight. Immunodiffusion test and immunoelectrophoresis of the L.P.S. extracted from 2 Korean B. gingivalis and 2 kinds of type strains of B. gingivalis showed that B. gingivalis Korean-1 was reacted identically to B. gingivalis ATCC 33277. In trypsin and ${\alpha}$-glucosidase activity test of 2 Korean B. gingivalis, both of them revealed positive trypsin and negative ${\alpha}$-glucosidase activity, respectively. These investigation suggested that B. gingivalis is important pathogenic plaque bacteria for the pathogenesis of periodontitis and further study is needed to purify and characterize of the species-specific antigens of this organisms to develop monoclonal antibody and potential diagnostic reagents.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.944-953
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• 2021

Lignin is a complex phenylpropanoid polymer abundant in the cell walls of vascular plants. It is mainly presented in conducting and supporting tissues, assisting in water transport and mechanical strength. Lignification is also utilized as a defense mechanism against pathogen infection or wounding to protect plant tissues. The monolignol precursors of lignin are synthesized by cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD). CAD catalyzes cinnamaldehydes to cinnamyl alcohols, such as p-coumaryl, coniferyl, and sinapyl alcohols. CAD exists as a multigenic family in angiosperms, and CAD isoforms with different functions have been identified in different plant species. Multiple isoforms of CAD genes are differentially expressed during development and upon environmental cues. CAD enzymes having different functions have been found so far, showing that one of its isoforms may be involved in developmental lignification, whereas others may affect the composition of defensive lignins and other wall-bound phenolics. Substrate specificity appears differently depending on the CAD isoform, which contributes to revealing the biochemical properties of CAD proteins that regulate lignin synthesis. In this review, details regarding the expression and regulation of the CAD family in lignin biosynthesis are discussed. The isoforms of the CAD multigenic family have complex genetic regulation, and the signaling pathway and stress responses of plant development are closely linked. The synthesis of monolignol by CAD genes is likely to be regulated by development and environmental cues as well.