• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.117-124
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• 2019

Vibrio cholerae is a very important pathogenic bacterium that has to be monitored in seafood and ships' ballast water. Various methods have been developed to identify this bacterium, yet these methods are time-consuming and have limitations for their sensitivity to detect contamination. The purpose of the present study was to develop a robust and reliable method for identifying V. cholerae. Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes were developed to use for PNA-based asymmetrical real-time PCR techniques. The toxigenic Cholera enterotoxin subunit B (ctxB) gene was selected as a target for detecting V. cholerae and the gene was synthesized as a positive template for conventional and real-time PCR. Real-time PCR primers and PNA probes were designed and standard curves were produced for the quantitative analysis. The selected PNA probes reacted specifically to V. cholerae without any ambiguity, even among closely related species, and the detection limit was 0.1 cfu/100 mL. Taken together, the PNA probes and asymmetrical qPCR methods developed in this present study could contribute to the rapid, accurate monitoring of V. cholerae in marine environments, and as well as in seafood and ships' ballast waters.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.410-417
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• 2019

The enhancement effects of sea mustard extract (SME), starfish collagen peptide (SCP) and a mixture of the two (MIX) on skin activity were evaluated to investigate the possibility of using marine-derived extracts as cosmetic additives. The anti-inflammatory activity, whitening activity and skin elasticity activity of the extracts were analyzed to evaluate their skin-activating effects. Inhibiting the generation of nitric oxide (NO) and the tyrosinase and elastase inhibitory activities were assessed as the bio-markers for evaluating skin activity. SME, SCP and MIX did not show cytotoxicity within the concentration range of 1.0-50 ㎍/mL. In addition, SME, SCP and MIX all increased NO production and the tyrosinase and elastase inhibitory activities in a concentration-dependent manner. The activity of MIX was significantly increased compared to that with using SME or SCP alone. Taken together, when natural extracts are applied as cosmetic additives, the results demonstrate that using a mixture of SME and SCP may have a greater synergistic effect than that when using only a single extract. Therefore, this study contributes to the knowledge about the kinds and composition of several natural extracts when they are used as cosmetic additives.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.109-117
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• 2008

Application of biomarkers for assessing marine environmental health risk is a relatively new field. According to the National Research Council and the World Health Organization, biomarkers can be divided into three classes: biomarkers of exposure, biomarkers of effect, and biomarkers of susceptibility. In order to assess exposure to or effect of the environmental pollutants on marine ecosystem, the following set of biomarkers can be examined: detoxification, oxidative stress, biotransformation products, stress responses, apoptosis, physiological metabolisms, neuromuscular responses, reproductions, steroid hormones, antioxidants, genetic modifications. Since early 1990s, several biomarker research groups have developed health indices of marine organisms to be used for assessing the state of the marine environment. Biomarker indices can be used to interpret data obtained from monitoring biological effects. In this review, we will summarize Health assessment Index, Biomarker Index, Bioeffect Assessment Index and Generalized Linear Model. Measurements of biomarker responses and development of biomarker index in marine organisms from contaminated sites offer great a lot of information, which can be used in environmental monitoring programs, designed for various aspects of ecosystem risk assessment.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.395-401
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• 2000

Growth and biochemical composition were analyzed in Gymnodinium sanguineum and Skeletonema costatum grown in media containing various nitrate and phosphate concentrations. Concentrations of nitrate and phosphate in the growth media were 0, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2mM and 0, 15, 30, 45, 60 $\mu$M, respectively. Growth of G. sanguineum was suppressed in the low concentration of nitrate and phosphate (below N = 0.3 mM and P = 15 $\mu$M), whereas growth of S. costatum did not changed. At the low concentrations of nitrate and phosphate, amount of intracellular protein and carbohydrate in G. sanguineum cells were largely decreased, whereas content of carbohydrate in S. costatum cells was increased little. Amount of neutral lipid and phospholipid in G. sanguineum didn't changed, but concentration of glycolipid was largely decreased in the medium containing low concentrations of nitrate and phosphate. However the levels of TAG, glycolipid, and phospholipid did not changed in S. costatum cells. These results show that S. costatum is more adaptable than G. sanguineum in the low concentration of nitrate and phosphate.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.1004-1009
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• 2013

The biochemical compositions and nutritive values of six species of seaweeds were analyzed to determine their applicability in functional foods or ingredients. The biochemical compositions (moisture, ash, protein, lipid, and dietary fiber) and fatty acid contents were determined for the following seaweed extracts: Phaeophyceae (Laminaria japonica, Hizikia fusiformis, and Undaria pinnatifida), Rhodophyceae (Porphyra tenera and Gracilaria verrucosa), and Chlorophyceae (Ulva lactuca). The moisture content (% dry weight) ranged from 11.47% to 13.94%, ash from 19.15% to 26.50%, protein from 5.08% to 15.44%, lipid from 2.75% to 4.43%, and dietary fiber from 36.84% to 52.98%. C14:0, C16:0, C18:0, C16:1, C18: 1n-3, C18:2n-6, C18:3n-6, C20:4n-6, and C20:5n-3 represented the predominant proportions of fatty acids. Interestingly, docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6n-3, DHA) was either not found or only detected in trace amounts in the analyzed seaweeds. The levels of n-3 fatty acid were higher than other polyunsaturated fatty acids, and the n-6/n-3 ratio was very low. These results indicate that seaweed inhabiting Korean coastal areas will be beneficial to human health.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.165-173
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• 2018

We sampled vomit of black-faced spoonbills(Platalea minor) during the brood-rearing season (from June 2011 to June 2014) at the Namdong reservoir in Incheon and analyzed the food components in the vomit using microscopy and next-generation sequencing (NGS). Microscopic observations primarily helped in identifying osteichthyes (bony fishes), crustaceans, and polychaetes. In particular, species belonging to the families Mugilidae and Gobiidae among the fish, and Macrophthalmus japonicas among the crustaceans, were observed at high frequency. Results of NGS analysis revealed the predominant presence of bony fish (42.58% of total reads) and crustaceans (40.75% of total reads), whereas others, such as polychaetes (12.66%), insects (0.24%), and unidentified species (3.78%), occurred in lower proportions. At the species level, results of NGS analysis revealed that Macrophthalmus abbreviates and Macrobrachium sp. among the crustaceans, and Acanthogobius hasta, Tridentiger obscurus, and Pterogobius zacalles among the bony fish, made up a high proportion of the total reads. These food species are frequently found at tidal flats in the Songdo and Sihwa lakes, emphasizing the importance of these areas as potential feeding sites of the black-faced spoonbill. Feed composition of the black-faced spoonbill, as evaluated by analyzing its vomit, differed when the evaluations were done by microscopic observation or by NGS analysis. Evaluation by microscopic observation is difficult and not error free, owing to the degradation of the samples to be analyzed; however, NGS analysis is more accurate, because it makes use of genetic information. Therefore, accurately analyzing food components from morphologically indistinguishable samples is possible by using genetic analysis.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.5393-5399
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• 2014

To examine the effects of a mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) mixture from microalgae, Chlamydomonas sp, on the anti-wrinkle activities, the expression levels of genes that are associated with skin aging, including type I procollagen, elastin and involucrin, were analyzed. Asterina 330+palythine (A+P) and shinorine+palythine (S+P) mixtures were purified from Chlamydomonas sp using the following steps: 80% methanolic extraction, column purification, and HPLC analysis. As a result of the MTT assay, A+P and S+P did not induce cellular cytotoxicity with up to 0.1 mg/mL of both MAAs. In addition, the treatment of UV-exposed fibroblasts with A+P (0.05 mg/mL) and S+P (0.01 mg/mL) increased the levels of the PCOLCE mRNAs by 2.7 and 3.6 fold compared to the control group, respectively, The levels of elastin gene expression were elevated 5.59 and 3.1 fold in the A+P and S+P treated (0.01 mg/mL) cells, respectively. In particular, at a concentration of 0.01 mg /mL, the A+P and S+P expression levels of Involucrin mRNAs were increased 3.5 and 2.5 fold in the UV-exposed cells compared to the control, respectively. In conclusion, the MAAs derived from Chlamydomonas sp can be utilized as functional cosmetic materials with anti-wrinkle effects on the skin.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.625-629
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• 2020

The Ocean is a rich source of diverse living organisms include viruses. In this study, we examined the microbial communities in the sea adjacent to Jeju Island in two seasons by metatranscriptomics. We collected and extracted total RNA, and, using the next-generation sequencing HiSeq 2000 and de novo transcriptome assembly, we identified 652,984 and 163,759 transcripts from the March and December samples, respectively. The most abundant organisms in March were bacteria, while eukaryotes were dominant in the December sample. The bacterial communities differed between the two samples, suggesting seasonal change. To identify the viruses, we searched the transcripts against a viral reference database using MegaBLAST with the most identified being bacteriophages infecting the marine bacteria. However, we also revealed an abundance of transcripts associated with diverse herpesviruses in the two transcriptomes, indicating the presence or possible threat of infection of fish in the sea around Jeju Island. This data is valuable for the study of marine microbial communities and for identifying possible viral pathogens.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.913-918
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• 2013

The applicability of the ultrasonic wave method to the extraction of useful components from seaweeds was investigated. Extracts from freeze-dried Ecklonia cava powder were prepared with hot water ($65^{\circ}C$), water ($24^{\circ}C$), 50% ethanol, and 100% ethanol, and ultrasonic extraction was also performed. The content of phenolic compounds and the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and tyrosinase inhibitory activity of the extracts were analyzed, and differences in the data obtained by the ultrasonic extraction and the traditional extraction methods were compared. The phenolic content in the E. cava extract by ultrasonic extraction (142.80 mg/g) was approximately 14 times higher than the phenolic content in the hot water extract (10.03 mg/g). The DPPH radical scavenging and the tyrosinase inhibitory activities of the ultrasonic extract were approximately 4 times and 14 times higher than the hot water extracts, respectively. The correlation between the phenolic content and the DPPH radical scavenging activity ($R^2$=99.47) and between the phenolic content and the tyrosinase inhibitory activity ($R^2$=99.99) was very high. These results indicate that ultrasonic extraction is more suitable than traditional extraction for the extraction of useful components from E. cava.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.995-1000
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• 2014

The studies of marine viruses in terms of viral isolation and detection have been limited due to the high mutation rate and genetic diversity of marine viruses. Of the modern methods currently used to detect marine viruses, serological methods based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) are the most common. They depend largely on the quality of the antibodies and on highly purified suitable antigens. Recently, a new experimental system for using viral capsid protein as an antigen has been developed using the yeast surface display (YSD) technique. In the present study, the capsid protein gene of the red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV) was expressed and purified via YSD and HA-tagging systems, respectively. Two regions of the RGNNV capsid protein gene, RGNNV1 and RGNNV2, were individually synthesized and subcloned into a yeast expression vector, pCTCON. The expressions of each RGNNV capsid protein in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain EBY100 were indirectly detected by flow cytometry with fluorescently labeled antibodies, while recognizing the C-terminal c-myc tags encoded by the display vector. The expressed RGNNV capsid proteins were isolated from the yeast surface through the cleavage of the disulfide bond between the Aga1 and Aga2 proteins after ${\beta}$-mercaptoethanol treatment, and they were directly detected by Western blot using anti-HA antibody. These results indicated that YSD and HA-tagging systems could be applicable to the expressions and purification of recombinant RGNNV capsid proteins.