• Animal cells and systems
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.243-246
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• 2001

Human endoqenous retroviral long terminal repeats (LTRs) have been found to be coexpressed with sequences of genes closely located nearby. It has been suggested that the LTR elements have contributed to structural changes or genetic variations of human genome connected to various diseases and evolution. Using cDNA library derived from placenta tissue, we performed PCR amplification and identified five new HERV-W LTR elements. Those LTR elements showed a high degree of sequence similarity (98-99%) with HERV-W LTR (AF072500). A phylogenetic tree obtained by the neighbor-joining method revealed that HERV-W LTR elements could be mainly divided into two groups through evolutionary divergence. Five new HERV-W LTR elements (pla-1, 4, 5, 6, 7) belonged to the group I with AX000960, AF072504, and AF072506 from GenBank database. The data suggest that several copy numbers of the HERV-W LTR elements are transcribed in placenta and may contribute to the understanding of biological function such as human placental morphogenesis.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.374-386
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• 2023

Thermal stress induces dynamic changes in nuclear proteins and relevant physiology as a part of the heat shock response (HSR). However, how the nuclear HSR is fine-tuned for cellular homeostasis remains elusive. Here, we show that mitochondrial activity plays an important role in nuclear proteostasis and genome stability through two distinct HSR pathways. Mitochondrial ribosomal protein (MRP) depletion enhanced the nucleolar granule formation of HSP70 and ubiquitin during HSR while facilitating the recovery of damaged nuclear proteins and impaired nucleocytoplasmic transport. Treatment of the mitochondrial proton gradient uncoupler masked MRP-depletion effects, implicating oxidative phosphorylation in these nuclear HSRs. On the other hand, MRP depletion and a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger non-additively decreased mitochondrial ROS generation during HSR, thereby protecting the nuclear genome from DNA damage. These results suggest that suboptimal mitochondrial activity sustains nuclear homeostasis under cellular stress, providing plausible evidence for optimal endosymbiotic evolution via mitochondria-to-nuclear communication.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.133-141
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• 2005

Most of the endogenous retroviral genes integrated into the primate genome after the split of New World monkeys in the Oligocene era, approximately 33 million years ago. Because they can change the structure of adjacent genes and move between and within chromosomes they may play important roles in evolutionas well as in many kinds of disease and the creation of genetic polymorphism. Comparative analysis of HERVs (human endogenous retroviruses) and their LTR (long terminal repeat) elements in the primate genomes will help us to understand the possible impact of HERV elements in the evolution and phylogeny of primates. For example, HERV-K LTR and SINE-R elements have been identified that have been subject to recent change in the course of primate evolution. They are specific elements to the human genome and could be related to biological function. The HERV-M element is related to the superfamily of HERV-K and is integrated into the periphilin gene as the truncated form, 5'LTR-gag-pol-3'LTR. PCR and RT-PCR approaches indicated that the insertion of various retrotransposable elements in a common ancestor genome may make different transcript variants in different primate species. Examination of the HERV-W elementrevealed that env fragments were detected on human chromosomes 1, 3-7, 12, 14, 17, 20, and X, whilst the pol fragments were detected on human chromosomes 2-8, 10-15, 20, 21, X, and Y. Bioinformatic blast search showed that almost full-length of the HERV-W family was identified on human chromosomes 1-8, 11-15, 17, 18, 21, and X. Expression analysis of HERV-W genes (gag, pol, and env) in human tissues by RT-PCR indicated that gag and pol were expressed in specific tissues, whilst env was constituitively expressed in all tissues examined. DNA sequence based phylogenetic analysis indicated that the gag, pol and env genes have evolved independently during primate evolution. It will thus be of considerable interest to expand the current HERV gene information of various primates and disease tissues.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.260-277
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• 2018

The evolution of chromosome numbers and the karyotype structure is a prominent feature of plant genomes contributing to or at least accompanying plant diversification and eventually leading to speciation. Polyploidy, the multiplication of whole chromosome sets, is widespread and ploidy-level variation is frequent at all taxonomic levels, including species and populations, in angiosperms. Analyses of chromosome numbers and ploidy levels of 252 taxa of Korean non-commelinid monocots indicated that diploids (ca. 44%) and tetraploids (ca. 14%) prevail, with fewer triploids (ca. 6%), pentaploids (ca. 2%), and hexaploids (ca. 4%) being found. The range of genome sizes of the analyzed taxa (0.3-44.5 pg/1C) falls well within that reported in the Plant DNA C-values database (0.061-152.33 pg/1C). Analyses of karyotype features in angiosperm often involve, in addition to chromosome numbers and genome sizes, mapping of selected repetitive DNAs in chromosomes. All of these data when interpreted in a phylogenetic context allow for the addressing of evolutionary questions concerning the large-scale evolution of the genomes as well as the evolution of individual repeat types, especially ribosomal DNAs (5S and 35S rDNAs), and other tandem and dispersed repeats that can be identified in any plant genome at a relatively low cost using next-generation sequencing technologies. The present work investigates chromosome numbers (n or 2n), base chromosome numbers (x), ploidy levels, rDNA loci numbers, and genome size data to gain insight into the incidence, evolution and significance of polyploidy in Korean monocots.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.35-45
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• 2012

The development of digital media made the change of architectural paradigm from tectonic to the surface and pattern. This means the transition to the new kind of materiality and the resurrection of ornament. This study started as an aim to apply biological pattern to architectural design from the new perception of pattern. Architectural patterns in the early era appeared as ladders, steps, chains, trees, vortices. But since 21st century, we can find patterns in nature like atoms and molecular structures, fluid forms of dynamics and new geometrical pattern like fractal and first of all biological patterns like viruses and micro-organisms, Voronoi cells, DNA structure, rhizomes and various hybrids and permutations of these. Pattern became one of the most important elements and themes of contemporary architecture through the change of materiality and resurrection of ornament with the new perception of surface in architecture. One of the patterns that give new creative availability to the architectural design is biological pattern which is self-organized as an optimum form through interaction with environment. Biological patterns emerge mostly as self-replicating patterns through morphogenesis, certain geometrical patterns(in particular triangles, pentagons, hexagons and spirals). The architectural application methods of biological patterns are direct figural pattern of organism, circle pattern, polygon pattern, energy-material control pattern, differentiation pattern, parametric pattern, growth principle pattern, evolutionary ecologic pattern. These patterns can be utilized as practical architectural patterns through the use of computer programs as morphogenetic programs like L-system, MoSS program and genetic algorithm programs like Grasshoper, Generative Components with the help of computing technology like mapping and scripting.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.268-270
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• 2011

The family Orussidae is a unique parasitoid group belonging to the suborder Symphyta. Members of Orussidae are rare and only a species, Orussus coreanus Takeuchi have been previously recorded from Korea. In this study, we report another species, Stirocorsia tosensis (Tosawa and Sugihara, 1934), for the first time from Korea. The adult characteristics of the species with illustrations and a species key to the Korean Orussidae are provided.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.213-217
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• 2002

The present paper is a part of the study on the immature stages of genus Tipula in Korea. It describes and illustrates each immature stage of Tipula (Yamatotipula) latemurginata from egg to pupa.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2007

Two new marine sponges, Clathria (Clthria) jungtaedoensis n. sp. and Antho (Antho) hataedoensis n. sp. were collected in Taedo Island, Korea. C. (C.) jungtaedoensis n. sp. is similar to C. (C.) striata. The new species, however, has many small toxa and massive form. A. (A.) hataedoensis n. sp. is similar to A. (A.) inconstans from Gulf of Naples, Italy, but differs from the latter in the size of spicules. The toxa in the new species is about one third as long as A. (A.) inconstans's.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.13-18
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• 1993

Two new species of the genus Phytoselus are described from Korea: P. (P.) seungtall n. sp. from Ky6nggi Province and P. (P.) sonunensls n. sp. Rom Chonbuk Province.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.281-284
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• 2008

The genus Kleidotoma (Figitidae: Eucoilinae) is reported for the first time in Korea. We here describe K. striaticollis Cameron (new to Korea) and K. pulchrinis Choi n. sp. A key, descriptions, illustrations of diagnostic characters and distributional data are provided.