• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2019.04a
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• pp.120-120
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• 2019

Allergic inflammatory disease has been increased by abnormal lifestyle and food habits. Especially, prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) has been elevated and treatment of AD has not been unclear. Red sweet pepper (RSP), named as Capsicum annuum L, has been known as having pharmacological effects such as antioxidant, detoxification and antibacterial effects. However, the beneficial effect of ethanolic extract of RSP on AD has not been partly examined yet. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate anti-inflammatory effects of RSP on AD in vitro and in vivo models. The treatment of RSP inhibited the secretion of inflammatory cytokine such as interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$ and interferon (IFN)-${\gamma}$-stimulated human keratinocyte (HaCaT cell). Also, RSP extract regulated 2,4-dinitroflorobenzene (DNFB)-induced AD-like skin lesions in BALB/c mice. Oral administration of RSP ameliorated DNFB-induced AD-like symptoms. In presented results indicated that RSP inhibited inflammatory cytokines in HaCaT cell and ameliorated AD-like skin lesion through suppression of symptom of DNFB-induced skin inflammation. Thus, RSP might be a potential therapeutic agent for AD.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.324-332
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: Insects are ectothermic organisms in terrestrial ecosystems and play various roles such as controlling plant biomass and maintaining species diversity. Because insects are ectothermic, their physiological responses are very sensitive to environmental temperature which determines survival and distribution of insect population and that affects climate change. This study aimed to identification of genes contributing to fitness under high temperature. METHODS AND RESULTS: To identify genes contributing to fitness under high temperature, the transcriptomes of fat body in Plutella xyostella larva have been analyzed via next generation sequencing. From the fat body transcriptomes, structure-related proteins, heat shock proteins, antioxidant enzymes and detoxification proteins were identified. Genes encoding proteins such as structural proteins (cuticular proteins, chitin synthase and actin), stress-related protein (cytochrome P450), heat shock protein and antioxidant enzyme (catalase) were up-regulated at high temperature. In contrast expression of glutathione S transferase was down-regulated. CONCLUSION: Identifications of temperature-specific up- or down-regulated genes can be useful for detecting temperature adaptation and understanding physiological responses in insect pests.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.14-22
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• 2019

Development of technology makes LED an economical option because of lower energy consumption and better environmental impact. Because higher consumer demand the LED market is expanding rapidly due to its environment-friendly advantages. Expansion of LED application, development of various fusion technologies, the emergence of new markets, and the large-scale expansion of markets would lead to a large volume of e-waste generation with valorization potential. Currently, most of the generated waste being that landfilled and incinerated due to the absence of technology and management system. In this paper, we review the current status of LED waste recycling and analyzes the available recycling technologies.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.645-653
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• 2019

Background: Cytochrome P450 enzymes catalyze a wide range of reactions in plant metabolism. Besides their physiological functions on primary and secondary metabolites, P450s are also involved in herbicide detoxification via hydroxylation or dealkylation. Ginseng as a perennial plant offers more sustainable solutions to herbicide resistance. Methods: Tissue-specific gene expression and differentially modulated transcripts were monitored by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. As a tool to evaluate the function of PgCYP736A12, the 35S promoter was used to overexpress the gene in Arabidopsis. Protein localization was visualized using confocal microscopy by tagging the fluorescent protein. Tolerance to herbicides was analyzed by growing seeds and seedlings on Murashige and Skoog medium containing chlorotoluron. Results: The expression of PgCYP736A12 was three-fold more in leaves compared with other tissues from two-year-old ginseng plants. Transcript levels were similarly upregulated by treatment with abscisic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and NaCl, the highest being with salicylic acid. Jasmonic acid treatment did not alter the mRNA levels of PgCYP736A12. Transgenic lines displayed slightly reduced plant height and were able to tolerate the herbicide chlorotoluron. Reduced stem elongation might be correlated with increased expression of genes involved in bioconversion of gibberellin to inactive forms. PgCYP736A12 protein localized to the cytoplasm and nucleus. Conclusion: PgCYP736A12 does not respond to the well-known secondary metabolite elicitor jasmonic acid, which suggests that it may not function in ginsenoside biosynthesis. Heterologous overexpression of PgCYP736A12 reveals that this gene is actually involved in herbicide metabolism.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.105-115
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• 2019

Saline or alkaline condition in soil inhibits growth of most crop plants and limits crop yields in many parts of the world. Augmenting an alkaline soil with alkali-tolerant bacteria capable of promoting plant growth can be a promising approach in expanding fertile agricultural land. Near-shore environments of Dokdo Island, a remote island located in the middle of the East Sea, appear to have patches of seawater-influenced haloalkaline soil that is unsupportive for growth of conventional plants. To exploit metabolic capacities of alkali-tolerant bacteria for promoting plant growth in saline or alkaline soils, we isolated of alkali-tolerant bacteria from near-shore soil samples in Dokdo and investigated properties of the isolates. Alkali-tolerant bacteria were selectively cultivated by inoculating suspended and diluted soil samples on a plate medium adjusted to pH 10. Fifty colonies were identified based on their $GTG_5$-PCR genomic fingerprints and 16S rRNA gene sequences. Most isolates were affiliated to alkali-tolerant and/or halotolerant genera or species of the phyla Firmicutes (68%), Proteobacteria (30%) and Actinobacteria (2%). Unlike the typical soil bacterial flora in the island, alkali-tolerant isolates belonged to only certain taxa of terrestrial origin under the three phyla, which have traits of plant growth promoting activities including detoxification, phytohormone production, disease/pest control, nitrogen-fixation, phosphate solubilization or siderophore production. However, Firmicutes of marine origin generally dominated the alkali-tolerant community. Results of this study suggest that haloalkaline environments like Dokdo shore soils are important sources for plant growth promoting bacteria that can be employed in bio-augmentation of vegetation-poor alkaline soils.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2019

The liver is involved in a wide range of activities in vertebrates and some other animals, including metabolism, protein synthesis, detoxification, and the immune system. Until now, various methods have been devised to study liver diseases; however, each method has its own limitations. In situ liver perfusion machinery, originally developed in rats, has been successfully adapted to mice, enabling the study of liver diseases. Here we describe the protocol, which is a simple but widely applicable method for investigating the liver diseases. The liver is perfused in situ by cannulation of the portal vein and suprahepatic inferior vena cava (IVC), with antegrade closed circuit circulation completed by clamping the infrahepatic IVC. In situ liver perfusion can be utilized to evaluate immune cell migration and function, hemodynamics and related cellular reactions in each type of hepatic cells, and the metabolism of toxic or other compounds by changing the composition of the circulating media. In situ liver perfusion method maintains liver function and cell viability for up to 2 h. This study also describes an optional protocol using density-gradient centrifugation for the separation of different types of hepatic cells, allowing the determination of changes in each cell type. In summary, this method of in situ liver perfusion will be useful for studying liver diseases as a complement to other established methods.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1522-1542
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• 2019

To adapt to environmental changes and to maintain cellular homeostasis, microorganisms adjust the intracellular concentrations of biochemical compounds, including metal ions; these are essential for the catalytic function of many enzymes in cells, but excessive amounts of essential metals and heavy metals cause cellular damage. Metal-responsive transcriptional regulators play pivotal roles in metal uptake, pumping out, sequestration, and oxidation or reduction to a less toxic status via regulating the expression of the detoxification-related genes. The sensory and regulatory functions of the metalloregulators have made them as attractive biological parts for synthetic biology, and the exceptional sensitivity and selectivity of metalloregulators toward metal ions have been used in heavy metal biosensors to cope with prevalent heavy metal contamination. Due to their importance, substantial efforts have been made to characterize heavy metal-responsive transcriptional regulators and to develop heavy metal-sensing biosensors. In this review, we summarize the biochemical data for the two major metalloregulator families, SmtB/ArsR and MerR, to describe their metal-binding sites, specific chelating chemistry, and conformational changes. Based on our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms, previously developed metal biosensors are examined to point out their limitations, such as high background noise and a lack of well-characterized biological parts. We discuss several strategies to improve the functionality of the metal biosensors, such as reducing the background noise and amplifying the output signal. From the perspective of making heavy metal biosensors, we suggest that the characterization of novel metalloregulators and the fabrication of exquisitely designed genetic circuits will be required.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.399-409
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• 2021

1,2-Diacetylbenzene (DAB) is a metabolite of 1,2-diethylbenzene, which is commonly used in the manufacture of plastics and gasoline. We examined the neurotoxic effects of DAB in young and old rats, particularly its effects on hippocampus. Previously, we reported DAB impairs hippocampal neurogenesis but that the underlying mechanism remained unclear. In this study, we evaluate the toxicities exhibited by DAB in the hippocampi of 6-month-old (young) and 20-month-old (old) male SD rats by treating animals intraperitoneally with DAB at 3 mg/kg/day for 1 week. Hippocampal areas were dissected from brains and RNA was extracted and subjected to RNA-seq analysis. RNA results showed animals exhibited age-dependent sensitivity to the neurotoxic effects of DAB. We observed that inflammatory pathways were up-regulated in old rats but that metabolism- and detoxification-related pathways were up-regulated in young rats. This result in old rats, especially upregulation of the TREM1 signaling pathway (an inflammatory response involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD)) was confirmed by RT-PCR. Our study results provide a better understanding of age-dependent responses to DAB and new insight into the association between DAB and AD.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2022

Objectives : Green gram (mung bean) has a cold nature and has been known to detoxify against various side effects that belong to hot in nature. In particular, since it has the effect of detoxifying fever and detoxification to treat swelling, it was also used externally to treat febrile dermatological diseases such as erysipelas and rubella. This study was designed to determine whether green gram exhibits anti-inflammatory effects on contact dermatitis in mice. Methods : We investigated the effects of green gram extract (70% ethanol extract) on skin lesion, skin thickness and weights, melanin and erythema index and spleen body weight ratio in mice with contact dermatitis induced by repeated application of 1-Fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene. Results : Topical application of green gram extract ameliorates skin lesions of contact dermatitis such as scale and roughness induces by 1-Fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene. green gram extract also suppressed enlargement of skin thicknesses and weights significantly. In addition, green gram extract treatment also lowered erythema index significantly compared to those in the control group. In the histopathological observation, green gram extract prevented epidermal hyperplasia and hyperkeratosis in inflamed tissues. Finally, green gram extract did not affect changes in body weights and the spleen body weight ratio, unlike dexamethasone, which significantly prevented body weight gain and lowered the spleen body weight ratio. Conclusions : These results imply that green gram, which is known to have a detoxifying effect in Korean medicine, can be used in the treatment of contact dermatitis.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.195-200
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• 2022

Sulfur is an essential element in plants, including amino acids, vitamin synthesis, and acting as an antioxidant. However, the interaction between endogenous sulfur and proline synthesis has not been yet fully documented. White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is known as a species highly sensitive to sulfate supply. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the role of sulfur in regulating proline metabolism in relation to ammonia detoxification and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) accumulation in white clover. The detached leaves of white clover were immersed in solution containing different concentration of sulfate (0, 10, 100, and 1000 mM MgSO₄). As MgSO₄ concentrations were increased, the concentration of H₂O₂ increased up to 2.5-fold compared to control, accompanied with H₂O₂ detection in leaves. Amino acid concentrations significantly increased only at higher levels (100 and 1000 mM MgSO₄). No significant difference was observed in protein concentration. Proline and ∆^1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C) concentrations slightly decreased at 10 and 100 mM MgSO₄ treatments, whereas it rapidly increased over 1.9-fold at 1000 mM MgSO₄ treatment. Ammonia concentrations gradually increased up to 8.6-fold. These results indicate that exogenous sulfur levels are closely related to H₂O₂ and ammonia synthesis but affect proline biosynthesis only at a higher level.