• The Korea Genome Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.67-67
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• 2006

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.3 no.sup4
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• pp.32.2-32.2
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• 2007

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.26
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• pp.10.1-10.7
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• 2011

Objects: Chironomus riparius, a non-biting midge (Chironomidae, Diptera), is extensively used as a model organism in aquatic ecotoxicological studies, and considering the potential of C. riparius larvae as a bio-monitoring species, little is known about its genome sequences. This study reports the results of an Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) sequencing project conducted on C. riparius larvae using 454 pyrosequencing. Method: To gain a better understanding of C. riparius transcriptome, we generated ESTs database of C.ripairus using pyrosequencing method. Results: Sequencing runs, using normalized cDNA collections from fourth instar larvae, yielded 20,020 expressed sequence tags, which were assembled into 8,565 contigs and 11,455 singletons. Sequence analysis was performed by BlastX search against the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) nucleotide (nr) and uniprot protein database. Based on the gene ontology classifications, 24% (E-value${\leq}1^{-5}$) of the sequences had known gene functions, 24% had unknown functions and 52% of sequences did not match any known sequences in the existing database. Sequence comparison revealed 81% of the genes have homologous genes among other insects belonging to the order Diptera providing tools for comparative genome analyses. Targeted searches using these annotations identified genes associated with essential metabolic pathways, signaling pathways, detoxification of toxic metabolites and stress response genes of ecotoxicological interest. Conclusions: The results obtained from this study would eventually make ecotoxicogenomics possible in a truly environmentally relevant species, such as, C. riparius.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2004

The potential importance of proteomic approaches has been clearly demonstrated in other fields of human medical research, including liver and heart disease and certain forms of cancer. However, reproductive researches have been applied to proteomics poorly. Proteomics can be defined as the systematic analysis of proteins for their identity, quantity, and function. It could increase the predictability of early drug development and identify non-invasive biomarkers of toxicity or efficacy. Proteome analysis is most commonly accomplished by the combination of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis(2DE) and MALDI-TOF(matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight) MS(mass spectrometry) or protein chip array and SELDI-TOF(surface-enhanced laser desorption ionization-time of flight) MS. In addition understanding the possessing knowledge of the developing biomarkers used to assess reproductive biology will also be essential components relevant to the topic of reproduction. The continued integration of proteomic and genomic data will have a fundamental impact on our understanding of the normal functioning of cells and organisms and will give insights into complex cellular processes and disease and provides new opportunities for the development of diagnostics and therapeutics. The challenge to researchers in the field of reproduction is to harness this new technology as well as others that are available to a greater extent than at present as they have considerable potential to greatly improve our understanding of the molecular aspects of reproduction both in health and disease.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2010

Osmoregulatory capabilities of a euryhaline medaka, Oryzias dancena (Beloniformes; Teleostei), was examined with a particular emphasis on adult and larval viability during direct salinity changes. O. dancena adults were highly capable for hyper-osmoregulation as well as hypo-osmoregulation, as evidenced by no adverse effect on their viability during the direct transfer either from complete freshwater ($0^{\circ}/_{\circ\circ}$) to $40^{\circ}/_{\circ\circ}$ salinity, or from $70^{\circ}/_{\circ\circ}$ to $0^{\circ}/_{\circ\circ}$. Furthermore, the phased increase of external salinity with acclimation periods allowed them to survive at a salinity as high as $75^{\circ}/_{\circ\circ}$. However, tolerant capability to acute salinity increase in early larval stage was much less than in adult stage, based on the finding that the tolerance range of salinity increase was only $15^{\circ}/_{\circ\circ}$ from freshwater, indicating that the hyper-osmoregulation system might not be fully developed in the early larval stage. On the contrary, the hypoosmoregulation system could be more solidified in O. dancena larvae, as evidenced by their good survival even after direct transfer from $45^{\circ}/_{\circ\circ}$ to $0^{\circ}/_{\circ\circ}$. Knowledge achieved in this study could form the basis for a wide scope of researches including ecotoxicogenomics and geneexpression assay using this model species.