• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.38 no.4
• /
• pp.278-288
• /
• 2014

Background: Panax ginseng Meyer is a traditional medicinal plant famous for its strong therapeutic effects and serves as an important herbal medicine. To understand and manipulate genes involved in secondary metabolic pathways including ginsenosides, transcriptome profiling of P. ginseng is essential. Methods: RNA-seq analysis of adventitious roots of two P. ginseng cultivars, Chunpoong (CP) and Cheongsun (CS), was performed using the Illumina HiSeq platform. After transcripts were assembled, expression profiling was performed. Results: Assemblies were generated from ~85 million and ~77 million high-quality reads from CP and CS cultivars, respectively. A total of 35,527 and 27,716 transcripts were obtained from the CP and CS assemblies, respectively. Annotation of the transcriptomes showed that approximately 90% of the transcripts had significant matches in public databases.We identified several candidate genes involved in ginsenoside biosynthesis. In addition, a large number of transcripts (17%) with different gene ontology designations were uniquely detected in adventitious roots compared to normal ginseng roots. Conclusion: This study will provide a comprehensive insight into the transcriptome of ginseng adventitious roots, and a way for successful transcriptome analysis and profiling of resource plants with less genomic information. The transcriptome profiling data generated in this study are available in our newly created adventitious root transcriptome database (http://im-crop.snu.ac.kr/transdb/index.php) for public use.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.17-23
• /
• 2002

The seeds of Coix lachryma-jobi Linne var. mayuen Stapf. are used as dietary food for obesity and diabetes under the names of Yulmu in Korea and Yiyiren(薏苡仁) in China. It is one of the drugs promoting diuresis to eliminate the wetness-evil from the lower warmer in the traditional Korean medicine. According to ancient textbook of the traditional Korean medicine, it should be applied to patients with phlegm and heat, etc. The establishment of the method for the discrimination of Coisis Semen is very important for the quality control of drugs. Random amplified polymorphic DNA(RAPD) analysis and anatomical characteristics were used for the discrimination of Coix lachryma-jobi $Linn\acute{e}$ var. mayuen $S_{TAPF}$. and C. lachryma-jobi $Linn\acute{e}$. In the RAPD analysis with 20 primers, 8 primers gave informative and reproducible bands with the genomic DNA. From the cluster analysis, the genus Coix were divided into two groups at similarity coefficient of 0.863.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.231-239
• /
• 2014

Background and objective: Pravastatin has been shown to have favorable risk-benefit profile when it is administered to hypercholesterolemic subjects to prevent cardiovascular events. However, subjects with impaired OATP1B1 activity may be more susceptible to pravastatin-induced muscle toxicity than subjects with normal OATP1B1 activity. A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the effect of SLCO1B1 genetic polymorphism on pharmacokinetics of pravastatin. Method: Medline$^{(R)}$ and Embase$^{(R)}$ were searched for relevant studies until July 2013. The search terms used were pravastatin AND (SLCO1B1 OR OATP1B1 OR LST1 OR SLC21A6) AND (gene OR $genetic^*$ OR $genomic^*$ OR $pharmacogenet^*$ OR $pharmacogenom^*$ OR $polymorph^*$). Results: A meta-analysis of the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) of pravastatin in $SLCO1B1^*15$ and $SLCO1B1^*1a/^*1a$ was conducted. Five studies met all the inclusion criteria and methodological requirements. There was no statistically significant difference in the AUC value between $SLCO1B1^*15$ and $SLCO1B1^*1a/^*1a$ (p=0.728). However, $SLCO1B1^*15$ participants exhibited significantly higher AUC values than $SLCO1B1^*1b/^*1b$ carriers (p<0.001). In case of $SLCO1B1^*15^*15$ carriers, they had significantly higher AUC value than $SLCO1B1^*1a/^*1a$ subjects (p=0.002). Lastly, compared with to the subjects of $SLCO1B1^*1a/^*1a$, the carriers of heterozygous $SLCO1B1^*15$ increased the AUC value of pravastatin statistically significantly in Asian population (p=0.014). Conclusion: The present meta-analysis suggests that subjects with $SLCO1B1^*15$ are associated with increased AUC of pravastatin.

• Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.345-353
• /
• 2005

The complex ecosystem of intestinal micro flora is estimated to harbor approximately 400 different microbial species, mostly bacteria. However, studies on bacterial colonization have mostly been based on culturing methods, which only detect a small fraction of the whole microbiotic ecosystem of the gut. To clarify the initial acquisition and subsequent colonization of bacteria in an infant within the few days after birth, phylogenetic analysis was performed using 16S rDNA sequences from the DNA iso-lated from feces on the 1st, 3rd, and 6th day. 16S rDNA libraries were constructed with the amplicons of PCR conditions at 30 cycles and $50^{\circ}C$ annealing temperature. Nine independent libraries were produced by the application of three sets of primers (set A, set B, and set C) combined with three fecal samples for day 1, day 3, and day 6 of life. Approximately 220 clones ($76.7\%$) of all 325 isolated clones were characterized as known species, while other 105 clones ($32.3\%$) were characterized as unknown species. The library clone with set A universal primers amplifying 350 bp displayed increased diversity by days. Thus, set A primers were better suited for this type of molecular ecological analysis. On the first day of the life of the infant, Enterobacter, Lactococcus lactis, Leuconostoc citreum, and Streptococcus mitis were present. The largest taxonomic group was L. lactis. On the third day of the life of the infant, Enterobacter, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, S. mitis, and Streptococcus salivarius were present. On the sixth day of the life of the infant, Citrobacter, Clostridium difficile, Enterobacter sp., Enterobacter cloacae, and E. coli were present. The largest taxonomic group was E. coli. These results showed that microbiotic diversity changes very rapidly in the few days after birth, and the acquisition of unculturable bacteria expanded rapidly after the third day.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.435-440
• /
• 2008

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to identify the genetic diversities among and within varieties and landraces of Rehmannia glutinosa. Polymorphic and reproducible bands were produced by 10 primers out of total 20 primers used in the experiment. In RAPD analysis of the 11 genotypes, 64 fragments out of 73 amplified genomic DNA fragments were polymorphic which represented an average 6.4 polymorphic fragments per primer. Number of amplified fragments with random primers ranged from 2 (OPA-1) to 13 (OPA-11) and varied in size from 200 bp to 1,400 bp. Especially, OPA-10, OPA-11 and OPA-19 primers showed specific bands for varieties of Korea Jiwhang and Jiwhang il ho, which could be useful for discriminating from other varieties and landraces of R. glutinosa. Percentage polymorphism ranged from a minimum of 50% (OPA-1) to a maximum of 100% (OPA-11), with an average of 87.7%. Similarity coefficients were higher in the genotypes of Korea Jiwhang and Jiwhang il ho than in other populations. In cluster analysis, genotypes of Korea Jiwhang, Jiwhang il ho, and Japanese accession were separated from those of other varieties and landraces. Average of genetic diversity within the population $(H_S)$ was 0.110, while average of total genetic diversity $(H_T)$ was 0.229. Across all RAPD makers the $G_{ST}$ value was 0.517, indicating that about 52% of the total genetic variation could be explained by RAPDs differences while the remaining 48% might be attributable to differences among samples. Consequently, RAPD analysis was useful method to discriminate different populations such as domestic varieties and other landraces. The results of the present study will be used to understand the population and evolutionary genetics of R. gllutinosa.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.19 no.6
• /
• pp.1187-1195
• /
• 2018

Objective: To compare correlations between pulmonary function test (PFT) results and different reconstruction algorithms and to suggest the optimal reconstruction protocol for computed tomography (CT) quantification of low lung attenuation areas and airways in healthy individuals. Materials and Methods: A total of 259 subjects with normal PFT and chest CT results were included. CT scans were reconstructed using filtered back projection, hybrid-iterative reconstruction, and model-based IR (MIR). For quantitative analysis, the emphysema index (EI) and wall area percentage (WA%) were determined. Subgroup analysis according to smoking history was also performed. Results: The EIs of all the reconstruction algorithms correlated significantly with the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) (all p < 0.001). The EI of MIR showed the strongest correlation with FEV1/FVC (r = -0.437). WA% showed a significant correlation with FEV1 in all the reconstruction algorithms (all p < 0.05) correlated significantly with FEV1/FVC for MIR only (p < 0.001). The WA% of MIR showed the strongest correlations with FEV1 (r = -0.205) and FEV1/FVC (r = -0.250). In subgroup analysis, the EI of MIR had the strongest correlation with PFT in both eversmoker and never-smoker subgroups, although there was no significant difference in the EI between the reconstruction algorithms. WA% of MIR showed a significantly thinner airway thickness than the other algorithms ($49.7{\pm}7.6$ in ever-smokers and $49.5{\pm}7.5$ in never-smokers, all p < 0.001), and also showed the strongest correlation with PFT in both ever-smoker and never-smoker subgroups. Conclusion: CT quantification of low lung attenuation areas and airways by means of MIR showed the strongest correlation with PFT results among the algorithms used, in normal subjects.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.55 no.3
• /
• pp.242-247
• /
• 2019

Biological factors (e.g. microorganism activity) in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) play essential roles for degradation and/or removal of organic matters. In this study, to understand the microbial functional roles in WWTP, we tried to isolate and characterize a bacterial strain from activated sludge sample. Strain S16 was isolated from the activated sludge of a municipal WWTP in Daejeon metropolitan city, the Republic of Korea. The cells were a Gram-stain-positive, non-motile, facultative anaerobe, and rod-shaped. Strain S16 grew at a temperature of $15{\sim}40^{\circ}C$ (optimum, $30^{\circ}C$), with 0~9.0% (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 1.0~2.0%), and at pH 5.5~9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0~7.5). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain S16 was most closely related to the unique species Miniimonas arenae NBRC $106267^T$ (99.79%, 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity) of the genus Miniimonas. The cell wall contained alanine, glutamic acid, serine, and ornithine. Although the isolation source of the type strain NBRC $106267^T$ which considered as a marine microorganism is sea sand, that of strain S16 is terrestrial environment. It might raise an ecological question for habitat transition. Therefore, comparative genome analysis will be valuable investigation for shedding light on their potential metabolic traits and genomic streamlining.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.51 no.1
• /
• pp.36-48
• /
• 2023

Xanthoria elegans is a lichen symbiosis, that inhabits extreme environments and can absorb UV-B. We reported the de novo sequencing and assembly of X. elegans genome. The whole genome was approximately 44.63 Mb, with a GC content of 40.69%. Genome assembly generated 207 scaffolds with an N50 length of 563,100 bp, N90 length of 122,672 bp. The genome comprised 9,581 genes, some encoded enzymes involved in the secondary metabolism such as terpene, polyketides. To further understand the UV-B absorbing and adaptability to extreme environments mechanisms of X. elegans, we searched the secondary metabolites genes and gene-cluster from the genome using genome-mining and bioinformatics analysis. The results revealed that 7 NR-PKSs, 12 HR-PKSs and 2 hybrid PKS-PKSs from X. elegans were isolated, they belong to Type I PKS (T1PKS) according to the domain architecture; phylogenetic analysis and BGCs comparison linked the putative products to two NR-PKSs and three HR-PKSs, the putative products of two NR-PKSs were emodin xanthrone (most likely parietin) and mycophelonic acid, the putative products of three HR-PKSs were soppilines, (+)-asperlin and macrolactone brefeldin A, respectively. 5 PKSs from X. elegans build a correlation between the SMs carbon skeleton and PKS genes based on the domain architecture, phylogenetic and BGC comparison. Although the function of 16 PKSs remains unclear, the findings emphasize that the genes from X. elegans represent an unexploited source of novel polyketide and utilization of lichen gene resources.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.471-480
• /
• 2024

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the regulation relationship of Ten-eleven translocation 1 (Tet1) in DNA demethylation and the proliferation of primordial germ cells (PGCs) in chickens. Methods: siRNA targeting Tet1 was used to transiently knockdown the expression of Tet1 in chicken PGCs, and the genomic DNA methylation status was measured. The proliferation of chicken PGCs was detected by flow cytometry analysis and cell counting kit-8 assay when activation or inhibition of Wnt4/β-catenin signaling pathway. And the level of DNA methylation and hisotne methylation was also tested. Results: Results revealed that knockdown of Tet1 inhibited the proliferation of chicken PGCs and downregulated the mRNA expression of Cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6), as well as pluripotency-associated genes (Nanog, PouV, and Sox2). Flow cytometry analysis confirmed that the population of PGCs in Tet1 knockdown group displayed a significant decrease in the proportion of S and G2 phase cells, which meant that there were less PGCs entered the mitosis process than that of control. Furthermore, Tet1 knockdown delayed the entrance to G1/S phase and this inhibition was rescued by treated with BIO. Consistent with these findings, Wnt/β-catenin signaling was inactivated in Tet1 knockdown PGCs, leading to aberrant proliferation. Further analysis showed that the methylation of the whole genome increased significantly after Tet1 downregulation, while hydroxyl-methylation obviously declined. Meanwhile, the level of H3K27me3 was upregulated and H3K9me2 was downregulated in Tet1 knockdown PGCs, which was achieved by regulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Conclusion: These results suggested that the self-renewal of chicken PGCs and the maintenance of their characteristics were regulated by Tet1 mediating DNA demethylation through the activation of Wnt4/β-catenin signaling pathway.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.166-177
• /
• 2005

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to examine the molecular epidemiology and genetic variability of adenovirus(Ad) serotypes Ad1, Ad2, and Ad5 over 14 years in Korea. Methods : A total of 382 adenoviral strains isolated from the nasopharyngeal aspirates of children with lower respiratory tract infections in Seoul, Korea from November 1990 to February 2003 were serotyped by neutralization assay with type-specific antisera. Viral DNAs were extracted from infected cell lysates by the modified Hirt procedure. Genome type(GT) was determined by DNA restriction analysis with 12 restriction enzymess(BamHI, BclI, BglI, BglII, BstEII, EcoRI, HindIII, HpaI, SalI, SmaI, XbaI, and XhoI). To evaluate the genetic relatedness, pairwise comigrating restriction fragments(PCRF) analysis was performed. Results : Of 382 strains, 33 strains(9%) were Ad1, 45 strains(12%) were Ad2, and 24 strains(6%) were Ad5. Eighteen GTs(Ad1p1-Ad1p7, Ad1a, Ad1b, Ad1b1-Ad1b3, Ad1c, Ad1d, Ad1e, Ad1e1, Ad1e2, Ad1f) among Ad1, 24(Ad2p1-Ad2p11, Ad2a, Ad2a1-Ad2a6, Ad2b, Ad2c, Ad2d, Ad2e, Ad2e1-Ad2e3) among Ad2, and 10(Ad5p1, Ad5p2, Ad5a, Ad5a1-Ad5a7) among Ad5 strains were identified. One or two strains of the vast majority of GTs were isolated during the study period while a few GTs were identified sporadically with more than 2 strains. It is notable that some GTs such as Ad1p5 and Ad5a1 appeared in cluster during a short period. In analysis of genetic relatedness, the degree of PCRFs(pairwise comigrating restriction fragments) for Ad1 varied from 79 to 99%, for Ad2, 82 to 99%, and for Ad5, 85 to 99%. Conclusion : This study established the comprehensive nomenclature systems of Ad1, Ad2, and Ad5. Diverse GTs identified in this study have crucial implications in the genomic diversity and epidemiological characteristics of Ad1, Ad2, and Ad5.