• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.179-187
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• 1998

In mammal, lots of follicles start simultaneously their growth but only a few oocytes are ovulated in every sexual cycles. Most of matured and grown oocytes are destined to degenerate by atresia. However, the molecular and physiological mechanisms are not elucidated yet. The present study was designed to establish an induction method of follicular atresia with ketamine or pentobarbitone and evaluate the effect of these anesthetics on oocyte maturation and granulosa cell apoptosis of the mouse ovarian follicle. The percentages of degenerated oocyte and apoptotic granulosa cell in ketamine treated groups were significantly higher than that in controls (58.9% vs 33.5%, p<0.01, degeneration; 44.9% vs 26.6%, p<0.01, apotosis). Futhermore, it was revealed that the concentrations of progesterone in both groups were markedly higher than that in control. In cunclusion, it is considered that ketamine induce an atresia as pentobarbitone, and may be useful for inducing follicular atresia.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.15-15
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• 2014

Fusarium graminearum (teleomorph Gibberella zeae) is an important plant pathogen that causes head blight of major cereal crops such as wheat, barley, and rice, as well as causing ear and stalk rot on maize worldwide. Plant diseases caused by this fungus lead to severe yield losses and accumulation of harmful mycotoxins in infected cereals [1]. Fungi utilize spore production as a mean to rapidly avoid unfavorable environmental conditions and to amplify their population. Spores are produced sexually and asexually and their production is precisely controlled. Upstream developmental activators consist of fluffy genes have been known to orchestrate early induction of condiogenesis in a model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying conidiogenesis in F. graminearum, we characterized functions of the F. graminearum fluffy gene homologs [2]. We found that FlbD is conserved regulatory function for conidiogenesis in both A. nidulans and F. graminearum among five fluffy gene homologs. flbD deletion abolished conidia and perithecia production, suggesting that FlbD have global roles in hyphal differentiation processes in F. graminearum. We further identified and functionally characterized the ortholog of AbaA, which is involved in differentiation from vegetative hyphae to conidia and known to be absent in F. graminearum [3]. Deletion of abaA did not affect vegetative growth, sexual development, or virulence, but conidium production was completely abolished and thin hyphae grew from abnormally shaped phialides in abaA deletion mutants. Overexpression of abaA resulted in pleiotropic defects such as impaired sexual and asexual development, retarded conidium germination, and reduced trichothecene production. AbaA localized to the nuclei of phialides and terminal cells of mature conidia. Successful interspecies complementation using A. nidulans AbaA and the conserved AbaA-WetA pathway demonstrated that the molecular mechanisms responsible for AbaA activity are conserved in F. graminearum as they are in A. nidulans. F. graminearum ortholog of Aspergillus nidulans wetA has been shown to be involved in conidiogenesis and conidium maturation [4]. Deletion of F. graminearum wetA did not alter mycelial growth, sexual development, or virulence, but the wetA deletion mutants produced longer conidia with fewer septa, and the conidia were sensitive to acute stresses, such as oxidative stress and heat stress. Furthermore, the survival rate of aged conidia from the F. graminearum wetA deletion mutants was reduced. The wetA deletion resulted in vigorous generation of single-celled conidia through autophagy-dependent microcycle conidiation, indicating that WetA functions to maintain conidia dormancy by suppressing microcycle conidiation in F. graminearum. In A. nidulans, FlbB physically interacts with FlbD and FlbE, and the resulting FlbB/FlbE and FlbB/FlbD complexes induce the expression of flbD and brlA, respectively. BrlA is an activator of the AbaA-WetA pathway. AbaA and WetA are required for phialide formation and conidia maturation, respectively [5]. In F. graminearum, the AbaA-WetA pathway is similar to that of A. nidulans, except a brlA ortholog does not exist. Amongst the fluffy genes, only fgflbD has a conserved role for regulation of the AbaA-WetA pathway.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.312-317
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• 2009

Genome analysis of a model filamentous fungus, Aspergillus nidulans, revealed that there are six putative forkhead genes. Among them, fkhF (AN8949.2) showed A. nidulans-specific. fkhF gene is located in chromosome VII and composed of 2,337 bp coding region for 778 amino acid. Since little is known about the involvement of the forkhead proteins in the developmental process of the filamentous fungi, including A. nidulans, we generated a deletion mutant of fkhF gene and analyzed. Deletion of fkhF resulted in less-dense conidiophore formation in a solid culture. However, the sexual developmental process or cleistothecia formation was normal. Furthermore, fkhF deletion mutant produced conidiophores and conidia under the submerged culture, suggesting that the fkhF gene is involved in repression of inappropriated induction and maturation of asexual developmental process but not in sexual development.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.207-223
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• 1994

Induction of triploid cherry salmon, Oncorhynchus ma.sou was performed by the heat shock procedure. The triploids were induced by 15 and 20 min heat shock treatments after 10 min fertilization at $28^{\circ}C$. Incidences of the triploidy were $91.4\%\;and\;89.8\%$, respectively. Nucleus and erythrocyte from the induced triploids larger than those of the diploids in major axis, minor axis, major axis/minor axis, surface area and volume. The chromosome number of diploid was 2n= 66 (17 pairs of metacentrics or submetacentrics, 16 pairs of acrocentrics or telocentrics), and that of triploid was 3n=99. Satellites were observed in the short arm of the largest telocentrics, and these may be useful marker to determine the polyploidization. Diploid have outgrown to triploid, and female have also outgrown to male in the triploid group during the 22 months of observation period after hatching. During the spawning season, 22 to 26 months after hatching, diploid were observed the growth retardation because of their sexual maturation, however the triploid showed continuous growth.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.1634-1639
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• 2010

This study was conducted to increase the efficiency of farming practice in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, by sex reversal and chromosome-set manipulation techniques. To obtain phenotypic males, hormonal sex reversal was carried out using an exogenous hormone treatment method. 5 mg of 17 alpha-methyltestosterone per kg diet was supplied for 82 days after first feeding at $10^{\circ}C$ and $13^{\circ}C$. More than 93% of the male population was produced by this method and growth of hormone-treated fish at $13^{\circ}C$ was faster than that of untreated bi-sexual groups. Induced diploid gynogenesis was carried out using artificial insemination of UV-irradiated sperm into haploid eggs. Based on the appearance of the rate of haploid syndrome and survival of embryo, a UV ray dose of at least $3,600\;erg/cm^2$ was required to inactivate rainbow trout sperm genetically. Haploid embryos were restored to diploid by blocking the extrusion of the second polar body using heat shock treatment at $28^{\circ}C$ for 20 min, 10 min post insemination. Gynogenetic diploid sex ratios were confirmed after maturation of the fish erythrocyte measurements and chromosome counts.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.121-124
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• 2007

Freshwater-adapted maturing chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) involuntarily captured by stationary nets in Yang-yang seashore areas were transferred to freshwater in an outdoor raceway tank at Yeongdong Inland Fisheries Research Institute, NFRDI, Yang-yang, Gangwon, Korea and kept over 1 day until the start of the experiments. The freshwater-adapted females were single-injected intraperitoneally with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue, (GnRH-a: $70\;{\mu}g/kg$ body weight, BW) alone or combined with a dopamine receptor antagonist, pimozide($700\;{\mu}g/kg$ BW). Although gonadosomatic indices [GSI, (gonad weight/BW)${\times}100$] did not show significant changes in both 2004 and 2005, GSI of GnRH-a-injected fish during the 2005 trial slightly increased on the 5th and 7th days post-injection compared to those of vehicle treated fish. Hepatosomatic indices [HSI, (liver weight/BW)${\times}100$] of fish injected with GnRH-a alone and combined with pimozide decreased significantly on the 7th day post-injection in 2004(P<0.05). In 2005 trials, HSI was significantly reduced in GnRH-a treated fish on the 7th day post-injection (P<0.05). Pimozide-injected fish showed a pattern with increase of GSI and decrease of HSI, without significant differences. Taken together, these results suggest that at least in part hypothalamic hormones and dopamine receptor antagonist may induce sexual maturation in freshwater-adapted maturing chum salmon. It remains to evaluate these preliminary results by further researches.