• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.674-680
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• 2016

This study investigated the effects of feeds naturally contaminated with mycotoxins on growth performance, serum biochemical parameters, carcass traits, and splenic heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) mRNA expression levels in broiler chickens. The efficacy of yeast cell wall (YCW) adsorbent in preventing mycotoxicosis was also evaluated. Three hundred 1-d-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks were randomly allotted to 3 treatments in completely randomized design for 42 d. Each treatment group had 5 replicate pens with 20 birds. The treatments were as follows: i) basal diet (control), ii) naturally contaminated diet (NCD), and iii) NCD+0.2% YCW adsorbent (NCDD). The NCD decreased average daily gain (ADG) (p<0.01) of 0 to 21 d, 22 to 42 d, and 0 to 42 d, and increased feed conversion ratio (p<0.01) of 22 to 42 d and 0 to 42 d. Both the breast meat percentage and thigh meat percentage of the NCD group were significantly higher (p<0.01) than that of the control group on d 21. The NCD group showed significantly increased levels of triglycerides (p<0.05) and cholesterol (p<0.05) on both d 21 and d 42 compared to the control group. However, the NCD significantly reduced (p<0.01) the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) on d 42 compared to controls. Compared with the NCD, supplementation with YCW significantly improved (p<0.01) the ADG of 0 to 21 d and 0 to 42 d, and increased (p<0.01) concentrations of HDL on d 42, and on d 21, and triglycerides (p<0.05) on d 21 and d 42. Supplementation with YCW reduced (p<0.01) the breast meat percentage, the thigh meat percentage, the concentrations of cholesterol (p<0.01) and the low-density lipoprotein (p<0.05) on d 21, and improved (p<0.01) the splenic Hsp70 mRNA expression levels compared with the NCD group. The results of this study indicated that feeding NCD for 42 d had adverse effects on broiler chickens, and that YCW might be beneficial in counteracting the effects of mycotoxins.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.197-206
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• 2016

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen of considerable genetic diversity with varying pathogenicity. Initially, we found that the strain M7 was far less pathogenic than the strain Lm850658 though both are serovar 4a strains belonging to the lineage III. Comparative genomic approaches were then attempted to decipher the genetic basis that might govern the strain-dependent pathotypes. There are 2,761 coding sequences of 100% nucleotide identity between the two strains, accounting for 95.7% of the total genes in Lm850658 and 92.7% in M7. Lm850658 contains 33 specific genes, including a novel 20K prophage whereas strain M7 has 130 specific genes, including two large prophages (38K and 44K). To examine the roles of these specific prophages in pathogenicity, the 20K and 38K prophages were deleted from their respective strains. There were virtually no differences of pathogenicity between the deletion mutants and their parent strains, although some putative virulent factors like VirB4 are present in the 20K region or holin-lysin in the 38K region. In silico PCR analysis of 29 listeria genomes show that only strain SLCC2540 has the same 18 bp integration hotspot as Lm850658, whereas the sequence identity of their 20K prophages is very low (21.3%). The 38K and 44K prophages are located in two other different hotspots and are conserved in low virulent strains M7, HCC23, and L99. In conclusion, the 20K and 38K prophages of L. monocytogenes serovar 4a strains Lm850658 and M7 are not related to virulence but contribute to genetic diversity.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 2016

The sodium hydrogen exchanger 1 (NHE1), which functions in maintaining the ratio of $Na^+$ and $H^+$ ions, is widely distributed in cell plasma membranes. It plays a prominent role in pH balancing, cell proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, and migration. However, its exact subcellular location and biological functions in Toxoplasma gondii are largely unclear. In this study, we cloned the C-terminal sequence of T. gondii NHE1 (TgNHE1) incorporating the C-terminal peptide of NHE1 (C-NHE1) into the pGEX4T-1 expression plasmid. The peptide sequence was predicted to have good antigenicity based on the information obtained from an immune epitope database. After induction of heterologous gene expression with isopropyl-b-D-thiogalactoside, the recombinant C-NHE1 protein successfully expressed in a soluble form was purified by glutathione sepharose beads as an immunogen for production of a rabbit polyclonal antiserum. The specificity of this antiserum was confirmed by western blotting and immunofluorescence. The antiserum could reduce T. gondii invasion into host cells, indicated by the decreased TgNHE1 expression in T. gondii parasites that were pre-incubated with antiserum in the process of cell entry. Furthermore, the antiserum reduced the virulence of T. gondii parasites to host cells in vitro, possibly by blocking the release of $Ca^{2+}$. In this regard, this antiserum has potential to be a valuable tool for further studies of TgNHE1.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2016

Theileria annulata is a tick-borne intracellular protozoan parasite that causes tropical theileriosis, a fatal bovine lymphoproliferative disease. The parasite predominantly invades bovine B lymphocytes and macrophages and induces host cell transformation by a mechanism that is not fully comprehended. Analysis of signaling pathways by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) could be a highly efficient means to understand this transformation mechanism. However, accurate analysis of qPCR data relies on selection of appropriate reference genes for normalization, yet few papers on T. annulata contain evidence of reference gene validation. We therefore used the geNorm and NormFinder programs to evaluate the stability of 5 candidate reference genes; 18S rRNA, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), ACTB (${\beta}-actin$), PRKG1 (protein kinase cGMP-dependent, type I) and TATA box binding protein (TBP). The results showed that 18S rRNA was the reference gene most stably expressed in bovine PBMCs transformed and non-transformed with T. annulata, followed by GAPDH and TBP. While 18S rRNA and GAPDH were the best combination, these 2 genes were chosen as references to study signaling pathways involved in the transformation mechanism of T. annulata.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2015.05a
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• pp.41-41
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• 2015

BSA-seq technologies, combined Bulked Segregant Analysis (BSA) and Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS), are making it faster and more efficient to establish the association of agronomic traits with molecular markers or candidate genes, which is the requirement for marker-assisted selection in molecular breeding. Clubroot disease, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, is a serious threat to Brassica crops. Even we have breed new clubroot resistant varieties of Chinese cabbage (B. rapa ssp. pekinesis), the underlying genetic mechanism is unclear. In this study, an $F_2$ population of 340 plants were inoculated with P. brassicae from Xinye (Pathotype 2 on the differentials of Williams). Resistance phenotype segregation ratio for the populations fit a 3:1 (R:S) segregation model, consistent with a single dominant gene model. Super-BSA, using re-sequencing the parents, extremely R and S DNA pools with each 50 plants, revealed 3 potential candidate regions on the chromosome A03, with the most significant region falling between 24.30 Mb and 24.75 Mb. A linkage map with 31 markers in this region was constructed with several closely linked markers identified. A Major QTL for clubroot resistance, CRq, which was identified with the peak LOD score at 169.3, explaining 89.9% of the phenotypic variation. And we developed a new co-segregated InDel marker BrQ-2. Joint BSA-seq and traditional QTL analysis delimited CRq to an 250 kb genomic region, where four TIR-NBS-LRR genes (Bra019409, Bra019410, Bra019412 and Bra019413) clustered. The CR gene CRq and closely linked markers will be highly useful for breeding new resistant Chinese cabbage cultivars.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.1097-1102
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• 2008

Paraoxonase-1 (PON1), like lipoprotein lipase (LPL), plays a key role in the metabolism and physiology of mammalian growth. The objectives of this study were to estimate the allele and genotype frequencies at the PON1/EcoRV and PON1/AluI loci in three genetic groups of beef cattle and to determine associations between these polymorphisms and growth and carcass traits. Genotyping was performed on 30 Angus, 32 Hereford and 26 Simmental. The association analysis was carried out using the GLM procedure of SAS 9.1 and the least squares means of the genotypes were compared by the Tukey's test. Animals with AG genotype at the PON1/EcoRV locus had higher weight at the time of entry into the fattening corrals ($329.97{\pm}6.08kg$) and close to the time of slaughter ($577.56{\pm}8.32kg$) and net meat weight ($275.89{\pm}4.05kg$) and fitted tenderness ($3.10{\pm}0.19kg$) (p<0.05). Animals with AA genotype at the PON1/AluI locus had higher weight at the time of entry ($333.37{\pm}8.93kg$) and slaughter ($576.82{\pm}13.18kg$) and net meat weight ($275.49{\pm}6.43kg$) and average daily gain ($0.68{\pm}0.02kg/d$) (p<0.05). The meat color score was also significantly higher (p<0.05). Between genotypes and breeds, there were significant differences observed except for TBW, REMG, MBS, REA and MCS. As a metabolism gene, genotypes of the SNPs of PON1 gene might be reflecting BFT directly, such as $A_eA_eG_aG_a$ genotype in this experiment.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1552-1559
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• 2011

Real time PCR was used in this study to determine the effect of triticale dried distillers grains with solubles (TDDGS) as a replacement for grain or barley silage in finishing diets on the presence of six classical ruminal bacterial species (Succinivibrio dextrinosolvens, Selenomonas ruminantium, Streptococcus bovis, Megasphaera elsdenii, Prevotella ruminicola and Fibrobacter succinogenes) within the rumen contents of feedlot cattle. This study was divided into a step-wise adaptation experiment (112 days) that examined the effects of adaptation to diets containing increasing levels of TDDGS up to 30% (n = 4), a short-term experiment comparing animals (n = 16) fed control, 20%, 25% or 30% TDDGS diets over 28 days, and a rapid transition experiment (56 days) where animals (n = 4) were rapidly switched from a diet containing 30% TDDGS to a barley-based diet with no TDDGS. It was found that feeding TDDGS as replacement for barley grain (control vs. 20% TDDGS) decreased 16S rRNA copy numbers of starch-fermenting S. ruminantium and S. bovis (p<0.001 and p = 0.04, respectively), but did not alter 16S rRNA copy numbers of the other rumen bacteria. Furthermore, feeding TDDGS as a replacement barley silage (20% vs. 25% and 30% TDDGS) increased 16S rRNA copy numbers of S. ruminantium, M. elsdenii and F. succinogenes (p<0.001; p = 0.03 and p<0.001, respectively), but decreased (p<0.001) the 16S rRNA copy number of P. ruminicola. Upon removal of 30% TDDGS and return to the control diet, 16S rRNA copy numbers of S. ruminantium, M. elsdenii and F. succinogenes decreased (p = 0.01; p = 0.03 and p = 0.01, respectively), but S. dextrinosolvens and S. bovis increased (p = 0.04 and p = 0.009, respectively). The results suggest that replacement of TDDGS for grain reduces 16S rRNA copy numbers of starch-fermenting bacteria, whereas substitution for barley silage increases 16S rRNA copy numbers of bacteria involved in fibre digestion and the metabolism of lactic acid. This outcome supports the contention that the fibre in TDDGS is highly fermentable.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3443-3447
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• 2013

Aim: Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer and sixth leading cause of cancer associated death worldwide. The 5 year survival rate for esophageal cancer patients is very poor and accounts for only 12.3%. Besides environmental risk factors, genetic factors might play an important role in the esophageal cancer carcinogenesis. Methods: We conducted a hospital based case-control study to evaluate the genetic effects of functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): interleukin 9 (IL9) rs31563 C>T, IL9 rs31564 G>T, IL10 rs1800872 T>G, IL12A rs2243115 T>G, IL12B rs3212227 T>G and IL13 rs1800925 C>T on the development of esophageal cancer. A total of 380 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cases and 380 controls were recruited for this study. The genotypes were determined using a custom-by-design 48-Plex SNPscan$^{TM}$ Kit. Results: The IL10 rs1800872 T>G polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of ESCC. However, there were no significant links with the other five SNPs. Stratified analyses indicated no significant risk of ESCC associated with the IL10 rs1800872 T>G polymorphism evident among any subgroups. Conclusion: These findings indicated that functional polymorphism IL10 rs1800872 T>G might contribute to ESCC susceptibility. However, our results were obtained with a limited sample size, so that the power of our analysis was low. Future larger studies with more rigorous study designs of other ethnic populations are required to confirm the current findings.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.2180-2189
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• 2017

Psychrophilic phytases suitable for aquaculture are rare. In this study, a phytase of the histidine acid phosphatase (HAP) family was identified in Morchella importuna, a psychrophilic mushroom. The phytase showed 38% identity with Aspergillus niger PhyB, which was the closest hit. The M. importuna phytase was overexpressed in Pichia pastoris, purified, and characterized. The phytase had an optimum temperature at $25^{\circ}C$, which is the lowest among all the known phytases to our best knowledge. The optimum pH (6.5) is higher than most of the known HAP phytases, which is fit for the weak acidic condition in fish gut. At the optimum pH and temperature, MiPhyA showed the maximum activity level ($2,384.6{\pm}90.4{\mu}mol{\cdot}min^{-1}{\cdot}mg^{-1}$, suggesting that the enzyme possesses a higher activity level over many known phytases at low temperatures. The phytate-degrading efficacy was tested on three common feed materials (soybean meal/rapeseed meal/corn meal) and was compared with the well-known phytases of Escherichia coli and A. niger. When using the same amount of activity units, MiPhyA could yield at least $3{\times}$ more inorganic phosphate than the two reference phytases. When using the same weight of protein, MiPhyA could yield at least $5{\times}$ more inorganic phosphate than the other two. Since it could degrade phytate in feed materials efficiently under low temperature and weak acidic conditions, which are common for aquacultural application, MiPhyA might be a promising candidate as a feed additive enzyme.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1490-1499
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• 2016

In this study, 69 lactobacilli isolated from Tibetan Qula, a raw yak milk cheese, were screened for their potential use as probiotics. The isolates were tested in terms of: Their ability to survive at pH 2.0, pH 3.0, and in the presence of 0.3% bile salts; tolerance of simulated gastric and intestinal juices; antimicrobial activity; sensitivity against 11 specific antibiotics; and their cell surface hydrophobicity. The results show that out of the 69 strains, 29 strains (42%) had survival rates above 90% after 2 h of incubation at pH values of 2.0 or 3.0. Of these 29 strains, 21 strains showed a tolerance for 0.3% bile salt. Incubation of these 21 isolates in simulated gastrointestinal fluid for 3 h revealed survival rates above 90%; the survival rate for 20 of these isolates remained above 90% after 4 h of incubation in simulated intestinal fluid. The viable counts of bacteria after incubation in simulated gastric fluid for 3 h and simulated intestinal fluid for 4 h were both significantly different compared with the counts at 0 h (p<0.001). Further screening performed on the above 20 isolates indicated that all 20 lactobacilli strains exhibited inhibitory activity against Micrococcus luteus ATCC 4698, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19115, and Salmonella enterica ATCC 43971. Moreover, all of the strains were resistant to vancomycin and streptomycin. Of the 20 strains, three were resistant to all 11 elected antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, tetracycline, penicillin G, ampicillin, streptomycin, polymyxin B, vancomycin, chloramphenicol, rifampicin, and gentamicin) in this study, and five were sensitive to more than half of the antibiotics. Additionally, the cell surface hydrophobicity of seven of the 20 lactobacilli strains was above 70%, including strains Lactobacillus casei 1,133 (92%), Lactobacillus plantarum 1086-1 (82%), Lactobacillus casei 1089 (81%), Lactobacillus casei 1138 (79%), Lactobacillus buchneri 1059 (78%), Lactobacillus plantarum 1141 (75%), and Lactobacillus plantarum 1197 (71%). Together, these results suggest that these seven strains are good probiotic candidates, and that tolerance against bile acid, simulated gastric and intestinal juices, antimicrobial activity, antibiotic resistance, and cell surface hydrophobicity could be adopted for preliminary screening of potentially probiotic lactobacilli.