• ALGAE
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.167-174
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• 2016

Biological response of cells to variable conditions should affect the expression level of certain genes. Quantification of these changes in target genes needs stable internal controls. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has traditionally used reference or ‘housekeeping’ genes, that are considered to maintain equal expression in different conditions, to evaluate changes in target genes between samples and experimental conditions. Recent studies showed that some housekeeping genes may vary considerably in certain biological samples. This has not been evaluated in red algae. In order to identify the optimal internal controls for real-time PCR, we studied the expression of eleven commonly used housekeeping genes; elongation factor 1-alpha, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, β-actin, polyubiquitin, 30S ribosomal gene, 60S ribosomal gene, beta-tubulin, alpha-tubulin, translation initiation factor, ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, and isocitrate dehydrogenase in different life-history stages of Bostrychia moritziana. Our results suggest that glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and 30S ribosomal gene, have the most stable gene expression levels between the different life history stages (male, female, carposporophyte, and tetrasporophyte), while the other genes are not satisfactory as internal controls. These results suggest that the combinations of GAPDH and 30S would be useful as internal controls to assess expression level changes in genes that may control different physiological processes in this organism or that may change in different life history stages. These results may also be useful in other red algal systems.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.239-251
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• 2012

The food web dynamics in a coastal ecosystem of Korea were predicted with Ecosim, a trophic flow model, under various scenarios of primary productivity due to ocean warming and ocean acidification. Changes in primary productivity were obtained from an earth system model 2.1 under A1B scenario of IPCC $CO_2$ emission and replaced for forcing functions on the phytoplankton group during the period between 2020 and 2100. Impacts of ocean acidification on species were represented in the model for gastropoda, bivalvia, echinodermata, crustacean and cephalopoda groups with effect sizes of conservative, medium and large. The model results show that the total biomass of invertebrate and fish groups decreases 5%, 11~28% and 14~27%, respectively, depending on primary productivity, ocean acidification and combined effects. In particular, the blenny group shows zero biomass at 2080. The zooplankton group shows a sudden increase at the same time, and finally reaches twice the baseline at 2100. On the other hand, the ecosystem attributes of the mean trophic level of the ecosystem, Shannon's H and Kempton's Q indexes show a similar reduction pattern to biomass change, indicating that total biomass, biodiversity and evenness shrink dynamically by impacts of climate change. It is expected from the model results that, after obtaining more information on climate change impacts on the species level, this study will be helpful for further investigation of the food web dynamics in the open seas around Korea.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.64-69
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• 2016

This study was conducted to develop a fast and efficient screening method to determine the quantity of fatty acid in peanut oil for high oleate breeding program. A total of 329 peanut samples were used in this study, 227 of which were considered in the calibration equation development and 102 were utilized for validation, using near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS). The NIRS equations for all the seven fatty acids had low standard error of calibration (SEC) values, while high R2 values of 0.983 and 0.991 were obtained for oleic and linoleic acids, respectively in the calibration equation. Furthermore, the predicted means of the two main fatty acids in the calibration equation were very similar to the means based on gas chromatography (GC) analysis, ranging from 36.7 to 77.1% for oleic acid and 7.1 to 42.7% for linoleic acid. Based on the standard error of prediction (SEP), bias values, and $R^2$ statistics, the NIRS fatty acid equations were accurately predicted the concentrations of oleic and linoleic acids of the validation sample set. These results suggest that NIRS equations of oleic and linoleic acid can be used as a rapid mass screening method for fatty acid content analysis in peanut breeding program.

• ALGAE
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.295-300
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• 2008

Seaweed biomass was estimated using a nondestructive method in the rocky subtidal zones in Munseom, Jeju Island, Korea from July 2006 to April 2008. Seasonal samplings were done at the depth of 1, 5, 10 m using 50 x 50 cm quadrat. Mean biomass was comprised of 2,784 g wet wt m$^{-2}$ and the biomass values varied seasonally from 1,176 g wet wt m$^{-2}$ to 4,217 g wet wt m$^{-2}$ with the highest point in April. Biomass reached maximum at 5 m depth in spring, but was shifted to 10 m depth in summer. Common seaweeds appeared year round in Munseom were Codium minus, Ecklonia cava, Sargassum spp., articulated corallines and Plocamium telfairiae. Among them, E. cava showed the highest biomass (average of 1,288 g wet wt m$^{-2}$), comprising 4% of total biomass. Only 12 species’' biomass covered 98% of total value, which indicated the contribution of few common species to algal community. Seaweed biomass in Munseom represented one of the highest values in coastal regions in Korea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1785-1791
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• 2020

In a previous study, the sequential optimization and regulation of environmental parameters using the PhotoBiobox were demonstrated with high-throughput screening tests. In this study, we estimated changes in the biovolume-based composition of a polyculture built in vitro and composed of three algal strains: Chlorella sp., Scenedesmus sp., and Parachlorella sp. We performed this work using the PhotoBiobox under different temperatures (10-36℃) and light intensities (50-700 μmol m^-2 s^-1) in air and in 5% CO₂. In 5% CO₂, Chlorella sp. exhibited better adaptation to high temperatures than in air conditions. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that the composition of Parachlorella sp. was highly related to temperature whereas Chlorella sp. and Scenedesmus sp. showed negative correlations in both air and 5% CO₂. Furthermore, light intensity slightly affected the composition of Scenedesmus sp., whereas no significant effect was observed in other species. Based on these results, it is speculated that temperature is an important factor in influencing changes in algal polyculture community structure (PCS). These results further confirm that the PhotoBiobox is a convenient and available tool for performance of lab-scale experiments on PCS changes. The application of the PhotoBiobox in PCS studies will provide new insight into polyculture-based ecology.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.516-529
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• 2018

This study investigated the dyeing properties and bio-functions of cotton fabrics dyed with naturally fermented Ecklonia cava extract in order to compare it with a comparison of unfermented extract. Hot water-extracted Ecklonia cava was fermented naturally under the various conditions of a fermenting period (2-8 days) and amount of molasses (0.1-1.8% v/v); in addition, it was also tested for characterization by FT-IR, antioxidant activity, total polyphenol content, and anti-microbial activity. For dyed cotton fabrics, color strength (K/S), physical color properties, dyeing fastness, sun protective property, and anti-microbial activity were evaluated considering dyeing conditions. As a result, the fermented dye under fermentation condition of 0.1% v/v with molasses during 4 days was revealed as having a similar chemical structure to the unfermented one and showed a total polyphenol content with 32.88mg/g and better antioxidant activity than the unfermented one. As for dyed fabrics, the color strength value by K/S was the highest under the condition of 0.1% v/v of molasses during 4 days among all fermenting conditions. The dyed fabrics had a reasonably good fastness (except for light). Anti-microbial activity against K. pneumoniae was better for the fermented extract-dyed fabric especially with lower dye concentrations.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.685-690
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• 2021

Harmful shell-boring species of the genus Polydora (Polychaeta: Spionidae) were frequently reported from commercially important mollusk species in Korea, Japan and China. The traditional approach based on the morphological characteristics showed limitations for species discrimination among shell-boring species. Therefore, DNA barcoding was adopted to identify Polydora species using molecular markers. Two Polydora species (P. haswelli and P. hoplura) in abalone shells were reported from our previous molecular phylogenetic study. In this study, we additionally reported the presence of shell-boring Polydora haswelli in commercially sold shellfish. The taxon-specific cox1 marker used in this study successfully allowed the isolation of P. haswelli from cockle Scapharca subcrenata, mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, oyster Crassostrea gigas and scallop Argopecten irradians. Polydora hoplura was not found in these shellfish species. The genetic variations were found on the intraspecific level of P. haswelli and the same genotype was also detected in different shellfish species. This result can provide information on a new host and accurate parasitic Polydora species. Moreover, this report can be used as the biodiversity data of Polydora species on the invasion and transition of harmful Polydora species in mollusk aquaculture farms.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2021

In order to understand the age and growth characteristics of Pacific anchovy, Engraulis japonicus, the 506 otoliths of individuals collected in the southern waters of Korea in 2004 were analyzed. Monthly age of anchovies was estimated based on the age determined through the year rings and their collection date. The growth parameters obtained using the monthly folk lengths were a theoretical maximum body length of 132.9 mm, a growth coefficient of 0.1079/month and a theoretical age of 0.0262 month when the fork length is zero. The growth equation of von Bertalanffy presented by the growth parameters was L_t=132.9(1-e^{-0.1079(t-1.0262)}). The estimation of growth parameters based on the monthly age established through year ring and collection date was deemed appropriate for understanding the growth characteristics of anchovies.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.198-204
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• 2018

Background: The effective use of habitats is essential for the successful adaptation of a species to the local environment. Although habitats exhibit a hierarchical structure, including macro-, meso-, and microhabitats, the relationships among habitats of differing hierarchy have not been well studied. In this study, we studied the quantitative measures of microhabitat use of Gekko japonicus from three field populations in Japan: one at Tsushima Island, one at Nishi Park, Fukuoka, and one at Ohori Park, Fukuoka. We investigated whether land cover type, a higher hierarchical habitat component, was associated with quantitative microhabitat use, a lower hierarchical component, in these populations. Results: The substrate temperature where we located geckos (SubT) and the distance from the ground to the gecko (Height) were significantly different among the three populations. In particular, SubT on Tsushima Island was lower than it was in the other two populations. Irradiance at gecko location and Height were significantly different among the land cover types. In particular, Height in evergreen needleleaf forest was significantly lower than that in deciduous broadleaf forest. Furthermore, significant interactions between population and land cover type were observed for the SubT and Height variables. Conclusions: The quantitative measures of microhabitat use of G. japonicus varied with population and land cover type, which exhibited significant interaction effects on microhabitat use variables. These results suggest that higher hierarchical habitat components can affect the quantitative measures of lower hierarchical microhabitat use in nocturnal geckos.

• ALGAE
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.361-373
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• 2020

The community dynamics of benthic diatoms in the hypersaline environment are investigated to advance our understanding how salinity impacts marine life. Diatoms were sampled in the two salterns encompassing salt Ponds, ditches, and seawater reservoirs (n = 11), along the salinity gradient (max = 324 psu), and nearby tidal flats (n = 2). The floral assemblages and distributions across sites and stations showed great variations, with a total of 169 identified taxa. First, not surprisingly, higher diversity of benthic diatoms was found at natural tidal flats than salterns. The saltern diatoms generally showed salinity dependent distributions with distinct spatial changes in species composition and dominant taxa. Biota-environment and principal component analysis confirmed that salinity, mud content, and total nitrogen were key factors influencing the overall benthic community structure. Some dominant species, e.g., Nitzschia scalpelliformis and Achnanthes sp. 1, showed salinity tolerance / preference. The number of diatom species at salinity of >100 psu reduced over half and no diatoms were found at maximum salinity of 324 psu. The highest salinity for the observed live diatoms was 205 psu, however, a simple regression indicated a theoretical salinity threshold of ~300 psu on the survival. Finally, the indicator species were identified along the salinity gradient in salterns as well as natural tidal flats. Overall, high species numbers, varying taxa, and euryhaline distributions of saltern diatoms collectively reflected a dynamic saltern ecosystem. The present study would provide backgrounds for biodiversity monitoring of ecologically important microalgal producers in some unique hypersaline environment, and elsewhere.