• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.202-212
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• 2014

ClC-1 is a member of a large family of voltage-gated chloride channels, abundantly expressed in human skeletal muscle. Mutations in ClC-1 are associated with myotonia congenita (MC) and result in loss of regulation of membrane excitability in skeletal muscle. We studied the electrophysiological characteristics of six mutants found among Korean MC patients, using patch clamp methods in HEK293 cells. Here, we found that the autosomal dominant mutants S189C and P480S displayed reduced chloride conductances compared to WT. Autosomal recessive mutant M128I did not show a typical rapid deactivation of Cl- currents. While sporadic mutant G523D displayed sustained activation of $Cl^-$ currents in the whole cell traces, the other sporadic mutants, M373L and M609K, demonstrated rapid deactivations. $V_{1/2}$ of these mutants was shifted to more depolarizing potentials. In order to identify potential effects on gating processes, slow and fast gating was analyzed for each mutant. We show that slow gating of the mutants tends to be shifted toward more positive potentials in comparison to WT. Collectively, these six mutants found among Korean patients demonstrated modifications of channel gating behaviors and reduced chloride conductances that likely contribute to the physiologic changes of MC.

• Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.361-368
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• 2009

Cenangium ferruginosum was known as the causal agent of dieback of pines including Pinus koraiensis and Pinus densiflora. Since the first report of the disease in Korea in 1989, a group dying occurred in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Kangwon and Chungbuk in 2007 spring. Although C. ferreginosum was known as a weak pathogen or a parasite, this disease caused in stressed pine by drought, wounding, extremely cold weather or unusual warm winter. In this study, we explained the features of cenangium dieback with the characteristics of pathogen to understand the trend of disease associated with the climatic change of the world. We collected pycnidia and apothecia from the diseased branches and stems of P. koraiensis and P. densiflora in Gyeonggi, Chungcheong and Gyeongsang province to characterization of pathogen. The fungal development on the diseased branches were observed and the isolates from pycnidia and apothecia were identified as Cenangium ferruginosum by their morphological characteristics and the molecular techniques.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.411-416
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• 1999

This research was conducted to investigate changes in quality characteristics of gamma-irradiated chickens during storage at different temperature and periods. In heme pigment(myoglobin) content, metmyoglobin content of chicken stored at 5$^{\circ}C$ was not affected by gamma irradiation but slightly increased with the increase in storage period. All samples stored at -20$^{\circ}C$ were no different in heme pigment content between nonirradiated and irradiated samples and slightly decreased as the freezing storage period increased. The SDS electrophoresis patterns were not significantly different between nonirradiated and irradiated samples. All samples stored in at 5$^{\circ}C$ showed a prominent breakdown of molecular weights ranging from 97,000 to 116,000 Daltons after 8 weeks' storage. TBA values increased according to the increment of irradiation dose level and storage period at both temperatures, 5$^{\circ}C$and -20$^{\circ}C$. However, The acid value decreased with increasing irradiation dose level. In the VBN value, nonirradiated chickens were four times higher than that of 7 kGy-irradiated one.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.359-367
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• 2018

As an effort to explore fungal diversity, fungal survey was undertaken in 2017 in the vicinity of demilitarized zone (DMZ) located in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi-do, Korea. For the survey, wild plants and soils were sampled and subjected to fungal isolation. A total of 18 genera and 23 species including five unrecorded fungal species, Mortierella sclerotiella, M. sossauensis, M. verticillate, Eupenicillium saturniforme, and Trichoderma hispanicum, were obtained from the survey. This study described their morphological characteristics including colony features formed on media, light microscopic images and molecular characteristics of nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, 18S and 28S rDNA, ${\beta}-tubulin$ gene, calmodulin, and translation elongation factor $1{\alpha}$ ($tef1{\alpha}$) nDNA genes.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.165-172
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• 2019

To investigate the diversity of aquatic fungi, we collected deposits of soil, plants, and plant litter from ponds and streams. NNIBRFG1552 was isolated from soil deposits and NNIBRFG3013 from plant deposits in Namsaengi-mot in Jeju, Korea in 2016; NNIBRFG5472 was isolated from plant litter in Bocheong-cheon, Boeun, Korea in 2018. Based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis using rDNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), NNIBRFG1552, NNIBRFG3013, and NNIBRFG5472 were identified as Filoporella exilis (100% similarity with KC834046), F. fistucella (99.8% with KC834047), and F. cf. annelidica (100% with KC834044), respectively. Furthermore, cultural and morphological characteristics were analyzed to confirm the molecular identification. No species of the genus Filosporella has yet been reported in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.369-379
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• 2020

Black mold was frequently observed on tomatoes grown in a greenhouse in Suwon, Korea in July 2018. The incidence of the disease was 5.0-25.0% (average 12.3%) and 2.0-7.0% (average 3.7%) in the context of tomato and cherry tomato fruits, respectively. Sixteen single-spore isolates of Alternaria sp. were obtained from the diseased fruits and investigated for their morphological characteristics. Among the isolates, eight were used for sequencing analysis. All of the isolates were identified as Alternaria alternata based on their morphological and molecular characteristics. The pathogenicity of four isolates of A. alternata was investigated using three varieties each of tomato and cherry tomato via artificial inoculation. All of the isolates induced black mold symptoms on the inoculated tomato fruits. Notably, the symptoms were similar to those observed in the greenhouse. However, the pathogenicity tests revealed that different tomato varieties presented distinct patterns of susceptibility to the isolates. This is the first report of A. alternata causing black mold on tomato fruits in Korea.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.67-77
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• 2021

Salurnis marginella Guérin-Méneville, 1829 (Hemiptera: Flatidae) is an invasive species first reported in 2003 in Iksan, which is located in the mid-western region of South Korea, and subsequently found in the nearby regions in 2005. However, molecular-perspective reports on their invasive characteristics are not yet available. In this study, population genetic characteristics of Korean S. marginella were evaluated using the mitochondrial COI region and sequencing 124 individual samples collected in 11 Korean localities. A total of 12 haplotypes were identified with a maximum sequence divergence of 1.368% (9 bp). Haplotype diversity was relatively higher than that of other insect species invaded into Korea, providing 2-6 haplotypes per populations, indicating that introduction to Korea may have happened rather extensively and consistently. Nucleotide diversity (π) was the highest in Iksan but owing to the limited sample size (three individuals) from this locality, additional studies are required for drawing conclusive inference regarding the place of entry to Korea. Ulsan, the easternmost population in the present study, revealed nearly the lowest diversity estimates, such as the lowest H and the second-lowest π; a unique haplogroup with a higher frequency; and an independent genetic cluster, suggesting that the introduction of S. marginella to Ulsan was an independent event. Further collection in Korea and neighboring countries, including the original distributional range is necessary to elucidate the invasive dynamics of S. marginella

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.133-142
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• 2022

Natural organic matter (NOM) is a heterogeneous mixture of organic matter with various polarities and molecular weights in an aquatic environment. This study investigated the effects of separation conditions (resin volume, organic matter, etc.) and the repeated use of the resin for the fractionation of organic components in the DAX resin fractionation method. The distribution characteristics of the organic components ((hydrophilic [Hi], hydrophobic acid [HoA], and hydrophobic neutral [HoN]) under the derived fractionation conditions were also analyzed. Constant fractionation results (i.e. HoA/Hi ratio) were obtained in the column capacity factor (i.e. the packed resin volume) in the range of 50 to 100. The resin-packed column maintained constant separation efficiency for up to two repeated uses. The above conditions were applied to wastewater and stream water samples (before and after rainfall). The results showed that the concentration of organic matter in the wastewater effluent was 2-15 times lower with an increased ratio of hydrophilicity to hydrophobicity (i.e. Ho/Hi) compared to the influent depending on the industrial wastewater classification. Particularly, HoN was found to have a high content distribution, 10.2-50.4% of the total dissolved organic matter (DOM), in the effluents. For the stream water, the content of Hi or HoN increased significantly after rainfall, suggesting a correlation with the distribution characteristics of pollutants from the stream watershed. The results provide useful data to enhance the reliability of the DAX resin fractionation and its application to environmental samples.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.1120-1125
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• 2022

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), the causative agent of Japanese encephalitis (JE), is an importantly zoonotic, vector-borne virus widely prevalent in Asia. Although JE has been well controlled in China, its prevalence remains a huge threat to the pig industry as well as human health. Herein, we report on our molecular and serological investigations of JEV among pigs from different regions in Hunan Province of China from 2019 to 2021. Collectively, 19.27% (583/3026, 95% Confidential Interval (CI) 17.86-20.68) of sampled pigs were positive for JEV IgG antibody as revealed by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the seroprevalence of JEV among pigs was significantly associated with the development stage and breeding scale (p < 0.01). Meanwhile, 10.99% (42/382, 95% CI 7.86-14.13) of tissue samples of pigs with suspected clinical symptoms of JE and 23.44% (15/64, 95% CI 13.06-33.82) of mosquito batches were JEV-positive via reverse polymerase chain reaction. In addition, the complete E gene sequences of 14 JEV strains identified in this study were amplified and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all 14 JEV strains belonged to genotype I-b and displayed a distinct genetic relationship to the present JEV vaccine strain (SA14-14-2). In conclusion, our results revealed not only the severe prevalence of JEV in Hunan Province, but also that JEV I-b might be the predominant genotype in Hunan Province, suggesting therefore that effective measures for JE control are urgently needed.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.266-277
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• 2022

The current surveys of Ulva in the subtidal area around Jeju Island give a chance to discover unrecorded green algal species of the Korean macroalgal flora. As a result of this investigation, we found Ulva adhaerens Matusmoto & Shimada, inhabiting the subtidal regions, up to 15 m deep, and conducted the DNA barcoding on plastid rbcL-3P and tufA regions with describing the morphological characteristics. Our specimens of U. adhaerens forms a monophyletic clade with the Japanese type specimen and U. piritoka Ngāti Kuri, Heesch & W.A. Nelson from New Zealand exhibiting each 0.3% sequence divergences, respectively, in the plastid rbcL-3P. The genetic variation of U. adhaerens clade is 1.0-3.9% in rbcL-3P and 4.8-9.8% in tufA to each Ulva species, including the generic type, U. lactuca Linneaus. The morphology of Korean U. adhaerens specimens is identical to the type specimens of U. adhaerens from Japan having the development of rhizoidal filaments from both of the cell layers of the distromatic blade and the extension of rhizoidal clumps with adhesive trait between blades by extended rhizoidal clumps at the basal blades. The thallus attachment to substrate is by numerous minute discoidal plates made up of rhizoids originating from the inner part of distromatic blades in basal. Although there are still some problems to resolve the relationship between U. adhaerens and U. piritoka in the rbcL dataset and the phylogenetic pattern of the Group II intron of rbcL, we propose the new record of U. adhaerens in Korean macroalgal flora based on the morphological characteristics of Korean specimens. Continued study of the genus Ulva by morphological and molecular assessment will delimit the species of Ulva, elucidate the relationships between them, and uncover the species diversity.