• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.323-333
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• 2022

Filenchus cylindricus (Thorne & Malek, 1968) Niblack & Bernard, 1985 was reported from the sandy rhizospheric soils of Poa pratensis and for the first time in Korea. Females and males are molecularly characterized and morphological and morphometric data supplied. Identification was made using an integrative approach considering morphological characteristics and inferences drawn from the analyses of the D2-D3 expansion segment of 28S rRNA and ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 of rRNA partial sequences. Females and males from Korea conform to the type descriptions and also to subsequent species descriptions from Iowa and Colorado USA, Sudan and Pakistan. Despite the close morphological and morphometric similarities with F. thornei (Andrássy, 1954) Andrássy, 1963, the two species can be adequately differentiated based on molecular data inference.

• Clinical Pain
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.86-92
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• 2021

Ultrasound imaging in clinical practice is one of the widely used diagnostic methods because there is no radiation risk, more cost- effective compared to MRI or CT, and possible to perform an intervention through fast real-time imaging. In order to increase the diagnostic value, the studies of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) using an ultrasound contrast agent have been actively conducted since about 50 years ago and are being used clinically in vascularity and microcirculation of internal organs. Although ultrasound is actively used for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases in musculoskeletal disorders, there are some limitations in diagnosing mild or small lesions, inflammatory reactions, or abnormalities at the molecular level. In this review, the principles, types, and research, and clinical applications of ultrasound contrast agents have been summarized and introduced. If we understand the characteristics of the ultrasound contrast agents and anatomical knowledge, as well as molecular changes, the ultrasound contrast agents are widely applied in musculoskeletal disorders and have tremendous potential for diagnosis and treatment.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.119-128
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• 2022

2-Dimensional inorganic nanoparticles with high surface area and ion-exchangeable properties have been continuously growing based on nanotechnology in the field of nanomedicine. Among one of the 2-D nanoparticles, layered double hydroxide (LDH) has been intensively explored as drug delivery due to its low toxicity, enhanced cellular permeability, and high drug loading capacity. Moreover, controllable chemical composition makes possible varying isomorphic layered materials for therapy and imaging of diseases. In this review, specific structural characteristics of LDH were introduced, and its potential for application as a biocompatible therapeutic agent and diagnostic one was addressed in nuclear medicine, one of promising fields in nanomedicine.

• Mycobiology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.420-428
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• 2022

Plastic wastes have a negative impact on marine environments; however, they can be used as carbon sources and habitats by certain microbes. Microbes in the marine plastisphere can migrate worldwide through the ocean and cause serious environmental problems when they encounter suitable environments. Therefore, efforts to investigate the microbes inhabiting the marine plastisphere are increasing. In the present study, fungal strains were isolated from plastic wastes buried in Korean sea sands and mudflats and identified using molecular and morphological analyses. Five species were identified that were previously unrecorded from South Korea: Cladosporium funiculosum, Neosetophoma poaceicola, Neosetophoma rosigena, Parasarocladium gamsii, and Trichoderma fomiticola. Their molecular phylogenies and morphological characteristics are described in this study.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.11.1-11.5
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• 2023

Breast cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, and advanced breast cancer with metastases is incurable mainly with currently available therapies. Therefore, it is essential to understand molecular characteristics during the progression of breast carcinogenesis. Here, we report a dataset of whole genomes from the human mammary epithelial cell system derived from a reduction mammoplasty specimen. This system comprises pre-stasis 184D cells, considered normal, and seven cell lines along cancer progression series that are immortalized or additionally acquired anchorage-independent growth. Our analysis of the whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data indicates that those seven cancer progression series cells have somatic mutations whose number ranges from 8,393 to 39,564 (with an average of 30,591) compared to 184D cells. These WGS data and our mutation analysis will provide helpful information to identify driver mutations and elucidate molecular mechanisms for breast carcinogenesis.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.57-78
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• 2023

Understanding the chemical composition of the brain helps researchers comprehend various neurological processes effectively. Understanding of the fundamental pathological processes that underpin many neurodegenerative disorders has recently advanced thanks to the advent of innovative bioanalytical techniques that allow high sensitivity and specificity with chemical imaging at high resolution in tissues and cells. Mass spectrometry imaging [MSI] has become more common in biomedical research to map the spatial distribution of biomolecules in situ. The technique enables complete and untargeted delineation of the in-situ distribution characteristics of proteins, metabolites, lipids, and peptides. MSI's superior molecular specificity gives it a significant edge over traditional histochemical methods. Recent years have seen a significant increase in MSI, which is capable of simultaneously mapping the distribution of thousands of biomolecules in the tissue specimen at a high resolution and is otherwise beyond the scope of other molecular imaging techniques. This review aims to acquaint the reader with the MSI experimental workflow, significant recent advancements, and implementations of MSI techniques in visualizing the anatomical distribution of neurochemicals in the human brain in relation to various neurogenerative diseases.

• Mycobiology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.333-342
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• 2023

Phytophthora species, classified under Oomycota, cause significant damage to various crops and trees. The present study introduced Phytophthora species, P. nagaii and P. tentaculata, new to Korea, which pose notable risks to their respective host plants. Our research provided a comprehensive description of these species taking into account their cultural features, morphological characteristics, and molecular phylogenetic analysis using the internal transcribed spacer rDNA region and cytochrome c oxidase subunit mtDNA genes (cox1 and cox2) sequences. In addition, this study first evaluated the sensitivity of P. nagaii and P. tentaculata to five anti-oomycete fungicides, finding both species most responsive to picarbutrazox and P. tentaculata resistant to fluazinam. The data can guide targeted treatment strategies and offer insights into effective control methods. The findings expand our understanding of the diversity, distribution, and management of Phytophthora species in Korea.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.78-85
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• 2024

Bud sport (bud mutation) is a valuable source for existing new genotypes in mulberry (Morus spp.) as well as critical materials for studying the molecular mechanisms underlying essential traits. Thus, identification, collection, characterization, and conservation of such natural variants are prerequisites for enhancing the mulberry genetic resource in the germplasm. In this context, we identified and characterized three bud sports (VBS-1, VBS-2, and VBS-3) of a popular mulberry cultivar, Victory-1 (V-1). These bud sports are morphologically, anatomically, and genetically more distinct from their mother plant, Victory-1. Moreover, these bud sports display lower growth and yield potential. Furthermore, these showed remarkably lower 2C DNA contents of 0.74 pg (VBS-1), 0.78 pg (VBS-2), and 0.76 pg (VBS-3), when compared to their mother plant V-1 (2C = 0.81 pg). On the other hand, molecular characterization between the bud sports and their mother plant revealed the existence of genetic variation due to the natural bud mutation that occurred in the mulberry cultivar Victory-1.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.2508-2512
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• 2012

Cold shock proteins (CSPs) are a family of proteins induced at low temperatures. CSPs bind to single-stranded nucleic acids through the ribonucleoprotein 1 and 2 (RNP 1 and 2) binding motifs. CSPs play an essential role in cold adaptation by regulating transcription and translation via molecular chaperones. The solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) or X-ray crystal structures of several CSPs from various microorganisms have been determined, but structural characteristics of psychrophilic CSPs have not been studied. Therefore, we optimized the purification process to obtain highly pure Lm-Csp and determined the three-dimensional structure model of Lm-Csp by comparative homology modeling using MODELLER on the basis of the solution NMR structure of Bs-CspB. Lm-Csp consists of a ${\beta}$-barrel structure, which includes antiparallel ${\beta}$ strands (G4-N10, F15-I18, V26-H29, A46-D50, and P58-Q64). The template protein, Bs-CspB, shares a similar ${\beta}$ sheet structure and an identical chain fold to Lm-Csp. However, the sheets in Lm-Csp were much shorter than those of Bs-CspB. The Lm-Csp side chains, E2 and R20 form a salt bridge, thus, stabilizing the Lm-Csp structure. To evaluate the contribution of this ionic interaction as well as that of the hydrophobic patch on protein stability, we investigated the secondary structures of wild type and mutant protein (W8, F15, and R20) of Lm-Csp using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The results showed that solvent-exposed aromatic side chains as well as residues participating in ionic interactions are very important for structural stability. Further studies on the three-dimensional structure and dynamics of Lm-Csp using NMR spectroscopy are required.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.2711-2719
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• 2013

Hydrogen bonding interaction between alcohols and water molecules is an important characteristic in the aqueous solutions of alcohols. In this paper, a series of molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to investigate the aqueous solutions of low molecular weight alcohols (methanol, ethylene glycol and glycerol) at the concentrations covering a broad range from 1 to 90 mol %. The work focuses on studying the effect of the alcohols molecules on the hydrogen bonding of water molecules in binary mixtures. By analyzing the hydrogen bonding ability of the hydroxyl (-OH) groups for the three alcohols, it is found that the hydroxyl group of methanol prefers to form more hydrogen bonds than that of ethylene glycol and glycerol due to the intra-and intermolecular effects. It is also shown that concentration has significant effect on the ability of alcohol molecule to hydrogen bond water molecules. Understanding the hydrogen bonding characteristics of the aqueous solutions is helpful to reveal the cryoprotective mechanisms of methanol, ethylene glycol and glycerol in aqueous solutions.