• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.905-912
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• 2013

A novel species, Metschnikowia cibodasensis, is proposed to accommodate eight strains (ID03-$0093^T$, ID03-0094, ID03-0095, ID03-0096, ID03-0097, ID03-0098, ID03-0099, and ID03-0109) isolated from flowers of Saurauia pendula, Berberis nepalensis, and Brunfelsia americana in Cibodas Botanical Garden, West Java, Indonesia. The type strain of M. cibodasensis is ID03-$0093^T$ (= NBRC $101693^T$ =UICC $Y-335^T$ = BTCC-$Y25^T$). The common features of M. cibodasensis are a spherical to ellipsoidopedunculate shaped ascus, which contains one or two needle-shaped ascospores, and lyse at maturity. Asci generally develop directly from vegetative cells but sometimes from chlamydospores. The neighbor-joining tree based on the D1/D2 domain of nuclear large subunit (nLSU) ribosomal DNA sequences strongly supports that M. cibodasensis (eight strains) and its closest teleomorphic species, M. reukaufii, are different species by a 100% bootstrap value. The type strain of M. cibodasensis, ID03-$0093^T$, differed from M. reukaufii NBRC $1679^T$ by six nt (five substitutions and one deletion) in their D1/D2 region of nLSU rDNA, and by 18 nt (five deletions, four insertions, and nine substitutions) in their internal transcribed spacer regions of rDNA, respectively. Four strains representative of M. cibodasensis (ID03-$0093^T$, ID03-0095, ID03-0096, and ID03-0099) showed a mol% G+C content of $44.05{\pm}0.25%$, whereas that of M. reukaufii NBRC $1679^T$ was 41.3%. The low value of DNA-DNA homology (5-16%) in four strains of M. cibodasensis and M. reukaufii NBRC $1679^T$ strongly supported that these strains represent a distinct species.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2010

Recognizing a basal group in a taxon is one of the most important factors involved in understanding the evolutionary history of that group of life. Many botanists have suggested a sister to all other angiosperms to understand the origin and rapid diversification of angiosperms based on morphological and fossil evidence. Recent technical advances in molecular biology and the accumulation of molecular phylogenetic data have provided evidence of the extant basal-most angiosperm which is a sister to all other angiosperms. Although it is still arguable, most plant taxonomists agree that Amborella trichopoda Baill., a species (monotypic genus and monotypic family) distributed in New Caledonia, is a sister to all other extant angiosperms based on evidence from the following molecular approaches: 1) classical phylogenetic analyses based on multiple genes (or DNA regions), 2) analyses of a tree network of duplicated gene families, and 3) gene-structural evidence. As an alternative hypothesis with relatively minor evidence, some researchers have also suggested that Amborella and Nymphaeaceae form a clade that is a sister to all other angiosperms. Debate regarding the basal-most angiosperms is still ongoing and is currently one of the hot issues in plant evolutionary biology. We expect that sequencing of the whole genome of Amborella as an evolutionary model plant and subsequent studies based on this genome sequence will provide information regarding the origin and rapid diversification of angiosperms, which is Darwin's so called abominable mystery.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.9-13
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• 1964

As to the up-lnd bamboos, I have reported, in my previous works, that Korea has two species in the genus of Pseudosasa, four in Pleioblastus, and other four in Sasa. In the present work, I dealt with Sasamorpha Purpurascens Nakai var. Borealis Nakai which proved the strongest vitality of all up-land bamboo yet found in various up-lands of Korea, and which might be most important from the utility view-point. This report is chiefly on its procreation. Sasamorpha Purpurascens Nakai var. Borealis Nakai can be found almost everywhere throughout the country, and its leaves and stems are much used in farms in various forms of manufacture. It is also welcomed as the feed for livestocks and as cover plants for aforestation, especially as the excellent means of errosion control on devastated hill sides. It is also widely accepted that it will provide, in the immediate future, abundant sources for the up-land bamboo pulp. As the first phase of my research plan on the subject, I undertook to determine the possible best way of its procreation, for which were included the experiments of inducing the growth of subterranean stems, the entire stand cutting, transplanting, reclaimed planting after burning etc. in order to observe the plant elongation, growing conditon, climatical effect etc. What has been fuond out so far given here as follows: 1) Of the various sections of the country, Mt. Odae area gives out the most excellent Sasamorpha Purpurascens Nakai var. Borealis Nakai(the leaf weight of which is 450 gr.) and Taekwanryong area comes the next class. This species can be transplanted anywhere in the South Korea. 2) The elongation of S.P. Nakai var. Borelais begins at around the middle of May and almost completely stops by the 20th of August. 3) The best studied transplanting season is supposed to be Feb. -April, for those transplanted during that period proved 100% of success. The next best transplanting season may be October. Rain fall does not have so much effect on transplanting as the growing season does. 4) In inducing the subterranean stems, the growing season can be ignored. The root expnsion is most animated during the months of April-June, the most active season for water absorption. Those stems induced during the winter proves more rapid growth. 5) The entire stand cutting shows greater growth than the reclaimed planting after burning and that, the growth is most vigorous during May-July, whereas during the hottest months of Aug-Sept. the growth shows only 5 cm. The new shoots grow slower both in the field of entire stand cutting and in the field of reclaimed planting after burning than in the otherwise fields.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.683-690
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• 2010

The yeast strains of Saccharomyces diastaticus produce one of three isozymes of an extracellular glucoamylase I, II or III, a type of exo-enzyme which can hydrolyse starch to generate glucose molecules from non-reducing ends. These enzymes are encoded by the STA1, STA2 and STA3 genes. Another gene, sporulation-specific glucoamylase (SGA), also exists in the genus Saccharomyces which is very homologous to the STA genes. The SGA has been known to be produced in the cytosol during sporulation. However, we hypothesized that the SGA is capable of being secreted to the extracellular region because of about 20 hydrophobic amino acid residues at the N-terminus which can function as a signal peptide. We expressed the cloned SGA gene in S. diastaticus YIY345. In order to compare the biochemical properties of the extracellular glucoamylase and the SGA, the SGA was purified from the culture supernatant through ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-Sephadex A-50, CM-Sephadex C-50 and Sephadex G-200 chromatography. The molecular weight of the intact SGA was estimated to be about 130 kDa by gel filtration chromatography with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column. Sodium dedecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis showed it was composed of two heterogeneous subunits, 63 kDa and 68 kDa. The deglycosylation of the SGA generated a new 59 kDa band on the SDS-PAGE analysis, indicating that two subunits are glycosylated but the extent of glycosylation is different between them. The optimum pH and temperature of the SGA were 5.5 and $45^{\circ}C$, respectively, whereas those for the extracellular glucoamylase were 5.0 and $50^{\circ}C$. The SGA were more sensitive to heat and SDS than the extracellular glucoamylase.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.1195-1204
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• 2015

Increasing evidence suggests that gut microbiota underpin the development of health and longevity. However, our understanding of what influences the composition of this community of the longevous has not been adequately described. Therefore, illumina sequencing analysis was performed on the gut microbiota of centenarians (aged 100-108 years; RC) and younger elderlies (aged 85-99 years; RE) living in Bama County, Guangxi, China and the elderlies (aged 80-92 years; CE) living in Nanning City, Guangxi, China. In addition, their diet was monitored using a semiquantitative dietary questionary (FFQ 23). The results revealed the abundance of Roseburia and Escherichia was significantly greater, whereas that of Lactobacillus, Faecalibacterium, Parabacteroides, Butyricimonas, Coprococcus, Megamonas, Mitsuokella, Sutterella, and Akkermansia was significantly less in centenarians at the genus level. Both clustering analysis and UniFraq distance analysis showed structural segregation with age and diet among the three populations. Using partial least square discriminate analysis and redundancy analysis, we identified 33 and 34 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) as key OTUs that were significantly associated with age and diet, respectively. Age-related OTUs were characterized as Ruminococcaceae, Clostridiaceae, and Lachnospiraceae, and the former two were increased in the centenarians; diet-related OTUs were classified as Bacteroidales, Lachnospiraceae, and Ruminococcaceae. The former two were deceased, whereas the later one was increased, in the high-fiber diet. The age and high-fiber diet were concomitant with changes in the gut microbiota of centenarians, suggesting that age and high-fiber diet can establish a new structurally balanced architecture of gut microbiota that may benefit the health of centenarians.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.23 no.1 s.72
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• pp.61-70
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• 1995

The genus Armillaria is important because they produce Gastrodia tubers. Seventy two isolates of Armillaria were obtained from fruit bodies grown on decayed wood in Korea. Twenty four isolates from Pinus koraiensis were identified as A. ostoyae. Two isolates from G. elata growing in the field were identified as A. mellea. Seven isolates from Acer ginnala and Quercus spp. were identified as A. tabescens. Thirty nine isolates were identified as A. gallica. Armillaria gallica was isolated from Quercus spp., Ainus japonica, Vitis amurensis and Prunus sargentii. Armillaria spp. isolates were divided into four groups based on the cultural characteristics. Group II (A. gallica KNU-A110) was better than the other groups for mycelial growth and rhizomorph formation. Isolate KNU-A110 proved to be good for production of G. elata tubers. This fungus forms mycelial fan in the plant tissue and rhizomorphs in contact with G. elata tubers. Gastrodia spp. was found in thirteen sites in Kangweon province in Korea. The plants were divided into three different kinds based on stem color. Plants with stems of brownish orange and greyish yellow were identified as G. elata, and those with greyish green colored stems were identified as G. gracilis. Gastrodia was collected mainly from humus soils rich in leaf debris, and slopes facing south from mid-May to mid-July. Once the new tubers are formed from the ancestry tuber, the ancestry tuber begins to decay. The offspring tuber, apparently gaining nutrients through rhizomorphs, begins to grow in length and slowly to enlarge. It takes three years for the offspring tuber to become ancestry tuber.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.5 s.85
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• pp.625-633
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• 2007

We isolated a new extracellular alginate lyase-producing microorganism, which displayed alginate-depolymerizing activity in plate assays, from coastal soils in Wando, Jeollanam-do, Korea. This alginate-depolymerizing bacterium belonged to the genus Streptomyces and it was named Streptomyces sp. MET 0515. An extracellular alginate lyase(ALY1) secreted by Streptomyces sp. MET 0515, was purified to homogeneity by a combination of acetone precipitation, anion-exchange chromatography (Q-Sepharose and DEAE-Sepharose) and Sephacryl S-200 HR gel filtration chromatography. Its molecular mass was 26 kDa as determined by SDS-PACE analysis. The enzyme had an optimal temperature of $70^{\circ}C$ for its activity, and was most active at pH 7.5. The thermal and pH stability were $0-50^{\circ}C$, and pH 6.0-9.0, respectively. The enzyme activity was stimulated by 1mM $Mn^{2+}$, and inhibited by 1mM $Fe^{3+}$, 1mM EDTA and 1mM $Zn^{2+}$. Preliminary analysis of substrate specificity showed that this alginate lyase had activity on both poly-alpha 1,4-L-guluronate and poly-beta 1,4-D-mannuronate in the alginate molecule.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.847-854
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• 2016

Cordycepin, a derivative of the nucleoside adenosine, is one of the active components extracted from fungi of genus Cordyceps, and has been shown to have many pharmacological activities. In this study, we investigated the effects of cordycepin on proliferation and apoptosis of human gastric cancer AGS cells, and its possible mechanism of action. Treatment of cordycepin resulted in significant decrease in cell viability of AGS cells in a concentration-dependent manner. A concentration-dependent apoptotic cell death was also measured by agarose gel electrophoresis and flow cytometery analysis. Molecular mechanistic studies of apoptosis unraveled cordycepin treatment resulted in an enhanced expression of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand, death receptor 5 and Fas ligand. Furthermore, up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax, and down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL expression were also observed in cordycepin-treated AGS cells. These were followed by activation of caspases (caspase-9, -8 and -3), subsequently leading to poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage. Taken together, these findings indicate that cordycepin induces apoptosis in AGS cells through regulation of multiple apoptotic pathways, including death receptor and mitochondria. Although further mechanical studies are needed, our results revealed that cordycepin can be regarded as a new effective and chemopreventive compound for human gastric cancer treatment.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.45-50
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• 1973

This study was investigated the methods of vegetative propagation for new Lespedeza varieties. Experimental matterials were used 6 Lespedeza species; L. maximowiczii, L. cyrtobotrya, L. angustifolioides, L. bicolor, L. maximowiczii var. tomentella, and L. japonica var. intermedia. In April a year branches were cut 15-20cm length and 3-4mm thickness and planted in sand bed (depth 150cm) to be sterilized by the 0.1% solution of Uspulun. And then the cutting beds were irrigated and shaded. The results are as follows. 1. The rooting rates of the cuttings could be found so variable among varieties from 69% of L. maximowiczii var. tomentella to 50.3% of L. japonica var. intermedia. 2. The growth performance showed statistically significant difference at 1% level among varieties. L. maximowiczii was the best, while L. japonica var. intermedia showed the wrost growth performance of them. 3. The average number of roots with more than 5 cm length per stock was revealed statistically significant difference at the 1% level among varieties from the greatest number of 6.4 of L. maximowiczii var. tomentella to the smallest number of 2.3 of L. japonica var. intermedia. 4. Total average length of the roots per stock was statistically significant so different at 1% level from the longest 279.8cm of L. maximowiczii var. tomentella to the shortest 41.1cm of L. japonica var. intermedia. 5. The average ndules with more than 1 mm in diameter per stock was statistically significant so different at 1% level among varieties from the greatest number of 34.4 of L. maximowcizii to the smallest numqer of 4.6 of L. japonica var. intermedia.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.63-73
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• 2009

$Iso{\ddot{e}}tes$ L. ($Iso{\ddot{e}}taceae$) is difficult to identify among the infrageneric taxa because of morphological simplicity. Since two species (I. japonica and I. coreana) had been reported, I. jejuensis and I. hallasanensis were described as two new species from Jeju Island, South Korea. The habitats of all species were confirmed by current studies except for I. japonica. We compared the morphological and anatomical characters of seven species, three domestic species and four species in adjacent regions (I. taiwanensis, I. sinensis, I. japonica, and I. asiatica). I. asiatica differs from other species in the lobe number of corm, spreading sporophylls, lack of stomata and degree of velum development. All of the seven species were identified by the characteristics of their mega- and microspores. Especially, it was possible to identify the four species in South Korea by the types of ornamentation on their megaspores. Each species has a specific type of megaspore ornamentation: I. coreana - cristate, I. jejuensis - rugulate, I. hallasanensis - echinate, and I. japonica - reticulate. We also discussed the phylogeny of the genus in East Asia in relation to recent studies based on the second intron of LEAFY sequence and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis. We suggest strategies for the conservation of the endangered $Iso{\ddot{e}}tes$ species in South Korea.