• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.209-212
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• 1999

For the classification of B. burgdorferi sensu lato strains, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis was performed. PCR was carried out with B. burgdorferi sensu lato specific primer set (BB uni set), and amplicons of 470-bp DNA were digested with Alu 1. The Alu I restriction polymorphism of the amplicons provided a useful tool for identifying B. burgdorferi sensu late strains. Both amplicons from B. burgdorferi sensu stricto and B. garinii except HPI strain showed identical RFLP pattern (50 bp, 70 bp, and 150 bp), but amplicons from B. afzelii and B. garinii showed two types of subgroups, respectively. The result of PCR-RFLP using extracted DNAs from ticks was similar to those patterns of B. burgdorferi species including B. afzelii.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.133-139
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• 2008

Molecular techniques, including restriction fragment length polymorphism(RFLP) and polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformational polymorph isms(PCR-SSCP), were developed to identify salted, dried threadfin(Eleutheronema tetradactylum) and white herring(Ilisha elongata) fish. Using PCR with universal primers, conserved 367-bp fragments of the cytochrome b gene were amplified from fresh fish samples and sequenced. The sequences were then searched for specific restriction sites. The digestion of the PCR products with the endonucleases AvaI, FokI, MboII, and MspI generated RFLP, which was used to identify the commercial products. Similarly, the amplified PCR-SSCP products were developed and the products tested. Overall, similar patterns were found in the majority of the fresh and processed products. Based on the results, both RFLP and PCR-SSCP were useful in determining and validating the authenticity of the fish species used to prepare the commercial salted, dried products. A similar approach can be applied to other species.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.158-165
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• 2006

Although Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains remain responsible for the majority of diseases caused by mycobacterial infections worldwide, the increase in HIV infections has allowed for the emergence of other non-tuberculous mycobacteria as clinically significant pathogens. However, Mycobacterium species has a long period of incubation, and requires serious biochemical tests such as niacin, catalase, and nitrate test that are often tedious. The development of rapid and accurate diagnostics can aid in the early diagnosis of disease caused by Mycobacterium. The current DNA amplification and hybridization methods that have been developed target several genes for the detection of mycobacterial species such as hps65, 16S rDNA, rpoB, and dnaj. These methods produce rapid and accurate results. In this study, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis(PCR-RFLP) based on the region of the rpoB gene was used to verify the identification of non-tuburculosis Mycobacterium species. A total of 8 mycobacterial reference strains and 13 clinical isolates were digested with restriction enzymes such as Msp I in this study. The results of using this process clearly demonstrated that all 13 specimens were identified by rpoB gene PRA method. The PCR-RFLP method based on the rpoB gene is a simple, rapid, and accurate test for the identification of Mycobacterium.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.130-135
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• 2004

The marine dinoflagellate genus Alexandrium, which produces PSP toxins, has a global distribution. As human-assisted dispersal of the species has been suggested, it is important to develop molecular tools to trace the dispersal pathway. To screen population-specific DNA sequences that differentiate Korean and Japanese A. catenella, we targeted the area downstream of the chloroplast psbA gene using PCR with population-specific DNA primers followed by RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) analysis and sequencing. The RFLP patterns of the PCR products divided Korean and Japanese A. catenella regional isolates into three types: Korean, Japanese, and type CMC3, isolated from Korea. We sequenced the PCR products, but found no similar gene in a homology search. The molecular phylogeny inferred from the sequences separated the Korean and Japanese A. catenella strains, as did the RFLP patterns. However, the Japanese isolates included two slightly different sequences (types J and K), while the Korean sequence was the same as the Japanese K type. In addition, a unique sequence was found in the Korean strains CMC2 and CMC3. Population-specific PCR amplification with Japanese A. catenella type-specific PCR primers designed from the type J sequence yielded PCR products for Japanese strains only, showing that the unknown gene can be used for a population analysis of Korean and Japanese A. catenella.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.15-21
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• 2002

Terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis has been optimized by using in vitro model community composed of genomic DNAs of known bacterial strains and has been applied to assess the bacterial community structure in marine sediments. The specific fluorescence-labeled terminal restriction fragments (T-RFs) between 39 and 839 base long specifying each strain were precisely measured for known bacterial strains. The addition of a co-solvent (dimethylsulfoxide or glycerol) into PCR reactions has reduced differential PCR amplification. Comparative bacterial community structure was investigated for pristine and polluted sediments. A complex T-RFLP pattern showing complex bacterial community structure was obtained in the pristine sediment, whereas simple T-RFLP pattern (low bacterial diversity) was shown in polluted sediments where caged aquaculture has been conducted for several years. The results of T-RFLP analysis were compared with that of cloning and sequencing 16S rDNA clones from the same sediments. Sequence analysis of 16S rDNA clones (72) of the pristine sediment revealed a diverse collection of lineages, largely of the class Proteobacteria ($6\%$ alpha subdivision, $46\%$ gamma subdivision, $13\%$ delta subdivision, and $3\%$ epsilon subdivision), Nitrospina $(8\%)$, high G+C gram positive $(8\%)$, Verrucomicrobia $(7\%)$, and Planctomycetes $(6\%)$. In the contaminated sediments, 17 $(59\%)$ of the 16S rDNA clones (29) were related to Campylobacter and symbiont of Rimicaris exoculata belonging to epsilon subdivision of Proteobacteria. The results obtained indicated that T-RFLP analysis is a rapid and precise technique for comparative bacterial community analysis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1170-1177
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• 2005

Terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis was used to monitor inoculated oil-degrading microorganisms during bioremedial treatability tests. A pair of universal primers, fluorescently labeled 521F and 1392R, was employed to amplify small subunit rDNA in order to simultaneously detect two bacterial strains, Corynebacterium sp. IC10 and Sphingomonas sp. KH3-2, and a yeast strain, Yarrowia lipolytica 180. Digestion of the 5'-end fluorescence/labeled PCR products with HhaI produced specific terminal-restriction fragments (T-RFs) of 185 and 442 bases, corresponding to Corynebacterium sp. IC10 and Y. lipolytica 180, respectively. The enzyme NruI produced a specific T-RF of 338 bases for Sphingomonas sp. KH3-2. The detection limit for oildegrading microorganisms that were inoculated into natural environments was determined to be $0.01\%$ of the total microbial count, regardless of the background environment. When three oil-degrading microorganisms were released into oil-contaminated sand microenvironments, strains IC10 and 180 survived for 35 days after inoculation, whereas strain KH3-2 was detected at 8 days, but not at 35 days. This result implies that T-RFLP could be a useful tool for monitoring the survival and relative abundance of specific microbial strains inoculated into contaminated environments.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.66-73
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• 2000

To investigate the genetic relationship among 12 species belonging to the Fusarium section Martiella, Dlaminia, Gibbosum, Arthrosporiella, Liseola and Elegans, the internal transcribed spacer(ITS) regions of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) were amplified with primer pITS1 and pITS4 using the polymerase chain reaction(PCR). After the amplified products were digested with 7 restriction enzymes, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns were analyzed. The partial nucleotide sequences of the ITS region were determined and compared. Little variation was observed in the size of the amplified product having sizes of 550bp or 570bp. Based on the RFLP analysis, the 12 species studied were divided into 5 RFLP types. In particular, strains belonging to the section Martiella were separated into three RFLP types. Interestingly, the RFLP type of F. solani f. sp. piperis was identical with that of isolates belonging to the section Elegans. In the dendrogram derived from RFLP analysis of the ITS region, the Fusarium spp. examined were divided into two major groups. In general, section Martiella excluding F. solani f. sp. piperis showed relatively low similarity with the other section. The dendrogram based on the sequencing analysis of the ITS2 region also gave the same results as that of the RFLP analysis. As expected, 5.8S, a coding region, was highly conserved, whereas the ITS2 region was more variable and informative. The difference in the ITS2 region between the length of F. solani and its formae speciales excluding F. solani f. sp. piperis and that of other species was caused by the insertion/deletion of nucleotides in positions 143-148 and 179-192.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.888-891
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• 2008

Twenty-three fungal strains were isolated from meju that had originated from the Sunchang province, the famous location for making fermented soybean foods in Korea. The restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rDNA (ITS-RFLP) was applied to differentiate the isolated fungal strains. First, the ITS region by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers was amplified and then cleaved the products with different restriction enzymes. Cleavage of the amplified fragments with the restriction enzymes AluI, HaeIII, HhaI, and TaqI revealed extensive polymorphisms. The ITS-RFLP results highly correlated with ITS sequence analysis. All of the 23 fungal strains were classified into 5 groups by ITS-RFLP analysis. Aspergillus oryzae was the major fungal strain isolated from Sunchang meju (12 out of 23), while Aspergillus fumigatus was the next most frequently isolated strain (7 out of 23). In contrast, it was found that Fusarium asiaticum, Aspergillus sydowii, and Arthrinium sp. were the minor fungal strains in meju.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.104-110
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• 1999

Field infectious bursal disease viruses (IBDVs) were isolated from IBDV-suspected commercial chickens. The variable region in VP2 gene of six Korean IBDV isolates (K-IBDVs) and IBD vaccines was examined using the reverse transcriptase / polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RT/PCR-RFLP) assay. With all K-IBDVs and vaccine IBDVs, a 474-bp fragment of the VP2 gene was amplified and tested with various restriction enzymes. Restriction enzymes BstNI and StyI differentiated K-IBDV isolates and IBD vaccines into four groups. Restriction enzyme profiles of K-IBDV isolates were different from them of IBD vaccines. K-IBDV isolates except for 310 isolate had specific SspI and TaqI recognition sites, which were recognized in highly virulent IBDVs, but IBD vaccines had no those sites. This study showed that RT/PCR-RFLP assay was thought to be valuable tool for differentiation of IBDVs and identification of highly virulent IBDV.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.561-571
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• 1999

Diagnosis of mycobacterial infection is dependent upon the isolation and identification of causative agents. The procedures involved are time consuming and technically demanding. To improve the laborious identification process mycobacterial systematics supported by gene analysis is feasible, being particularly useful for slowly growing or uncultivable mycobacteria. To complement genetic analysis for the differentiation and identification of mycobacterial species, an alternative marker gene, rpoB encoding the ${\beta}$ subunit of RNA polymerase, was investigated. rpoB DNAs (342 bp) were amplified from 52 reference strains of mycobacteria including Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv (ATCC 27294) and clinical isolates by the PCR. The nucleotide sequences were directly determined (306 bp) and aligned using the multiple alignment algorithm in the MegAlign package (DNASTAR) and MEGA program. A phylogenetic tree was constructed with a neighborhood joining method. Comparative sequence analysis of rpoB DNA provided the basis for species differentiation. By being grouped into species-specific clusters with low sequence divergence among strains belonging to same species, all the clinical isolates could be easily identified. Furthermore RFLP analysis enabled rapid identification of clinical isolates.