• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제3권4호
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• pp.172-174
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• 2005

Recent anti-cancer approaches have been based to target tumor-specifically associated and/or causative molecules such as RNAs or proteins. As this specifically targeted anti-cancer modulator, we have previously described a novel human cancer gene therapeutic agent that is Tetrahymena group I intron-based trans-splicing ribozyme which can reprogram and replace human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) RNA to selectively induce tumor-specific cytotoxicity in cancer cells expressing the target RNA. Moreover, the specific ribozyme has been shown to efficiently retard tumor tissues in xenograft mice which had been inoculated with hTERT-expressing human cancer cells. In this study, we assessed specificity of trans-splicing reaction in cells to evaluate the therapeutic feasibility of the specific ribozyme. In order to analyze the trans-spliced products by the specific ribozyme in hTERT-positive cells, RT, 5'-end RACE-PCR, and sequencing reactions of the spliced RNAs were employed. Then, whole analyzed products resulted from reactions only with the hTERT RNA. This study suggested that the developed ribozyme perform highly specific RNA replacement of the target RNA in cells, hence trans-splicing ribozyme will be one of specific agents for genetic approach to revert cancer.

• BMB Reports
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• 제42권8호
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• pp.493-499
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• 2009

MicroRNAs (miRs) are a family of small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression by targeting mRNAs in a sequence specific manner, inducing translational repression or mRNA degradation. In this paper we have first analyzed by microarray the miR-profile in erythroid precursor cells from one normal and two thalassemic patients expressing different levels of fetal hemoglobin (one of them displaying HPFH phenotype). The microarray data were confirmed by RT-PCR analysis, and allowed us to identify miR-210 as an highly expressed miR in the erythroid precursor cells from the HPFH patient. When RT-PCR was performed on mithramycin-induced K562 cells and erythroid precursor cells, miR-210 was found to be induced in time-dependent and dose-dependent fashion, together with increased expression of the fetal $\gamma$-globin genes. Altogether, the data suggest that miR-210 might be involved in increased expression of $\gamma$-globin genes in differentiating erythroid cells.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• 제3권4호
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• pp.221-226
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• 2022

A filarial nematode was found in a blood sample of an Anas falcata individual collected in South Korea in 2018. Phylogenetic analysis based on partial cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences placed the nematode as a novel genus of the family Onchocercidae and as closely related to Mansonella species, Chandlerella quiscali, and filarial nematodes recently reported in avian species. However, different phylogenetic relationship was observed in the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 and 12S rRNA-based phylogenetic trees, which might indicate the filarial nematode found in this study was not defined to belong to the known specific genera of the family Onchocercidae. The screening of 105 additional avian blood samples retrieved only one 12S rRNA-targeting polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive sample, which indicates that filarial nematode infection is rare in wild birds or that it occurs below the detection limit of PCR in blood samples. Nevertheless, considering the recent findings about ancient interactions between birds and human pathogenic filarial nematodes and their pathogenic potential in several avian species, additional exploration of novel filarial nematodes in wild birds remains necessary.

• 한국어병학회지
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• 제36권2호
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• pp.303-310
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• 2023

Yellow goosefish (Lophius litulon) is one of the important commercial fisheries target species in Korea, and commonly consumed as braised or stew. The microsporidian Spraguea is known to infect the nervous system of lophiid fish, forming numerous visible whitish xenomas. This parasite is commonly found in lophiid fish worldwide, but there is no information on the infection status of this parasite in Korea. We obtained commercially available chopped packs of lophiid fish from several fish markets and investigated their prevalence of infection. The isolated xenomas were crushed and purified as mature spore suspension. Microscopic observation and PCR were conducted to visualize and identify them. The host fish was also identified by DNA bar cording analysis. All the specimens were heavily infected and microscopic observation with Giemsa or Chromotrope 2R stain revealed tiny oval shapes of typical microsporidian spores. PCR analysis targeting the partial SSU rDNA showed that our specimen belongs to the genus Spraguea clade. But clear identification at the species level was not possible, due to the insufficient information of gene sequences available in GenBank. In addition, all of our host fish specimen was identified as yellow goosefish. This is the first report of a microsporidian parasite Spraguea infection in yellow goosefish from Korea.

• 한국식품과학회지
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• 제42권3호
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• pp.355-360
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• 2010

V. parahaemolyticus는 국내에서 여름과 가을철에 걸쳐 발생되며 생선이나 패류 등의 해산식품을 날것으로 섭취하거나 불완전하게 익혀 먹을 경우 식중독을 일으키는 병원균이다. 본 연구의 목적은 표준 검출기법인 배지배양법을 이용한 V. parahaemolyticus의 검출과 real-time PCR을 이용한 V. parahaemolyticus의 검출에 있어서 그 유효성과 효율성을 검증하는 것이다. V. parahaemolyticus의 발생기록과 발생가능성이 있는 여러 해산식품과 무순에 적절한 균량을 접종하고 APW로 증균배양하였다. 증균배양이 끝난 후 TCBS선택배지에 배양액을 획선도말하고, 동시에 증균배양액에서 1 mL을 채취하여 real-time PCR을 실시하였다. TCBS에서 초록색이 나온 집락을 1-3개 선별하여 TSI 배지에 접종하여 screening test를 거친 후 API 20NE strip을 사용하여 확인동정하였다. 또한 정상세균총이 목적균의 성장과 검출에 어느 정도의 영향을 미치는지 평가하기 위하여 25 g의 식품 내 정상세균총의 수준을 함께 측정하였다. 실험결과, 자체 제작한 real-time PCR 서열은 V. parahaemolyticus를 특이적으로 검출할 수 있었고 검출 한계는 PBS에서 $10^3\;CFU/mL$ 였다. 또한, 식품 내 정상세균총이 높을 경우 증균배양 시 목적균의 성장에 영향을 미칠 수 있다는 것을 확인하였다. Real-time PCR은 180개의 전체 샘플 중 76개의 양성 결과를 보여 66개의 양성 결과를 낸 배지배양법에 비해 더 많은 양성 검출율을 보였으나 통계학적인 유의차는 발견되지 않았다. Real-time PCR은 표준검출법인 배지배양법과 비교해 볼 때 동등하거나 우수한 검출력을 지닌 것으로 보이며 이러한 realtime PCR법은 24시간 이내에 확정동정까지 가능하여 시간과 노동력의 소모가 많은 배지배양법에 앞서 선별검사로 사용할 경우 시간, 비용, 노동력 절감에 매우 유효할 것으로 판단된다.

• 한국축산식품학회지
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• 제33권5호
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• pp.610-616
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• 2013

본 연구에서는 영유아에게 치명적인 감염을 일으키는 C. sakazakii에 대하여 LAMP 검출법을 개발하였다. LAMP법에 의한 C. sakazakii의 검출율은 100%였으며 13개의 음성 지표군에 대해서는 모두 음성 반응을 보여 특이도가 매우 높은 것으로 판단되었다. 또한, HhaI과 NruI 두 개의 제한 효소를 LAMP product에 반응시킨 결과, 유전자의 특정 염기서열이 절단되는 것을 확인하였으며, 이를 통해 LAMP 검출법에 의해 증폭된 DNA가 C. sakazakii-specific ompA임을 확인하였다. 조제분유에 오염 된 C. sakazakii를 LAMP법으로 검출 시 검출한계는 $10^0$ CFU/mL이었으며 이는 기존의 PCR법이나 real-time PCR법에 비해 100-10,000배 높은 수준으로 민감도가 매우 높은 것으로 판단되었다. 이와 같이 높은 특이도와 민감도를 가진 LAMP 검출법은 C. sakazakii와 같은 급성 기회 감염균이나 병원성 미생물에 의한 식중독 발생시 현장에서 병원체를 간편하고 신속하게 검출할 수 있는 기술로 기대된다.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• 제36권4호
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• pp.384-391
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• 2009

Previously, two events (H15 and B20) of transgenic pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) that enhanced resistance to Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) by the introduction of CMV coat protein (CP) gene were constructed. Presently, a single copy number of the CP gene was revealed in H15 and B20 by Southern blot. To predict possible unintended effects due to transgene insertion in an endogenous gene, we carried out sequencing of the 5'-flanking region of the CP gene and a Blastbased search. The results revealed that insertion of the transgene into genes encoding putative proteins may occur in the H15 and B20 transgenic event. Mutiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for simultaneous detection and identification of transgenic pepper was conducted with a set of nine primers. Both transgenic event were differentiated from non-transgenic event by the presence of 267 bp and 430 bp PCR products indicative of CP gene specific primer pairs and primer pairs targeting the CP gene and 35S promoter. H15 and B20 uniquely possessed a 390 bp and 596 bp PCR product, respectively. The presence of a 1115 bp product corresponding to intrinsic pepper actin gene confirmed the use of pepper DNA as the PCR template. The primer set and PCR conditions used presently may allow the accurate and simple identification of CMV resistant transgenic pepper.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제16권10호
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• pp.1561-1569
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• 2006

Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) is one of the most frequently used methods for analysis of soil microbial community structure. Unbiased PCR amplification of target DNA templates is crucial for efficient detection of multiple microbial populations mixed in soil. In this study, DGGE profiles were compared using different pairs of primers targeting different hypervariable regions of thirteen representative soil bacteria and clones. The primer set (1070f-1392r) for the E. coli numbering 1,071-1,391 region could not resolve all the 16S rDNA fragments of the representative bacteria and clones, and moreover, yielded spurious bands in DGGE profiles. For the E. coli numbering 353-514 region, various forward primers were designed to investigate the efficiency of PCR amplification. A degenerate forward primer (F357IW) often yielded multiple bands for a certain single 16S rDNA fragment in DGGE analysis, whereas nondegenerate primers (338f, F338T2, F338I2) differentially amplified each of the fragments in the mixture according to the position and the number of primer-template mismatches. A forward primer (F352T) designed to have one internal mismatch commonly with all the thirteen 16S rDNA fragments efficiently produced and separated all the target DNA bands with similar intensities in the DGGE profiles. This primer set F352T-519r consistently yielded the best DGGE banding profiles when tested with various soil samples. Touchdown PCR intensified the uneven amplification, and lowering the annealing temperature had no significant effect on the DGGE profiles. These results showed that PCR amplification bias could be much improved by properly designing primers for use in fingerprinting soil bacterial communities with the DGGE technique.

• 한국양식학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국양식학회 2003년도 추계학술발표대회 논문요약집
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• pp.134-135
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• 2003

The geographic expansion of the toxic dinoflagellates genus Alexandrium has been shown to be world wide ranging. The members of the genus Alexandrium ocnstituted of 20-30 species did not show substantial differences in their morphology, which is mostly referred in the 'tamarensis species complex', except some species. Though rDNA sequences variations are very few and pseudogene types are so diverse that it is difficult to use them as the specific markers. In this study, we outlined Korean and Japanese A, tamarense and A. catenella regional isolates by phylogenetic analysis inferred from no cutting alignments of LSU rDNA D1-D2 and SSU rDNA sequences to group these regional isolates. The results were compared to RFLP patterns of PCR products targeted chloroplast DNA. Lastly screening of highly repeated microsatellite DNA which is frequently used for population analysis in eukaryotes was conducted. A. catenella regional strains identified by the sequencing of rDNA D1-D2 domain were divided into at least 3 groups of type E, CMC and Chinese type, divergence root may not be deep comparing with that of A. tamarense whose pseudogenes are very variable. Results of RFLP pattern and the phylogeny of the unknown gene targeting chloroplast showed that Korean and Japanese A. catenella regional isolates were divided into 3 types: Korean, Japanese and the third CMC types. Population-specific PCR amplification with Japanese A. catenella type-specific PCR primers was useful method for population analysis of A. catenella. Various types of satellite sequences such as 5 nucleotides repeats were obtained from A. tamarense and A. catenella. The 5 nucleotides repeats were primed at the both 3'and 5' ends, and these repeats were prominent as longer repeated motifs. This repeated DNA was intercalated as internal sequences containing various types subrepeats. It is expected that these satellite DNA would be a useful molecular population marker through detail comparison among Alexandrium regional isolates to trace their transferring pathway and to prevent their human-associated their regional extents.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.355-361
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• 2011

We evaluated the performance of the NOW $Streptococcus$ $pneumoniae$ urinary antigen test, standard culture and polymerase chain reaction for detecting $S.$ $pneumoniae$. The urinary antigen test of pneumonia patients represented sensitivity at 72% and specificity at 79%. The results of PCR were targeting for autolysin ($lyt$A), pneumolysin ($ply$), and spn9828. The $lyt$A sensitivity and specificity stood at 56% and 87% respectively while $ply$ sensitivity reported 83% and specificity was 47%, sensitivity and specificity of spn9828 stood at 83% and 73% respectively. The results of urinary antigen test and three genes were all statistically meaningful within $P$ <0.05. When the urinary antigen test of $S.$ $pneumoniae$ was positive, the three kinds of genes were also likely to be positive. According to the result of urinary antigen test, the results of PCR presented a meaningful difference ($P$ <0.05). Especially, the urinary antigen test of $S.$ $pneumoniae$ was likely to be positive ($P$ <0.05) when more than two genes were positive in PCR results.