• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.427-434
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• 2017

Species that belong to the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-baumannii (Acb) complex are major causes of hospital-acquired infections. They are important opportunistic pathogens. These species are usually multidrug resistant (MDR), and the therapeutic options to treat the infections caused by these species are limited. In the present study, we investigated fluoroquinolone resistance mechanisms in 53 ciprofloxacin resistant Acinetobacter species isolates in Chungcheong, Korea. Antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined using the disk-diffusion method. Detections of genes and identification of mutations associated with fluoroquinolone resistance were carried out using PCR and DNA sequencing. In our study, 47 out of 53 ciprofloxacin resistant Acinetobacter isolates harbored sense mutations at the 83rd residue (serine to leucine) in the gyrA gene as well as at the 80th residue (serine to leucine) in the parC gene. Among the 47 isolates harboring sense mutations in gyrA and parC gene, 44 isolates were A. baumannii and 3 isolates were A. pittii. Plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) determinants were detected in isolates in our study. Among the 46 ciprofloxacin resistant A. baumannii isolates, 41 showed type A, B, or F banding patterns on their REP-PCR profiles. This result suggests that clonal relation and horizontal spreading of the bacterial isolates have been around hospitals in Chungcheong area. To prevent colonization and disseminations of fluoroquinolone resistance Acb complex isolates, continuous investigation and monitoring of antimicrobial resistant determinants of MDR isolates are needed.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.93-97
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• 2008

RraA is a recently discovered protein inhibitor that regulates the enzymatic activity of RNase E, which plays a major role in the decay and processing of RNAs in Escherichia coli. It has also been shown to regulate the activity of RNase ES, a functional Streptomyces coelicolor ortholog of RNase E, which has 36% identity to the amino-terminal region of RNase E. There are two open reading frames in S. coelicolor genome that can potentially encode proteins having more than 35.4% similarity to the amino acid sequence of RraA. DNA fragment encoding one of these RraA orthologs, designated as RraAS2 here, was amplified and cloned in to E. coli vector to test whether it has ability to regulate RNase E activity in E. coli cells. Co-expression of RraAS2 partially rescued E. coli cells over-producing RNase E from growth arrest, although not as efficiently as RraA, induced by the increased ribonucleolytic activity in the cells. The copy number of ColEl-type plasmid in these cells was also decreased by 14% compared to that in cells over-producing RNase E only, indicating the ability of RraAS2 to inhibit RNase E action on RNA I. We observed that the expression level of RraAS2 was lower than that of RraA by 4.2 folds under the same culture condition, suggesting that because of inefficient expression of RraAS2 in E. coli cells, co-expression of RraAS2 was not efficiently able to inhibit RNase E activity to the level for proper processing and decay of all RNA species that is required to restore normal cellular growth to the cells over-producing RNase E.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.340-347
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• 1995

We have used two kinds of P element constructs, Pc[(ry+)B] and p[(ry+)$\Delta$SX9], for genetic transformation by microinjection of D. melanogaster. Pc[(ry+)B] construct carrying the rosy gene within an autonomous P element was injected into a true M strain caring the ry506. mutation. The source of transposase for microinjection and transformation was provided by a P element helper plasmid designated p-$\Delta$2-3hs$\pi$, which was co-injected with nonautonomous P[(ry+)$\Delta$SX9] construct into same ry506 M strains. A dechorination method was adopted and 35 independent transformed lines were obtained froin 1143 G0 Injected (35/1143). About 20% of the injected embryos eclosed as adults. Among G0 eclosed flies, approximately 40% exhibited eye color that was similar to wild-type (ry+), but about 60% of fertile G0 transformed lines appeared to have no G1 transformants. Therefore it is unlikely that G0 expression requires integration of the rosy transposon into chromosomes. Pc[(ry+)B] and P[(ry+)$\Delta$SX9] constructs were found to be nearly same in the frequency of element-mediated transformation. On the basis of these results, nonautonomous P elements constructs could he used as same effective vectors in P element-mediated transformation for introducing and fixing genes in insect populations.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 1994.06a
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• pp.11-26
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• 1994

Crown gall of stonefruit and nut trees is one of the very few plant diseases subject to efficient biological control. The disease is caused by the soil-inhabiting bacteria Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Agrobacterium rhizogenes and the original control organism was a non-pathogenic isolate of A. rhizogenes strain K84. Control is achieved by dipping planting material in a cell suspension of strain K84 which specifically inhibits pathogenic strains containing a nopaline Ti plasmid. Because the agrocin 84-encoding plasmid (pAgK84) is conjugative, it can be transmitted from the control strain to pathogenic strains which, as a result, become immune to agrocin 84 and cannot be controlled. To prevent this happening, the transfer genes on pAgK84 were located and then largely eliminated by recombinant DNA technology. The resulting construct, strain K1026, is transfer deficient but controls crown gall just as effectively as does strain K84. Field data from Spain confirm that pAgK84 can transfer to pathogenic recipients from strain K84 but not from strain K1026. The latter has been registered in Australia as a pesticide and is the first genetically engineered organism in the world to be released fro commercial use. It is recommended as a replacement for strain K84 to prevent a breakdown in the effectiveness of biological control of crown gall. Several reports indicate that both strains K84 and K1026 sometimes control crown gall pathogens that are resistant to agrocin 84. A possible reason for this is that both strains produce a second antibiotic called 434 which inhibits growth of nearly all isolates of A. rhizogenes, both pathogens and non-pathogens. Crown gall of grapevine is caused by another species, Agrobacterium vitis. It is resistant to agrocin 84 and cannot be controlled by strains K84 or K1026. It is different from other crown gall pathogens in several characteristics, including the fact that, although a rhizosphere coloniser, its also lives systemically in the vascular tissue of grapevine. Pathogen free propagating material can be obtained from tissue culture or, less surely, by heat therapy of dormant cuttings. A number of laboratories are searching for a biocontrol strain that will prevent, or at least delay, reinfection. A non-pathogenic A. vitis strain F/25 from South Africa looks very promising in this regard.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.64-70
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• 2019

Dirofilaria immitis (D. immitis) is a filarial nematode that causes cardiopulmonary dirofilariasis in dogs. In the late stages of infection, infected dogs show one or more symptoms and advanced heart disorder with perivascular inflammation. To detect D. immitis specifically and efficiently in the early stages of infection, a duplex TaqMan qPCR assay was developed based on previous studies using primers and probes specialized to detect D. immitis cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and dog glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). As positive controls, plasmid DNAs were constructed from D. immitis COI or dog GAPDH and a TA-cloning vector. Simplex and duplex TaqMan qPCR assays were performed using the specific primers, probes, and genomic or plasmid DNA. The duplex reaction developed could detect D. immitis COI and dog GAPDH in the same sample simultaneously after optimization of the primer concentrations. The limit of detection was 25 copies for the simplex and duplex assays, and both showed good linearity, high sensitivity, and excellent PCR efficiency. The duplex assays for pathogen detection reduce the costs, labor, and time compared to simplex reactions. Therefore, the duplex TaqMan qPCR assay developed herein will allow efficient D. immitis detection and quantification from a large number of samples simultaneously.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2001.03a
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• pp.52-52
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• 2001

Many nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinases are ubiquitous enzymes responsible for the exchange of ${\gamma}$-phosphates between tri- and diphosphonucleosides. The catalytic Many nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinases are ubiquitous enzymes responsible for the exchange of ${\gamma}$-phosphates between tri- and diphosphonucleosides. The catalytic reaction follows a ping-pong mechanism in which the enzyme is transiently phosphorylated on a histidine residue conserved in all nucleoside diphosphate kinases. Beside their role in nucleotide synthesis, these enzymes present additional functions, possibly independent of catalysis, in processes such as differentiation, cell growth, tumor progression, metastasis and development. To clone murine nm23-M5, several expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of the GenBank data base, selected according to their homology to nm23-H5 cDNA, reconstituted a complete open reading frame (GenBank AF222750). To test whether murine NDPKs (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) can inhibit Bax-mediated toxicity in yeast, co-transformation was performed respectively. The yeast S.cerevisiae was transformed with a copy expression plasmid containing the histidine selection marker and expressing murine Bax under the control of a galactose-inducible promoter. Several clones were selected and found to be growth inhibited when Bax expression was induced with galactose. A representative clone was transformed again with a copy expression plasmid containing the tryptophane selection marker and expressing either murine Bcl-xL or NDPK under the control of a galactose-inducible promoter. Several subclones of the double-transformants were selected and characterized. The ability of Bcl-xL and NDPKs to suppress Bax-mediated toxicity was determined by growing yeast cells overnight in galactose media and spot-testing on galactose plates starting with an equal number of yeast cells as determined by taking the OD$_{600}$. Ten-fold serial dilutions were used in the spot-test. Plates were grown at 3$0^{\circ}C$ for 2-3 days. All murine NDPKs suppressed Bax dependent apoptosis. Futher study will be peformed whether Bax-toxicity inhibition was caused by NDP kinase activity or additional function.n.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.575-580
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• 2017

This study analyzed the effects of RGG box of hnRNP A1 on its subcellular localization and stabilization of hnRNP A1 over a three year period from October 2014. First, a 6R/K mutation in RGG box was generated, and pcDNA1-HA-hnRNP A1(6R/K) was constructed. The subcellular localization of hnRNP A1(6R/K) from the HeLa cells transfected with this plasmid DNA was analyzed by immunofluorescence microscopy. HA-hnRNP A1(6R/K) was found to exhibit nuclear and cytoplasmic fluorescence. The stability of hnRNP A1(6R/K) was checked by Western blot analysis using the expressed protein from the HeLa cells transfected with the pcDNA1-HA-hnRNP A1(6R/K). The results show that HA-hnRNP A1(6R/K) has a smaller size. These confirm that HA-hnRNP A1(6R/K) is localized both in the nuclear and cytoplasm, not because 6R/K mutation affects the nuclear localization of hnRNP A1, but because 6R/K mutation causes hnRNP A1(6R/K) to cleave at the mutation or near the mutation site. The cleaved protein fragment, which lacks the M9 domain (i.e. nuclear localization signal of hnRNP A1), did not exhibit nuclear fluorescence. This suggests that the arginines of RGG box in hnRNP A1 play an important role in stabilizing hnRNP A1. An analysis of the RNA-binding ability of hnRNP A1(6R/K) expressed and purified from bacteria will be a subsequent research project.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.463-472
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• 1998

Biotechnology is the process of using biological system for the production of materials. Genetic engineering, a subset of biotechnology, is the process of altering biological systems by the purposeful manipulation of DNA It is a new field in biology and no topic in biology is more likely to impact our personal lives and is therefore more worthy of our attention and understanding. The purpose of this study was to investigate students' understanding of the concepts of biotechnology, and a test tool which is made up of 20 basic questions was developed for the study. The subject of this study was high school students and the sample size was 486. In order to find out the source of students' misunderstanding, we also analysed high school textbooks and teachers were given the same tool applied to students. Two-way ANOVA was used for the analysis. Major findings of this study are as following; 1. Mean score of students was 41, and there was a significant difference between the scores of boys and girls(p<0.05). Female students scored higher than male students. The variables "region" and "major" had no significant influence. 2. Students' the most misunderstood concepts were "monoclonal antibody" and "gene cloning". Many students thought that a plamid DNA originally has a useful DNA in it, which is apparently wrong. 3. Mean score of teachers was 82, and the variabes of gender and career did not have statistically significant influence on the result(p>0.05). 4. Teachers got the lowest scores on the concepts of "gene therapy", "the accomplishment of biotechnology in agriculture and medicine", and "plasmid DNA". The results of item analysis implied that teachers' misunderstanding might be a part of the sources of students' misunderstaning. 5. Out of 18 basic concepts selected in the study, only 10 concepts were explained well enough in most textbooks. The results of item analysis indicated that textbooks also could be a part of the source of students' misunderstanding.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.19-23
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• 2001

Two B. thuringiensis strains, which possess mosquitocidal activities, were isolated from Korean soil samples and named K-1205-1 and K-1381-1. Serological studies indicated that K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 belonged to B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (H3a3b3c) and subsp. aizawai (H7), respectively. K-1205-1 produced typical bipyramidal parasporal inclusions, but K-1381-1 produced irregular bipyramidal shape. Total plasmid DNA patterns analysis shewed that K-1205-1 and K- 1381-1 were different from their reference strains, subsp. kurstaki and subsp. aizawai, respectively, in high molecules, whereas their crystal protein patterns showed no difference. The cry gene contents of K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 were identical with those of the reference strains. Mosquitocidal activities of crystal proteins produced by K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 were significantly high by about 40-50 folds at $LC_50$ when compared to those of subsp. kurstaki and subsp. aizawai. Finally, in southern blot analysis using cry1A-type specific probe, K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 had different bands from subsp. kurstaki and subsp. aizawai, respectively. In conclusion, our results suggest that K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 appear to be new moquitocidal B. thuringiensis strains isolated from Korean soil.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.107-112
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• 2005

A high environmental temperature affects the economic performance of pigs. Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) has been reported to participate importantly in thermotolerance. This study aims to produce transgenic pigs overexpressing porcine HSP70.2, the highly inducible one of HSP70 members, and to prove the cellular thermotolerance in the primary fibroblasts from the transgenics. A recombinant plasmid in which the sequence that encodes the porcine HSP70.2 gene is fused to green fluorescence protein (GFP) was constructed under the control of cytomegalovirus (CMV) enhancer and promoter. Two transgenic pigs were produced by microinjecting pCMV-HSP70-GFP DNA into the pronucleus of fertilized eggs. Immunoblot assay revealed the varied overexpression level (6.4% and 1.4%) of HSP70-GFP in transgenic pigs. After heating at $45^{\circ}C$ for 3 h, the survival rate (78.1%) of the primary fibroblast cells from the highly expressing transgenic pig exceeded that from the non-transgenic pig (62.9%). This result showed that primary fibroblasts overexpressing HSP70-GFP confer cell thermotolerance. We suggest that transgenic pigs overexpressing HSP70 might improve their thermotolerance in summer and therefore reduce the economic loss in animal production.