• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.38-41
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• 2008

Fish is a major source of protein for the Senegalese population. Fishing plays a dominant role in the Government's policy towards generating employment. It currently generates about 100,000 direct jobs (fishermen) for nationals, of which more than 90% are in small-scale fishing. The fishing industry also contributes to Government revenue through different agreements. In addition to associated dues, fishing agreements imply a series of economic, trade and technical counterparts. Under the latest fishing agreement concluded by Senegal and the European Union (1997-2001), direct financial compensation amounts to about CFAF 32 billion. Despite its economic and social importance, the sector has to face serious disequilibria both in resource exploitation and market supply: the coastal demersal (deep lying fish) stocks with high market value (mostly exported) are fully and even over-exploited, with a serious risk of local market supply shortages looming ahead as the fishing effort shifts from locally consumed species to export-oriented ones.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.151-157
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• 2002

The Korean fresh pork loins in vacuum packaged were obtained from three different Korean export companies and investigated for their proximate composition and physico-chemical characteristics. The fresh pork loins were stored at 2$^{\circ}C$ for 50 days and analyzed with an interval of 5∼10 days. In proximate analyses, the moisture contents of pork loins from the company I were higher, the protein contents from the company II were higher, and fat contents from the companies II and III were higher compared to those from the other companies. The pH of loins increased as storage period increased. The shear value of loins from company II showed significantly lower level and tended to decrease during storage. However, the water holding capacity and the purge loss of loins from company II increased during storage periods.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.53-57
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• 2016

Major diseases in grafted cacti have been reported and Fusarium oxysporum, Bipolaris cactivora, Phytophthora spp. and Collectotrichum spp. are known as causal pathogens. These pathogens can lead to plant death after infection. Therefore, some European countries have quarantined imported cacti that are infected with specific fungal pathogens. Consequently, we developed PCR detection methods to identify four quarantined fungal pathogens and reduce export rejection rates of Korean grafted cacti. The pathogen specific primer sets F.oF-F.oR, B.CF-B.CR, P.nF-P.nR, and P.cF-P.CR were tested for F. oxysporum, B.cactivora, P. nicotinae, and P. cactorum, respectively. The F.oF-F.oR primer set was designed from the Fusarium ITS region; the B.CF-B.CR and P.nF-P.nR primers respectively from Bipolaris and Phytophthora ITS1; and the P.cF-P.CR primer set from the Ypt1protein gene region. The quarantine fungal pathogen primer pairs were amplified to the specific number of base pairs in each of the following fungal pathogens: 210-bp (F. oxysporum), 510-bp (B. cactivora), 313-bp (P. nicotinae), and 447-bp (P. cactorum). The detection limit for the mono- and multiplex PCR primer sets was 0.1 ng of template DNA under in vitro conditions. Therefore, each primer set successfully diagnosed contamination of quarantine pathogens in export grafted cacti. Consequently, our methodology is a viable tool to screen contamination of the fungal pathogen in exported grafted cacti.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.684-692
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• 2016

Acute respiratory virus infectious diseases are a growing health problem, particularly among children and the elderly. Much effort has been made to develop probiotics that prevent influenza virus infections by enhancing innate immunity in the respiratory tract until vaccines are available. Lactobacillus plantarum GB-LP2, isolated from a traditional Korean fermented vegetable, has exhibited preventive effects on influenza virus infection in mice. To identify the molecular basis of this strain, we conducted a whole-genome assembly study. The single circular DNA chromosome of 3,284,304 bp was completely assembled and 3,250 protein-encoding genes were predicted. Evolutionarily accelerated genes related to the phenotypic trait of anti-infective activities for influenza virus were identified. These genes encode three integral membrane proteins, a teichoic acid export ATP-binding protein and a glucosamine - fructose-6-phosphate aminotransferase involved in host innate immunity, the nonspecific DNA-binding protein Dps, which protects bacteria from oxidative damage, and the response regulator of the three-component quorum-sensing regulatory system, which is related to the capacity of adhesion to the surface of the respiratory tract and competition with pathogens. This is the first study to identify the genetic backgrounds of the antiviral activity in L. plantarum strains. These findings provide insight into the anti-infective activities of L. plantarum and the development of preventive probiotics.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.947-952
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• 2015

Prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4) was originally identified in androgen-independent prostate cancer cells undergoing apoptosis. Par-4 is ubiquitously expressed in normal cells and tissues, but it is downregulated in several types of cancers. Par-4 is a 38 kDa tumor suppressor protein encoded by the PARW gene. Par-4 promotes apoptosis in a variety of cancerous cells, but not in normal cells. In this review, we focused on the structure, expression and function of Par-4 in apoptotic signaling pathway. Functional domains of Par-4 include two nuclear localization sequences (NLS), a leucine zipper (LZ) domain, a nuclear export sequence (NES) and selective for apoptosis in cancer cell (SAC) domain. Many studies have underlined the importance of Par-4 in preventing cancer development. The activity of Par-4 is differently regulated by localization of intracellular and extracellular Par-4. Intracellular Par-4 inhibits Akt- and NF-κB-mediated cell survival pathways and downregulates Bcl-2 expression. Extracellular Par-4 activates the extrinsic apoptotic pathway by binding to cell surface receptor GRP78, a stress response protein that is in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Endogenous Par-4 sensitizes cancer cells to various apoptotic stimuli, while exogenous Par-4 enhances SAC domain-dependent apoptosis in cancer cells, but not normal cells. Therefore, Par-4 is an attractive target for cancer therapy.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.725-732
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• 2016

Plasmodium vivax produces numerous caveola-vesicle complex (CVC) structures beneath the membrane of infected erythrocytes. Recently, a member helical interspersed subtelomeric (PHIST) superfamily protein, $PcyPHIST/CVC-81_{95}$, was identified as CVCs-associated protein in Plasmodium cynomolgi and essential for survival of this parasite. Very little information has been documented to date about $PHIST/CVC-81_{95}$ protein in P. vivax. In this study, the recombinant $PvPHIST/CVC-81_{95}$ N and C termini were expressed, and immunoreactivity was assessed using confirmed vivax malaria patients sera by protein microarray. The subcellular localization of $PvPHIST/CVC-81_{95}$ N and C termini in blood stage parasites was also determined. The antigenicity of recombinant $PvPHIST/CVC-81_{95}$ N and C terminal proteins were analyzed by using serum samples from the Republic of Korea. The results showed that immunoreactivities to these proteins had 61% and 43% sensitivity and 96.9% and 93.8% specificity, respectively. The N terminal of $PvPHIST/CVC-81_{95}$ which contains transmembrane domain and export motif (PEXEL; RxLxE/Q/D) produced CVCs location throughout the erythrocytic-stage parasites. However, no fluorescence was detected with antibodies against C terminal fragment of $PvPHIST/CVC-81_{95}$. These results suggest that the $PvPHIST/CVC-81_{95}$ is localized on the CVCs and may be immunogenic in natural infection of P. vivax.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.218-227
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• 2018

In this study, we investigated the effect of the extracts from Vaccinium oldhamii on cell proliferation and the regulatory mechanisms of cyclin D1 protein level in human cancer cells. The branch extracts from Vaccinium oldhamii (VOB) showed higher inhibitor effect against the cell growth than leave extracts (VOL) and fruit extracts (VOF) in human colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, non-small lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and liver cancer cells. In addition, VOB decreased cyclin D1 level at both protein and mRNA level. MG132 treatment attenuated VOB-mediated cyclin D1 downregulation. A point mutation of threonine-286 to alanine attenuated cyclin D1 degradation by VOB. In addition, the inhibition of nuclear export by leptomycin B (LMB) attenuated cyclin D1 degradation by VOB. But, the treatment of PD98059 (ERK1/2 inhibitor), SB203580 (p38 inhibitor), SP600125 (JNK inhibitor), LiCl ($GSK3{\beta}$ inhibitor), LY294002 (PI3K inhibitor) or BAY 11-7082 ($I{\kappa}K$ inhibitor) did not affect VOB-induced cyclin D1 degradation. In conclusion, VOB induced cyclin D1 degradation through redistribution of cyclin D1 from the nucleus to cytoplasm via T286 phosphorylation of cyclin D1, which resulted in the inhibition of cancer cell proliferation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.323-329
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• 2018

In Escherichia coli, the transcription of genes related to metal homeostasis is activated by the presence of target metals. The promoter regions of those genes can be fused with reporter genes to generate whole-cell bioreporters (WCBs); these organisms sense the presence of target metals through reporter gene expression. However, the limited number of available promoters for sensing domains restricts the number of WCB targets. In this study, we have demonstrated an alternative method to generate novel WCBs, based on the notion that since the sensing mechanisms of WCBs are related to metal transportation systems, their properties can be modulated by disrupting metal homeostasis. Mutant E. coli strains were generated by deleting the znt-operon genes zntA, which encodes a zinc-export protein, and zntR, which encodes a znt-operon regulatory protein, to investigate the effects on the metal-sensing properties of WCBs. Deletion of zntA increased the sensitivity but abolished the selectivity of cadmium-sensing WCBs, whereas arsenic-sensing WCBs gained sensitivity toward cadmium. When zntR was deleted, cadmium-sensing WCBs lost the ability to detect cadmium, and this was recovered by introducing exogenous zntR. In addition, the metal-binding site of ZntR was genetically engineered to modulate metal selectivity. This study provides a valuable platform for the development of novel E. coli-based WCBs.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.230-236
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• 2016

The study was carried out to evaluate the quality of commercial pork and beef jerky at a market in Korea. The amount of food additives, place of origin, meat content, microbiological and physicochemical characteristics were investigated in 46 different jerky samples. Meat contents of pork and beef jerky were 75.2~94.0% and 80.0~95.6%, respectively. Food additives, including sodium nitrite, potassium sorbate, and sodium erythorbate were mainly used in jerky. Pork jerky was processed from domestic pork, and beef jerky was mostly processed from imported beef from the USA, Australia, or New Zealand. Pork jerky contained $23.82{\pm}5.74%$ moisture, $37.86{\pm}7.05%$ crude protein, $6.16{\pm}4.91%$ crude fat, and $4.6.87{\pm}1.76%$ crude ash. Beef jerky contained $26.64{\pm}5.21%$ moisture, $41.36{\pm}3.50%$ crude protein, $4.67{\pm}3.46%$ crude fat, and $7.21{\pm}1.91%$ crude ash. Water activity (Aw) of pork jerky was $0.73{\pm}0.09$ while that of beef jerky was $0.78{\pm}0.08$. Volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) content to jerky was 7.1~36.0 mg/100 g. There was no significant difference in the physicochemical composition of meat type (p<0.05). Coliform, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were not detected in pork or beef jerky, whereas yeast and molds were detected below $1.2{\times}10^1CFU/g$ in beef jerky samples.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.278-286
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• 2022

Live bacterial vector vaccines are one of the most promising vaccine types and have the advantages of low cost, flexibility, and good safety. Meanwhile, protein secretion systems have been reported as useful tools to facilitate the release of heterologous antigen proteins from bacterial vectors. The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) system is an important protein export system that transports fully folded proteins in a signal peptide-dependent manner. In this study, we constructed a live vector vaccine using an engineered commensal Escherichia coli strain in which amiA and amiC genes were deleted, resulting in a leaky outer membrane that allows the release of periplasmic proteins to the extracellular environment. The protective antigen proteins SLY, enolase, and Sbp against Streptococcus suis were targeted to the Tat pathway by fusing a Tat signal peptide. Our results showed that by exploiting the Tat pathway and the outer membrane-defective E. coli strain, the antigen proteins were successfully secreted. The strains secreting the antigen proteins were used to vaccinate mice. After S. suis challenge, the vaccinated group showed significantly higher survival and milder clinical symptoms compared with the vector group. Further analysis showed that the mice in the vaccinated group had lower burdens of bacteria load and slighter pathological changes. Our study reports a novel live bacterial vector vaccine that uses the Tat system and provides a new alternative for developing S. suis vaccine.