• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.303-320
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• 2019

Plants interact with various biotic and abiotic environmental factors. It requires much information to understand the traits of a plant species. A shortage of information would restrict the assessment, especially in the evaluation of what kind of factors influence a plant species to face extinction. Polygonatum stenophyllum Maxim. is one of the northern plants of which Korea is the southern distribution edge. The Korean Ministry of Environment had designated it to be the endangered species until December 2015. Although it is comparatively widespread, and a large population has recently been reported, it is assessed to be vulnerable due to the low population genetic diversity. This study evaluated the current distribution of Polygonatum stenophyllum Maxim. We investigated the vegetational environment, population structures, phenology, soil environment, and self-incompatibility based on the results. Lastly, we evaluated the current threats observed in the habitats. The habitats tended to be located in the areas where the masses at the edge of the stream accumulated except for those that were located on slopes of some mountainous areas. Most of them showed a stable population structure and had re-established or recruited seedlings. Polygonatum stenophyllum Maxim. had the difference in time when the shoots appeared above the ground depending on the depth of the rhizome located in the underground. In particular, the seedlings and juveniles had their rhizome located shallow in the soil. Visits by pollinator insects and success in pollination were crucial factors for bearing of fruits by Polygonatum stenophyllum Maxim. The threats observed in the habitat of Polygonatum stenophyllum Maxim. included the expansion of cultivated land, construction of new buildings, and construction of river banks and roads. Despite such observed risk factors, it is not likely that there would be rapid population reduction or extinction because of its widespread distribution with the total population of more than 2.7 million individuals and the new populations established by the re-colonization.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.69-80
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• 2021

We conducted a 4 × 4 diallel cross-mating test using 934 chickens from four grandparent stock lines to develop a new synthetic breed of Korean native chicken. The mean values, combining ability, and reciprocal effects on survival rate, body weight, and hen-day egg production were analyzed. In phenotypes, most chickens have yellowish-brown, reddish-brown and mixed color feathers. The average survival rate was 86.8±12.3%, with the highest in YH combination. Specific combining ability (SCA) had a greater effect on survival rate than general combining ability (GCA), and the SCA of HY combination was the highest. The 16 cross-combinations were distinctly divided into three weight groups according to their genetic characteristics. At 12 weeks of age, GCA showed a greater effect on weight than SCA, and the SCA of FH combination was the highest. The age at first egg laying was 157 days, and the crosses reached sexual maturity faster than the pure lines. The egg production rate was highest in SY at 79.5±2.1%. The GCA and SCA for hen-day egg production were similar, and the SCA was highest in the HS and FY combinations. The reciprocal effect showed that the offspring's egg production rate was high when S and Y were maternal parents in almost all combinations. In conclusion, FH and HF combinations, which have excellent growth performance, are the most desirable paternal parent stock strains, and FY, FS, HY, and SY combinations, which have excellent laying performance with moderate weight, are the preferred maternal strains.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.813-825
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to identify students' conceptions and their conceptualization traits in terms of the explanation of subjects: human, animals, and plants. A questionnaire was specially developed to make sure students' conceptions of evolution, students' explanation patterns with the five evolutionary explanations: creationism, internal will explanation, theological explanations, use and disuse explanation and natural selection after mutation and perceived ideas of evolution in terms of the genetic characters of human, animals and plants. 1,540 elementary, middle and high school students participated in responding to the questions. The data was collected and analyzed cross-sectionally by age. Results showed that students' evolutionary explanations were different among each subject: human, animals and plants. Students had concentrated with more 'theological explanations' than 'internal will explanation' and 'use and disuse explanation' about plant evolution. 'Natural selection after mutation explanation' was less represented in explaining human characters. This result showed that the anthropocentric thoughts had influenced students' evolution conceptions. Accordingly, as student's age, 'theological explanation' and 'internal will explanation' became least used in explaining the theory of creation. 'Use and disuse explanation' attained more representation in their explanation. In addition, the diversity of students' evolutionary explanations was getting less attention as age increases. Among youngers, 'theological explanation', 'internal will explanation' and 'use and disuse explanation' showed an even number of responses. The elders responded with more 'use and disuse explanation'. This result let us infer that 'use and disuse explanation' was strongly adhered to by student cognitive structures. Many students recognized that evolution was a kind of scientific hypothesis with little evidence. They have had a little interest in evolution and conceptualized it through informal educational sources. This study mentions that to teach evolution more effectively, teachers should make 'use and disuse explanation' adhere strongly to students' cognitive structure.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.112-120
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• 2007

This paper reviews the use of parasites as 'biological tags' for studying stock analysis of salmonid fishes. Numerous definitions of stock concepts exist, but most of them essentially define a group of fish as having similar biological characteristics and being self-reproducing as stocks. It is important to manage fish stocks for human consumption and sustainable production and especially for salmonid fishes. Because these fry are considered as each country's property, it is necessary to identify and discriminate each fish stock in the open sea. Methods of separating fish stocks are very diverse. Artificial tags, parasites, otoliths scales and genetic characters have been used for stock analysis and each method has advantages and disadvantages. Of these parasites can be good biological tags because they are applied by nature at no cost. Parasites can be infected with susceptible host fishes when they enter into certain areas. Then if they move to the outside and are caught researchers can infer that the fish had been in the endemic area for a period of time during their life. Hence the host fish can be considered as naturally 'tagged' by parasites. However, if they do not pass the parasites-endemic. area, they will harbour no parasites. Therefore, researchers can discriminate each fish stocks and trace their migration routes with these biological tags. In this paper, several examples on the use of parasites as biological tags for studying salmonids, as well as other species, are listed. The advantages and limitations of parasites as biological tags are also discussed. Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), the main salmonid species migrating to Korea, is distributed all around the North Pacific. Korean chum salmon are generally thought to move to the Sea of Okhotsk, the western North Pacific and the Bering Sea. However, there is no clear information on the distribution and migration pathways of Korean chum salmon, and no markers exist for separating them from others yet. Recent Korean chum salmon stock analysis including parasites information are mentioned.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.465-475
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• 2024

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum K9 is a probiotic strain that can be utilized from various bioactive substances isolated from Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae. In this study, a genetic analysis of L. plantarum K9 revealed the existence of a bacterial chromosome and three plasmids. The glycolysis pathway and pentose phosphate pathway were examined for their normal functioning via an analysis of the core metabolic pathways of L. plantarum K9. Since the key enzymes, fluctose-1,6-bisphospatase (EC: 3.1.3.11) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydratase (EC: 4.2.1.12)/2-keto-deoxy-6-phosphogluconate (KDPG) aldolase (EC: 4.2.1.55), of gluconeogenesis and the ED pathway were not identified from the L. plantarum K9 genome, we suggest that gluconeogenesis and the ED pathway are not performed in L. plantarum K9. Additionally, while some enzymes, related to fumarate and malate biosyntheses, involved in the TCA cycle were identified from L. plantarum K9, the enzymes associated with the remaining TCA cycle were absent, indicating that the TCA cycle cannot proceed. Meanwhile, based on our findings, we propose that the oxidative electron transport system performs class IIB-type (bd-type) electron transfer. In summary, we assert that L. plantarum K9 performs homolactic fermentation, executes gluconeogenesis and the pentose phosphate pathway, and carries out energy metabolism through the class IIB-type oxidative electron transport system. Therefore, we suggest that L. plantarum K9 has relatively high lactic acid production, and that it has excellent antibacterial activity, as a result, compared to other lactic acid bacterial strains. Moreover, we speculate that L. plantarum K9 has an oxidative electron transport capability, indicating that it is highly resistant to oxygen and suggesting that it has fine cultivation characteristics, which collectively make it highly suitable for use as a probiotic.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.97-106
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• 2024

This study utilized the non-invasive MyotonPRO^® device to analyze the stiffness in breast muscles of commercial broilers (Ross 308 and Arbor Acres) and compared these findings with data reported for Ross 708, where Woody Breast (WB) symptoms had been previously documented. The research revealed that Ross 308 and Arbor Acres displayed relatively lower stiffness values compared to Ross 708, suggesting a lack of WB expression. These results indicate differentiation in breast muscle traits across strains and underscore the necessity for further research into factors influencing WB manifestation. The study also measured additional muscle tone characteristics such as Frequency, Decrement, Relaxation, and Creep across various growth stages (2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks), finding significant variations with pronounced severity at weeks 2 and 8. An increase in stiffness was observed as the broilers aged, pointing to potential growth-related or stress-induced changes affecting WB severity. A strong positive correlation was established between increased breast meat weight and WB severity, highlighting that heavier breast meat could exacerbate the condition. This correlation is vital for the poultry industry, suggesting that weight management could help mitigate WB effects. Moreover, the potential for genetic selection and breeding strategies to reduce WB occurrence was emphasized, which could aid in enhancing management practices in commercial poultry production. Collectively, these insights contribute to a deeper understanding of WB in broilers and propose avenues for future research and practical strategies to minimize its impact.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.637-656
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• 2023

River estuaries are dynamic and productive ecosystems with high regional biodiversity. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has become a useful approach to assessing biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems. This study was conducted to investigate fish community characteristics and species diversity in two river estuary ecosystems, the Taehwa River and Changwon Stream. We further compared conventional and eDNA metabarcoding analyses of the fish communities. The conventional survey was performed in May, July, and October 2022, while the eDNA analysis was conducted only in May. We observed various fish species with different life histories, including carp, goby, and marine fish. We also found that migratory fish, such as dace Tribolodon hakonensis, sweetfish Plecoglossus altivelis, and eel Auguilla japonica, occurred in the Taehwa River, suggesting high river connectivity. Marine fish species were predominant in the Changwon Stream, as this river is located close to the sea. The diversity indices showed that the Taehwa River generally had higher species richness, evenness, and diversity values than the Changwon Stream. A total of 9-19 species were detected in the conventional survey for the three sites, whereas 11-18 species were found from eDNA analysis. The findings indicate that the sensitivity of eDNA was similar to or higher than that of the conventional method. Our study findings suggest the efficiency and efficacy of eDNA-based fish community monitoring, although with some shortcomings in applying the genetic marker to Korean fish, including no clear-cut distinction for Korean endemic species and/or genetically closely related species groups.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.359-365
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• 2023

Native plants are unique genetic resources that have the potential to be used as ornamental, medical, and food resources. Allium koreanum H.J. Choi & B.U. Oh is one of the native plants distributed in the coastal rocky land of Korea, which has high conservation value due to climate change and reduction of its habitat. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of temperature and hydrogen peroxide on the germination of A. koreanum. The seeds were prepared as untreated (control) or those treated with 1% hydrogen peroxide for 90 minutes (H₂O₂), and the treatments were placed in plant growth chambers set at 15, 20, and 25℃. Regardless of the H₂O₂ treatment, the germination percentage at 15℃, which was 42%, was more than two times higher than that at 20℃ and 25℃, which were 18% and 0%, respectively, 23 days after sowing. The number of days to attain 50% of the final germination percentage (T₅₀) was the shortest at 20℃, but the mean daily germination (MDG) was the highest at 15℃. Therefore, 1% of H₂O₂ treatment did not have a significant effect on the germination percentage of A. koreanum, and a temperature of 15℃ was considered to be optimum to increase the germination percentage of A. koreanum. The results of this study can be used as basic research data for the germination of A. koreanum.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.222-230
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• 2005

Purpose : ARC syndrome refers to an association of arthrogryposis, renal tubular dysfunction, and cholestasis. The VPS33B gene was recently identified as the causative gene. So far, 41 cases of ARC syndrome have been reported worldwide, and it has rarely been reported in Korea. This study was conducted to report the clinical findings of seven ARC syndrome cases in Korean children, focusing especially on renal tubular dysfunction. Methods : The hospital records of 7 cases diagnosed as ARC syndrome at Severance Hospital between Mar. 1995 and Aug. 2005 were reviewed and analyzed. Results : Of the 7 cases, 4 were boys and 3 were girls. Six patients(85$\%$) were born with normal birth weight at term, and one was born at preterm. All cases presented with cholestasis and severe jaundice. According to the type of arthrogryposis described by Brown et al, type 3 and 4 were found in 2 patients and type,6, 7, and the undistributed type in one patient respectively. Other associated clinical findings were as follows : failure to thrive in 6(85$\%$), lax skin in 5(71$\%$), and gray platelet syndrome in 4(57$\%$). Urine analysis revealed 6 cases(85$\%$) with proteinuria, 3(43$\%$) with hematuria, 5(71$\%$) with glycosuria, 2(29$\%$) with phosphaturia and 2(29$\%$) with calciuria. Serum electrolytes showed 4 cases(57$\%$) with hyponatremia, 3(43$\%$) with hypokalemia, and 1(14$\%$) with creatinine elevation. Renal tubular dysfunctions were diagnosed as renal tubular acidosis in 6 cases(85$\%$), nephrogenic diabetes insipidus in 2(29$\%$), and Fanconi syndrome in 2(29$\%$). During the follow-up period, 2(29$\%$) had no treatment, 5(85$\%$) had continuous supplementation to correct the electrolyte imbalance and acidosis, and 1(14$\%$) had dialysis. Only one patient had a family history of ARE syndrome in a sibling. Four cases(57$\%$) were diagnosed at the mean age of 8.2 months, and one case was lost during follow-up. Ages of the survived 2 cases were 13 and 25 months, respectively. Conclusion : The rare disease of ARC syndrome Is associated with severe renal dysfunction. However, this study revealed that the renal manifestation of ARC syndrome in Korean children is relatively mild and survival rate is higher than that of previous studies. Contrary to previous reports, this study showed that familial cases are rare and sporadic occurence is possible in Korea. Thus, the diagnosis of this syndrome requires a careful evaluation of the venal function in cases of congenital arthrogryposis, and a mandatory genetic counseling of affected family for prevention of familial occurance. (J Korean Soc Pediatr Nephrol 2005;9:222-230)

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.263-276
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• 2019

'Sinjinbaek' is a bacterial blight (BB)-resistant, mid-late maturing rice cultivar with high grain quality. To diversify the resistance genes and enhance the resistance of Korean rice cultivars against BB, 'Sinjinbaek' was developed from a cross between 'Iksan493' (cultivar name 'Jinbaek') and the F₁ cross between 'Hopum' and 'HR24670-9-2-1' ('HR24670'). 'Jinbaek' is a BB-resistant cultivar with two BB resistance genes, Xa3 and xa5. 'Hopum' is a high grain quality cultivar with the Xa3 resistance gene. 'HR24670' is a near-isogenic line that carries the Xa21 gene, a resistance gene inherited from a wild rice species O. longistaminata, in the genetic background of japonica elite rice line 'Suweon345'. 'Sinjinbaek' was selected through the pedigree method, yield trials, and local adaptability tests. Using bioassay for BB races and DNA markers for resistance genes, three resistance genes, Xa3, xa5, and Xa21, were pyramided in the 'Sinjinbaek' cultivar. 'Sinjinbaek' exhibited high-level and broad-spectrum resistance against BB, including the K3a race, the most virulent race in Korea. 'Sinjinbaek' is a mid-late maturing rice cultivar tolerant to lodging. It has multiple disease resistance against BB, rice blast, and stripe virus. The yield of 'Sinjinbaek' was similar to that of 'Nampyeong'. 'Sinjinbaek' showed excellent grain appearance, good taste of cooked rice, and enhanced milling performance, and we concluded that it could contribute to improving the quality of BB-resistant cultivars. 'Sinjinbaek' was successfully introgressed with the Xa21 gene without the linkage drag negatively affecting its agronomic characteristics. 'Sinjinbaek' improved the resistance of Korean rice cultivars against BB by introgression of a new resistance gene, Xa21, as well as by pyramiding three resistance genes, Xa3, xa5, and Xa21. 'Sinjinbaek' would be suitable for the cultivation in BB-prone areas since it has been used in breeding programs for enhancing plants' resistance to BB (Registration No. 7273).