• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.600-606
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• 2023

Dengue virus (DENV) is a widespread arbovirus. To efficiently establish infection, DENV evolves multiple strategies to hijack the host innate immune response. Herein, we examined the inhibitory effects of DENV serotype 2 (DENV2) nonstructural proteins on RIG-I-directed antiviral immune response. We found that DENV2 NS2A, NS2B, NS4A, and NS4B significantly inhibited RIG-I-mediated IFN-β promoter activation. The roles of NS2B in RIG-I-directed antiviral immune response are unknown. Our study further showed that NS2B could dose-dependently suppress RIG-I/MAVS-induced activation of IFN-β promoter. Consistently, NS2B significantly decreased RIG-I- and MAVS-induced transcription of IFNB1, ISG15, and ISG56. Mechanistically, NS2B was found to interact with MAVS and IKKε to impair RIG-I-directed antiviral response. Our findings demonstrated a previously uncharacterized function of NS2B in RIG-I-mediated antiviral response, making it a promising drug target for anti-DENV treatments.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.78.2-79
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• 2003

Pepper defensin ( CADEFl) clone was isolated from cDNA library constructed from pepper leaves infected with avirulent strain Bv5-4a of Xanthomonu campestris pv. vesicatoria. The deduced amino acid sequence of CADEFl is 82-64％ identical to that of other plant defensins. Putative protein encoded by CADEFl gene consists of 78 amino acids and 8 conserved cysteine residues to form four structure-stabilizing disulfide bridges. Transcription of the CADEF1 gene was earlier and stronger induced by X campestris pv. vesicatoria infection in the incompatible than in the compatible interaction. CADEF1 mRNA was constitutively expressed in stem, root and green fruit of pepper. Transcripts of CADEFl gene drastically accumulated in pepper leaf tissues treated With Salicylic acid (SA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), abscisic acid (ABA), hydrogen Peroxide (H$_2$O$_2$), benzothiadiazole (BTH) and DL-${\beta}$-amino-n-butyric acid (BABA). In situ hybridization results revealed that CADEF1 mRNA was localized in the phloem areas of vascular bundles in leaf tissues treated with exogenous SA, MeJA and ABA. Strong accumulation of CADEF1 mRNA occurred in pepper leaves in response to wounding, high salinity and drought stress. These results suggest that bacterial pathogen infection, abiotic elicitors and some environmental stresses may play a significant role in signal transduction pathway for CADEF1 gene expression.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.208-216
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• 2010

Fusarium verticillioides is an important pathogen of maize, being responsible for ear rots, stalk rots, and seedling blight worldwide. During the past decade, F. verticillioides has caused several severe epidemics of maize seedling blight in many areas of China, which lead to significant losses. In order to understand the molecular mechanisms regulating fungal development and pathogenicity in this pathogen, we isolated and characterized the gene fpk1 (GenBank Accession No. EF405959) encoding a homolog of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit, which included a 1,854-bp DNA sequence from ATG to TAA, with a 1,680-bp coding region, and three introns (lengths: 66 bp, 54 bp, and 54 bp), and the predicated protein precursor had 559 aa. The mutant ${\Delta}fpk1$, which was disrupted of the fpkl gene, showed reduced vegetative growth, fewer and shorter aerial mycelia, strongly impaired conidiation, and reduced spore germination rate. After germinating, the fresh hypha was stubby and lacking of branch. When inoculated in susceptible maize varieties, the infection of the mutant ${\Delta}fpk1$ was delayed and the infection efficiency was reduced compared with that of the wild-type strain. AU this indicated that gene fpk1 participated in hyphal growth, conidiophore production, spore germination, and virulence in F. verticillioides.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.249-263
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• 2017

This study aims to examine the potential reasons for the current prevalence of the fusarium wilt in the oriental melon. Twenty-seven Fusarium isolates obtained from oriental melon greenhouses in 2010-2011 were identified morphologically and by analysis of elongation factor-1 alpha gene (EF-$1{\alpha}$) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA sequences as 6 Fusarium species (8 isolates of F. oxysporum, 8 F. commune, 5 F. proliferatum, 3 F. equiseti, 2 F. delphinoides, and 1 F. andiyazi), which were classified as same into 6 EF-$1{\alpha}$ sequence-based phylogenetic clades. Pathogenicity of the Fusarium isolates on the oriental melon was highest in F. proliferatum, next in F. oxysporum and F. andiyazi, and lowest in the other Fusarium species tested, suggesting F. proliferatum and F. oxysporum were major pathogens of the oriental melon, inducing stem rots and vascular wilts, respectively. Oriental melon and watermelon were more susceptible to F. oxysporum than shintosa and cucumber; and cucumber was most, oriental melon and watermelon, medially, and shintosa was least susceptible to F. proliferatum, whose virulence varied among and within their phylogenetic subclades. Severe root-knot galls were formed on all the crops infected with Meloidogyne incognita; however, little indication of vascular wilts or stem and/or root rots was shown by the nematode infection. These results suggest the current fungal disease in the oriental melon may be rarely due to virulence changes of the fusarium wilt pathogen and the direct cause of the severe root-knot nematode infection, but may be potentially from other Fusarium pathogen infection that produces seemingly wilting caused by severe stem rotting.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.168-173
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• 2002

Gastrointestinal infections kill over two million people each year, and pathogen contamination of livestock causes many cases of food poisoning. Two candidate intestinal probiotic strains, L. rhamnosus GR-1 and L. fermentum RC-14 were found to inhibit the growth of Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, L. innocua, Enterococcus faecalis, and Bacteroides fragilis. In a series of mouse experiments, L. rhamosus GR-1 and L rhamnosus GG protected against S. typhimurium infection and translocation to the liver and spleen, reduced mortality and induced intestinal phagocytic and immunoglobulin responses. In a second series of experiments, the combination of L. rhamnosus GR-1 and L. fermentum RC-14 was superior to L. rhamnosus GG and placebo in protecting the mice from the lethal effect of salmonella. In summary, the use of combinations of probiotic lactobacilli as dietary supplements or foods could be considered for people at high risk of salmonella intestinal infection. Given the post-infection complications that can arise, such natural methods warrant further exploration especially given the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance and the lack of alternative measures available to many developing countries.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.177-182
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• 1999

A fungal infection assay between normal and transgenic potato harboring chitinase gene in cultivar Belchip was investigated. In the first stage of experiment, seven transgenic lines having 12cm tall were tested for their resistance against potato late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans by infection with the zoospores, artificially, Susceptibility to potato late blight infection could be classified into three types based on the rate. In terms of resistance to the disease, two lines were higher, two lines were more suppressive, and three lines were similar as compared with the control. In the following experiment, only 2 risistant lines and 1 suppressed line were used to confirm the resistance again. The results of both experiments were similar. Furthermore, two highly resistant transgenic lines grown in field exhibited a higher resistance than control under the conditions of natural ocurrence of the fungal disease.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.281-284
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• 2014

Immune defense responses against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection play an important role in maintaining homeostasis in the human body. Previously, we reported that expression of the bradykinin receptor (BR) is induced in response to P. aeruginosa infection. However, the factors responsible for the induction was uncertain. Here, we found that the type III secretion system (T3SS) is responsible for the induction of BR expression, and nucleoside diphosphate kinase (Ndk), as a novel T3SS effector, mediates the upregulation. The Ndk-mediated expression of BR was not induced by fliC mutant treatment, indicating the involvement of flagellin, one of the well-known pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Taken together, this study demonstrated that Ndk cooperates with flagella in the development of defense responses against P. aeruginosa infection.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.213-227
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• 1995

Today, although hospital infectious diseases are readily diagnosed, are treatable and preventable, many of these continues to be a major health problem in the developing countries, as well as the advanced nations. In the advanced countries efforts for hospital infection control has been presented but in Korea. The importance of being knowledgeble concerning hospital infection control is not much recognized yet. Presently in Korea good quality of care and services in the hospital is a main issue of discussion, therefore the subject of hospital infection control can't be over emphasized. Hospital infection control measures ranged from almost non existent to none when the pathogen transmission were not fully understood. As the knowledge of the transmission and contraction of the diseases expanded, newer and more effective procedures evolved. To be vital it is required to have good system for hospital infection control and inspection, rules and regulations and many numbers of persons with dedication. The strategy has been applied for hospital infection control standards as outlined by the centers for disease control and prevention(CDC). The hospital infection control committee is the factor to be well managed. Especially nurses are the important part of any hospital infection control program because they are the one who makes function properly. It is also required the responsibility of every employer who has employees who are exposed to blood, blood products or other potentially hospital infectious materials. Laws enacted by agencies of the federal government but the emphasis, and the demands for initiating and maintaining these control measures should be practiced on a routine and daily basis. The forgoing facts and requirements will assist us in assuring our hospital infection control program is successful.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.21-33
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• 2017

Citrus blast caused by bacterium Pseudomonas syringae is a very important disease of citrus occuring in many areas of the world, but with few data about genetic structure of the pathogen involved. Considering the above fact, this study reports genetic characterization of 43 P. syringae isolates obtained from plant tissue displaying citrus blast symptoms on mandarin (Citrus reticulata) in Montenegro, using multilocus sequence analysis of gyrB, rpoD, and gap1 gene sequences. Gene sequences from a collection of 54 reference pathotype strains of P. syringae from the Plant Associated and Environmental Microbes Database (PAMDB) was used to establish a genetic relationship with our isolates obtained from mandarin. Phylogenetic analyses of gyrB, rpoD, and gap1 gene sequences showed that P. syringae pv. syringae causes citrus blast in mandarin in Montenegro, and belongs to genomospecies 1. Genetic homogeneity of isolates suggested that the Montenegrian population might be clonal which indicates a possible common source of infection. These findings may assist in further epidemiological studies of this pathogen and for determining mandarin breeding strategies for P. syringae control.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.282-284
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• 1995

Grey leaf spot on tomato plants was first observed in Sedo-myeon, Puyo-kun, Chungnam province of Korea in 1994. This disease which had not been reported before in Korea exhibited different symptoms from those of other leaf spot diseases on tomato plants. The symptoms were characterized by small irregular-shaped spots on leaves at the initial stage of the infection, subsequent spread and coalescence of the spots throughout the leaves with ultimate necrosis, and abscission from the plants. When healthy tomato plants were inoculated with a conidial suspension of the fungus isolated from the lesion of a diseased plant in a field, the same characteristic symptoms as those in the field were produced. Furthermore, the same pathogen could be reisolated from the lesions formed buy the inoculation. Conidial characteristics of the pathogen were as follows; oblong shape with constricted 3 transverse septa, round-shaped base, round- or point-shaped apex, size of 45~75$\times$12.5~17.5 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$, and 3.5 : 1 ratio of length to width. The pathogen was identified as Stemphylium lycopersici and thus this is the first report on the occurrence of grey leaf spot disease on tomato plants caused by s. lycopersici in Korea.