• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.743-748
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to determine the molecular characteristics of the horse vascular endothelial growth factor alpha gene ($VEGF{\alpha}$) by constructing a phylogenetic tree, and to investigate gene expression profiles in tissues and blood leukocytes after exercise for development of suitable biomarkers. Using published amino acid sequences of other vertebrate species (human, chimpanzee, mouse, rat, cow, pig, chicken and dog), we constructed a phylogenetic tree which showed that equine $VEGF{\alpha}$ belonged to the same clade of the pig $VEGF{\alpha}$. Analysis for synonymous (Ks) and non-synonymous substitution ratios (Ka) revealed that the horse $VEGF{\alpha}$ underwent positive selection. RNA was extracted from blood samples before and after exercise and different tissue samples of three horses. Expression analyses using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) showed ubiquitous expression of $VEGF{\alpha}$ mRNA in skeletal muscle, kidney, thyroid, lung, appendix, colon, spinal cord, and heart tissues. Analysis of differential expression of $VEGF{\alpha}$ gene in blood leukocytes after exercise indicated a unimodal pattern. These results will be useful in developing biomarkers that can predict the recovery capacity of racing horses.

• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.241-247
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• 1996

The Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome is the single most intensively studied chromosome alteration characterizing a human malignancy. The specific genetic alteration of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is the formation of the BCR/abl fusion gene in leukemic cells. The presence of the BCR/abl gene has important diagnostic and prognostic implications in CML. The detection of BCR/abl transcripts by reverse transcriptase based polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was investigated in patients with CML in whom the Ph chromosome abnormality was documented by cytogenetic analysis. In a total of 68 CML patient cases, the Ph chromosome was found in 53 cases (77.9%) by cytogenetic analysis. On the other hand, sixty two cases (91.2%) were detected to have BCR/abl gene rearrangement Of these, b3a2 was 44 cases (64.7%) and b2a2 was 17 cases (25,0%). There was one case with both b3a2 and b2a2 (1.5%). Of the fifteen cases of Ph chromosome negative by cytogenetic anlaysis, the BCR/abl gene was observed in nine cases, The results of BCR/abl fusion gene confirmed by the direct sequencing method correlated well with PCR analysis, The amplified PCR products were detected by $1{\times}10^{-5}$ dilutions. In conclusion, PCR technique is sensitive, rapid and relatively simple for a laboratory test in detecting the BCR/abl fusion gene with CML regardless of the result of cytogenetic analysis.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2001

Tuberculous lymphadenitis is not uncommon in Korea. Therefore, an inexpensive, safe and rapid method is needed to diagnose the tuberculous lymphadenitis. Flne needle aspiration cytology Is a good method for this purpose, but has several limitations in the diagnosis of tuberculous lymphadenitis, especially when the presence of acid-fast bacilli is not proved. To evaluation the usefulness of the polymerase chain reaction with enzyme immunoassay technique in the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) In the cervical Iymph node asplrates, the authors performed fine needle aspiration cytology and M. tuberculosis PCR with enzyme immunoassay for mycobacterial DNA sequences from 15 cases of the fine needle aspirates. Cytomorphologically, the cases were categorized into three types: predominantly necrotic materials; typical epithelioid cell granulomas with or without slant cells and caseous necrosis; and non-tuberculous lesions, such as reactive lymphadenitis, abscess, metastatic carcinoma and malignant lymphoma. M. tuberculosis DNA was found in 8 of 15 cases by PCR with enzyme immunoassay. Negative findings on PCR were achieved in 7 cases, which revealed non-tuberculous tymphadenopathy. In conclusion, we suggest that M. tuberculosis PCR with enzyme immunoassay using the fine needle aspirates is a very useful tool for the diagnosis of tuberculous lymphadenitis.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.113-117
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• 1997

Simple sequence repeats (SSR) are widely dispersed throughout eukaryotic genomes, highly polymorphic, and easily typed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The objective of this study was to determine the polymorphism of different Chlamydomonas reinhartdtii strains and to determine the mode of inheritance of the SSR locus in Chlamydomonas. A genomic DNA library of C. reinhardtii was constructed and screened with a radiolabeled $(AC)_{11}$ probe for the selection of (CA/GT)n repeat clone. Selected clone was seqeuenced, and PCR primer set flanking (CA/GT)n sequence was constructed. PCR was used to specifically amplify the SSR locus from multiple isolates of C. reinhardtii. The locus was polymorphic in some of the C. reinhardtii isolates. However, the locus was amplified only 4 of 6 isolates of C. reinhardtii, not in other 2 isolates of C. reinhardtii, suggesting that this locus is not extensively conserved. A simple Mendelian inheritance pattern was found, which showed 2:2 segregation in the tetrads resulting from a cross between C. reinhardtii and C. smithii. Our results suggest that this simple sequence repeat DNA polymorphism will be useful for identity testing, population studies, linkage analysis, and genome mapping in Chlamydomonas.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.185-189
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• 2015

Bovine parainfluenza virus type 5 (bPIV5) was isolated from cattle with downer cow syndrome in 2012, and included both respiratory and neurotropic pathogens from a variety of animals. In the current study, we conducted serosurveillance using sera obtained from seven Korean farms and optimized a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay to detect bPIV5. The overall seropositive rate for Korean cattle was 21.4% (163/760). A farm located near the city of Milyang in Gyeoungnam province had a markedly elevated seropositive rate for bPIV5 compared to that of the other six farms. The regional seropositive rates were 4.2% (8/192) for Haman, 19.5% (18/55) for Hwasung, 73.9% (65/88) for Milyang, 26.0% (50/192) for Namwon, 1.0% (1/96) for Uljin, 13.5% (13/96) for Yeongju, and 32.7% (8/41) for Yongin. The sensitivity and specificity of three RT-PCR primer sets used to amplify the conserved fusion gene of bPIV5 were also evaluated. An RT-PCR assay using the bPIVFR3 primer set was 10-fold more sensitive than the assays using the two other primer sets and did not result in non-specific amplification. These results demonstrated that the bPIFR3 primer set can be used to detect bPIV5.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.262-266
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• 2000

The polymerase chain reaction was used to selectively detect sequences within the fimbrial antigen of Salmonella enteritidis. Sterile milk was artificially inoculated with known amount of S. enteritidis and then DNA was extracted with guanidine thiocyanate/phenol/chloroform, followed by PCR. A detection limit of as few as 100 colony forming unit (cfu) per 0.5 ml milk was obtained with this method. For the whole procedure, it took only 5 h. A semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay which allows an estimation of colony forming unit of S. enteritidis was developed. Known amount of standard plasmid pGem-4Z-Sef B(-) containing cloned S. enteritidis fimbrial antigen gene was co-amplified with Salmonella genomic DNA isolated from artificially inoculated milk. The same set of primers were used for the amplification and the products were cleaved with Bam HI. The concentration of the target DNA could be estimated by comparing the intensity of the two bands after electrophoresis. The PCR-based protocol described in this paper provides a rapid, simple, and sensitive method for detecting S. enteritidis in milk.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.3517-3522
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• 2011

Contamination of public bath water by waterborne pathogens can cause disease outbreaks and contribute to background rates of disease. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of waterborne pathogens in public baths. A total of 30 water samples were collected from 30 different public baths in seoul, Korea. Pathogens in water samples were concentrated by 0.45 ${\mu}m$ nitrocellulose membrane filter, analyzed by both cultivation and polymerase chain reaction-reverse blot hybridization (PCR-REBA) of partial 16S rRNA gene. Various microorganisms including Escherichia coli and Shigella spp. were identified by microbiological cultivation. E. coli, Shigella spp., Salmonella spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Mycobacterium spp. were identified by PCR-REBA. Our results suggest that appropriate hygiene practice and continuous monitoring is needed for reducing health risk associated with public bath houses.

• BMB Reports
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.26-32
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• 1997

Of all HLA class I molecules, HLA-C gene products are most poorly understood because they express at a low level on the cell surface compared to HLA-A and -B. In order to identify serologically detectable and undetectable HLA-C antigens, we have established a DNA-based tissue typing method for the HLA-C locus by PCR-SSP (polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primers). Genomic DNA prepared from Iymphoblastoid 21 B-cell lines and 120 Korean individuals by proteinase K digestion and pheno/chloroform extractions have been typed by PCR-SSP (23 primer mixes were used). The PCR-SSP results of control cell lines were discrepant from serology in 1 case among 21 cases: Cw6 which was negative by serology but positive by PCR-SSP (cell line: MANIKA). Twenty four HLA-Cw "blank" antigens among fifty Korean individuals were completely determined by PCR-SSP DNA typing. HLA-Cw*0101 (15.3%), Cw*1401 (12.3%) and Cw*0701 (11.7%) alleles were frequently found in 120 Korean individual samples. In conclusion. the high level of discrimination for HLA-C alleles may prove useful and informative in the study of transplant survival, and identify the importance of allelic differences, not readily detectable by serology, on host and donor compatibility.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.103-112
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• 2003

A multiplex PCR assay, which allows simultaneous detection of vancomycin resistant genotypes and Enterococcus species-specific genes, was developed. Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) from chickens and humans could be detected for vanA, vanB, vanC-1, vanC-2, $ddl_{E.faecium}$ and $ddl_{E.faecalis}$ by multiplex PCR. Eight isolates of VRE from humans (n=11) had $ddl_{E.faecium}$ and vanA, and 3 isolates of the VRE had $ddl_{E.faecium}$ and vanB. One isolate of VRE from chickens (n=6) had $ddl_{E.faecium}$ and vanA, and 5 isolates of the VRE had only vanA. E. faecium, E. faecalis, E. gallinarum and E. casseliflavus were also confirmed for the species-specific gene by multiplex PCR. This multiplex PCR could detect E. faecium, E. faecalis, E. gallinarum, E. casseliflavus, vanA, vanB, vanC-1 and vanC-2, simultaneously. The PCR assay established in the present study can be an alternative to time-consuming biochemical tests and antibiotic susceptibility tests of Enterococcus spp.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.267-274
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• 1995

Based upon the nucleotide sequence of As strain of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV-As0 RNA4, coat protein (CP) gene was selected for the design of oligonucleotide primers of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection and identification of the virus. Reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed with a set of 18-mer CMV CP-specific primers to amplify a 671 bp fragment from crude nucleic acid extracts of virus-infected leaf tissues as well as purified viral RNAs. The minimum concentrations of template viral RNA and crude nucleic acids from infected tobacco tissue required to detect the virus were 1.0 fg and 1:65,536 (w/v), respectively. No PCR product was obtained when potato virus Y-VN RNA or extracts of healthy plants were used as templates in RT-PCR using the same primers. The RT-PCR detected CMV-Y strain as well as CMV-As strain. Restriction analysis of the two individual PCR amplified DNA fragments from CMV-As and CMV-Y strains showed distinct polymorphic patterns. PCR product from CMV-As has a single recognition site for EcoRI and EcoRV, respectively, and the product from CMV-Y has no site for EcoRI or EcoRV but only one site for HindIII. The RT-PCR was able to detect the virus in the tissues of infected pepper, tomato and Chinese cabbage plants.