• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.333-338
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• 2008

Computational analysis of partial rpoB gene sequence (777 bp) was done in this study to identify B. anthracis and its closely related species B. cereus and B. thuringiensis. Sequence data including 17 B. anthracis strains, 9 B. cereus strains, and 7 B. thuringiensis strains were obtained by searching databases. Those sequences were aligned and used for other computational analysis. B. anthracis strains were identificated by in silico restriction enzyme digestion. B. cereus and B. thuringiensis were not segregated by this method. Those sequencing and BLAST search were required to distinguish the two. In actual identification tests, B. anthracis strains could be identified by PCR-RFLP, and B. cereus and B. thuringiensis strains were distinguished by BLAST search with reliable e-value. In this study fast and accurate method for identifying three Bacillus species, and flow chart of identification were developed.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.334-342
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• 2001

Background : RpoB gene mutations have been found in about 96-98% of rifampicin (RMP)-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Recent reports confirm that the in laboratory settings a rpoB gene mutation can be used as a surrogate marker for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. However, its usefulness in clinical applications has not been evaluated. This study was performed to confirm whether mutation analysis of the rpoB gene of M. tuberculosis is useful in clinical settings. Methods : The medical records of 33 patients in whom rpoB gene analysis was conducted using an INNOLiPA Rif. TB assay (LiPA) from June, 1998, to July, 2000, at the Asan Medical Center were retrospectively reviewed in 33 patients. The clinical characteristics in addition to the drug susceptibility and LiPA results were analyzed. The drug susceptibility test was considered as a gold standard method for M. tuberculosis susceptibility and these results were compared with those of the rpoB gene study and sequencing analysis. Sequencing analysis of the rpoB gene was done in cases where there was a discrepancy between the results of the drug susceptibility an d rpoB gene study. Results : The mean age and sex ratio was $42{\pm}18$, and 24:9 (M:F), respectively. There were 19 RMP susceptible (58%) and 14 RMP-resistant cases (42%) according to the rpoB gene study. The mean time from the request to reporting the results of the rpoB gene study was $5.2{\pm}2.6$ days. The mean gap from reporting the rpoB gene study to reporting the susceptibility was $56{\pm}35$ days. Twenty-eight cases (85%) showed identical results compared with the drug susceptibility results, whereas five cases (15%) showed contradictory results. When compared with the sequencing analysis, of the five cases that showed contradictory results, two had LiP A analysis errors and the remaining three were identical to the sequencing results. The rpoB gene study was of assistance in choosing the appropriate drugs in 28 cases (85%). Conclusions : An rpoB gene study using an LiP A assay was useful in rapidly diagnosing RMP-resistant tuberculosis, which enabled a proper choice of the appropriate drugs in clinical practices. However, an LiPA assay always should be performed in conjunction with microscopy, culture, and susceptibility tests.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.158-165
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• 2006

Although Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains remain responsible for the majority of diseases caused by mycobacterial infections worldwide, the increase in HIV infections has allowed for the emergence of other non-tuberculous mycobacteria as clinically significant pathogens. However, Mycobacterium species has a long period of incubation, and requires serious biochemical tests such as niacin, catalase, and nitrate test that are often tedious. The development of rapid and accurate diagnostics can aid in the early diagnosis of disease caused by Mycobacterium. The current DNA amplification and hybridization methods that have been developed target several genes for the detection of mycobacterial species such as hps65, 16S rDNA, rpoB, and dnaj. These methods produce rapid and accurate results. In this study, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis(PCR-RFLP) based on the region of the rpoB gene was used to verify the identification of non-tuburculosis Mycobacterium species. A total of 8 mycobacterial reference strains and 13 clinical isolates were digested with restriction enzymes such as Msp I in this study. The results of using this process clearly demonstrated that all 13 specimens were identified by rpoB gene PRA method. The PCR-RFLP method based on the rpoB gene is a simple, rapid, and accurate test for the identification of Mycobacterium.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.853-869
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• 2000

Background : Following several decades of decline, the incidence of tuberculosis has recent1y begun to increase in many countries of this the control of this disease has been impeded by the emergence of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The development of rapid diagnostic methods and effective new drugs are needed to control MDR-TB. One of the new drugs for MDR-TB is rifabutin (RBU) which has been known to be effective in some patients with MDR-TB. A few reports showed that some types of mutations of the rpoB gene, which were known to be present in 96-98% of rifampicin-resistant M. tuberculosis, were associated with the rifampicin-resistant but RBU-susceptible phenotype. This study was performed to investigate the correlation between RBU susceptibility and the patterns of rpoB gene mutations in Korean MDR-TB. Methods : Sixty-five clinical isolates of multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis, gathered from patients who visited the Asan Medical Center from July 1997 to June 1999, were investigated. Clinical responses to rifabutin-containing regimen were evaluated. An RBU susceptibility test and sequencing analysis of rpoB gene were performed, and the results were analyzed to confirm which mutations correlated with RBU-susceptible MDR-TB. Results : Fifty-three of 56 (95%) clinical isolates of MDR-TB had 60 mutations of the rpoB gene. The most frequent mutations were found at codon 531 (43%), and two mutations were combined in seven clinical isolates. Five of 53 (10%) clinical isolates showed the RBU-susceptible phenotype, and in them the characteristic patterns of point mutations were found at codon 509, 516, and 526. Conclusion : The frequency and pattern of mutations of the rpoB gene of Korean MDR-TB isolates were similar to those in western countries, where the prevalence of tuberculosis is low, but some show RBU-susceptible phenotypes. RBU-susceptible MDR-TB isolates showed the characteristic pattern of mutations of the rpoB gene which could be used to rapidly diagnose RBU susceptibility.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.250-255
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• 2014

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) resides and replicates inside macrophages. In our previous report, we reported that CD8+ T cell-mediated immune responses specific for the peptide derived from MTB RNA polymerase beta-subunit ($RpoB_{127-135}$) could be induced in TB patients expressing HLA-$A^*0201$ subtype. In order to examine whether $RpoB_{127-135}$ specific CD8+ T cells can recognize MTB infected macrophages in vitro, CD8+ T cell lines specific for $RpoB_{127-135}$ peptide were generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy HLA-$A^*0201$ subjects by in vitro immunization technique. In this study, we observed $RpoB_{127-135}$ specific CD8+ T cells could recognize and destroy macrophages infected with MTB for 2 to 4 days. $RpoB_{127-135}$ specific CD8+ T cell immune response was inducible from PBMC of healthy subjects expressing HLA-$A^*0206$ subtype, one of HLA-A2 supertype members. Next, we investigated the HLA-I processing mechanism of $RpoB_{127-135}$ peptide in MTB infected macrophages. As a result, the presentation of the MTB derived epitope peptide, $RpoB_{127-135}$, to CD8+ T cells was not inhibited by the treatment with brefeldin-A (ER-Golgi transport inhibitor) or lactacystin (proteasome inhibitor), which blocks the classical HLA-I processing pathway. However, $RpoB_{127-135}$ specific CD8+ T cell activity was blocked either by the blocking agent for the endocytosis (cytochalasin D) or by the blocking antibody (W6/32) for HLA-I molecules. Therefore, the $RpoB_{127-135}$ peptide may be processed by accessing the alternate HLA-I processing pathway. Understanding the processing and presentation mechanisms of the MTB derived proteins will help to improve the efficacy of vaccines and the efficiency of therapeutic agents for TB.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.846-852
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• 2003

rpoB DNAs (279 bp) from 34 species of 5 actinomycete genera were sequenced and a phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the sequences obtained. The genera were clearly differentiated in the rpoB tree, forming clades specific to their respective genus. In addition, 2 signature amino acid residues specific to Streptomyces were found in a multiple alignment of the deduced amino acid sequences. To empirically confirm that this rpoB gene analysis system could be used to differentiate actinomycete isolates, the proposed system was used to identify 16 actinomycete isolates from Jeju Island. All isolates were successfully differentiated into the genera Streptomyces and Micromonospora. Accordingly, this is the first report that an rpoB sequence analysis has been effectively used to differentiate actinomycete strains at the genus level.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2013

Mitis group streptococci (MGS) were classified based on the nucleotide sequences 16S rRNA gene (16S rDNA) and comprised 13 Streptococcus species. However, 16S rDNA homogeneity among MGS was too high to discriminate between clinical strains at the species level, notably between Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae. The purpose of this study was to discriminate between 37 strains of MGS isolated from Korean oral cavities using phylogenetic analysis of the DNA-dependant RNA polymerase beta-subunit gene (rpoB). 16S rDNA and rpoB from clinical strains of MGS were sequenced using the dideoxy chain termination method and analyzed using MEGA version 5 software. The resulting phylogenetic data showed that the rpoB sequences could delineate clinical strains of MGS at the species level. Phylogenetic analysis of rpoB is therefore a useful approach for identifying MGS at the species level.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.842-851
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• 1996

Background : Rifampicin(RFP) is a key component of the antituberculous shon-course chemotherapy and the RFP-resistance is a marker of multi-drug resistant(MDR) M. tuberculosis. rpoB gene encodes the ${\beta}$-subunit of RNA polymerase of M. tuberculosis which is the target of RFP. Recent reports show that rpoB gene mutations are the cause of RFP resistance of M. tuberculosis and the main mechanism of rpoB gene mutation is point mutation. And PCR-SSCP is a rapid and easy method for detecting point mutations. So we performed PCR-SSCP of rpoB gene of M. tuberculosis and compared the result with traditional RFP sensitivity test. Method : The 27 RFP sensitive M. tuberculosis culture isolates and 25 RFP resistant isolates were evaluated. The RFP sensitivity test was done at the Korean Tuberculosis istitute. The DNA was extracted by bead beater method and was amplified with primers TR-8 and TR-9 in a 20ul PCR reaction containing 0.1ul(luCi) [${\alpha}-^{32}P$] - dCTP. After amplification, SSCP was done using non-denaturaring polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Then direct sequencing was done in cases of different eletrophoretic mobility compared with that of H37Rv. In 19 cases, we compared PCR-SSCP results with patient's clinical course and the results of traditional RFP sensitivity test. Results : 1) All 27 RFP sensitive M. tuberculosis isolates showed the same electrophoretic mobility compared with that of H37Rv. And all 25 RFP resistant M. tuberculosis isolates showed different electrophoretic mobility. 2) The mechanism of rpoB gene mutation of M. tuberculosis is mainly point mutation. 3) The PCR-SSCP results correlate well with traditional RFP sensitivity and patient's clinical response to antituberculous treatment. Conclusion: The PCR-SSCP of rpoB gene is a very sensitive and rapid mehod in detecting RFP- resistant M. tuberculosis.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.489-496
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• 2014

Polygonatum is a genus placed in the family Liliaceae, distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and 16 of the species are grown naturally in Korea. In oriental medicine, the rhizomes of Polygonatum have been used as two different medicines, Okjuk (Polygonati odorati Rhizoma) and Hwangjeong (Polygonati Rhizoma). However, it is difficult to identify the morphological and chemical differences between the medicinal groups and thus easy to confuse the one with the other. Therefore, a clear classification standard needs to be established so as to be able to discriminate between them. In the study, the morphological characteristics of the plants, Polygonatum spp., were examined. Then, the differences in SNPs among the DNA sequences of 7 of the Polygonatum spp. and 1 of the Disporum spp. were analyzed by DNA barcoding with rpoC1, rpoB2, matK, and psbA-trnH of the cpDNA region. In the results, three regions, rpoC1, rpoB2, and matK were useful for discriminating the species, P. stenophyllum and P. sibiricum. Furthermore, it was possible to discriminate the individual germplasm within the species by using the combination of the results obtained from rpoB2, rpoC1, and matK.

• Journal of information and communication convergence engineering
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.210-214
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• 2012

A microtiter well plate DNA hybridization method using Mycobacterium kansasii-specific rpoB DNA probe (kanp) were evaluated for the detection of M. kansasii from culture isolates. Among the 201 isolates tested by this method, 27 strains show positive results for M. kansasii, but the other 174 isolates were negative results for M. kansasii. This result was consistent with partial rpoB sequence analysis of M. kansasii and the result of biochemical tests. The negative strains by this DNA-DNA hybridization method were identified as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (159 strains), Mycobacterium avim (5 strains), Mycobacterium intracellulare (8 strains), and Mycobacterium flavescens (2 strain) by rpoB DNA sequence analysis. Due to high sensitivity and specificity of this test result, we suggest that DNA-DNA hybridization method using rpoB DNA probes of M. kansasii could be used for the rapid and convenient detection of M. kansasii.