• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.357-363
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• 2013

The fungus Venturia nashicola is the causal agent of scab on Asian pears. For the rapid and reliable identification as well as sensitive detection of V. nashicola, a PCR-based technique was developed. DNA fingerprints of three closely related species, V. nashicola, V. pirina, and V. inaequalis, were obtained by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. Two RAPD markers specific to V. nashicola were identified by PCR, after which two pairs of sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) primers were designed from the nucleotide sequences of the markers. The SCAR primer pairs, designated as D12F/D12R and E11F/E11R, amplified 535-bp and 525-bp DNA fragments, respectively, only from genomic DNA of V. nashicola. The specificity of the primer sets was tested on strains representing three species of Venturia and 20 fungal plant pathogens. The nested PCR primer pair specific to V. nashicola was developed based on the sequence of the species-specific 525-bp DNA fragment amplified by primer set E11F/E11R. The internal primer pair Na11F/Na11R amplified a 235-bp fragment from V. nashicola, but not from any other fungal species tested. The nested PCR assay was sensitive enough to detect the specific fragment in 50 fg of V. nashicola DNA.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.135-141
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• 2007

Conjugation of the methyl group at the fifth carbon of cytosines within the palindromic dinucleotide 5'-CpG-3' sequence (DNA methylation) is the best studied epigenetic mechanism, which acts together with other epigenetic entities: histone modification, chromatin remodeling and microRNAs to shape the chromatin structure of DNA according to its functional state. The cancer genome is frequently characterized by hypermethylation of specific genes concurrently with an overall decrease in the level of 5-methyl cytosine, the pathological implication of which to the cancerous state has been well established. While the latest genome-wide technologies have been applied to classify and interpret the epigenetic layer of gene regulation in the physiological and disease states, the epigenetic testing has also been seriously explored in clinical practice for early detection, refining tumor staging and predicting disease recurrence. This critique reviews the latest research findings on the use of DNA methylation in cancer diagnosis, prognosis and staging/classification.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.106-110
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• 2003

Stolbur Phytoplasma was detected from Lilium Oriental hybrids showing flattened stem and flower clustering. The presence of phytoplasma was demonstrated using polymerase chain reaction（PCR) assays with phyto-plasma-universal（P1/P6）and stolbur phytoplasma-specific 16F1/R1-S primer pairs amplifying phytoplasma 16S rDNA regions. Nucleotide suquences of the phytoplasma 16S rDNA were determined. Nucleic acid extracted from lily amplified 1.5 kb DNA with a phytoplasma universal primer pair. In nested PCR, 1.1 kb PCR product was obtained using specific primer pair, indicating an isolate of stolbur phytoplasma. Nucleotide sequence of phytoplasma 16S rDNA reported in this study showed 99.5% and 99.1％ identities with two known stolbur phytoplamas (16Sr XII-A). Also, it exhibited a sequence homology of 98.0％ with phormium yellow leaf (16Sr XII-B), and 97.9％ with Australian grapevine yellows (16Sr XII-B). Meanwhile, it showed 98.1% identity with strawberry green petal phytoplama, (16Sr1-C), and 94.7 % with American aster yellows (16Sr1-B). Homology percentage of the 16S rDNA nucleotide sequence suggests that this phytoplama could be classified into the stolbur phytoplasma, subgroup A (16Sr XII-A), as a type strain stolbur.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.122-129
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• 2004

Harmful Cochlodinium polykrikoides is a notorious harmful algal bloom (HAB) species that is causing mass mortality of farmed fish along the Korean coast with increasing frequency. We analyzed the sequence of the large subunit (LSD) rDNA D1-D3 region of C. polykrikoides and conducted phylogenetic analyses using Bayesian inference of phylogeny and the maximum likelihood method. The molecular phylogeny showed that C. polykrikoides had the genetic relationship to Amphidinium and Gymnodinium species supported only by the relatively high posterior probabilities of Bayesian inference. Based on the LSU rDNA sequence data of diverse dinoflagellate taxa, we designed the C. polykrikoides-specific PCR primer set, CPOLY01 and CPOLY02 and developed PCR detection assays for its sensitive, accurate HAB monitoring. CPOLY01 and CPOLY02 specifically amplified C. polykrikoides and did not cross-react with any dinoflagellates tested in this study or environmental water samples. The effective annealing temperature $(T_{p})$ of CPOLY01 and CPOLY02 was $67^{\circ}C$. At this temperature, the conventional and nested PCR assays were sensitive over a wide range of C. polykrikoides cell numbers with detection limits of 0.05 and 0.0001 cells/reaction, respectively.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.79-82
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• 2011

The aim of this study was to develop Prevotella intermedia ATCC 49046-specific PCR primers designed based on the nucleotide sequence of a DNA probe Pig28. The strainspecificity of the PCR primers, Pig28-F1/Pig28-R1, was confirmed with 9 strains of P. intermedia and 25 strains (15 species) of Prevotella species. The detection limit of the PCR primers was 2 pg of the purified genomic DNA of P. intermedia ATCC 49046. These PCR primers were found to be useful for identifying P. intermedia ATCC 49046, particularly for determining the authenticity of the strain.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2005

Two bacterial isolates obtained from rotifer and diseased olive flounder larvae, Paralichthys olivaceus, were identified as Vibrio ichthyoenteri based on the results of phenotypic characterization. In an attempt to develop rapid PCR method for the detection of V. ichthyoenteri, we examined the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region(ISR) of V. ichthyoenteri and developed species-specific primer for V. ichthyoenteri. Analysis of the ISR sequences showed that V. ichthyoenteri contains one type of polymorphic ISRs. The size of ISRs was 348 bp length and did not contain tRNA genes. Mutiple alignment of representative sequences from different V. species revealed several domains of high sequence variability, and allowed to design species-specific primer for detection of V. ichthyoenteri. The specificity of the primer was examined using genomic DNA prepared from 19 different V. species, isolated 18group Vibrio species and most similar sequence of other known Vibrio species. The results showed that the PCR reaction using species-specific primer designed in this study can be used to detect V. ichthyoenteri.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers C
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.286-292
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• 2004

In this study, an integrated microelectrode array was fabricated on glass slide using microfabrication technology. Probe DNAs consisting of mercaptohexyl moiety at their 5-end were spotted on the gold electrode using micropipette or DNA arrayer utilizing the affinity between gold and sulfur. Cyclic voltammetry in 5mM ferricyanide/ferrocyanide solution at 100 ㎷/s confirmed the immobilization of probe DNA on the gold electrodes. When several DNAs were detected electrochemically, there was a difference between target DNA and control DNA in the anodic peak current values. It was derived from specific binding of Hoechst 33258 to the double stranded DNA due to hybridization of target DNA. It suggested that this DNA chip could recognize the sequence specific genes. It suggested that multichannel electrochemical DNA microarray is useful to develop a portable device for clinical gene diagnostic System.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.212-218
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• 2015

In this study, we developed a species-specific PCR assay for rapid and accurate detection of three Xanthomonas species, X. axonopodis pv. poinsettiicola (XAP), X. hyacinthi (XH) and X. campestris pv. zantedeschiae (XCZ), based on their draft genome sequences. XAP, XH and XCZ genomes consist of single chromosomes that contain 5,221, 4,395 and 7,986 protein coding genes, respectively. Species-specific primers were designed from variable regions of the draft genome sequence data and assessed by a PCR-based detection method. These primers were also tested for specificity against 17 allied Xanthomonas species as well as against the host DNA and the microbial community of the host surface. Three primer sets were found to be very specific and no amplification product was obtained with the host DNA and the microbial community of the host surface. In addition, a detection limit of $1pg/{\mu}l$ per PCR reaction was detected when these primer sets were used to amplify corresponding bacterial DNAs. Therefore, these primer sets and the developed species-specific PCR assay represent a valuable, sensitive, and rapid diagnostic tool that can be used to detect three specific pathogens at early stages of infection and may help control diseases.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2015.11a
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• pp.41-41
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• 2015

Oomycetes belong to the kingdom Straminipila, a remarkably diverse group which includes brown algae and planktonic diatoms, although they have previously been classified under the kingdom Fungi. These organisms have evolved both saprophytic and pathogenic lifestyles, and more than 60% of the known species are pathogens on plants, the majority of which are classified into the order Peronosporales (includes downy mildews, Phytophthora, and Pythium). Recent phylogenetic investigations based on DNA sequences have revealed that the diversity of oomycetes has been largely underestimated. Although morphology is the most valuable criterion for their identification and diversity, morphological species identification is time-consuming and in some groups very difficult, especially for non-taxonomists. DNA barcoding is a fast and reliable tool for identification of species, enabling us to unravel the diversity and distribution of oomycetes. Accurate species determination of plant pathogens is a prerequisite for their control and quarantine, and further for assessing their potential threat to crops. The mitochondrial cox2 gene has been widely used for identification, taxonomy and phylogeny of various oomycete groups. However, recently the cox1 gene was proposed as a DNA barcode marker instead, together with ITS rDNA. To determine which out of cox1 or cox2 is best suited as universal oomycete barcode, we compared these two genes in terms of (1) PCR efficiency for 31 representative genera, as well as for historic herbarium specimens, and (2) in terms of sequence polymorphism, intra- and interspecific divergence. The primer sets for cox2 successfully amplified all oomycete genera tested, while cox1 failed to amplify three genera. In addition, cox2 exhibited higher PCR efficiency for historic herbarium specimens, providing easier access to barcoding type material. In addition, cox2 yielded higher species identification success, with higher interspecific and lower intraspecific divergences than cox1. Therefore, cox2 is suggested as a partner DNA barcode along with ITS rDNA instead of cox1. Including the two barcoding markers, ITS rDNA and cox2 mtDNA, the multi-locus phylogenetic analyses were performed to resolve two complex clades, Bremia lactucae (lettuce downy mildew) and Peronospora effuse (spinach downy mildew) at the species level and to infer evolutionary relationships within them. The approaches discriminated all currently accepted species and revealed several previously unrecognized lineages, which are specific to a host genus or species. The sequence polymorphisms were useful to develop a real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay for detection of airborne inoculum of B. lactucae and P. effusa. Specificity tests revealed that the qPCR assay is specific for detection of each species. This assay is sensitive, enabling detection of very low levels of inoculum that may be present in the field. Early detection of the pathogen, coupled with knowledge of other factors that favor downy mildew outbreaks, may enable disease forecasting for judicious timing of fungicide applications.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.287-294
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• 1999

A technique based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the specific detection of genus Phytophthora and Phytophthora cryptogea-P. drechsleri complex group was developed using nucleotide sequence information of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) regions. The internal transcribed spacers (ITS) including 5.8S were sequenced for P. cryptogea-P. drechsleri complex group and its related species. Two pairs of oligonucleotide primers were designed. Primer pair ITS1/Phy amplified ca. 240 bp fragment in 12 out of 13 specie of Phytophthora, but not in Pythium spp., Fusarium spp.and Rhizoctonia solani. Primer pair rPhy/Pcd amplified 549 bp fragment only in P. cryptogea-P. drechsleri complex group, but not in other Phytophthora spp.and other genera. Specific PCR amplification using the primers was successful in detecting Phytophthora and P. cryptogea-P. drechsleri complex group in diseased plants.