• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.575-584
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• 2012

Listeria monocytogenes is an important foodborne pathogen that comprises four genetic lineages: I, II, III, and IV. Of these, lineage II is frequently recovered from foods and environments and responsible for the increasing incidence of human listeriosis. In this study, the phylogenetic structure of lineage II was determined through sequencing analysis of the ascB-dapE internalin cluster. Fifteen sequence types proposed by multilocus sequence typing based on nine housekeeping genes were grouped into three distinct sublineages, IIA, IIB, and IIC. Organization of the ascB-dapE internalin cluster could serve as a molecular marker for these sublineages, with inlGHE, inlGC2DE, and inlC2DE for IIA, IIB, and IIC, respectively. These sublineages displayed specific genetic and phenotypic characteristics. IIA and IIC showed a higher frequency of recombination (${\rho}/{\theta}$). However, recombination events had greater effect (r/m) on IIB, leading to its high nucleotide diversity. Moreover, IIA and IIB harbored a wider range of internalin and stress-response genes, and possessed higher nisin tolerance, whereas IIC contained the largest portion of low-virulent strains owing to premature stop codons in inlA. The results of this study indicate that IIA, IIB, and IIC might occupy different ecological niches, and IIB might have a better adaptation to a broad range of environmental niches.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.139-144
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• 2003

We analyzed seven Y chromosome binary markers (YAP, RPS4Y_711,\;M9,\;M175,\;LINE1,\;SRY_+465$ and 47z) in samples from a total of 254 males from Koreans and tow Mongolian ethnic groups (Buryat and Khalkh) to study the genetic relationship among these populations. We found eight distinct Y haplogroups constructed from the seven binary markers. Haplogroup DE-YAP was present at extremely low frequencies (∼2%) in the Korean and Mongolian populations. This result is consistent with earlier reports that showed the YAP+ chromosomes to be highly polymorphic only in populations from Japan and Tibet in east Asia. The observed high frequency of haplogroup $C-RPS4Y_711$ in the Mongolian populations (∼40%) is concordant with recent findings, showing that the $RPS4Y_711$-T chromosomes were distributed at high frequencies in Siberian and Mongolian populations compared with most other populations from east Asia. Thus, the relatively moderate frequency of haplogroup $C-RPS4Y_711$ in Korean (∼15%) can be seen as genetic evidence for probable interaction with Mongolian and/or Siberian populations. In contrast, the majority (∼75%) of modern Koreans studied here had high frequencies of Y chromosome lineages of haplogroup O-M175 and additional haplogroupts that define sublineage of O-M175, which are most likely related with modern populations in China. In conclusion, our data on the Y chromosome haplogroup distribution may provide evidence for interaction between Korean and Mongolian populations, but Korean tend to be much more related with those from southern-to-northern populations of China than to Mongolians in east Asia.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.89-96
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• 2011

The outbreak of Newcastle disease occurred for the first time at a commercial chicken farm near Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in August 2010. Newcastle disease virus (NDV) obtained from infected chickens in Mongolia was characterized by biological and molecular biological approches. Mongolian NDV isolate killed all of chicken embryos within 60 h in the mean death time assay, indicating virulent for chicken. A genomic region of 695 nts between nts 1055 of the M gene and 508 of the F gene was amplified by RT-PCR and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence of the F protein cleavage site was $^{112}RRQKRF^{117}$, which is a typical sequence of velogenic strains of NDV and is agreement with the result of the MDT assay. The sequence of the partial F gene (nts 47 to 435) was used for genotyping by phylogenetic analysis. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the Mongolian isolate was of genotype VII within class II of NDV. Further phylogenetic analysis on the genotype VII strains revealed that the isolates placed in a genetic sublineage of VIId and most closely related with velogenic strains of NDV circulating in Far-east Asian region especially China, suggesting the introduction of velogenic NDV into Mongolia from neighboring countries.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.173-183
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• 2019

Based on their virulence, the avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are classified into two pathotypes: low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) virus and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus. Among the 16 HA subtypes of AIV, only the H5 and H7 subtypes are classified as HPAI. Some AIVs, including H5 and H7 viruses, can infect humans directly. Six H7 subtype isolates from wild birds of the H7N7 (n=4) and H7N1 (n=2) subtypes were characterized in this study. Phylogenetic analysis showed that eight viral genes (HA, NA, PB2, PB1, PA, NP, M, and NS) of the H7 isolates clustered in the Eurasian lineage, the genetic diversity of which is indicated by its division into several sublineages. The Korean H7 isolates had two motifs, PEIPKGR and PELPKGR, at the HA cleavage site, which have been associated with LPAI viruses. Six H7 isolates encoded glutamine (Q) and glycine (G) at positions 226 (H3 numbering) and 228 of HA, suggesting avian-type receptor-binding specificity. None of the Korean H7 isolates had the amino acid substitutions E627K in PB2 and I368V in PB1, which are critical for efficient replication in human cells. The Korean H7 isolates showed no deletions in the NA stalk region and in NS. These results suggest that the Korean H7 isolates from wild birds are different from the H7N9 influenza viruses isolated in China in 2013, which are capable of infecting humans.