• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.879-889
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• 2015

The outbreak of viral diseases caused by viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) and red seabream iridovirus (RSIV) have been reported in cultured olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus. VHSV has been a serious viral disease that infects the olive flounders in South Korea. Clinical signs of VHSV infection are skin darkening, abdominal distension and haemorrhages. Outbreaks of fish iridoviral disease was first reported from red seabream, Pagrus major farms in Japan. Recently, iridovirus infection have occurred frequently from olive flounder farms in South Korea. In this study, disease surveillance was performed to monitor the prevalence of VHSV and RSIV in olive flounder in 2014. The samples were collected from 60 different olive flounder farms in Jeju from April, May, September, November and December in 2014. RT-PCR (VHSV) or PCR (RSIV) results showed that VHSV were detected in 5 farms, but RSIV has not been detected in any farms. The migration of olive flounder was restricted for the quarantine in 5 farms of VHS outbreak. The nucleocapsid protein (N) gene and glycoprotein (G) gene sequences of the 5 Korean VHSV isolates were successfully amplified and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis was performed using the VHSV sequences reported here together comparison with the nucleotide sequences available from the GenBank database. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that most of Korea VHSV belong to the genotype IVa and closely related to the strains from Japan and China.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.187-196
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• 2020

The caspase10 encodes an initiating caspase that plays an important role in the maintaining the cellular homeostasis by regulating the steps involved in the immune response and cell death. We investigated the expression of caspase10 during the different developmental stages and in olive flounder tissues. Caspase10 increased in the late stage of the formation of immune tissue, and high expression was observed in the gills, kidney, skin, and spleen. The current study analyzed the expressional changes of caspase10 in olive flounder infected with viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV). One of the major causes of mass mortality, VHSV infection in olive flounder attributes to significant expression of caspase10 in the gills, spleen, skin, and kidneys. The results indicate a close association of caspase10 expression with the immune response to VHSV infection in olive flounder. The observations could form the basis data for exploration of other fish immune system.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.355-369
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• 2004

The equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) immediate-early (IE) protein is a potent transactivator responsible for the activation of both early and late genes during the course of infection and is comprised of discrete functional domains that mediate its many functions. Interaction between trans activators such as the IE protein and various components of the RNA polymerase II transcription initiation machinery has been demonstrated to be critical for transactivation. In the present report, it is addressed the hypothesis that the IE protein interacts with various components of transcription machinery to mediate transactivation of target viral genes. In these studies, it is demonstrated that in vitro transcribed and translated IE protein interacts with TFIIB-agarose conjugate but not with TFIID-agarose conjugate. Additional immunoprecipitation studies using nuclear extracts derived from EHV-1 infected RK-13 cells confirmed that the IE protein interacts strongly with TFIIB, but fails to interact with TFIID. IR2, a truncated form of the IE protein lacking the potent transactivation domain and involved in the down-regulation of the IE gene, also interacted with TFIIB but not with TFIID. Studies were also performed to ascertain if particular TBP-associated factors (TAFs) could mediate IE or IR2 binding to TFIID. In vitro transcribed and translated TAF250 added to nuclear extracts generated from EHV-1 infected cells also failed to mediate an interaction between the IE protein or the IR2 protein and TFIID. This study demonstrated that the IE protein mediates transactivation of target viral genes by a mechanism that involves TFIIB. This is in contrast to mechanisms that have been proposed for both the herpes simplex virus ICP4 and VP16 protein which have been proposed to transactivate viral genes through interactions involving both TFIIB and TFIID. This study also intimates that IR2 mediate its repressive effects during the course of EHV-1 infection by a mechanism that involves sequestration of various transcription factors.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.44 no.9
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• pp.680-687
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• 2021

Coronavirus disease, COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), caused by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), has a higher case fatality rate in European countries than in others, especially East Asian ones. One potential explanation for this regional difference is the diversity of the viral infection efficiency. Here, we analyzed the allele frequencies of a nonsynonymous variant rs12329760 (V197M) in the TMPRSS2 gene, a key enzyme essential for viral infection and found a significant association between the COVID-19 case fatality rate and the V197M allele frequencies, using over 200,000 present-day and ancient genomic samples. East Asian countries have higher V197M allele frequencies than other regions, including European countries which correlates to their lower case fatality rates. Structural and energy calculation analysis of the V197M amino acid change showed that it destabilizes the TMPRSS2 protein, possibly negatively affecting its ACE2 and viral spike protein processing.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.211-219
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• 2022

Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) is one of the problematic wasting diseases in cattle leading to huge economic losses. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of BVD including transient and persistent infection from cattle farms in Gyeongsangnam-do. A total of 2,667 blood samples from 24 farms were collected and the sera were subjected to ELISA to detect BVD virus (BVDV) antigen, E^rns. 5' untranslated region (5'-UTR) of BVDV-positive samples was sequenced to identify the genotype, and compared with isolates previously reported elsewhere. There were fourteen BVDV-positive calves from 2,667 samples (positive rate: 0.52%) from first ELISA testing followed by eight persistently infected out of eleven BVDV-positive samples (72.73%) in secondary ELISA that was conducted in at least four weeks suggesting the circulation of BVDV in the area. Sequencing analysis exhibited that thirteen BVDV-positive samples were identified as BVDV-1b and one sample was BVDV-2a. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the BVDV-1b-positive samples showed the highest homology in nucleotide sequence to Korean isolates collected from Sancheong, Gyeongsangnam-do, while the BVDV-2a-positive sample (21GN7) was more similar to reference strains collected outside South Korea. This study will provide the recent fundamental data on BVD prevalence in Gyeongsangnam-do to be referred in developing strategies to prevent BVDV in South Korea.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2013

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is one of the most important disease viruses in cattle that can cause severe economical losses due to decreased fertility, abortion, diarrhea, and respiratory symptoms. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate prevalence of BVDV infection (Transiently infection, Persistently infection) in dairy cattle in Gyeongnam southern area, Korea and use this data as the basis for establishing an eradication program and policy. A total of 44 bulk-tank milk samples (farms) collected in milk collecting center were tested for BVDV antibody using an ELISA. As the result, out of a total of 44 bulk-tank milk samples (farms), 38 (86.4%) samples were BVDV antibody positive. Blood samples (17 farms, n=543) were collected from BVDV antibody positive farms in bulk-tank milk, tested for BVDV antigen with ELISA and PCR. BVDV infected farms were 47% (8/17) and BVDV infected head were 2.2% (12/543). Persistently infected cattle (PI) were detected at 6 (35.3%) farms out of 17 farms and a total of 6 (1.1%) out of 543 head of cattle were identified as PI. The seropositive of BVDV antibody at farms and head were 100% (17/17) and 49.45% (91/184), respectively. The seroprevalence of BVDV antibody in PI infected farms (67.35%) much higher than that of BVDV antibody in transiently infected cattle (TI) infected farms (45%) and uninfected farms (34.48%). For eradication of BVDV infection in cattle populations, First of all, we should remove PI and need vaccination.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2015.11a
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• pp.37-37
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• 2015

dsRNA was found in malformed cultures of Lentinula edodes strain FMRI0339, one of the three most popular sawdust cultivated commercial strains of shiitake, and was also found in healthy-looking fruiting bodies and actively growing mycelia. Cloning of the partial genome of the dsRNA revealed the presence of the RdRp sequence of a novel L. edodes mycovirus (LeV), and sequence comparison of the cloned amplicon showed an identical sequence to known RdRp genes of LeV found in strain HKA. The meiotic stability of dsRNA was examined by measuring the ratio of the presence of dsRNA among sexual monokaryotic progeny. More than 40% of the monokaryotic progeny still contained the dsRNA, indicating the persistence of dsRNA during sexual reproduction. Comparing the mycelia growth of monokaryotic progeny suggested that, although variations in the growth rate existed among progeny and virus infection was observed in highly actively growing progeny, there appeared to be a tendency toward a lower frequency of virus incidence in actively growing progeny. This study attempted to cure the edible mushroom L. edodes strain FMRI0339 of the L. edodes mycovirus (LeV) in order to obtain an isogenic virus-free fungal strain as well as a virus-infected strain for comparison. Mycelial fragmentation, followed by being spread on a plate with serial dilutions resulted in a virus-free colony. Viral absence was confirmed with gel electrophoresis after dsRNA-specific virus purification, Northern blot analysis, and PCR using reverse transcriptase (RT-PCR). Once cured, all of fungal cultures remained virus-free over the next two years. Interestingly, the viral titer of LeV varied depending on the culture condition. The titer from the plate culture showed at least a 20-fold higher concentration than that grown in the liquid culture. However, the reduced virus titer in the liquid culture was recovered by transferring the mycelia to a plate containing the same medium. In addition, oxygen-depleted culture conditions resulted in a significant decrease of viral concentration, but not to the extent seen in the submerged liquid culture. Although no $discernable phenotypic changes in colony morphology were observed, virus-cured strains showed significantly higher growth rates and mycelial mass than virus-infected strains. We were also explored effects of LeV on fruiting body formation and mushroom yield. The fruiting body formation yield of virus-free L. edodes was larger than virus-infected L. edodes. These results indicate that LeV infection has a deleterious effect on mycelial growth and fruiting body formation. In addition, we have been investigated host-parasite interaction between L. edodes and its mycovirus interaction to study viral mechanism by establishment of proteomics.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.2133-2140
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• 2018

Norovirus is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis. Its pathogenesis is poorly understood owing to the difficulty of establishing viral infection in animal models. Here, post-weaning gnotobiotic pigs were infected with human norovirus genogroup II genotype 4 (HuNoV GII.4) to investigate the pathogenesis and replication of the virus. Three groups of four pigs were infected with $1{\times}10^5$, $1{\times}10^6$, or $1{\times}10^7$ genomic equivalent (GE) copies of HuNoV GII.4. Four pigs were used as negative controls. Blood and rectal swab samples were collected after viral infection, and gross legions were examined after necropsy. Diarrhea was induced in 25% and 75% of pigs infected with $1{\times}10^6$ and $1{\times}10^7$ GE copies, respectively. Viral shedding was detected in 50%, 75%, and 50% of pigs infected with $1{\times}10^5$, $1{\times}10^6$, and $1{\times}10^7$ GE copies, respectively. Viremia was detected in 25% of pigs infected with either $1{\times}10^6$ or $1{\times}10^7$ GE copies. When gross lesions of gastroenteritis were investigated, the ileum walls of the infected pigs were thinner than those of the controls. Villi atrophy and inflammatory cell infiltration were identified in the ileum of each infected pig. Viral capsid was identified in the jejunum, ileum, colon, spleen, and mesenteric lymph node. Virus replication was newly verified in the spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes by detection of negative-sense viral RNA. In conclusion, HuNoV GII.4 could induce acute gastroenteritis and replicate in the extra-intestinal lymphoid tissues in post-weaning gnotobiotic pigs. Therefore, such pigs would be a suitable animal model for studying the pathogenesis and replication of HuNoV.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.71-77
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• 2022

African swine fever (ASF) is a fatal viral disease in pigs, with a short incubation period and causing immediate death. Few studies exist on the Asian epidemic ASF virus (ASFV) challenge in older pigs, including growing and fattening pigs and sows. We aimed to investigate clinical outcomes, pathomorphological lesions, and viral distribution in organs of 3-month-old growing pigs that were inoculated with the ASFV isolated in Vietnam. The clinical outcomes were recorded daily, and the dead or euthanized pigs immediately underwent necropsy. Viral loads were determined in 10 major organs using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The average incubation period in growing pigs was more delayed (5.2±0.9 dpi) than that in weaned pigs, and the clinical signs were milder in growing pigs than in weaned pigs. The digestive and respiratory clinical signs in growing pigs showed at the end period of life, but these were observed at an early stage of infection in weaned pigs. The pathomorphological features were severe and nonspecific with hemorrhagic lesions in various organs. The viral loads in organs from growing pigs were higher than those from piglets, and the number of viral copies was related to gross lesions in the tonsil and intestine. In the absence of vaccines against ASF, early clinical detection is important for preventing the spread of the virus. Our findings elucidated that the clinical signs and gross lesions in growing pigs differed from those in weaned pigs, which provide valuable information for diagnosis of pigs with suspected ASF infection.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.350-358
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• 2023

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) is a viral infectious disease that occurs in children under 5 years of age. Its main causes are coxsackievirus (CV) and enterovirus (EV). Since there are no efficient therapeutics for HFMD, vaccines are effective in preventing the disease. To develop broad coverage against CV and EV, the development of a bivalent vaccine form is needed. The Mongolian gerbil is an efficient and suitable animal model of EV71 C4a and CVA16 infection used to investigate vaccine efficacy following direct immunization. In this study, Mongolian gerbils were immunized with a bivalent inactivated EV71 C4a and inactivated CVA16 vaccine to test their effectiveness against viral infection. Bivalent vaccine immunization resulted in increased Ag-specific IgG antibody production; specifically, EV71 C4a-specific IgG was increased with medium and high doses and CVA16-specific IgG was increased with all doses of immunization. When gene expression of T cell-biased cytokines was analysed, Th1, Th2, and Th17 responses were found to be highly activated in the high-dose immunization group. Moreover, bivalent vaccine immunization mitigated paralytic signs and increased the survival rate following lethal viral challenges. When the viral RNA content was determined from various organs, all three doses of bivalent vaccine immunization were found to significantly decrease viral amplification. Upon histologic examination, EV71 C4a and CVA16 induced tissue damage to the heart and muscle. However, bivalent vaccine immunization alleviated this in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that the bivalent inactivated EV71 C4a/CVA16 vaccine could be a safe and effective candidate HFMD vaccine.