• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.320-326
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• 2003

In order to identify Vibrio vulnificus in the Yellow Sea near Gunsan, Korea during the early and late summers, the efficiency of the real-time quantitative TaqMan PCR was compared to the efficiency of the conventional PCR and Biolog identification system^TM. Primers and a probe were designed from the hemolysin/cytolysin gene sequence of V. vulnificus strains. The number of positive detections by real-time quantitative TaqMan PCR, conventional PCR, and the Biolog identification system from seawater were 53 (36.8%), 36 (25%), and 10 strains (6.9%), respectively, among 144 samples collected from Yellow Sea near Gunsan, Korea. Thus, the detection method of the real-time quantitative TaqMan PCR assay was more effective in terms of accuracy than that of the conventional PCR and Biolog system. Therefore, our results showed that the real-time TaqMan probe and the primer set developed in this study can be applied successfully as a rapid screening tool for the detection of V. vulnificus.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2012

Purpose: To determine a method to improve the efficacy and accuracy of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) - polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we compared hot start PCR and conventional multiplex nested PCR. Materials and Methods: This study was performed with single lymphocyte isolated from whole blood samples that were obtained from two couples with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). We proceeded with conventional multiplex nested PCR and hot start PCR in which essential reaction components were physically removed, and we compared the amplification rate, allele dropout rate and nonspecific products. Afterward, we used selective method for PGD. Results: In the two couples, the respective amplification rate were 93.5% and 80.0% using conventional multiplex nested PCR and 95.5% and 92.0% using hot start PCR. The respective mean allele dropout rates for the two couples were 42.0% and 14.0% with conventional multiplex nested PCR and 36.0% and 6.0% with hot start PCR. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that the hot start PCR procedure provides higher amplification rates and lower allele dropout rate than the conventional method and that it decreased the nonspecific band in multiplex nested PCR. The hot start method is more efficient for analyzing a single blastomere in clinical PGD.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.467-477
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• 2018

Colletotrichum circinans, an anthracnose pathogen, causes serious damage to onions worldwide. In this study, specific molecular markers were developed to detect C. circinans accurately and quickly with both conventional and real-time PCR methods. The cirTef-F/cirTef-R and cirTu-F/cirTu-R primer sets, which are specific for C. circinans, were constructed by analyzing $tef-1{\alpha}$ and ${\beta}-tubulin$ genes in the fungus. Using the conventional PCR method, 100 pg and 1 ng of fungal DNA could be detected using the cirTef-F/cirTef-R and cirTu-F/cirTu-R sets, respectively. Using the real-time PCR method, 10 pg and 100 pg of fungal DNA could be detected more sensitively with the cirTef-F/cirTef-R and cirTu-F/cirTu-R sets, respectively. Detection of C. circinans from the artificially infected onion seeds was possible by using both conventional and real-time PCR methods and the developed cirTef-F/cirTef-R primer set. The PCR markers specific for C. circinans developed in this study may enhance the efficiency of fungal pathogen detection in imported vegetables and seeds.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.424-429
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• 2012

Purpose: Methods for quick and reliable detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae are needed for the diagnosis of pneumococcal disease and vaccine studies. This study aimed to show that sequential multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is more efficient than conventional culture in achieving S. pneumoniae -positive results. Methods: Nasopharyngeal (NP) secretions were obtained from 842 pediatric patients admitted with lower respiratory infections at Severance Children's Hospital in Korea between March 2009 and June 2010. For identification and serotype determination of pneumococci from the NP secretions, the secretions were evaluated via multiplex PCR technique with 35 serotype-specific primers arranged in 8 multiplex PCR sets and conventional bacteriological culture technique. Results: Among the results for 793 samples that underwent both bacterial culture and PCR analysis for pneumococcal detection, 153 (19.3%) results obtained by PCR and 81 (10.2%) results obtained by conventional culture technique were positive for S. pneumoniae. The predominant serotypes observed, in order of decreasing frequency, were 19A (23%), 6A/B (16%), 19F (11%), 15B/C (5%), 15A (5%), and 11A (4%); further, 26% of the isolates were non-typeable. Conclusion: As opposed to conventional bacteriological tests, PCR analysis can accurately and rapidly identify pneumococcal serotypes.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.103-107
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• 2016

To establish a rapid and accurate detection of Phytophthora pinifolia, which is a quarantine pathogenic fungus in Korea, a species-specific primer was developed based on the ras-related protein (Ypt1) gene. Species-specific primer based on the DNA sequences of Ypt1 gene amplified 193 bp polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product for P. pinifolia. The primer pair yielded the predicted PCR product size exactly in testing with target pathogen DNAs, but not from the other 10 species of Phytophthora and 14 species of other phytopathogenic fungi. The primer pair also showed only the species-specific amplification curve on realtime PCR on target pathogen DNA. The detection sensitivity of real time PCR using species-specific primer pair was 10 to 100 times higher than conventional PCR, with 1 to $10pg/{\mu}L$.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.299-306
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• 2009

Assay for the detection and quantification of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV 2) with the real-time PCR were developed. TaqMan probe real-time using a set of primer/probe was developed for detection of PCV 2. In this study we applied real-time PCR assay to 320 samples, collected from pig farms. In 151 of 320 samples, PCV 2 DNA was detected by conventional PCR assay. All samples positive for PCV 2 DNA in conventional PCR assay were also positive in Real-time PCR assay, but 69 of 169 samples that tested negative for PCV 2 DNA in conventional assay were tested positive in TaqMan probe real-time PCR assay. The test of TaqMan probe real-time PCR resulted in detection and quantification limits of 101 copies per sample. TaqMan probe real-time PCR assay increased the number of samples in which PCV 2 was detected by 21%. TaqMan probe real-time PCR assay is very efficient method in contrast to the conventinal PCR, becoming increasingly important method for gene analysis.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.455-467
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• 2021

Macrofungi are valuable resources as novel drug candidates, new biomaterials, and edible materials. Recently, genetic approaches pertaining to macrofungi have been continuously growing for their identification, molecular breeding, and genetic engineering. However, purification and amplification of fungal DNA is challenging because of the rigid cell wall and presence of PCR inhibitory metabolites. Here, we established a direct PCR method to provide a rapid and efficient method for PCR-grade macrofungal DNA preparation applicable to both conventional PCR and real-time PCR. We first optimized the procedure of lysis and PCR using the mycelia of Lentinula edodes, one of the most widely consumed macrofungal species. Lysates prepared by neutralizing with (NH₄)₂SO₄ after heating the mycelia in a mixture of TE buffer and KOH at 65℃ for 10 min showed successful amplification in both conventional and real-time PCR. Moreover, the addition of bovine serum albumin to the PCR mixture enhanced the amplification in conventional PCR. Using this method, we successfully amplified not only internal transcribed spacer fragments but also low-copy genes ranging in length from 500 to 3,000 bp. Next, we applied this method to 62 different species (54 genera) of macrofungi, including edible mushrooms, such as Pleurotus ostreatus, and medicinal mushrooms such as Cordyceps militaris. It was found that our method is widely applicable to both ascomycetes and basidiomycetes. We expect that our method will contribute to accelerating PCR-based approaches, such as molecular identification, DNA marker typing, gene cloning, and transformant screening, in macrofungal studies.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1464-1469
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• 2009

To achieve more accurate and rapid detection of macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B resistance genes, erm(A), erm(B), and erm(C), we developed a TaqMan probe-based real-time PCR (Q-PCR) method and compared it with conventional PCR (C-PCR), which is the most widely using erm gene identification method. The detection limit of Q-PCR was 5 fg of genomic DNA or 5-8 CFU of bacterial cells of Staphylococcus aureus. The utilization of Q-PCR might shorten the time to erm detection from 3-4 h to about 50 min. These data indicated that Q-PCR assay appears to be not only highly sensitive and specific, but also the most rapid diagnostic method. Therefore, the appropriate application of the Q-PCR assay will permit rapid and accurate identification of erm genes from clinical and other samples.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.665-673
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• 2014

We compared standard culture methods as well as conventional PCR and real-time PCR for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) in milk, cheese, fresh-cut vegetables, and raw beef that have different levels of background microflora. No statistical differences were observed in sensitivity between the two selective media in all foods. In total, real-time PCR assay exhibited statistically excellent detection sensitivity (p<0.05) and was less time consuming and laborious as compared with standard culture methods. Conventional culture methods showed poor performance in detecting L. monocytogenes in food with high levels of background microflora, generating numerous false negative results. While the detection of L. monocytogenes in fresh cut vegetable by culture methods was hindered only by L. innocua, various background microflora, such as L. innocua, L. welshimeri, L. grayi, and Enterococcus faecalis appeared on the two selective media as presumptive positive colonies in raw beef indicating the necessity of improvement of current selective media. It appears that real-time PCR is an effective and sensitive presumptive screening tool for L. monocytogenes in various types of foods, especially foods samples with high levels of background microflora, thus complementing standard culture methodologies.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.77-82
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• 2021

As malaria remains a major health problem worldwide, various diagnostic tests have been developed, including microscopy-based and rapid diagnostic tests. LabChip real-time PCR (LRP) is a small and portable device used to diagnose malaria using lab-on-a-chip technology. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of LRP for detecting malaria parasites. Two hundred thirteen patients and 150 healthy individuals were enrolled from May 2009 to October 2015. A diagnostic detectability of LRP for malaria parasites was compared to that of conventional RT-PCR. Sensitivity of LRP for Plasmodium vivax, P. falciparum, P. malariae, and P. ovale was 95.5%, 96.0%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. Specificity of LRP for P. vivax, P. falciparum, P. malariae, and P. ovale was 100%, 99.3%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. Cohen's Kappa coefficients between LRP and CFX96 for detecting P. vivax, P. falciparum, P. malariae, and P. ovale were 0.96, 0.98, 1.00, and 1.00, respectively. Significant difference was not observed between the results of LRP and conventional RT-PCR and microscopic examination. A time required to amplify DNAs using LRP and conventional RT-PCR was 27 min and 86 min, respectively. LRP amplified DNAs 2 times more fast than conventional RT-PCR due to the faster heat transfer. Therefore, LRP could be employed as a useful tool for detecting malaria parasites in clinical laboratories.