• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2021

This research was conducted to investigate the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects of MeOH Ex. of Salvia miltiorrhiza (MESM) against oral pathogenic bacteria. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), removal effect of biofilm produced by Streptococcus mutans, effect of gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines and effect of production of proinflammatory cytokine of MESM were tested. MESM showed moderated antibacterial activity against oral pathogenic bacteria. About 89±8% of biofilms produced by S. mutans were removed by MESM at a concentration of 1 mg/mL. Gene expression of IL-1β and TNF-α induced by Porphyromonas gingivalis were 8~9 folds reduced by MESM. Gene expression of IL-8 induced by Fusobacterium nucelatum were 12 folds reduced by MESM. Production of IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-8 were significantly suppressed by MESM. Conclusively, MESM showed potent antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect against oral pathogenic bacteria.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.889-893
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• 2012

Appressorium is a specialized infection structure of filamentous pathogenic fungi and plays an important role in establishing a pathogenic relationship with the host. The Egh16/Egh16H family members are involved in appressorium formation and pathogenesis in pathogenic filamentous fungi. In this study, a homolog of Egh16H, Magas1, was identified from an entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium acridum. The Magas1 protein shared a number of conserved motifs with other Egh16/Egh16H family members and specifically expressed during the appressorium development period. Magas1-EGFP fusion expression showed that Magas1 protein was not localized inside the cell. Deletion of the Magas1 gene had no impact on vegetative growth, conidiation and appressorium formation, but resulted in a decreased mortality of host insect when topically inoculated. However, the mortality was not significant between the Magas1 deletion mutant and wild-type treatment when the cuticle was bypassed by injecting conidia directly into the hemocoel. Our results suggested that Magas1 may influence virulence by affecting the penetration of the insects' cuticle.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.740-747
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• 2006

Amplification by universal consensus sequences in pathogenic bacterial DNA would allow rapid identification of pathogenic bacteria, and amplification of genus-specific and species-specific sequences of pathogenic bacterial DNA might be used for genotyping at the genus and species levels. For design of probes for molecular diagnostics, several tools are available as stand-alone programs or as Web application. However, since most programs can design only a few probe sets at one time, they are not suitable for large-scale and automatic probes design. Therefore, for high-throughput design of specific probes in diagnostic array development, an automated design tool is necessary. Thus, we developed a Web-based automatic system for design of genus-specific and species-specific probes for pathogen detection. The system is available at http://www.miprobe.com.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.28.1-28.7
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• 2022

We described a clinical, laboratory, and genetic presentation of a pathogenic variant of the CYP1B1 gene through a report of a case of primary congenital glaucoma and a trio analysis of this candidate variant in the family with the Sanger sequencing method and eventually completed our study with the secondary/incidental findings. This study reports a rare case of primary congenital glaucoma, an 8-year-old female child with a negative family history of glaucoma and uncontrolled intraocular pressure. This case's whole-exome sequencing data analysis presents a homozygous pathogenic single nucleotide variant in the CYP1B1 gene (NM_000104:exon3:c.G1103A:p.R368H). At the same time, this pathogenic variant was obtained as a heterozygous state in her unaffected father but not her mother. The diagnosis was made based on molecular findings of whole-exome sequencing data analysis. Therefore, the clinical reports and bioinformatics findings supported the relation between the candidate pathogenic variant and the disease. However, it should not be forgotten that primary congenital glaucoma is not peculiar to the CYP1B1 gene. Since the chance of developing autosomal recessive disorders with low allele frequency and unrelated parents is extraordinary in offspring. However, further data analysis of whole-exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing method were applied to obtain the type of mutation and how it was carried to the offspring.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.223-228
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• 2015

Purpose: The goal of this study was to characterize the patterns of antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes in samples of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) isolated from periodontitis patients. Methods: From July 2015 to August 2015, oral saliva was collected from a total of 112 patients diagnosed with periodontitis, including 80 outpatients in dental hospitals and 32 patients in dental clinics located in Seoul and Cheonan. The samples were subjected to a susceptibility test to evaluate the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance, and the pathogenic factors and antimicrobial resistance factors in the DNA of S. aureus were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction. Results: A susceptibility test against 15 antimicrobial agents showed that 88% of cultures were resistant to ampicillin, 88% to penicillin, and 2% to oxacillin. Resistance to at least two drugs was observed in 90% of cultures, and the most common pattern of multidrug resistance was to ampicillin and penicillin. Enterotoxins were detected in 65.9% of samples. The cell hemolysin gene hld was detected in 100% of cultures and hla was detected in 97.6% of samples. All strains resistant to penicillin and ampicillin had the blaZ gene. The aph(3')IIIa gene, which encodes an aminoglycoside modifying enzyme, was detected in 46.3% of samples. Conclusions: In the treatment of oral S. aureus infections, it is important to identify the pathogenic genes and the extent of antimicrobial resistance. Furthermore, it is necessary to study patterns of antimicrobial resistance and cross-infection in the context of periodontological specialties in which antimicrobials are frequently used, such as maxillofacial surgery, where the frequency of antimicrobial use for minor procedures such as implant placement is increasing.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.134-134
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• 2017

Recently, host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) system has been successfully applied into development of resistant crops against insects, fungal and viral pathogens. To test HIGS-mediated resistance in rice against rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, we first tested possibility of movement of small non-coding RNA from rice cells to rice blast fungus. The rice blast fungus expressing GFP transgene were inoculated to transgenic rice plants ectopically expressing dsRNAi construct targeting fungal GFP gene. Expression of dsRNAi construct for GFP gene in transgenic plants significantly suppressed GFP expression in infected fungal cells indicating that small RNAs generated in plant cells can move into infected fungal cells and efficiently suppress the expression of fungal GFP gene. Consistent with these results, expression of dsRNAi constructs against 3 fungal pathogenic genes of M. oryzae in transgenic rice specifically and efficiently suppressed not only the expression of fungal pathogenic genes, but also fungal infection. The conidia of M. oryzae applied on leaf sheath of transgenic rice expressing dsRNAs against 3 fungal pathogenic genes showed abnormal development of primary hyphae and malfunction of appressorium, which is consistent with the phenotypes of corresponding fungal knock-out mutants. Taken these results together, here, we suggest a novel strategy for development of antifungal crops by means of HIGS system.

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.233-244
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• 2010

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, and 5-10% of the PD cases are genetically inherited as familial PD (FPD). LRRK2 (leucine-rich repeat kinase 2) was first reported in 2004 as a gene corresponding to PARK8, an autosomal gene whose dominant mutations cause familial PD. LRRK2 contains both active kinase and GTPase domains as well as protein-protein interaction motifs such as LRR (leucine-rich repeat) and WD40. Most pathogenic LRRK2 mutations are located in either the GTPase or kinase domain, implying important roles for the enzymatic activities in PD pathogenic mechanisms. In comparison to other PD causative genes such as parkin and PINK1, LRRK2 exhibits two important features. One is that LRRK2's mutations (especially the G2019S mutation) were observed in sporadic as well as familial PD patients. Another is that, among the various PD-causing genes, pathological characteristics observed in patients carrying LRRK2 mutations are the most similar to patients with sporadic PD. Because of these two observations, LRRK2 has been intensively investigated for its pathogenic mechanism (s) and as a target gene for PD therapeutics. In this review, the general biochemical and molecular features of LRRK2, the recent results of LRRK2 studies and LRRK2's therapeutic potential as a PD target gene will be discussed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.1063-1066
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• 2004

The rpoS gene product is a global transcriptional factor, which is involved in bacterial survival under various stress conditions. An rpoS-homologous gene was cloned from a septicemia-causing pathogenic Vibrio vulnificus. Introduction of this gene as a multicopy plasmid into various E. coli strains displayed functional complementation, for examples, increased survivability of an rpoS-defective E. coli cell and induction of known $\delta^S$-dependent, stress-responding promoters of E. coli genes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.134.2-135
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• 2003

The plant-pathogenic species S. scabies, S. acidiscabies, and S. turgidiscabies cause the scab disease of potato and produce the phytotoxins, thaxtomins. necl, a gene conferring a necrogenic phenotype, is involved in pathogenicity and physically linked to the thaxtomin A biosynthetic genes. Identification of the pathogenic strains of Streptomyces from soil was performed through the polymerase chain reaction by using specific pathogenicity primer sets derived from the necl gene sequences of Streptomyces smbies. The DNA was extracted from soil using a bead-beating machine and modifications of the FastPrep system. The DNA was suitable for direct use in the PCR. The PCR products showed the bands of approximately 460 bp. This methods can be very usuful in identifying species responsible for scab diseases and studying on the ecology of plant-pathogenic Streptomyces spp.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.338-341
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• 2002

The potato scab is caused by several species of Streptomyces. Among these species, only pathogenic strains were found to produce thaxtomin A characterized by necrotic bioassay and HPLC. In this study, identification of the pathogenic strains of Streptomyces was performed through the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by using specific pathogenicity primer sets derived from the nec1 gene sequences of Streptomyces scabies. The expected PCR products were obtained approximately 580 bp and confirmed by sequencing. This PCR technique can be used effectively to identify the pathogenic Streptomyces species, that cause scab on potato tubers.