Drought is one of the key limiting factors that adversely affects the growth and productivity of crop plants. For the enhancement of drought tolerance in crop plants, the identification of basic mechanisms of a plant to drought stress is necessary. In this study, we compared physiological and biochemical responses of five local Arundenilla hirta ecotypes to drought stress. These ecotypes were previously collected from various parts of Korean peninsula, including Youngduk, Gunsan, Jangsoo, Jinju-1 and Yecheon. A. hirta plants were exposed to drought stress for 14 and 17 days respectively, followed by re-watering for 3 days. The results showed that the lipid peroxidation (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity, and proline level were significantly increased while the chlorophyll content was decreased by drought stress in A. hirta leaves. The highest proline content and DPPH scavenging activity were shown in Ecotype of Youngduk with least MDA and H2O2 levels while the highest MDA and H2O2 contents, and least proline and DPPH levels were shown in Gunsan, respectvely. These results indicate that the Youngduk is the most tolerant and Gunsan is the most sensitive ecotype among the five different collections. Together, these results provide a new insight of overall physiological responses of A. hirta to drought stress.

본 연구는 우리나라의 주요 조림수종인 자작나무(Betulaplatyphylla var. japonica Hara.) 종자의 저장기간 및 온도처리에 따른 발아 특성을 구명하고자 수행되었다. 공시수종 종자는 각각 1996년, 2003년, 2012년, 2013년, 2014년, 2015년, 2016년 채집된 자작나무 종자이며, 발아실험은 5℃, 10℃, 15℃, 20℃, 25℃, 30℃, 35℃의 온도 조건에서 실시하였다. 저장기간에 따른 발아율(GR)의 조사 결과 2012 년 이전에 채집된 종자에서는 발아가 전혀 되지 않았다. 저장기간별 발아율은 2015년에 채집된 종자가 모든 온도에서 가장 높았고, 저장기간이 길어질수록 낮은 것으로 조사되었다. 온도별 발아율의 경우 1 5℃ 이하의 온도 조건에서는 모든 종자에서 발아가 전혀 되지 않고, 30℃에서 가장 높은 발아율을 보였 다. 그 외의 발아특성은 저장기간이 짧은 종자이고 발아율이 높은 온도일수록 발아기(T50)와 평균발아일 수(MGT)가 낮고 발아속도(GS)가 높은 경향을 보였다. 발아균일도(GU)는 상대적으로 고온인 35℃에서 높은 것으로 나타났다.

목적: 국내 콘택트렌즈 착용자들의 렌즈 사용 후 폐기처분 방법, 잘못된 폐기방법으로 발생될 수 있는 미세플라스틱에 의한 환경오염에 대한 인식을 알아보고자 하였다. 방법: 성인 261명(남자 124명, 여자 137명, 평균 나이 21.48±3.14세)을 대상으로 콘택트렌즈 주 구매처, 착용 콘택트렌즈 종류, 콘택트렌즈 착용 기간, 콘택트렌즈 폐기방법에 대한 정보나 교육을 받은 적이 있는지 여부, 콘택트렌즈 사용 후 폐기처분 방법, 환경오염 발생에 대한 인식에 대한 온라인 설문조사를 실시하였다. 결과: 콘택트렌즈 주 구매처는 안경원(50.0%), 렌즈샵(48.3%) 순으로 나타났으며, 콘택트렌즈 종류로는 매일착용 렌즈 (52.5%), 일회용 렌즈(38.5%)를 가장 많이 착용하고 있었다. 콘택트렌즈를 착용해 온 기간은 5년 이상(29.3%), 1년 미만(26.0%), 1년 이상~3년 미만(26.0%) 순으로 나타났으며, 1주일 중 콘택트렌즈를 착용하는 기간은 1~2일 착용(32.0%)이 제일 많았고, 1주일 내내(28.0%), 5-6일 착용(22.4%), 3-4일(17.6%) 순으로 응답하였다. 콘택트렌즈 구매처에서 폐기처분에 대한 교육이나 정보를 접했는지 여부는 “아니다(78.3%)”, “그렇다(21.7%)”로 나타났으며, 평소 학교나 공공기관, 인터넷 등 대중매체에서 콘택트렌즈 폐기처분에 대한 교육이나 정보를 접했는지 여부를 묻는 설문에는 교육받은 적 “없다(87.5%)”, “있다(12.5%)”로 나타났다. 폐기처분 방법으로는 매립용 쓰레기(45.6%), 재활용 쓰레기(29.6%), 싱크대나 화장실을 통한 배수구(16.8%) 순으로 응답하였다. 남성이 여성보다 폐기처분에 대한 교육이나 정보를 더 많이 접했지만(t=3.63189, p<0.00001), 여성이 환경오염에 대한 인식이 더 높은 것으로 나타났다(t=2.44269, p=0.01605). 결론: 하수처리 시설에서 분해되지 않고 미세플라스틱으로 변하는 콘택트렌즈로 인한 환경오염 문제를 줄이기 위해 콘택트렌즈 사용 후 올바른 폐기방법에 대한 정보를 제공하고 이에 대한 교육이 시급한 것으로 생각된다.

To date, there are no protocols optimized to the effective separation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) from testicular cells derived from mouse testes, thus hindering studies based on mouse SSCs. In this study, we aimed to determine the most efficient purification method for the isolation of SSCs from mouse testes among previously described techniques. Isolation of SSCs from testicular cells derived from mouse testes was conducted using four different techniques: differential plating (DP), magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) post-DP, MACS, and positive and negative selection double MACS. DP was performed for 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 h, and MACS was performed using EpCAM (MACSEpCAM), Thy1 (MACSThy1), or GFR α1 (MACSGFRα1) antibodies. The purification efficiency of each method was analyzed by measuring the percentage of cells that stained positively for alkaline phosphatase. DP for 8 h, MACSThy1 post-DP for 8 h, MACSGFRα1, positive selection double MACSGFRα1/EpCAM, and negative selection double MACSGFRα1/α-SMA were identified as the optimal protocols for isolation of SSCs from mouse testicular cells. Comparison of the purification efficiencies of the optimized isolation protocols showed that, numerically, the highest purification efficiency was obtained using MACSGFRα1. Overall, our results indicate that MACSGFRα1 is an appropriate purification technique for the isolation of SSCs from mouse testicular cells.

This study investigated the characteristics of obesity induced by a high-fat diet (HD) over 13 weeks in Rhbdf2 gene knockout (KO) mice. Forty 7-week-old Rhbdf2 wild and KO mice were used and the mice were divided into 4 groups: Wild-ND (n=10, Rhbdf2 wild mice, normal diet (ND)), Wild-HD (n=10, Rhbdf2 wild mice, HD), KO-ND (n=10, Rhbdf2 KO mice, ND) and KO-HD (n=10, Rhbdf2 KO mice, HD). The relative epididymal fat weight in KO-HD was significantly increased compared with that in KO-ND (P<0.01). The relative liver and spleen weights in KO-HD were decreased compared with those in Wild-HD (p < 0.05) and KO-ND (p < 0.01). The mRNA expression of SOD1 in KO-ND was significantly reduced compared with that in Wild-ND (p < 0.05). In Wild-ND and HD, the mRNA expressions of TNF-α and IL-6 in epididymal fat were significantly increased compared with those in KO-ND and HD (p < 0.01). A significant increase of TNF- α and IL-6 mRNA expression was observed in KO-HD compared with KO-ND (p < 0.01). These results indicated that Rhbdf2 genes may regulate high fat diet-induced obesity damage by anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative roles in fat tissue of mice.

국가기관과 기업은 정비사를 양성을 위한 고등학교부터 대학교, 기업 훈련센터 같은 교육기관을 만들어 숙련된 정비사로 훈련시키려고 많은 노력을 하고 있다. 하지만 교재를 이용한 이론교육과 현장에서 사용하지 않는 장비를 이용한 실습교육으로는 제대로 된 정비교육을 진행하지 못하며 특수 장비를 활용한 교육이나 위험한 상황을 가정한 정비의 교육은 매우 위험하여 영상이나 사진으로 교육을 진행하고 있었다. 최근에는 VR과 AR을 접목하여 단순정비에서 특수정비까지 시뮬레이션으로 안전하게 상황을 체험하고 문제를 해결하는 효과적인 교육 시뮬레이션이 연구되고 개발되는 사례가 많이 있다. 본 논문에서는 다누리 VR과 DisTi Engine, Remote AR을 비교분석하고, 유니티 엔진 기반으로 외부에서 전달된 정보를 기반으로 콘텐츠를 디바이스 화면에 최적화하여 출력하는 AR API 를 소개하고, VR 디바이스인 HTC Vive의 컨트롤러와 HMD의 정보를 실시간으로 수집하고 수집된 정보를 파일에 저장하는 VR API를 구현한 사례를 소개했다. 본 연구에서 구현한 API를 사용하면 콘텐츠를 제작할 때 도움을 줄 수 있을 것이다.

Appropriate water level is the primary factor for the optimal yield of crop plants. The required water level varies according to the variety of the crops. In the present study, we investigated the optimum requirement of groundwater level(GWL) to grow sorghum and adzuki bean under paddy field soil. Here, we cultivated sorghum and adzuki bean using lysimeter filled with paddy soil under GWL 0 cm(NT) and GWL(20, 40 cm) where GWL 20 cm is maintained as a waterlogging condition. The plant growth promoting attributes were measured on the first day after treatment(0 DAT), 10 DAT and 20 DAT. The results showed that the growth parameter such as shoot length, leaf length, leaf width, and stem thickness of both sorghum and adzuki bean were constantly increased and were found higher at GWL 40 cm(except stem thickness and leaf width in sorghum at 20 DAT). The physiological parameters such as chlorophyll content and stomatal conductance were also found higher at GWL 40 cm in all DAT. In addition, the elements like P and K contents in adzuki bean, and Ca content in sorghum were constantly increased and was found higher in GWL 40 cm at all DAT. These results suggest that the GWL of 40 cm is appropriate for production of sorghum and adzuki bean especially in case of paddy soil.

Recent research on stem cell conditioned medium (CM) has been revealed that CM could influence on the embryo development when supplemented to in vitro culture medium. However, the optimal basal medium for CM production has not determined although it is the fundamental factor of CM. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of human derived adipose stem cell CM (hASC-CM) with different basal medium on mice embryo development after parthenogenetic activation (PA). hASC-CM was collected from 2 kinds of serum free basal medium, DMEM and KSFM, respectively on day 5 from the culture of hASC isolated from human fat tissue. Intra-peritoneal injection of PMSG and hCG was conducted into 7-week-old ICR mice for superovulation. The oocytes were recovered from the oviductal ampulla, 18 h after hCG injection, and denuded using 0.1% hyaluronidase. PA of oocytes was conducted with KSOM media including strontium chloride. The parthenotes were in vitro cultured in 3 groups: 100% KSOM (Control), 75% KSOM + 25% DMEM or KSFM without FBS (DMEM or KSFM group) and 75% KSOM + 25% hASC-CM from DMEM or KSFM (DMEM-CM or KSFM-CM group). Cleavage rate was assessed after 2 days post IVC and blastocyst formation rate was evaluated after 6 days post IVC both using stereomicroscope. Total cell number of blastocysts was counted by Hoechst staining. 1way ANOVA from Graphpad prism 5 was used for statistical analysis and the values are presented as means ± standard error of mean. As a result, blastocyst formation rate of DMEM-CM group (16.09±3.32%, P<0.05) was significantly lower than control and DMEM group (34.43±2.89% and 34.49±5.34%, P<0.05) but cleavage rate and total cell number of blastocysts showed no significant difference among groups. In case of KSFM, there was no significant difference in cleavage rate, blastocyst formation rate and total cell number of blastocysts among the control, KSFM group and KSFM-CM group. The sort of basal medium used for the CM collection affected the development of parthenotes during in vitro culture differently. Therefore, further research should be conducted to find out the alternative basal medium of CM able to improve the embryo development. This research was supported by Nature Cell (#550-20170028), Cooperative Research Program of RDA (CCAR, #PJ013954022018), Research Institute for Veterinary Science and the BK21 plus program.

In vitro culture (IVC) can be used for a variety of assisted reproductive technologies. However, IVC in dog has been low efficient compared to other mammalian. It is believed that an embryo developmental block in IVC embryos is cause of low production efficiency. There is no study of embryo developmental block in dog yet. In this study, we attempted to estimate the beneficial role of EDTA in canine parthenogenic (PA) embryos development to overcome embryo developmental block. The PA embryos were divided into EDTA treated and non-treated groups. Embryo developmental efficiency was measured by activating chemically parthenote. After EDTA induction, PA embryos were evaluated for embryonic development, ROS activity, mitochondrial integrity, ATP production and genomic activation. The EDTA treated PA embryos showed significantly higher survival rate and improved cavity formation compared to non-treated. Moreover, cytoplasmic ROS level was mitigated and mitochondrial membrane potential was found significantly higher in EDTA treated group followed by higher ATP production. Furthermore, major embryonic genomic activation specific markers/factors were also elevated in EDTA treated group. Conclusively, these results indicated that EDTA showed substantially positive effect to overcome embryo developmental block in canine.

The transcription factor POU5F1, also known as OCT4 plays critical roles in maintaining pluripotency during early mammalian embryonic development and in embryonic stem cells. It is important to establish an OCT4 promoter region-based reporter system to study pluripotency. However, there is still a lack of information about the porcine OCT4 upstream region. To improve our understanding of the porcine OCT4 regulatory region, we identified conserved regions in the porcine OCT4 promoter upstream region by sequence-based comparative analysis using various mammalian genome sequences. The similarity of nucleotide sequences in the 5' upstream region was low among mammalian species. However, the OCT4 promoter and four regulatory regions, including distal and proximal enhancer elements, had high similarity. The putative transcription factor binding sites in the Oct4 5' upstream region nucleotide sequences from mice and pigs also differed. Some of these genes are related to pluripotency, and further research will allow us to better understand the differences in species-specific pluripotency. Next, a functional analysis of the porcine OCT4 promoter region was conducted. Luciferase reporter assay results indicated that the porcine OCT4 distal enhancer and proximal enhancer were highly activated in mouse embryonic stem cells and embryonic carcinoma cells, respectively. Similar to OCT4 upstream-based reporter systems derived from other species, the porcine OCT4 upstream region-based reporter constructs showed exclusive expression patterns depending on the state of pluripotency. This work provides basic information about the porcine OCT4 upstream region and various porcine OCT4 fluorescence reporter constructs, which can be applied to study species-specific pluripotency in early embryo development and the establishment of embryonic stem cells in pigs. This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2017R1D1A1B03032256).

농업용 무인멀티콥터를 활용한 방제면적은 수도작은 물론 밭작물에서도 방제 범위가 확대되고 있다. 밭작물은 작물의 형태가 다양하여 비행속도, 살포높이 등을 최적화하는 연구가 필요하다. 본 연구에서는 배추, 대파, 고추에서 발생하는 나방류에 대하여 무인멀티콥터의 살포 높이에 따른 방제효과를 확인하였다. 살포된 약제가 작물에 부착되는 정도를 조사한 결과, 배추는 2m, 대파는 3~4m, 고추는 모든 높이에서 비슷한 부착정도를 보였지만, 전체적으로 부착량이 적고 불균일 하였다. 살포 높이별 방제효과는 작물별로 각각 배추(9~10엽기)는 2m높이, 고추(약 1.2m)는 2~3m, 대파(약 60cm)는 2, 3, 4m 각각 비등한 방제효과를 보였다. 각각의 작물모두 경엽처리 대비 약효가 미흡하였으며, 고추는 4m높이 살포시 방제효과가 현저히 낮았다.

Geminiviruses are plant-infecting viruses with monopartite or bipartite single-stranded circular DNA genomes. They are known to be mediated by insects such as whiteflies, treehoppers, leafhoppers or aphids and can cause devastating plant diseases in a wide range of economically significant crops worldwide. In Korea, occurrence of geminiviruses were reported officially after the 2000s. Although Honeysuckle yellow vein virus (HYVV) and Sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV) were identified from honeysuckle and sweet potato in 2004 and 2006 respectively, these viruses did not spread and cause much concern for geminiviruses. In 2008, Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) that has caused severe tomato production loss in many subtropical and tropical countries was first reported in tomato plants cultivated in Tongyeong. TYLCV rapidly spread through the country and has been continuously reported from tomato cultivating areas in Korea. In addition to TYLCV, Tobacco leaf curl virus and Sweet potato golden vein associated virus have occurred. In recent years, new geminiviruses including Papaya leaf curl Guangdong virus (PaLCGdV) and Euphorbia leaf curl virus (EuLCV) have been introduced. Newly emerging geminiviruses from tropical and subtropical countries are due to increased demand for various fruits and vegetables, and climate change. In addition, there are reports that some geminiviruses including TYLCV can be transmitted by infected seeds. Therefore it is important to study on epidemiology of virus introduction and spread among the countries and within country.