Helicobacter pylori are known as a causative agent of gastritis, gastric duodenum and peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer, and multiple drug use is associated with various side effects in patients. The discovery of antibacterial substances against H. pylori from Korean resource plants is an important substitute for antibiotics. 52 species of Korean resource plants were collected and extracted with 50% ethanol, and antibacterial activity against H. pylori was measured using the disk diffusion method. The toxicity of plant extracts to human gastric adenocarcinoma(AGS) cells was measured by MTT assay, and the level of IL-8 secreted when gastric epithelial cells were inoculated with H. pylori was measured. As a result of measuring the antibacterial activity of H. pylori, antibacterial activity was confirmed in 38 plant extracts. The plant species with the strongest antibacterial activity were Chrysanthemum indicum, Rheum rhabarbarum, Patrinia scabiosaefolia and Petasites japonicus. C. indicum was not cytotoxic to H. pyroli-infected AGS cells and showed anti-inflammatory effects. This study's results can be used to develop healthy, functional foods and medical materials.
말라리아는 Anopheles 모기들에 의해 전파되며, 대한민국에서는 코로나 팬데믹 기간 동안(2020~2022) 약 200~300명대의 말라리아 환자가 발생하였으나, 지난 2023년에는 그 수가 폭증해 약 800명의 환자가 발생하였다. 현재까지 모기를 방제하기 위한 가장 효율적인 수단은 살충제를 사용한 방제이나, 지속적으로 이러한 화합물에 노출된 모기 개체군은 살충제에 저항성을 갖게 되는 것으로 알려져 있다. 이에 본 연구에서는 대한민국의 주요 말라리아 발생 지역인 비무장지대 부근 및 이외 지역인 용산, 평택, 오산에서 채집을 진행하였으며, 채집된 An. sinensis에 대해서 살충제 저항성과 관련되어 있다고 알려진 유전자인 acetylcholinesterase-1(ace-1)와 voltage-gated sodium channel(vgsc) 영역에 대한 저항성 돌연변이 보유 여부를 각각 확인하였다. 실험 결과 채집된 모든 지역에서 G119S(ace-1), L1014F,C(vgsc) 돌연변이가 발견되었으며, 그 빈도는 계절과 장소에 따라 차이를 나타내었다. 본 실험 결과는 향후 말라리아 감염 억제를 위한 매개체 연구에 활용될 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.
Field surveys were conducted to collect and refine "Natural resource survey" and ecosystem research data of 23 National parks in South Korea, including Hallasan on Jeju Island and Palgongsan newly designated as national park in 2023. Among the collected data, a total of 1,538 species from 54 families of Hymenoptera insects were recorded. Within these families, the largest number of species was recorded in the family Ichneumonidae with 514 species, followed by Formicidae (118 species), Braconidae (112 species), and Tenthredinidae (135 species), exhibiting relatively high species diversity. Among the National parks, Jirisan, the first designated National park in South Korea with a relatively large area compared to other parks, recorded the highest species diversity with 618 species, while Taebaeksan recorded relatively low species diversity with 77 species. Correlation analysis between the number of Hymenoptera species and other factors revealed a statistically significant and relatively strong positive correlation (P > 0.005, R = 0.864) with the total number of insects, and a statistically significant but relatively weak positive correlation (P > 0.005, R = 0.615) with the park's area.
Pyrethroid resistance in cockroach populations has been a public health challenge since the 1950s. The pyrethroid resistance in the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, is primarily attributed to knockdown resistance (kdr) mutations (E434K, C764R, and L993F) in the voltage-sensitive sodium channel gene (vssc). In this study, the pyrethroid resistance state of the German cockroach in the Republic of Korea (ROK) was assessed by analyzing the frequencies of kdr mutations using one-step PCR with total RNA. The results revealed that among the 25 populations examined, 14 populations exhibited the L993F kdr mutation, while no other mutations were detected. Since other cockroach species are also commonly found in human dwellings in ROK, the vssc genes were cloned from four other species, including Blattella nipponica, Periplaneta americana, Periplaneta japonica, and Periplaneta fuliginosa. Based on the genomic DNA (gDNA) sequences obtained from the vssc cloning, primer sets were designed to amplify the vssc fragment spanning the L993F mutation for each species and used to monitor the development of pyrethroid resistance in cockroach populations in the ROK. The study will facilitate the implementation of a nationwide monitoring program to assess cockroach resistance and select suitable alternatives.
Customers’ service experience is related to the perceived state in the process of interacting with the target at various channel touchpoints (Kaushal & Yadav, 2023). Furthermore, positive customers’ service experiences can increase the repurchase intention of buyers by strengthening the interconnection and cooperation between buyers and suppliers in business-to-business (B2B) firms and reinforcing corporate competitive positioning.
Bacterial phytopathogen Pectobacterium causes soft rot disease in several vegetable crops globally, resulting in heavy agricultural losses at both the pre and postharvest stages. The present work was carried out to screen Kimchi cabbage genetic resources conserved at the National Agrobiodiversity Center, Rural Development Administration, Korea, for resistance against the soft rot pathogen Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum KACC 21701 over a period of three years (from 2020 to 2022). Infection of the phytopathogen was carried out at four-leaf stage and for each accession, twenty-five plants per germplasm were infected with KACC 21701. Kimchi cabbage cultivars Wangmatbaechu, Seoulbaechu, and CR Kiyoshi were used as control. Seven-days post-infection, the Disease Index (DI) values were manually recorded from zero to four, zero matched perfectly heathy plants and four completely dead plants. The 682 accessions of Kimchi cabbage exhibited varying degrees of disease resistance to KACC 21701 and thirty accessions, exhibiting a DI≤2, were considered for replication studies. During the replication studies, four landrace germplasms (IT102883, IT120036, IT120044, and IT120048) and one cultivar (IT187919) were confirmed to be moderately susceptible to KACC 21701. Results of the preliminary screening as well as replication studies were documented for the all the 682 germplasms. Addition of such information to the passport data of stored germplasms might serve as potential bio-resource for future breeders and researchers to develop resistant varieties or study the mechanisms involved in resistance of plants to such phytopathogen.
Although probiotics have been shown to improve health when consumed, recent studies have reported that they can cause unwanted side effects due to bacterial-human interactions. Therefore, the importance of prebiotics that can form beneficial microbiome in the gut has been emphasized. This study isolated and identified bacteria capable of producing biopoymer as a candidate prebiotic from traditional fermented foods. The isolated and identified strain was named WCYSK01 (Wissella sp. strain YSK01). The composition of the medium for culturing this strain was prepared by dissolving 3 g K2HPO4, 0.2 g MgSO4, 0.05 g CaCl2, 0.1 g NaCl in 1 L of distilled water. The LMBP(low molecular weight biopoymers) produced when fermentation was performed with sucrose and maltose as substrates were mainly consisted of DP3 (degree of polymer; isomaltotriose), DP4 (isomaltotetraose), DP5 (isomaltopentaose), and DP6 (isomaltoheptaose). The optimization of LMBP (low molecular weight of biopolymer) production was performed using the response surface methodology. The fermentation process temperature range of 18 to 32oC, the fermentation medium pH in the range of 5.1 to 7.9. The yield of LMBP production by the strain was found to be significantly affected by q fermentation temperature and pH. The optimal fermentation conditions were found at the normal point, and the production yield was more than 75% at pH 7.5 and temperature of 23oC.