Age-dependent effect of vitamin D supplementation on musculoskeletal health in chronic spinal cord injury patients: A pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of vitamin D supplementation on changes in body composition associated with musculoskeletal health status in patients with chronic SCI and vitamin D deficiency as a response to age. DESIGN: Prospective drug-intervention study. SETTING: Department of rehabilitation medicine, Veterans Health Service Medical Center. PARTICIPANTS: Seventeen patients with vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency (<30 ng/mL) and chronic SCI were divided into two groups: groups A <65 years (n = 8) and B ≥65 years of age (n = 9). INTERVENTIONS: Both groups received 800 IU/day cholecalciferol for 12 weeks. OUTCOME MEASURES: We used blood samples to evaluate metabolites related to vitamin D, testosterone (T), lipid profiles, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) was used to evaluate body composition. RESULTS: Group A had significantly better baseline clinical characteristics for all BIA measurements. SHGB was significantly higher in Group B (P = 0.003) and albumin was significantly higher in Group A (P = 0.000). When comparing pre- to post-treatment, Group A showed a significant improvement in T (P = 0.042), total cholesterol (P = 0.035), and triglyceride (P = 0.025) levels, whereas Group B significantly increased vitamin D (P = 0.038) and protein mass (PM) (P = 0.034) levels. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that addressing vitamin D deficiency in patients with SCI had different effects in young and older adults, with both groups showing positive changes in body composition. Particularly, the increase in PM on BIA measurements in elderly patients at high risk of sarcopenia was encouraging.

Isolation and Characterization of the Genes Involved in the Berberine Synthesis Pathway in Asian Blue Cohosh, Caulophyllum robustum.

Caulophyllum robustum, commonly named Asian blue cohosh, is a perennial herb in the family Berberidaceae. It has traditionally been used for folk medicine in China. We isolated berberine from the leaves, stem, roots, and fruits of C. robustum, and this is the first report on berberine in this species. Transcriptome analysis was conducted for the characterization of berberine biosynthesis genes in C. robustum, in which, all the genes for berberine biosynthesis were identified. From 40,094 transcripts, using gene ontology (GO) analysis, 26,750 transcripts were assigned their functions in the categories of biological process, molecular function, and cellular component. In the analysis of genes expressed in different tissues, the numbers of genes in the categories of intrinsic component of membrane and transferase activity were up-regulated in leaves versus stem. The berberine synthesis genes in C. robustum were characterized by phylogenetic analysis with corresponding genes from other berberine-producing species. The co-existence of genes from different plant families in the deepest branch subclade implies that the differentiation of berberine synthesis genes occurred early in the evolution of berberine-producing plants. Furthermore, the copy number increment of the berberine synthesis genes was detected at the species level.

Association of dysphagia with altered brain glucose metabolism in Parkinson's disease.

AIMS: Dysphagia is a major clinical concern in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the relationship between the development of phase-specific dysphagia and the regional brain glucose metabolism remains unclear. Our objective was to investigate the distributions of brain glucose metabolism specific to oral and pharyngeal phases of dysphagia in PD. METHODS: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, patients with PD who underwent videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) and 18 F-fluorodeoxy-glucose positron emission tomography at intervals of <1 month were included. Each swallow was assessed by the binarized Videofluoroscopic Dysphagia Scale with 14 subitems, seven each for the oral and pharyngeal phases. Metabolism mapping was performed by superimposing significant clusters of subitems belonging to each of the two phases using voxel-wise Firth's penalized binary logistic regression model, adjusting for age and PD duration at VFSS. RESULTS: Eighty-two patients with PD who met the inclusion criteria were included in the analysis. The oral phase dysphagia-specific overlap map showed hypermetabolism in the right inferior temporal gyrus, bilateral cerebellum, superior frontal gyrus, and anterior cingulate cortices. Hypometabolism in the bilateral orbital and triangular parts of the inferior to middle frontal gyrus was also correlated with the occurrence of oral phase dysphagia. The development of pharyngeal phase dysphagia was related to hypermetabolism of posterior aspects of the bilateral parietal lobes, cerebellum, and hypometabolism of the mediodorsal aspects of anterior cingulate and middle to superior frontal gyri. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that phase-specific distribution of brain glucose metabolism may explain the dysphagia of PD.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Cladosporium anthropophilum (cladosporiaceae, dothideomycetes).

The genus Cladosporium (Cladosporiaceae, Capnodiales) is a large genus of Ascomycota. Although the genus is mostly reported as saprobes from a wide range of substrates with a worldwide distribution, members of this genus comprise infectious agents in animals and plants. Of those, Cladosporium anthropophilum is a common saprophytic fungus and has been found to be a human opportunistic pathogen and plant pathogen. The complete mitochondrial genome of C. anthropophilum is characterized through the de novo assembly of Illumina sequencing data. The mitochondrial genome is a circular molecule of 35,937 bp with 30.23% GC content and has a total of 47 genes including 16 protein-coding genes, 29 transfer RNA genes, and two ribosomal RNA genes. Based on protein-coding sequences of the mitochondrial genome sequence, a phylogenetic tree was constructed to demonstrate the phylogenetic relationship of C. anthropophilum and its related genera.

Identifying Terpenoid Biosynthesis Genes in Euphorbia maculata via Full-Length cDNA Sequencing.

The annual herb Euphorbia maculata L. produces anti-inflammatory and biologically active substances such as triterpenoids, tannins, and polyphenols, and it is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Of these bioactive compounds, terpenoids, also called isoprenoids, are major secondary metabolites in E. maculata. Full-length cDNA sequencing was carried out to characterize the transcripts of terpenoid biosynthesis reference genes and determine the copy numbers of their isoforms using PacBio SMRT sequencing technology. The Illumina short-read sequencing platform was also employed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the secondary metabolite pathways from leaves, roots, and stems. PacBio generated 62 million polymerase reads, resulting in 81,433 high-quality reads. From these high-quality reads, we reconstructed a genome of 20,722 genes, in which 20,246 genes (97.8%) did not have paralogs. About 33% of the identified genes had two or more isoforms. DEG analysis revealed that the expression level differed among gene paralogs in the leaf, stem, and root. Whole sets of paralogs and isoforms were identified in the mevalonic acid (MVA), methylerythritol phosphate (MEP), and terpenoid biosynthesis pathways in the E. maculata L. The nucleotide information will be useful for identifying orthologous genes in other terpenoid-producing medicinal plants.

First Report of Anthracnose on Juglans regia Caused by Colletotrichum siamense in Korea.

Walnut (Juglans regia) is one of the main tree crops cultivated for nut production in South Korea with an estimated production of about 1,189 tons per year (Korea Forest Service 2020). In August 2021, anthracnose symptoms, including dark, depressed, irregularly shaped lesions on fruits and leaves of walnut cv. Sinlyeong, were observed at three orchards in Nonsan (36°10'22.5"N 127°06'14.8"E) and Suwon (37°16'04.7"N 126°55'22.3"E and 37°15'10.6"N 126°57'35.6"E). This led to severe yield loss of walnut fruit with a disease incidence of approximately 70 to 80% in each orchard. Three samples, including infected fruits and leaves, were randomly collected per site. Fungal isolates were isolated either from acervuli filled with conidial masses on infected walnut tissues or from plant tissues that were surface-disinfested, followed by plating onto 2% PDA. Colonies were initially white, later became pale brownish to light gray with concentric rings of salmon sporodochia. White to gray aerial mycelia, reaching 65 mm diameter in 5 days, were abundantly produced on PDA at 25 °C. Appressoria were brown, ovoid, and in some cases, clavate, 5.1-8.7 µm in length, and 3.2-5.1 µm in width (n = 50). Conidia were single celled, hyaline, cylindrical with rounded ends and smooth walls, guttulate, 13.6-18.8 µm in length, and 4.4-6.3 µm in width (n = 50). Setae were absent. Three isolates, i.e., one per orchard, were retained and deposited in the culture collection (CDH) of National Institute of Forest Science, Korea (Accession No. CDH052-054). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA, beta-tubulin (TUB2) and a partial sequence of the actin (ACT) genes were amplified and sequenced for each of the isolates using the pair of primers, ITS1F/ITS4 (Gardes and Bruns 1993; White et al. 1990), T1/Bt2b (ODonnell and Cigelnik 1997; Glass and Donaldson 1995) and ACT-512F/ACT-783R (Carbone and Kohn 1999), respectively. A BLAST search in GenBank revealed that the sequences of ITS (OK631731-733), TUB2 (OK665927-929) and ACT (OK665930-932) showed sequence identities of 98.6 to 99.6% to Colletotrichum siamense sequences (FJ972613, FJ907423, FJ907438). A maximum likelihood tree, based on a combined dataset of ITS, ACT and TUB2 gene sequences for Colletotrichum spp., revealed that the three isolates were clustered with type specimens of C. siamense. To prepare larger quantities of inoculum for the pathogenicity, mycelial plugs bearing acervuli taken from 2% PDA were incubated in a conical flask containing 200 ml of 2% potato dextrose broth at 25°C on a rotary shaker at 150 rpm for two weeks. Spore concentration was adjusted to 1.0 × 104 ml-1 conidia of C. siamense (CDH054). A 10 to 15 ml of spore suspension was then sprayed on each leaf of 12 seedlings of 'Sinlyeong' walnut (three-year-old), while 7 seedlings were treated with sterile distilled water as a control. Each treated seedling was covered by a plastic bag to maintain moisture for one day. Inoculation trials were repeated twice, in August and September 2021. Symptoms identical to those observed in the field developed four to five days after the inoculations from which the inoculated pathogen was successfully re-isolated, fulfilling Koch's postulates. However, no symptoms were observed in the control. To our knowledge, this is the first report of anthracnose on J. regia caused by C. siamense in Korea. This indicates that disease occurrences must be further rigorously surveyed at the nation-wide scale to effectively control the disease in the country.

Complete Mitochondrial Genome Sequence of Colletotrichum siamense Isolated in South Korea.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Colletotrichum siamense is characterized. The circular genome has a size of 52,710 bp, with a GC content of 34.45%, and contains 15 protein-coding genes, 23 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes.

Antifungal Activity of Thymol against Aspergillus awamori and Botrytis aclada Isolated from Stored Onion Bulbs.

The antifungal activity of thymol against Aspergillus awamori F23 and Botrytis aclada F15 in onions was examined through direct treatment with amended media and gaseous treatment with I-plates (plastic plates containing central partitions). The protective and curative control efficacy of thymol was examined 24 h before and after the inoculation of onion bulbs with the fungal isolates. Mycelial growth, sporulation, and spore germination of the isolates were inhibited on potato dextrose agar amended with various concentrations of thymol or acetic acid (positive control). Overall, thymol produced a stronger inhibitory effect on the mycelial growth and development of the isolates than acetic acid. Following gaseous treatment in I-plates, mycelial growth, sporulation, and spore germination of the isolates were inhibited at higher concentrations of thymol or acetic acid; however, acetic acid showed a little effect on the sporulation and spore germination of the isolates. Following the treatment of onion bulbs with 1000 mg L-1 of thymol 24 h before and after fungal inoculation, lesion diameter was greatly reduced compared with that following treatment with 0.5% ethanol (solvent control). Onion bulbs sprayed with thymol 24 h before fungal inoculation generally showed reduced lesion diameters by isolate F23 but not in isolate F15 compared with those sprayed 24 h after fungal inoculation. Collectively, thymol effectively inhibited the growth and development of A. awamori and B. aclada on amended media and in I-plates. In addition, spraying or fumigation of thymol is more desirable for effectively controlling these postharvest fungal pathogens during long-term storage conditions.

First Report of Anthracnose on Pecan (Carya illinoiensis) Caused by Colletotrichum siamense in Korea.

In 2020, severely infected fruit of pecan, Carya illinoiensis, showing distinct anthracnose symptoms were observed from pecan orchards in Uiseong (36°21'31.5"N 128°27'15.9"E) and Miryang (35°22'54.9"N 128°48'06.5"E) in South Korea. Visible symptoms occurred on fruit of the tree between June and July, which included dark, depressed and covered with irregularly shaped lesions. As the disease progressed, the lesions expanded and merged over time, leading to abscission of the fruit, which resulted in severe yield loss of pecan fruit. Of pecan varieties including Caddo, Giles and Peruque that were cultivated in each pecan orchard, Caddo appeared to be most susceptible to the disease. Estimated losses were approximately 30% and 70% for the Uiseong and Miryang pecan orchard, respectively. For pathogen isolation, ten symptomatic fruits of pecan were randomly collected and brought to the laboratory. The fruits were surface disinfested for 30 s with 70% ethanol and 1% sodium hypochlorite. These were then rinsed with sterile distilled water twice, placed in a humid chamber, and incubated at 25 ± 1°C with a photoperiod of 12 h. Acervuli filled with salmon-colored conidial masses were produced abundantly on the fruit a day after the incubation. Conidia were single celled, hyaline, cylindrical having rounded ends, smooth walls, guttulate, 15.5 to 17.7 µm long, and 3.4 to 4.8 µm wide (n = 20). Monoconidial isolates were made on 2% malt extract agar and incubated at 25°Ï¹ for two weeks in the dark condition. Of those that were successfully retained, two representative isolates from each orchard were deposited in the culture collection (CDH) of the National Institute of Forest Science, Korea (Accession No. CDH2020-17-18). To ensure the identity of the pathogen, molecular identification was made based on three gene regions, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA, beta-tubulin (TUB2) gene and a partial sequence of the actin (ACT), which were amplified with ITS1F/ITS4, T1/Bt2b and ACT-512F/ACT-783R, respectively (Weir et al. 2012). These were then submitted to GenBank with accession numbers of MW380423-24 for ITS, MW387129-30 for TUB2 and MW387127-28 for ACT. A BLAST search in GenBank revealed that the sequences showed high similarity to those of Colletotrichum siamense, which were identical to MT434615 and MT274214 for ITS and ACT, respectively, and 99.7% to MK967337 for TUB2. Phylogenetic analysis based on the maximum likelihood method further showed that the isolates recovered in this study clustered with C. siamense, confirming its identity. Pathogenicity was confirmed by inoculating living pecan trees. Healthy fruits from five trees were surface cleaned with cotton soaked in sterile water and air-dried. To inoculate the pathogen, three to five fruit per tree were wounded with a sterilized needle, and an aliquot of 10 µl of spore suspension (1.0 × 105 conidia/ml) of C. siamense (CDH2020-18) was dropped on each wound. To keep moisture, each treated fruit was enveloped by a plastic bag where the cotton soaked in sterile water had been placed. Controls were treated with sterile distilled water drops. The symptoms with dark, depressed and irregularly shaped lesions developed from all inoculated treatments six weeks after the inoculations, which were identical to those observed in the field. However, no symptom was observed on the control. Colletotrichum siamense was successfully re-isolated, fulfilling Koch's postulates. Taken together, it was confirmed that C. siamense is the causal agent of anthracnose on pecan. In Korea, C. siamense was reported causing anthracnose on apple, persimmon and plum (Farr and Rossman 2020). However, to our knowledge, this is the first report of anthracnose on pecan caused by C. siamense in Korea. To control the disease effectively, more attention should be paid to other regions of the country where the disease caused by the pathogen might occur.

Complete genome sequence data of Flavobacterium anhuiense strain GSE09, a volatile-producing biocontrol bacterium isolated from cucumber (Cucumis sativus) root.

Flavobacterium anhuiense (previously identified as Flavobacterium johnsoniae) strain GSE09 is a volatile-producing bacterium that exhibits significant biocontrol activity against an oomycete pathogen, Phytophthora capsici, on pepper plants. Here, we report the complete genome sequence data of strain GSE09, isolated from surface-sterilized cucumber root. The genome consists of a circular 5,109,718-bp chromosome with a G + C content of 34.30%. A total of 4,138 complete coding sequences including 15 rRNA, 66 tRNA, 3 ncRNA, and 51 pseudogene sequences were retrieved. Thus, the genome sequence data of F. anhuiense GSE09 may facilitate the elucidation of many biological traits related to the biocontrol against plant pathogens.

Biocontrol Activity of Volatile-Producing Bacillus megaterium and Pseudomonas protegens against Aspergillus flavus and Aflatoxin Production on Stored Rice Grains.

In our previous study, three bacterial strains, Bacillus megaterium KU143, Microbacterium testaceum KU313, and Pseudomonas protegens AS15, were selected as effective biocontrol agents against Aspergillus flavus on stored rice grains. In this study, we evaluated the inhibitory effects of the volatiles produced by the strains on A. flavus growth and aflatoxin production on stored rice grains. The three strains significantly reduced mycelial growth of A. flavus in dual-culture assays compared with the negative control strain, Sphingomonas aquatilis KU408, and an untreated control. Of these tested strains, volatiles produced by B. megaterium KU143 and P. protegens AS15 markedly inhibited mycelial growth, sporulation, and conidial germination of A. flavus on agar medium and suppressed the fungal populations in rice grains. Moreover, volatiles produced by these two strains significantly reduced aflatoxin production in the rice grains by A. flavus. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the suppression of A. flavus aflatoxin production in rice grains using B. megaterium and P. protegens volatiles.

Draft Genome Sequences of Chryseobacterium artocarpi UTM-3T and Chryseobacterium contaminans C26T, Isolated from Rhizospheres, and Chryseobacterium arthrosphaerae CC-VM-7T, Isolated from the Feces of a Pill Millipede.

Species of the genus Chryseobacterium belonging to the family Flavobacteriaceae are nonmotile, yellow-pigmented, and rod-shaped bacteria, some of which were frequently isolated from soil or plant-related materials. Here, we present draft genome sequences of three type strains of Chryseobacterium, which contain genes related to plant growth promotion, colonization, or stress adaptation.

Investigation of ginsenosides in different tissues after elicitor treatment in Panax ginseng.

BACKGROUND: The effect of methyl jasmonate (MJ) on ginsenoside production in different organs of ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) was evaluated after the whole plant was dipped in an MJ-containing solution. MJ can induce the production of antioxidant defense genes and secondary metabolites in plants. In ginseng, MJ treatment in adventitious root resulted in the increase of dammarenediol synthase expression but a decrease of cycloartenol synthase expression, thereby enhancing ginsenoside biosynthesis. Although a previous study focused on the application of MJ to affect ginsenoside production in adventitious roots, we conducted our research on entire plants by evaluating the effect of exogenous MJ on ginsenoside production with the aim of obtaining new approaches to study ginsenoside biosynthesis response to MJ in vivo. METHODS: Different parts of MJ-treated ginseng plants were analyzed for ginsenoside contents (fine root, root body, epidermis, rhizome, stem, and leaf) by high-performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: The total ginsenoside content of the ginseng root significantly increased after 2 d of MJ treatment compared with the control not subjected to MJ. Our results revealed that MJ treatment enhances ginsenoside production not in the epidermis but in the stele of the ginseng root, implying transportation of ginsenosides from the root vasculature to the epidermis. Application of MJ enhanced protopanaxadiol (PPD)-type ginsenosides, whereas chilling treatment induced protopanaxatriol (PPT)-type ginsenosides. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that the production of PPD-type and PPT-type ginsenosides is differently affected by abiotic and biotic stresses in the ginseng plant, and they might play different defense mechanism roles.

Ginsenoside profiles and related gene expression during foliation in Panax ginseng Meyer.

Panax ginseng is one of the most important medicinal plants in Asia. Triterpene saponins, known as ginsenosides, are the major pharmacological compounds in P. ginseng. The present study was conducted to evaluate the changes in ginsenoside composition according to the foliation stage of P. ginseng cultured in a hydroponic system. Among the three tested growth stages (closed, intermediate, and opened), the highest amount of total ginsenoside in the main and fine roots was in the intermediate stage. In the leaves, the highest amount of total ginsenoside was in the opened stage. The total ginsenoside content of the ginseng leaf was markedly increased in the transition from the closed to intermediate stage, and increased more slowly from the intermediate to opened leaf stage, suggesting active biosynthesis of ginsenosides in the leaf. Conversely, the total ginsenoside content of the main and fine roots decreased from the intermediate to opened leaf stage. This suggests movement of ginsenosides during foliation from the root to the leaf, or vice versa. The difference in the composition of ginsenosides between the leaf and root in each stage of foliation suggests that the ginsenoside profile is affected by foliation stage, and this profile differs in each organ of the plant. These results suggest that protopanaxadiol- and protopanaxatriol (PPT)-type ginsenosides are produced according to growth stage to meet different needs in the growth and defense of ginseng. The higher content of PPT-type ginsenosides in leaves could be related to the positive correlation between light and PPT-type ginsenosides.

Functional analysis of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme a reductase encoding genes in triterpene saponin-producing ginseng.

Ginsenosides are glycosylated triterpenes that are considered to be important pharmaceutically active components of the ginseng (Panax ginseng 'Meyer') plant, which is known as an adaptogenic herb. However, the regulatory mechanism underlying the biosynthesis of triterpene saponin through the mevalonate pathway in ginseng remains unclear. In this study, we characterized the role of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) concerning ginsenoside biosynthesis. Through analysis of full-length complementary DNA, two forms of ginseng HMGR (PgHMGR1 and PgHMGR2) were identified as showing high sequence identity. The steady-state mRNA expression patterns of PgHMGR1 and PgHMGR2 are relatively low in seed, leaf, stem, and flower, but stronger in the petiole of seedling and root. The transcripts of PgHMGR1 were relatively constant in 3- and 6-year-old ginseng roots. However, PgHMGR2 was increased five times in the 6-year-old ginseng roots compared with the 3-year-old ginseng roots, which indicates that HMGRs have constant and specific roles in the accumulation of ginsenosides in roots. Competitive inhibition of HMGR by mevinolin caused a significant reduction of total ginsenoside in ginseng adventitious roots. Moreover, continuous dark exposure for 2 to 3 d increased the total ginsenosides content in 3-year-old ginseng after the dark-induced activity of PgHMGR1. These results suggest that PgHMGR1 is associated with the dark-dependent promotion of ginsenoside biosynthesis. We also observed that the PgHMGR1 can complement Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) hmgr1-1 and that the overexpression of PgHMGR1 enhanced the production of sterols and triterpenes in Arabidopsis and ginseng. Overall, this finding suggests that ginseng HMGRs play a regulatory role in triterpene ginsenoside biosynthesis.

The N-terminal alanine-extended GLP-1/IgG-Fc fusion protein confers resistance to DPP-IV and reduces serum glucose level in db/db mice.

The aim of this study was to develop novel long-acting glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogs resistant to dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV). We constructed three fusion proteins comprising GLP-1 and the human immunoglobulin gamma heavy chain (IgG-Fc); wild-type GLP-1 and IgG-Fc (GLP-1/IgG-Fc) and two N-terminal-extended fusion proteins in which an additional Ala (A) or Gly (G) was located on the N-terminus of GLP-1 (A-GLP-1/IgG-Fc or G-GLP-1/IgG-Fc). The fusion proteins expressed in CHO-K1 cells were secreted into medium and purified by Protein A affinity chromatography. Here, we show that the Ala or Gly-extended GLP-1/IgG-Fc fusion protein is resistant to DPP-IV and has increased half-life in vivo. To our surprise, the A-GLP-1/IgG-Fc fusion protein was more effective than wildtype GLP-1/IgG-Fc fusion protein in reducing blood glucose levels in db/db mice. Our findings suggest that the A-GLP-1/IgG-Fc fusion protein could be a potential long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist for the treatment of insulin-resistant type 2 diabetes.

Alteration of mitochondrial DNA sequence and copy number in nasal polyp tissue.

This study was designed to investigate the possibility that mtDNA mutations might arise in inflammatory or chronically damaged nasal polyp tissue from 23 patients. Thirteen patients (57%) displayed nasal polyp tissue-specific mtDNA mutations in the hypervariable segment of the control region and cytochrome b gene, which were not found in the corresponding blood cells and/or adjacent normal tissue. Nasal polyp tissue-specific length heteroplasmic mutations were also detected in nucleotide position (np) 303-315 homopolymeric poly C track (39%), np 514-523 CA repeats (17%) and np 16184-16193 poly C track (30%). The average mtDNA copy number was about three times higher in nasal polyp tissue than in the corresponding peripheral blood cells and adjacent non-polyp tissues. The level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was significantly higher in the nasal polyp tissues compared to those from the corresponding samples. High level of ROS in nasal polyp tissue may contribute to development of mtDNA mutations, which may play a crucial role in the vicious cycle of pathophysiology of nasal polyps.

Populations of fungi and bacteria associated with samples of stored rice in Korea.

Stored rice was collected from rice processing complexes of National Agricultural Cooperative Federation of 11 regions in Korea to evaluate the occurrence of fungi and bacteria and to identify the predominant fungi and bacteria to the genus levels. Most rice samples generally produced the higher levels of fungi and bacteria than white rice. The occurrence of fungi and bacteria varied in various locations of Korea. Among fungi observed, Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp. were dominant in the samples and Aspergillus spp. were observed more frequently than Penicillium spp. Predominant bacteria from rice and white rice samples tentatively belonged to the Genus Bacillus, Pectobacterium, Pantoea, and Microbacterium according to BIOLOG and FAME analyses. The results of this study showed that rice in Korea was contaminated in a relatively high level by two dominant storage fungi such as Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp. In addition, occurrence of mycotoxins in rice by the fungi could be possible and thus it is necessary to control the storage fungi.