The First Domesticated 'Cheongju Sorori Rice' Excavated in Korea.

Archaeological excavations led by Yung-jo Lee and Jong-yoon Woo were carried out twice at the Sorori paleolithic site, Cheongju, in the Republic of Korea, at the upper stream of the Geumgang river, the Miho riverside. A total of 127 rice seeds were excavated, including 18 ancient rice and 109 Quasi-rice, in 1998 and 2001. At the first excavation, eleven short japonica-type ancient rice and one slender smooth ancient rice with two kinds of Quasi-rice were excavated. The average length of the 11 short rice grains obtained from the first and second excavation was 7.19 mm and the average width was 3.08 mm, respectively. The Quasi-rice are apparently different from the rice and do not have bi-peak protuberances on their glume surface. At the second excavation, six short ancient rice chaffs and some Quasi-rice 2 were found. These short-grained ancient rice were comparable to the ancient rice that were excavated at the Illsan Neolithic site. Geologists and radiologists confirmed that the peat layer in which the rice found was older than 15,000 years. In this study, the morphological characteristics, crushing, and DNA band patterns related to the genetic polymorphism of rice grains in Cheongju Sorori were compared and analyzed for genetic similarities and differences with wild rice, weed rice, and modern rice. The morphological, ecological, and physiological variations in rice grains excavated from the Sorori site were presumed to denote the origin of rice domestication in Korea. It is also suggested that the results of the DNA sequencing of excavated rice are very important clues in estimating the origin of the early domestication of rice.

Phylogenetic relationship of a fossil macaque (Macaca cf. robusta) from the Korean Peninsula to extant species of macaques based on zygomaxillary morphology.

Little is known about the biogeographical and evolutionary histories of macaques (Macaca spp.) in East Asia because the phylogenetic positions of fossil species remain unclear. Here we examined the zygomaxillary remains of a fossil macaque (M. cf. robusta) from the Durubong Cave Complex, South Korea, that dates back to the late Middle to Late Pleistocene, to infer its phylogenetic relationship to extant species. We took 195 fixed- and semi-landmarks from the zygomaxillary regions of the fossil specimen and from 147 specimens belonging to 14 extant species. We then conducted a generalized Procrustes analysis followed by a multivariate statistical analysis to evaluate the phenetic affinities of the fossil to the extant species and reconstructed the most parsimonious phylogenetic tree using a phylogenetic morphometric approach. We found that the fossil was most similar to Macaca fuscata (Japanese macaque) in the zygomaxillary morphospace although it was at the limit of the range of variation for this species. The second closest in the morphospace was the continental Macaca mulatta (rhesus macaque). Parsimonious reconstruction confirmed that the fossil was most closely related to M. fuscata, even after controlling for the effects of allometry. These findings suggest that in the late Middle to Late Pleistocene, close relatives of M. fuscata that looked like the extant species were distributed on the Korean Peninsula, where no species of macaques are found today. Thus, some morphological characteristics of M. fuscata may have developed before its ancestor dispersed into the Japanese archipelago.

The Effect of Nickel and Manganese on Store-Operated Channels in Canine Pulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells / 대한마취과학회지

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary vasoconstriction greatly contributes to the elevated pulmonary vascular resistance in patients with pulmonary hypertension. A rise in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]cyt) in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) is a major trigger for pulmonary vasoconstriction. Presently, little is known about the nature of the store-operated channels (SOCs) in PASMCs, even though store depletion-mediated capacitative Ca2+ entry (CCE) is a critical mechanism for refilling the empty sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) with Ca2+, and for maintaining a sustained increase in [Ca2+]cyt. The goal of this in vitro study was to investigate the effects of nickel and manganese on store-operated channels in canine PASMCs. METHODS: Isolated PASMCs were obtained from an enzymatically treated canine pulmonary artery. Currents were recorded at room temperature using the dialyzed whole cell recording technique. The protocol used to deplete the intracellular Ca2+ stores and to monitor the development of the store-operated Ca2+ currents, involved voltage-clamping cells at 0 mV to inactivate any voltage-dependent calcium currents. Crrents were recorded in response to a 200 ms voltage step from 120 to 40 mV in 20 mV increments every 15 seconds. RESULTS: Simultaneous depletion of intracellular Ca2+ leads to a voltage-independent and linear store-operated Ca2+ current (ISOC) reversal near 0 mV. Nickel and manganese inhibit ISOC. CONCLUSIONS: In canine PASMCs, the depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores leads to the activation of ISOC, which is inhibited by nickel and manganese. These metals are non-specific inhibitors of non-selective cation channels. Our results indicate that Ni2+- and Mn2+-sensitive pathways may mediate Ca2+ entry, or that a class of non-selective cation channels may contribute to CCE in canine PASMCs.