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Ticks are vectors that cause disease by transmitting bacteria, viruses, and protozoa to humans or animals. The Asian longhorned tick Haemaphysalis longicornis, a vector of medical and veterinary importance, is widely distributed in the Korean peninsula and can transmit various pathogens including Rickettsia spp., Borrelia spp., Francisella spp., Coxiella spp., and severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTS virus). Despite the abundance and importance, studies on the microbiome of H. longicornis in Korea are limiting. Here we first report the microbiome diversity of H. longicornis in terms of region, stage, and sex. H. longicornis used in this study were collected from 16 different regions. The V3‐V4 region was amplified and sequenced by MiSeq platform. The microbial diversity analysis was performed using Qiime2. A total of 1,754,418 non‐chimeric reads were obtained from a total of 46 samples, and an average of 126 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and a total of 1,398 OTUs were identified. Our results were used for H. longicornis microbial community database construction for each region that enables to identify singularities in each region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background. The objective of the study was to compare the diagnostic efficacy of an integrated Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18 FDG) PET/CT-mammography (mammo-PET/CT) with conventional torso PET/CT (supine-PET/CT) and MR-mammography for initial assessment of breast cancer patients. Patients and methods. Forty women (52.0 ± 12.0 years) with breast cancer who underwent supine-PET/CT, mammo- PET/CT, and MR-mammography from April 2009 to August 2009 were enrolled in the study. We compared the size of the tumour, tumour to chest wall distance, tumour to skin distance, volume of axillary fossa, and number of metastatic axillary lymph nodes between supine-PET/CT and mammo-PET/CT. Next, we assessed the difference of focality of primary breast tumour and tumour size in mammo-PET/CT and MR-mammography. Histopathologic findings served as the standard of reference. Results. In the comparison between supine-PET/CT and mammo-PET/CT, significant differences were found in the tumour size (supine-PET/CT: 1.3 ± 0.6 cm, mammo-PET/CT: 1.5 ± 0.6 cm, p < 0.001), tumour to thoracic wall distance (1.8 ± 0.9 cm, 2.2 ± 2.1 cm, p < 0.001), and tumour to skin distance (1.5 ± 0.8 cm, 2.1 ± 1.4 cm, p < 0.001). The volume of axillary fossa was significantly wider in mammo-PET/CT than supine-PET/CT (21.7 ± 8.7 cm3 vs. 23.4 ± 10.4 cm3, p = 0.03). Mammo-PET/CT provided more correct definition of the T-stage of the primary tumour than did supine-PET/ CT (72.5% vs. 67.5%). No significant difference was found in the number of metastatic axillary lymph nodes. Compared with MR-mammography, mammo-PET/CT provided more correct classification of the focality of lesion than did MR-mammography (95% vs. 90%). In the T-stage, 72.5% of cases with mammo-PET/CT and 70% of cases with MRmammography showed correspondence with pathologic results. Conclusions. Mammo-PET/CT provided more correct definition of the T-stage and evaluation of axillary fossa may also be delineated more clearly than with supine-PET/CT. The initial assessment of mammo-PET/CT would be more useful than MR-mammography because the mammo-PET/CT indicates similar accuracy with MR-mammography for decision of T-stage of primary breast tumour and more correct than MR-mammography for defining focality of lesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Samia cynthia ricini is a commercial silk-producing insect that is now reared year-round in Korea, with the expectation of being utilized for diverse purposes. In this report, we present the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of S. c. ricini. The 15,384-bp long S. cynthia ricini mitogenome was amplified into 26 short fragments using three long overlapping fragments using primers designed from reported lepidopteran mitogenome sequences. The genome comprises 37 genes (13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes), and one large non-coding region termed the A+T-rich region. The A/T content of the third codon position was 91.7%, which was 18.8% and 21.6% higher than those of first and second codon positions, respectively. The high A/T content in the genome is reflected in codon usage, accounting for 39.5% of A/T-composed codons (TTA, ATT, TTT, and ATA). Unlike a previous report on the start codon for the COI gene, the S. c. ricini COI gene commences with a typical ATT codon. A total of 221bp of non-coding sequences are dispersed in 17 regions, ranging in size from 1 to 54bp, which comprise 1.4% of the total genome. One of the non-coding sequence located between tRNAGln and ND2 (54bp) has 77% sequence homology with the 5′-sequence of the neighboring ND2 gene, suggesting partial duplication of the sequence during evolution. The 361-bp long A+T-rich region contains an 18bp-long poly-T stretch, ATAGA motif, ATTTA element, microsatellite-like A/T sequence, poly-A stretch and one tRNA-like sequence, as typically found in Lepidoptera including Bombycoidea. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the present study, we report the 16 823-bp long complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of a carabid beetle, Damaster mirabilissimus mirabilissim (Coleoptera: Carabidae), which is endangered in Korea. The gene arrangement of D. m. mirabilissim mitogenome is identical to the most common type found in insects. The start codon of the D. m. mirabilissim COI gene is a typical ATN codon. On the other hand, the initiation codon for ND1 gene is TTG, instead of ATN. All transfer RNAs (tRNAs) exhibit a stable canonical clover-leaf structure, except for tRNASer(AGN), the dihydrouridine arm of which forms a simple loop. The 1703-bp long A+T-rich region is the second longest among the complete adephagan mitogenome sequences, next to Macrogyrus oblongus belonging to Gyrinoidea. One of the unusual features of the genome is the presence of a tRNALeu(UUR)-like sequence in the A+T-rich region. This sequence displays the proper anticodon sequence and the potential to form secondary structures, but also harbors many mismatches in the stems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1993, after 10 years of absence, malaria re-emerged in the Republic of Korea in Gyeonggi and Gangwon Provinces near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Anopheline mosquitoes are known to play a critical role in malaria transmission. Several studies have used gene expression data to examine the transcription responses of Anopheles gambiae after microbial and Plasmodium infections; however, as of now, there have been no reports of studies concerning the innate immune response and apoptosis in Anopheles sinensis. We have constructed two independent cDNA libraries from An. sinensis challenged with actinomycin-D (T, treated with apoptosis-inducing chemical) and without actinomycin-D (C, control). Analysis of the 5704 (C, 2848; T, 2856) expression sequence tags (ESTs) generated from these libraries identified 884 contigs (C, 421; T, 463) and 2180 singletons (C, 1038; T, 1142) with average lengths of 831 and 817 bp, respectively. Furthermore, comparison of our EST sequences against the eukaryotic orthologous group database showed that 4324 (75.82%) of 5704 sequences could be grouped into three major functional categories. These EST data provide the basis for further studies characterizing the molecular mechanisms of midgut apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

14-3-3 proteins are known to play a pivotal role in cell survival, apoptosis and signal transduction. The 14-3-3ζ isoform has been cloned and characterized from many eukaryotic organisms, including the fruit fly and silkworm. However, no study on mosquito 14-3-3 has been reported to date. In an attempt to investigate the function of 14-3-3 in midgut epithelial cells undergoing apoptosis, a cDNA library was generated from the malaria vector, Anopheles sinensis, which was treated with apoptosis-inducing Actinomycin-D. We were able to identify and obtain A. sinensis 14-3-3ζ cDNA ( Ansi14-3-3ζ) from expressed sequence tags (EST) analysis after conducting massive sequencing of the A. sinensis cDNA library. Ansi14-3-3ζ has very high homology to 14-3-3 homologs of various insects, such as Anopheles gambiae (100%), Aedes aegypti (100%), Drosophila melanogaster (96%), Bombyx mori (93%), Apis mellifera (93%) and Mus musculus (81%), indicating that mosquito 14-3-3ζ is a highly conserved gene in diverse organisms. Analysis of temporal expression patterns showed that Ansi14-3-3ζ mRNA is highly expressed in egg, early pupae and adult stages and is also expressed, although at low levels, in fourth instar larvae and late pupae. In response to two immune elicitors (lipopolysaccharide and laminarin), no striking induction of 14-3-3ζ mRNA was observed in A. sinensis. Further studies of the precise biological function, inducibility and subcellular distribution of 14-3-3ζ are required in Plasmodium invasion-induced apoptotic midgut cells in A. sinensis in the context of the Time Bomb model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed a portion of mitochondrial COI gene sequences (658 bp) to investigate the genetic diversity and geographic variation of the swallowtail butterfly, Papilio xuthus L. (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), and the cabbage butterfly, Pieris rapae L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). Papilio xuthus showed a moderate level of sequence divergence (0.91% at maximum) in 15 haplotypes, whereas Pi. rapae showed a moderate to high level of sequence divergence (1.67% at maximum) in 30 haplotypes, compared with other relevant studies. Analyses of population genetic structure showed that most populations are not genetically differentiated in both species. The distribution pattern of both species appears to be consistent with category IV of the phylogeographic pattern sensu Avise: a phylogenetic continuity, an absence of regional isolation of mtDNA clones, and extensive distribution of close clones. The observed pattern of genetic diversity and geographic variation of the two butterfly species seem to reflect the abundant habitats, abundant host plants, and flying abilities in connection with the lack of historical biogeographic barriers.

The complete A+T-rich region of mitochondrial DNA has been cloned and sequenced from 48 individuals of Gryllotalpa orientalis (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae), collected from five Korean localities. Thirty-six haplotypes acquired from 48 individuals were found to range in size from 917 to 925 bp, with a sequence divergence from 0.1% to 14.3% and an A+T content from 74.5 to 76.3%. Phylogeographic analysis of the G. orientalis haplotypes showed the presence of two clearly differentiated mitochondrial clades, separated by 13.4% of a minimum uncorrected sequence divergence, which suggests the presence of an unknown, similar Gryllotalpa species or a once isolated G. orientalis population. Structural analysis in search of the conserved structural elements previously described in the caeliferan Orthoptera and Diptera revealed that the G. orientalis A+T-rich region harbored a stretch of the [TA(A)]n sequence, which has been suggested to be involved in the control of transcription or replication. In contrast to the abundance of the sequence stretches containing the stem-and-loop structure in the G. orientalis A+T-rich region, the 3' flanking sequence "G(A)nT," which is well conserved in a variety of organisms, including the caeliferan Orthoptera and Diptera, was not conserved in the A+T-rich region of G. orientalis.