Jeonnam Bioindustry Foundation

To infer the hitchhiking routes of the invasive ragweed leaf beetle Ophraella communa LeSage in domestic areas of the Korean Peninsula, we analyzed the genetic structure and demographic history of the species collected from 12 domestic areas leveraging mitochondrial DNA sequence (MT data) and microsatellite loci genotype (MS data). Based on MT data analysis results, 440 individuals from 12 domestic areas were analyzed and divided into a total of 31 haplotypes, with a sequence distance of 0–3.3%. Haplotype network analysis identified two high-frequency haplotypes linked via eight median vectors. Therefore, we considered that O. communa had at least two different invasive routes into the domestic areas of the Korean Peninsula. MS data indicated that the species had three invasive routes into the Korean Peninsula and was divided into three groups. The ad hoc statistic Δ(K) confirmed three clusters, and individual bar plot analysis of the invaded populations revealed three distinct genetic compositions. MT and MS data results differed in the number of invading populations considered. These differences were suggested to stem from resolution variations due to the founder effect. In conclusion, at least two O. communa populations may invade several international ports of the Korean Peninsula and spread domestically via hitchhiking on transport, such as container-carrying tractors. Individuals spread by transportation may disperse into local areas due to the behavioral traits of O. communa, such as being strongly attracted to the host plant Ambrosia artemisiifolia. We anticipate that our findings will help pinpoint critical areas for preventing the inland spread of invasive species.

Abstract In recent years, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has continued to rise, largely driven by increased consumption of calorie-dense Western-style foods and reduced physical activity. Fermented vinegars produced from natural ingredients are known to contain a variety of health-promoting components, including vitamins, amino acids, and minerals. Although fruit-based fermented vinegars have been reported to exert beneficial effects on body weight control and bone health, the potential metabolic benefits of radish vinegar fermented with Acetobacter pasteurianus SRCM102411 (KCCM13362P) have not yet been clarified. To address this gap, we examined the effects of daikon-derived fermented vinegar in a mouse model of di-et-induced obesity. Mice receiving a high-fat diet for 12 weeks showed marked increases in body weight, epididymal fat mass, and liver size, whereas these obesity-related changes were noticeably reduced in animals treated with the fermented radish vinegar. Serum lipid markers, including triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol, were significantly elevated in the obese group but were lowered following vinegar administration. In addition, the fermented vinegar reduced circulating leptin and insulin levels, indicating an improvement in obesity-associated hormonal dysregulation. Collectively, these findings suggest that fermented radish vinegar may serve as a promising dietary agent for attenuating obesity and its metabolic consequences. Further mechanistic studies are required to elucidate how this fermented product influences lipid metabolism and endocrine regulation.

Rice lodging, a common physiological issue that occurs during rice growth and development, is a major factor contributing to a decline in rice production. Current techniques for the extraction of rice lodging are subjective and require considerable time and labor. In this paper, we propose a fully automated method in an end-to-end format to objectively calculate the rice-lodging rate based on remote sensing data captured by a drone under field conditions. An image post-processing method was applied to enhance the semantic-segmentation results of an operable lightweight model on an embedded board. The area of interest within the parcel was preserved based on these results, and the lodging occurrence rate was calculated in a fully automated manner without external intervention. Five models were compared based on the U-Net and lite-reduced atrous spatial pyramid pooling (LR-ASPP) models with MobileNet versions 1–3 as the backbones. The final model, MobileNetV1_U-Net, performed the best with an RMSE of 11.75 and R2 of 0.875, and MobileNetV3_LR-ASPP (small) achieved the shortest processing time of 4.9844 s. This study provides an effective method for monitoring large-scale rice lodging, accurate extraction of areas of interest, and calculating lodging occurrence rates.

Melanogenesis, the key biological process underlying skin hyperpigmentation, is tightly regulated by complex molecular signaling pathways. Consequently, targeting molecular regulators of this pathway is a crucial strategy for developing effective skin-whitening agents. Cannabinol (CBN), a minor cannabinoid, has been largely unexplored owing to its role in modulating skin pigmentation. This study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of CBN’s depigmenting effects using an α-MSH-induced B16F10 melanoma cell model. High-purity CBN was obtained via conversion of cannabidiol (CBD) and confirmed by HPLC. CBN significantly inhibited melanin synthesis and tyrosinase activity in a concentration-dependent manner, without any cytotoxicity. Furthermore, we investigated CBN’s impact on the melanogenesis signaling cascade. Our analysis revealed that CBN significantly downregulated the mRNA and protein levels of key melanogenic master regulators, including MITF, TYR, TYRP1, and TYRP2. Importantly, we also observed that CBN treatment selectively suppressed the protein phosphorylation of upstream signaling molecules such as p38 and JNK MAP kinases and NF-κB, while ERK phosphorylation remained unaffected. This finding indicates that its mechanism of action involves the selective modulation of pro-melanogenic signaling components. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that CBN effectively modulates the melanogenesis signaling pathway by targeting both upstream kinases and downstream melanogenic genes. These findings suggest that CBN holds great promise as a bioactive agent for skin-whitening applications and warrants further research to confirm its clinical efficacy and safety.

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to investigate the effects of oven baking (180°C for 40 min), microwaving (8 min), and steaming (20 min) on the physicochemical properties, β‐carotene content, and in vitro digestibility of sweet pumpkin flours, along with the sensory profiles of muffins and noodles prepared with the treated flours. Among treatments, oven‐baked flour exhibited the highest β‐carotene content (477.6 ± 3.8 mg/100 g) compared to native flour (NF) (379.9 ± 0.2 mg/100 g). NF exhibited the highest RS content (13.2%), and although heat treatment slightly reduced resistant starch (RS) levels (11.4–12.9%), oven‐baked flour retained RS most effectively among the treated samples. Muffins and noodles incorporating oven‐baked flour showed higher RS content compared to control products (p < 0.05). Muffins and noodles prepared with oven‐baked flour showed lower grassy‐flavor intensity and more pronounced yellowish appearance than those with other treatments (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that thermal processing, particularly oven baking, enhances the nutritional and sensory properties of sweet pumpkin flour, supporting its use as a functional ingredient in bakery and noodle products.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate various biological processes, including cell differentiation. Despite their potential, their role in promoting neuronal differentiation by targeting neuronal genes and modulating signaling pathways is poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the functions of miR-937-3p-, miR-4536-3p-, and miR-4650-5p-inhibitors in the neuronal differentiation of SH-SY5Y cells. We also aimed to determine the underlying mechanisms via qPCR, luciferase assay, immunocytochemistry, and western blotting analysis. Our findings confirmed that miRNAs participated in neuronal differentiation and regulated the Wnt/MAPK signaling pathway. Specifically, we identified Netrin1 (NTN1), Drebrin1 (DBN1), and Netrin-G1 (NTNG1) as target genes of miR-937-3p, miR-4536-3p, and miR-4650-5p, respectively. The treatment with the miRNA inhibitors increased the expression levels of neuronal markers such as TUBB3, NEFH, NEFM, NEFL, and MAP2. It also enhanced the protein expression levels of Wnt and MAPK signaling. Therefore, the inhibitors of miR-937-3p, miR-4536-3p, and miR-4650-5p could promote neuronal differentiation by targeting neuronal genes and activating the Wnt/MAPK signaling pathway.