Lactobacillus amylovorus KU4 ameliorates diet-induced obesity in mice by promoting adipose browning through PPARγ signaling.

Browning of white adipose tissue (WAT) is currently considered a potential therapeutic strategy to treat diet-induced obesity. While some probiotics have protective effects against diet-induced obesity, the role of probiotics in adipose browning has not been explored. Here, we show that administration of the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus amylovorus KU4 (LKU4) to mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) enhanced mitochondrial levels and function, as well as the thermogenic gene program (increased Ucp1, PPARγ, and PGC-1α expression and decreased RIP140 expression), in subcutaneous inguinal WAT and also increased body temperature.

Annual Reproductive Cycle of , a Korean Endemic Species.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the annual reproductive cycle of a Korean endemic species, , from Jeokseong-myeon located in Seomjin River. The reproductive cycle is examined histologically regarding water temperature and day length of the habitat, the gonadosomatic index (GSI), the female ovipositor length index (OLI), monthly variation in egg diameter distribution, and developmental characteristics of female and male gonads. The maximum GSI was found in 19.