Young Ha Rhee

Academic Career

  • Ph. D., 2008, Department of Pharmacology, Osaka University Medical School, Japan
  • Ph. D., 2010, Department of Pharmacology, Osaka University Medical School, Japan
  • Ph. D., 2015, Department of Pharmacology, Osaka University Medical School, Japan

Career

  • Postdoc., 2015-2018, Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, USA
  • Prof., 2018-, Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, USA

Research Interests

  • Functional study of mental disorder genes

    We are conducting a systematic zebrafish knockout project to validate candidate genes for mental disorders, including autism. Knockout (KO) zebrafish for the Miles-Carpenter syndrome gene (ZC4H2) were created and KO animal exhibited abnormal swimming, defective eye movement and pectoral fin contractures. We observed a striking reduction in GABAergic interneurons. Analysis of cell-type-specific markers showed a specific loss of V2 interneurons in the brain and spinal cord. Loss of function of ZC4H2 thus likely results in altered connectivity of neuronal circuits, infantile spasm and intellectual disability. The second case is related to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). ASDs comprise a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders, characterized by deficits in social behavior, along with repetitive behaviors and impaired communication. Though the exact causes for ASD remain poorly understood, genetic mutations resulting in altered gene function have been implicated causally in ASD. Intragenic mutations in DYRK1A, which have been shown previously to be associated with clinical aspects of Down syndrome, have been associated recently with microcephaly and ASD-like symptoms. We provide a case study of an individual with a 21kb microdeletion within the DYRK1A locus, who has both microcephaly and ASD. We show that dyrk1aa KO fish have microcephaly and impaired social interactions through two newly developed behavioral tests: social interaction and shoaling assays. Also, we confirmed that behavior analysis for ASD through our dyrk1aa KO zebrafish is experimentally tractable, and propose these social behavioral assay methods in zebrafish as a tool for the widespread study of ASD candidate genes.

Selected Publication

  • Kim MS, Bae JW, Park EJ (2018) Post-harvest processing decreases the richness of bacterial taxa in the phyllosphere of broccoli. J. Appl. Microbiol. 125(1):295-305
  • Hyun DW§, Min HJ§, Kim MS§, Whon TW, Shin NR, Kim PS, Kim HS, Lee JY, Kang W, Choi A, Yoon JH, Bae JW (2018) Dysbiosis of inferior turbinate microbiota is associated with high total IgE levels in allergic rhinitis patients. Infect. Immun. 86(4):e00934-17 (§co-first authors)
  • Kim MS, Bae JW, Park EJ (2018) Geographic and host-associated variations in bacterial communities in the floret surfaces of field-grown broccoli. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 84(8):e02837-17
  • Kim MS and Bae JW (2018) Lysogeny is prevalent and widely distributed in the murine gut microbiota. ISME J. 12(4):1127-1141
  • Kim MS and Bae JW (2016) Spatial disturbances in altered mucosal and luminal gut viromes of diet-induced obese mice. Environ. Microbiol. 18(5):1498-1510
  • Yang JY§, Kim MS§, Kim E§, Cheon JH§, Lee YS, Seo SU, Lee SH, Kim Y, Shin SH, Choi SS, Kim B, Chang SY, Ko HJ, Bae JW and Kweon MN (2016) Enteric viruses ameliorate gut inflammation via the TLR3 and TLR7-mediated interferon-β production. Immunity. 44(4):889-900 (§co-first authors)
  • Kim MS, Hyun DW, Kim JY, Kim SY, Bae JW and Park EJ (2014) Dyella jejuensis sp. nov., isolated from soil of Hallasan Mountain in Jeju Island. J. Microbiol. 52(5):373-7.
  • Kim MS and Park EJ (2014) Bacterial communities of traditional salted and fermented seafoods from Jeju Island of Korea using 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis. J. Food Sci. 79(5):M927-34.
  • Hyun DW§, Kim MS§, Shin NR, Kim JY, Kim PS, Whon TW, Yun JH and Bae JW (2013) Shimia haliotis sp. nov., a bacterium isolated from the gut of an abalone, Haliotis discus hannai. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 63(11):4248-53 (§co-first authors)
  • Kim MS§, Whon TW§ and Bae JW (2013) Comparative viral metagenomics of environmental samples from Korea. Genomics & Inform. 11(3):121-128
  • Kim MS, Hwang SS, Park EJ and Bae JW (2013) Strict vegetarian diet improves the risk factors associated with metabolic diseases by modulating gut microbiota and reducing intestinal inflammation. Environ. Microbiol. Rep. 5(5):765-75
  • Whon TW§, Kim MS§, Roh SW, Shin NR, Lee HW and Bae JW (2012) Metagenomic characterization of airborne DNA viral diversity in the near-surface atmosphere. J. Virol. 86(15):8221-8231 (§co-first authors)
  • Kim MS, Whon TW, Roh SW, Shin NR and Bae JW (2011) Draft genome sequence of Bacteroides faecis MAJ27T, a strain isolated from human feces. J. Bacteriol. 193(23):6801-6802
  • Kim MS, Park EJ, Roh SW and Bae JW (2011) Diversity and abundance of single-stranded DNA viruses in human feces. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.77(22):8062-8070