• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.205-210
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• 2013

Lumazine protein is a fluorescent protein isolated from the bioluminescent bacteria of Photobacterium species. To generate minimal size of lumazine protein with possessing fluorescent characteristic, the gene coding for the wild type N-terminal domain of lumazine protein (N-LumP 118) containing amino acids up to 118 from Photobacterium leiognathi was produced. In addition, the genes coding for the variant proteins of N-LumP 118, replaced with one tryptophan amino acid (N-LumP 118 V41W, S48W, T50W, D64W, and A66W), were also constructed by Polymerase Chain Reaction and Site Directed Mutagenesis. These proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli by transformation with recombinant plasmids and purified by 6X-His tagging system. Spectroscopic studies have show that the purified proteins are capable of binding to the fluorescent ligand 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine, resulted in showing of fluorescent characteristic with the minimal size of protein. From these studies, the mutant proteins containing single tryptophan amino acid residue, possessing its own intrinsic flouophore character at the different position, will be able to the use as a probe for further studies to deduce their three dimensional structure and the binding modes.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.1370-1376
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• 2011

To study the functional genomic analysis of a crenachaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, we have constructed an auxotrophic mutant based on pyrEF, which encodes the pyrimidine biosynthetic enzymes orotate phosphoribosyltransferase and orotidine-5'-monophosphate decarboxylase. S. acidocaldarius was shown to be sensitive to 5-fluoroorotic acid (5-FOA), which can be selected for mutations in pyrEF genes within a pyrimidine biosynthesis cluster. Spontaneous 5-FOA-resistant mutants by ultraviolet, KH1U and KH2U, were found to contain two point mutations and a frame shift mutation in pyrE, respectively. Mutations at these sites from KH1U and KH2U decreased the activity of orotate phosphoribosyltransferase encoded by the pyrE gene and blocked the degradation of 5-FOA into toxic 5-FOMP and 5-FUMP that kill the cells. Therefore, KH1U and KH2U were uracil auxotrophs. Transformation of Sulfolobus-Escherichia coli shuttle vector pC bearing pyrEF genes from S. solfataricus P2 into S. acidocaldarius mutant KH2U restored 5-FOA sensitivity and overcame the uracil auxotrophy. This study establishes an efficient genetic strategy towards the systematic knockout of genes in S. acidocaldarius.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.1487-1493
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• 2011

E. tarda, a fish pathogen, can survive in seawater under relatively high salt conditions as well as in fish under physiological salt conditions. Bacterial growth under different salt concentrations may influence the expression of genes involved in bacterial structure and physiology. The growth rate of E. tarda culture in high salt (3.5% NaCl) was similar to that in low salt (1.0% NaCl, physiological salt concentration). Interestingly, the strain moved much faster in low salt conditions than in high salt conditions. Electron microscopic observation demonstrated that the bacterial cells grown in high salt had less or no flagellation. Obvious flagellation was observed in the parental strain E. tarda CK41 grown in low-salt condition. Two putative genes coding flagellin were identified in the E. tarda genome sequences. The amino acid sequence comparison of each gene revealed 93% identities. A flagellin gene was PCR amplified and cloned into a cloning vector. Using an E. coli protein expression system, a part of flagellin protein was overexpressed. Using the purified protein, an anti-flagellin antibody was raised in the rabbit. Immunoblot analyses with flagellin specific antibody demonstrated that E. tarda CK41 expressed falgellin in low salt conditions, which is consistent with the results seen in motility assay and microscopic observation. This is the first report of salt regulated flagella expression in E. tarda.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.142-147
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• 2012

The sporulation-specific glucoamylase (SGA) of Saccharomyces diastaticus is known to be produced in the cytoplasm during sporulation. For the purpose of proving that SGA has secretory potential, we constructed a hybrid plasmid, pYESC25, containing the promoter and the putative signal sequence of the SGA fused in frame to the endo-1,4-${\beta}$-D-glucanase (CMCase) gene of Bacillus subtilis without its own signal sequence. The recipient yeast strain of S. diastaticus YIY345 was transformed with the hybrid plasmid. CMCase secretion from S. diastaticus harboring pYESC25 into culture medium was confirmed by the formation of yellowish halos around transformants after staining with Congo red on a CMC agar plate. The transformant culture was fractionated to the extracellular, periplasmic, and intracellular fraction, followed by the measurement of CMCase activity. About 63% and 13% enzyme activity were detected in the culture supernatant (extracellular fraction) and periplasmic fraction, respectively. Furthermore, ConA-Sepharose chromatography, native gel electrophoresis, and activity staining revealed that CMCase produced in yeast was glycosylated and its molecular weight was larger than that of the unglycosylated form from B. subtilis. Taking these findings together, SGA has the potential of secretion to culture medium, and the putative signal sequence of SGA can efficiently direct bacterial CMCase to the yeast secretion pathway.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.82-88
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• 2017

Transgenic lily plants have been obtained after particle bombardment, using PDS-1000/He system and scale explants of lilies, followed by PPT (D-L-phosphinothricin) selection. In this study, scales of the lily plants cv. 'red flame' were bombarded with a plasmid containing the bar gene as a selectable marker, and the AtSIZ gene as a gene of interest, showing salt tolerance and drought tolerance respectively, and both being driven by the CaMV 35S promoter. For optimization of a protocol, factors which optimized and showed a high transformation efficiency under following conditions, were considered: a bombardment pressure of 1100 psi, a target distance of 6 cm and $1.0{\mu}m$ of gold particle, and 24-h pre-culture and post-culture on MS medium containing 0.2 M sorbitol and 0.2 M mannitol as osmoticum agents. After bombardment, all the bombarded scales of lily were transferred to MS medium without selective agents, for a week. Subsequently, these bombarded scales were transferred to a selection MS medium containing 10 mg/l PPT, and incubated for a month for further selection, after which they were cultured for another 4-8 weeks with a 4-week subculture regime on the same selection medium. After transferring into hormone-free MS medium, the PPT-resistant scales with shoots were successfully rooted and regenerated into plantlets. PCR analysis revealed that the surviving putatively transformed plantlets indicated the presence of both the bar gene and the AtSIZ gene. In conclusion, when 100 scales of lily cv. Red flame are bombarded, this study produced approximately 17-18 transgenic plantlets with an optimized bombardment protocol. The protocol described here can contribute to the breeding program of lilies.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.296-299
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• 2015

Cowpea mild mottle virus (CPMMV) has a wide range of hosts, such as the pea family and tomato. CPMMV is a non-reported virus in Korea, and is domestically designated as a controlled virus associated with plant quarantine. In this study, a rapid diagnostic method for the detection of CPMMV at quarantine sites was developed. For the development of a user-based system, the PCR compositions and conditions use existing methods of quarantine for the viruses. Two sets of RT-PCR and nested PCR were developed in this study that could be amplified from 579 → 298 dp and 638 → 252 bp, respectively. Furthermore, a sequence inserted positive control plasmid was developed, which is able to identify false-positives resulting from laboratory contamination. The findings of this study are important for the diagnosis of CPMMV in imported crops held in plant quarantine.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.334-342
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• 1989

The Bacillus stearothermophilus cdd gene encoding cytidine deaminase (cytidine/2'-deoxycytidine aminohydrolase; EC 3.5.4.5) was isolated through shot gun cloning by oomplementation of an E. coli cdd mutation. Primarily 3.0 kbp of the exogenote was cloned into the Pstl site of pBR322 (pJSC101). By subsequent deletion and subcloning from the insert of pJSC101 with cdd$^+$ and tetracycline resistancy, about 1.35 kbp of the EcoRI$_1$/PstI$_2$ fragment containing the cdd gene was isolated as pJSC201. The minicell experiment revealed a molecular mass of 33,000 dalton for polypeptide from the cloned DNA fragment complementing the cdd gene. From the lacZ fusion of 550 bp fragment of the EcoRI$_1$/AuaI as a putative promoter region, the transcription direction of the cdd gene on pJSC201 is from EcoRI towards the PstI sites, When the cdd gene was expressed in B. subtilis ED4O (cdd$^-$, pyr$^-$) by transformation with the E. coli-B. subtilis shuttle vector, the gene expression occured more efficiently than in E. coli and the gene appears to be stably maintained in B. subtitis as well as in E. coli.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1395-1399
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• 2008

We have recently reported the PRC1 promoter as a promoter candidate to control expression of transcriptionally targeted genes for breast cancer gene therapy. We tested whether the PRC1 promoter could be also applied for the lung cancer gene therapy. In the transient transfection assay with naked plasmids containing the luciferase fused to the PRC1 promoter, the promoter showed little activity in the normal lung cell line, MRC5. However, in the lung cancer A549 cells, PRC1 showed approximately 30-fold activation which was similar to the survivin promoter, the gene whose promoter has been already reportedas a candidate for the gene therapy of lung cancer. In viral systems, the PRC1 promoter showed approximately 75% and 66% of transcriptional activity compared to the CMV promoter in the adeno-associated virus (AAV) and the adenovirus (AV) systems, respectively. However, the PRC1 promoter in either AAV or AV showed approximately 20% activity compared to the CMV promoter in the normal lung cells. In addition, human lung tumor xenograft mice showed that the PRC1 promoter activity was as strong as the CMV activity in vivo. Taken together, these results suggested that PRC1 might be a potential promoter candidate for transcriptionally targeted lung cancer gene therapy.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.210-216
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• 2016

Recently, there has been a considerable increase in the prevalence of CTX-M type extended-spectrum ${\beta}$-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli isolates worldwide, including Korea. To investigate the ESBL genes in the E. coli strains isolated from a university hospital in the Chungcheong area, a study was conducted using PCR amplification and nucleotide sequence analysis of the amplified products to detect the plasmid mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes in ESBL producing E. coli isolates. The number of CTX-M-14 producing isolates was 25 (16.0%) isolates, and of them, 9 (5.8%) isolates also produced CTX-M-15. All CTX-M type ESBL producing E. coli isolates showed resistance to cefotaxime. Twelve (48%) CTX-M type ESBL producing E. coli isolates contained the PMQR genes, 8 contained qnrS1, and 8 contained aac(6')-Ib-cr. Four isolates harbored both qnrS1 and aac(6')-Ib-cr genes. In our study, we confirmed that the plasmid mediated antimicrobial resistant determinants-the ESBL and PMQR genes-were distributed in the E. coli isolates. To prevent further spreading of the resistant genes among the E. coli isolates, consistent effort is required to investigate and monitor the resistant genes.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.297-302
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• 1998

$\beta$-Xylosidase B was produced by Escherichia coli HB101/pKMG12 carrying the xylB gene of Bacillus stearothermophilus No.236 on its recombinant plasmid. The $\beta$-xylosidase B produced was purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B, Sephacryl S-200 and Superdex 200 HR gel filtration. The purified enzyme showed the highest activity at pH 6.5 and 5$0^{\circ}C$. But, the enzyme was observed to be very sensitive to the pH and temperature of the reaction mixture. The enzyme was activated about 35% of its original activity in the presence of 1 mM of $Mn^{2+}$ but it was completely inhibited by $Ag^{+}$, $Cu^{2+}$and $Hg^{2+}$ions. In contrast with the $\beta$-xylosidase A, the B enzyme was found to have $\alpha$-arabinofuranosidase activity though the activity was fairly low compared with the $\alpha$-arabinofuranosidase produced from the arfI gene of the same Bacillus stearothermophilus. Therefore, $\beta$-xylosidase B is considered to be more suitable than $\beta$-xylosidase A at least for the biodegradation of arabinoxylan. The $K_{m}$ and V$_{max}$ values of the $\beta$-xylosidase B for o-nitrophenyl-$\alpha$-D-xylopyranoside were 6.43 mM and 1.45 $\mu$mole/min, respectively. Molecular mass of the enzyme was determind to be about 54 kDa by SDS-PAGE and 160 kDa by Superdex 200HR gel filtration, indicating that the functional $\beta$-xylosidase B was composed of three identical subunits.s.