• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.1105-1109
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• 2014

While single strand DNAs have been widely used for the scaffold of brightly fluorescent silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs), double strand DNAs have not been as successful. Herein, we report a novel synthetic approach for bright Ag NCs using branched double strand DNAs as the scaffolds for synthesis. X-shaped DNA (X-DNA) and Y-shaped DNA (Y-DNA) effectively stabilized Ag NCs, and both X-DNA and Y-DNA resulted in brightly fluorescent Ag NCs. The concentration and molar ratio of silver and DNA were found important for the fluorescence efficiency. The brightest Ag NC with the photoluminescence quantum efficiency of 19.8% was obtained for the reaction condition of 10 ${\mu}M$ X-DNA, 70 ${\mu}M$ silver, and the reaction time of 48 h. The fluorescence lifetime was about 2 ns for the Ag NCs and was also slightly dependent on the synthetic condition. Addition of Cu ions at the Ag NC preparations resulted in the quenching of Ag NC fluorescence, which was different to the brightening cases of single strand DNA stabilized Ag NCs.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.598-602
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• 2002

Damage to cells exposed to radiation is primarily attributed to direct effects on the structure of cellular DNA. Radiation-induced damage of pBluescript SK plasmid DNA and Escherichia coli $DH5\alpha$ were examined in the presence of various branched oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, and/or 8-MOP (8-methoxypsoralen). Branched oligosaccharides efficiently protected DNA and cells exposed to ultrasoft X-ray and UV irradiation. In the presence of 0.2% (w/v) branched oligosaccharides and polysaccharides, DNA can be protected from damage due to W and ultrasoft X-ray by a factor of 1.3-2.1 fo1d and 3.2-8.3 fold, respectively. The protective effect of cells exposed to UV or ultrasoft X-ray was also observed by branched oligosaccharides. The combination of MOP, a photoreagent, with carbohydrates increased the protective effects for DNA and cells, compared with that of a single use of MOP or carbohydrate alone.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.87-102
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• 2013

An n-string tangle is a three dimensional ball with n-strings which are properly embedded in the ball. In early 90's, C. Ernst and D. Sumners first used a tangle to describe a DNA-protein complex. In this model, DNA is represented by a string and protein is represented by a ball. Mu is a protein which binds to DNA at three sites and a DNA-Mu complex is called Mu-transpososome. Knowing the DNA topology within Mu-transpososome is very important to understand DNA transposition by Mu protein. In 2002, Pathania et al. determined that the DNA configuration within the Mu transpososome is three branched and five noded [12]. In 2007, Darcy et al. analyzed this by using mathematical tangle and concluded that the three branched and five noded DNA configuration is the only biologically reasonable solution [4]. In this paper, based on the result of Pathania et al. and Darcy et al., the author determines the DNA topology within the DNA-Mu complex after the whole Mu transposition process. Furthermore, a new experiment is designed which can support the Pathania et al.'s result. The result of this new experiment is predicted through mathematical knot thory.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.501-506
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• 2004

We have investigated the spectral properties of DNA, including its electric absorption, circular and linear dichroism (CD and LD), and fluorescence emission, in the DNA-linear polyethyleneimine (LPEI) and DNA-branched polyethyleneimine (BPEI) complexes at various polymer concentrations. The spectral properties of both complexes are similar. We observed a relatively moderate change in the absorption and CD spectra at low amine/DNA phosphate (NIP) ratios (< 0.5), followed by a drastic collapse within the N/P range from 0.8 and 1.0. The absorption and CD spectra recovered as the N/P ratio increased to ca. 1.2. In contrast, the LD and emission of ethidium intercalated between the DNA bases decreased almost linearly at N/P ratios between 0.0 and 1.0. These spectra never recovered at higher N/P ratios. We believe that the moderate changes in the spectrum at low N/P ratios occurred because of electrostatic interactions between DNA and BPEI, while the collapsed spectra at N/P ratios between 0.5 and 1.5 occurred because of condensation/aggregation of the DNA. Considering the structure of the polymers, we suggest that the secondary amino group of LPEI and all three amino groups of BPEI are equally involved in DNA condensation.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.263-267
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• 2004

Branched and linear polyethylenimines (PEIs) have been studied as efficient and versatile agents for gene delivery in vitro and in vivo. PEIs exist in a linear or branched topology and are available in a wide range of molecular weight (Mw). Most studies have been done using PEIs with Mw higher than 10Kd. This study was aimed to test the transfection efficiency and the cell viability following gene delivery using PEI of Mw 2Kd, a relatively lower Mw cationic polymer. We used murine interleukin-2(mIL-2) plasmid DNA complexed with branched PEI 2Kd or 25Kd, and transfected them into a myoblast muscle cell line, C2C12. The cellular uptake of mIL-2 plasmid DNA was determined using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RNA transcript levels were studied in the myoblast cells. Our results show that PEI 2Kd was as effective as PEI 25Kd in celluar gene delivery and transfection efficiency in C2C12 cells. Moreover, MTT assay indicated that PEI 2Kd/DNA complexes did not significantly reduce the cell viability regardless of N/P ratios. These results suggest that PEI of Mw 2Kd might play a role as effective and low toxic nonviral vector systems for muscular cell lines.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.348-353
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• 2006

For enhancing the gene delivery efficiency of polyplexes, a new formulation was developed using PEI conjugated Pluronic F127 copolymer as an effective additive. Low molecular weight, branched polyethylenimine Mw 600 (LMW BPEI 600) was conjugated to the terminal end of Pluronic F127. The PEI-modified Pluronic copolymers formed a micellar structure in aqueous solution, similar to that of unmodified Pluronic copolymer. PEI modification of Pluronic copolymer increased the size of micelles while concomitantly raising the critical micelle concentration (CMC). The PEI-modified Pluronic copolymer was used as a micellar additive to enhance the gene transfection efficiency of pre-formulated polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles composed of luciferase plasmid DNA and branched PEI Mw 25k (BPEI 25k) or polylysine Mw 39k (PLL 39k). The luciferase gene expression levels were significantly enhanced by the addition of the BPEI-modified Pluronic copolymer for the two formulations of BPEl and PLL polyplexes. The results indicated that the BPEI-modified Pluronic copolymer micelles ionically interacted on the surface of DNA/BPEI (PLL) polyplexes which might facilitate cellular uptake process.

• Mycobiology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.74-80
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• 2003

Isolates of Trichoderma spp. collected from Pleurotus ostreatus and P. eryngii beds, which included loosened substrate compactness and development of green colour, were grouped into three species. The occurrence of different species of Trichoderma was as T. cf. virens(70.8%), T. longibrachiatum(16.7%) and T. harzianum(12.5%). The conidia of Trichoderma spp. were ellipsoidal, obovoid and phialides were bowling pins, lageniform and the length of phialides was $3.5{\sim}10.0{\times}1.3{\sim}3.3{\mu}m$. Phialides of T. cf. virens and T. harzianum were tending clustered, but it was solitary disposition in T. longibrachiatum. T. cf. virens was characterized by predominantly effuse conidiation, sparingly branched, and fertile to the apex and it was penicillate type. RAPD analysis could detect variability amongst three different species of Trichoderma using two newly designed URP-primers. However, intra-specific variation could not be detected in all the isolates except for rDNA sequence data classified Trichoderma isolates into three distinct groups representing three species. The profiles of rDNA sequences of isolates representing a species showed high similarity in T. cf. virens and T. harzianum. However, there was a variation in rDNA sequences of isolates representing T. longibrachiatum. The results of present study reveals that molecular techniques of RAPD and rDNA sequencing can greatly aid in classification based on morphology and precise identification of fast evolving species of Trichoderma.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.451-458
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• 1984

The effects of branched chain amino acids added to a diet on changes in the body weight with or without liver, moist and dry liver weight, protein, DNA, $^3H-thymidine$ incorporation into DNA, ana mitotic index of regenerating liver were studied in partial hepatectomized rat. Experimental diet was a 14.63% casein diet supplemented with 1.49% L-leucine, 0.90% L-isoleucine and 0.98% L-Valine, and control diet was an 18.0% casein. In both diets, 2.54% nitrogen were included. Rats fed experimental diet were significantly increased body weight with or without liver 7 days, and regenerated weight of dry liver and an index of liver regeneration 5 days after partial hepatectomy. Mitotic index, contents of protein and DNA increased in regenerating liver after partial hepatectomy was higher in experimental diet group. This results suggest that branched chain amino acids have an benefitial effect on whole body as well as liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in rat.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Applied Microbiology Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.128-134
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• 2000

In the course of flora analysis of soil Archaea, we found very strange 16S rDNA clones, which could possibly constitute a sister clade from known two archael, Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota, lineages. Overall signature sequences showed that the clones were closely related to domains Archaea and Eucarya. However, at least nine nucleotides distinguished the novel clones from domains Archaea and Eucarya. Phylogenetic trees drawn by maximum parsimony, neighbor joining and maximum likelihood methods also showed unique phylogenetic position of the clones. A very specific primer set was synthesized to detect the presence of the novel group of organisms in terrestrial environments. A specific DNA fragment was amplified from all of paddy soil DNAs, and this fact suggests that the novel organisms inhabit paddy soils.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.160-164
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• 2020

Papenfussiella densa was described as Papenfussiella kuromo f. densa from Japan by Inagaki in 1958. P. densa has been recognized as an endemic and independent species based on the molecular analyses of type material without detailed morphological observations. In this study, Papenfussiella densa is reported as a new record from Dok-do, South Korea, based on morphological and molecular analyses. Papenfussiella densa is mainly characterized as having narrow, branched, slimy, and tomentose thalli with branchlets, partially hollow in the medulla of the middle part. The molecular analyses of the chloroplast rbcL-rbcS DNA sequence of the Papenfussiella densa sample from Korea revealed that it matched that of P. densa from Japan and was nested in the clade of Papenfussiella. There was only a 0.02% gene sequence divergence between the Korean and Japanese samples. We report P. densa as a new record from Korea and add this species to the list of Korean macroalgal flora.