• BMB Reports
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• 제40권1호
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• pp.7-14
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• 2007

Helicases are ubiquitous enzymes, which utilize the energy liberated during nucleotide triphosphate hydrolysis to separate double-stranded nucleic acids into single strands. These enzymes are very attractive targets for the development of new antibacterial compounds. The PcrA DNA helicase from Staphylococcus aureus is a good candidate for drug discovery. This enzyme is unique in the genome of S. aureus and essential for this bacterium. Furthermore, it has recently been published that it is possible to identify inhibitors of DNA helicases such as PcrA. In this report, we study the properties of recombinant PcrA from S. aureus purified from Escherichia coli to develop ATPase and helicase assays to screen for inhibitors.

• 한국식품영양과학회지
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• 제39권6호
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• pp.805-812
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• 2010

본 연구에서는 조리법에 따른 마늘의 항 유전 독성 효과를 확인하기 위해 생마늘, 구운 마늘, 초절임 마늘의 에탄올 또는 메탄올 추출물을 백혈구에 처리한 후 comet assay를 수행하였다. 그 결과 조리 방법, 추출 용매에 상관없이 모든 추출물에서 DNA 손상 억제 효과가 것으로 나타났으며 활성산소인 $H_2O_2$에 대한 DNA 손상 억제 효과는 생마늘 메탄올 추출물에서, 지질과산화물인 HNE에 대한 DNA 손상 억제 효과는 구운 마늘 메탄올 추출물에서 높은 것으로 나타났다. 또한 $H_2O_2$로 유도한 스트레스에서는 마늘 추출물의 농도를 1, 5, 10, 50 ${\mu}g$/mL으로 증가시킬수록 DNA 손상 억제능이 좋은 것으로 나타난 반면 HNE로 스트레스를 유도한 군에서는 저농도인 1 ${\mu}g$/mL에서 오히려 높은 효능이 나타났다. 따라서 마늘의 항 유전 독성 효과는 한국인의 일반적인 마늘 섭취 형태인 생마늘, 구운 마늘, 초절임 마늘에 상관없이 탁월한 것을 알 수 있었다. 이와 같은 마늘의 항 유전 독성효과는 식재료로써의 마늘의 소비 및 의약품 소재로써의 이용성을 증진시킬 수 있는 자료가 될 것으로 사료된다.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제31권2호
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• pp.123-131
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• 2015

Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus (Cms) multiplies very rapidly, passing through the vascular strands and into the stems and petioles of a diseased potato. Therefore, the rapid and specific detection of this pathogen is highly important for the effective control of the pathogen. Although several PCR assays have been developed for detection, they cannot afford specific detection of Cms. Therefore, in this study, a computational genome analysis was performed to compare the sequenced genomes of the C. michiganensis subspecies and to identify an appropriate gene for the development of a subspecies-specific PCR primer set (Cms89F/R). The specificity of the primer set based on the putative phage-related protein was evaluated using genomic DNA from seven isolates of Cms and 27 other reference strains. The Cms89F/R primer set was more specific and sensitive than the existing assays in detecting Cms in in vitro using Cms cells and its genomic DNA. This assay was also able to detect at least $1.47{\times}10^2copies/{\mu}l$ of cloned-amplified target DNA, 5 fg of DNA using genomic DNA or $10^{-6}$ dilution point of 0.12 at $OD_{600}$ units of cells per reaction using a calibrated cell suspension.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제31권7호
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• pp.671-676
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• 2021

쌍별 귀뚜라미(Gryllus bimaculatus)에서 lethal (2) essential for life [l(2)efl]을 코드한 cDNA를 분리하여 GBl(2)efl이라 하였다. GBl(2)efl는 N-glycosylation 한곳과 phosphorylation site를 15곳 가진 189 aa로 구성되며6.2등전점과 21.19 kDa 분자량을 가진다. GBl(2)efl 단백질의 이차구조는 random coils (56.08%), alpha-helix (22.22%), extended strands (17.99%), beta turns (3.7%)로 이루어진다. GBl(2)efl 는 지금까지 보고된 l(2)efl들과는48-69%의 상동성을 보인다. GBl(2)efl은1일, 3일 starvation일때에 각각 dorsal longitudinal flight muscle과 Malpighian tubules에서 mRNA발현이 증가하였다. 한편, ER stress 조건에서는GBl(2)efl 발현은 fat body에서 증가하였다. 본 연구는 곤충의 생존에 기여하는 생리학적 메커니즘을 이해와 효과적인 해충 관리 통제를 수행할 수 있는 능력을 향상에 많은 힌트를 줄 수 있는 실마리를 제공할 수 있을 것이다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제44권10호
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• pp.653-658
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• 2011

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum fungus has three endoxylanases induced by wheat bran. In the first part, a partial xylanase sequence gene (90 bp) was isolated by PCR corresponding to catalytic domains (${\beta}5$ and ${\beta}6$ strands of this protein). The high homology of this sequence with xylanase of Botryotinia fuckeliana has permitted in the second part to amplify the XYN1 gene. Sequence analysis of DNA and cDNA revealed an ORF of 746 bp interrupted by a 65 bp intron, thus encoding a predicted protein of 226 amino acids. The mature enzyme (20.06 kDa), is coded by 188 amino acid (pI 9.26). XYN1 belongs to G/11 glycosyl hydrolases family with a conserved catalytic domain containing $E_{86}$ and $E_{178}$ residues. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that there was no Asn-X-Ser/Thr motif required for N-linked glycosylation in the deduced sequence however, five O-glycosylation sites could intervene in the different folding of xylanses isoforms and in their secretary pathway.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제32권12호
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• pp.1547-1552
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• 2022

β-Amyrin is a pentacyclic triterpene widely distributed in leaves and stems worldwide. The ability of β-amyrin to induce the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in microorganisms suggests its potential as an antimicrobial agent. Thus, this study aimed to elucidate the antibacterial mode of action of β-amyrin. We treated Escherichia coli cells with β-amyrin and found that it triggered ROS accumulation. Excessive stress caused by ROS, particularly hydroxyl radicals, induces glutathione (GSH) dysfunction. GSH protects cells from oxidative and osmotic stresses; thus, its dysfunction leads to membrane depolarization. The resultant change in membrane potential leads to the release of apoptotic proteins, such as caspases. The activated caspases-like protein promotes the cleavage of DNA into single strands, which is a hallmark of apoptosis-like death in bacteria. Apoptotic cells usually undergo events such as DNA fragmentation and phosphatidylserine exposure, differentiating them from necrotic cells, and the cells treated with β-amyrin in this study were positive for annexin V and negative for propidium iodide, indicating apoptosis-like death. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the antibacterial mode of action of β-amyrin involves the induction of ROS, which resulted in apoptosis-like death in E. coli.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제6권3호
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• pp.135-139
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• 2003

During routine survey of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) collected from Tongyoung area in southern coast of Korea, histological examination revealed that a intracellular microorganisms infected the digestive gland of the oyster. They infected hepatopancreatic cells extensively. The size of intracellular microorganism was of 45 to 86nm in diameter and 200nm to more thar 500nm in length. They were pleomorphic. The morphological characteristic of intracellular microorganisms lacked cell wall and was bounded by the plasma membrane. They contained typical prokaryotic ribosomes and fibrillar DNA-like strands. No additional internal structure has been observed. Based on the lack of cell wall and the cellular localization, the intracellular microorganism is considered as a Mycoplasma-like organism.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제18권12호
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• pp.1953-1957
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• 2008

Recombinant Lactobacillus strains have been constructed using gene splicing by overlap extension (SOE). Primers were designed of which one end of an amplified product contained complementary sequences for an end of other amplified fragment. For efficient matching, we used an asymmetric PCR step that was effective at generating an excess of strands that would anneal in the final PCR. CP12, a recombinant fragment consisting of the integrase gene and attachment site of the bacteriophage A2, was constructed and inserted into the genome of Lactobacillus casei ATCC 393, yielding Lb. casei ATCC 393::XCP12. Another recombinant Lb. casei strain was constructed, where the egfp gene was a part of the construction. The EGFP produced from Lb. casei ATCC 393::XCEGFP14 was detected by Western blot hybridization. This simple and widely applicable approach has significant advantages over standard recombinant DNA techniques for Lactobacillus species.

• 식물조직배양학회지
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• 제22권5호
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• pp.241-260
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• 1995

Transposons, present in the genomes of all living organisms, are genetic element that can change positions, or transpose, within the genome. Most genomes contain several kinds of transposable elements and the molecular details of the mechanisms by which these transposons move have recently been uncovered in many families of transposable elements. Transposition is brought about by an enzyme known as transposaese encoded by the autonomous transposon itself, but, in the unautonomous transposon lacking the gene encoding the transposase, movement occurs only at the presence of the enzyme encoded by the autonomous one. There are two types of transposition events, conservative and replicative transposition. In the former the transposon moves without replication, both strands of the DNA moving together from one place to the other while in the latter the transposition frequently involves DNA replication, so one copy of transposon remains at its original site as another copy insole to a new site. The insertion of transposon into a gene can prevent it expression whereas excision from the gene may restore the ability of the gene to be expressed. There are marked similarities between transposons and certain viruses having single stranded Plus (+) RNA genomes. Retrotransposons, which differ from the ordinary transposons in that they transpose via an RNA-intermediate, behave much like retroviruses and have a structure of integrated retrovial DNA when they are inserted to a new target site. An insertional mutagenesis called transposon-tagging is now being used in a number of plant species to isolate genes involved in developmental and metabolic processes which have been proven difficult to approach by the traditional methods. Attempts to device a transposon-tagging system based on the maize Ac for use in heterologous species have been made by many research workers.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제14권6호
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• pp.1239-1248
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• 2004

The methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha has been extensively studied as a model organism for methanol metabolism and peroxisome biogenesis. Recently, this yeast has also attracted attention as a promising host organism for recombinant protein production. Here, we describe the fabrication and evaluation of a DNA chip spotted with 382 open reading frames (ORFs) of H. polymorpha. Each ORF was PCR-amplified using gene-specific primer sets, of which the forward primers had 5'-aminolink. The PCR products were printed in duplicate onto the aldehyde-coated slide glasses to link only the coding strands to the surface of the slide via covalent coupling between amine and aldehyde groups. With the partial genome DNA chip, we compared efficiency of direct and indirect cDNA target labeling methods, and found that the indirect method, using fluorescent-labeled dendrimers, generated a higher hybridization signal-to-noise ratio than the direct method, using cDNA targets labeled by incorporation of fluorescence-labeled nucIeotides during reverse transcription. In addition, to assess the quality of this DNA chip, we analyzed the expression profiles of H. polymorpha cells grown on different carbon sources, such as glucose and methanol, and also those of cells treated with the superoxide­generating drug, menadione. The profiles obtained showed a high-level induction of a set of ORFs involved in methanol metabolism and oxidative stress response in the presence of methanol and menadione, respectively. The results demonstrate the sensitivity and reliability of our arrays to analyze global gene expression changes of H. polymorpha under defined environmental conditions.