• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.365-377
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• 2022

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine-threonine kinase member of the cellular phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway, which is involved in multiple biological functions by transcriptional and translational control. mTOR is a downstream mediator in the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and plays a critical role in cell survival. In cancer, this pathway can be activated by membrane receptors, including the HER (or ErbB) family of growth factor receptors, the insulin-like growth factor receptor, and the estrogen receptor. In the present work, we congregated an electronic network of mTORC1 built on an assembly of data using natural language processing, consisting of 470 edges (activations/interactions and/or inhibitions) and 206 nodes representing genes/proteins, using the Cytoscape 3.6.0 editor and its plugins for analysis. The experimental design included the extraction of gene expression data related to five distinct types of cancers, namely, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, hepatic cirrhosis, cervical cancer, glioblastoma, and anaplastic thyroid cancer from Gene Expression Omnibus (NCBI GEO) followed by pre-processing and normalization of the data using R & Bioconductor. ExprEssence plugin was used for network condensation to identify differentially expressed genes across the gene expression samples. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis was performed to find out the over-represented GO terms in the network. In addition, pathway enrichment and functional module analysis of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were also conducted. Our results indicated NOTCH1, NOTCH3, FLCN, SOD1, SOD2, NF1, and TLR4 as upregulated proteins in different cancer types highlighting their role in cancer progression. The MCODE analysis identified gene clusters for each cancer type with MYC, PCNA, PARP1, IDH1, FGF10, PTEN, and CCND1 as hub genes with high connectivity. MYC for cervical cancer, IDH1 for hepatic cirrhosis, MGMT for glioblastoma and CCND1 for anaplastic thyroid cancer were identified as genes with prognostic importance using survival analysis.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.649-654
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• 2006

A standard type II polyketide synthase (PKS) gene cluster was isolated while attempting to clone the biosynthetic gene for lipstatin from Streptomyces toxytricini NRRL 15,443. This result was observed using a Southern blot of a PstI-digested S. toxytricini chromosomal DNA library with a 444 bp amplified probe of a ketosynthase (KS) gene fragment. Four open reading frames [thioesterase (TE), $\beta$-ketoacyl systhase (KAS), chain length factor (CLF), and acyl carrier protein (ACP)], were identified through the nucleotide sequence determination and analysis of a 4.5 kb cloned DNA fragment. In order to confirm the involvement of a cloned gene in lipstatin biosynthesis, a gene disruption experiment for the KS gene was performed. However, the resulting gene disruptant did not show any significant difference in lipstatin production when compared to wild-type S. toxytricini. This result suggests that lipstatin may not be synthesized by a type II PKS.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Bioinformatics Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.170-177
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• 2003

Gene expression data are the quantitative measurements of expression levels and ratios of numberous genes in different situations based on microarray image analysis results. The process to draw meaningful information related to genomic diseases and various biological activities from gene expression data is known as gene expression data analysis. In this paper, we present a hierarchical clustering method of gene expression data based on self organizing map which can analyze the clustering result of gene expression data more efficiently. Using our proposed method, we could eliminate the uncertainty of cluster boundary which is the inherited disadvantage of self organizing map and use the visualization function of hierarchical clustering. And, we could process massive data using fast processing speed of self organizing map and interpret the clustering result of self organizing map more efficiently and user-friendly. To verify the efficiency of our proposed algorithm, we performed tests with following 3 data sets, animal feature data set, yeast gene expression data and leukemia gene expression data set. The result demonstrated the feasibility and utility of the proposed clustering algorithm.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.885-891
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• 2004

To evaluate the feasibility of using sperm-mediated gene transfer (SMGT) for carrying foreign gene into chicken oocyte, a reporter gene, CX-EGFP, was used in this study. The reporter gene was first mixed with liposome or liposome-like compound and the mixtures were further combined with ejaculated cock spermatozoa. The spermatozoa treated with liposome and CX-EGFP mixture was subsequently coincubated with DNaseI to remove the extra DNA which insured the authenticity of positive signals. The treated sperms were then subjected to transgene (reporter gene) existence analysis and artificial insemination of laying hens. Obtained results indicated that the spermatozoa were able to take-in the foreign DNA; which was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot analysis. In the following experiment, fresh ejaculated sperms were mixed with CX-EGFP-liposome or CX-EGFP-liposome-like complex then used for artificial insemination of each of six laying hens. Eggs laid between day-3 and day-7 post insemination were collected. Newly hatched chicks, two out of 53 from CX-EGFP/liposome treated group and two out of 21 from CXEGFP/liposome-like treated group, were proven to be transgenic. This study suggests that SMGT is a powerful method for generating transgenic chickens.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.169-174
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• 2007

To provide information for the molecular pathogenesis and antigenic structures of Korean isolates of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), the small membrane (sM) protein gene of Chinju99 strain, which was previously isolated from piglets suffering from severe diarrhea was characterized and further analyzed with other PEDV strains. The sM gene of Chinju99 generated by reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction had a single open reading frame with 231 bases consisting of 24.2% adenine, 18.6% cytosine, 18.1% guanine and 39.0% thymine nucleotides. Nucleotide sequence of the gene revealed 97.8% homology to those of Belgian strain CV777 and British strain Br1/87, and 97.0% to Chinese strain LZC. The gene encoded a protein with 76 amino acids, and putative amino acid sequence of the gene revealed 98.7% homology to those of CV777 and Br1/87, and 96.1% to LZC. The amino acids of Chinju99 sM gene consisted of mostly hydrophobic residues, and there were one potential N-myristylation site and one potential threonine (T)-linked phosphorylation site recognized. Also, there was a transmembrane region with 46 amino acids, and Chinju99 was more close to CV777 and Br1/87 than to LZC in phylogenetic analysis on the sM amino acid sequences.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.107-111
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• 2005

C. elegans DLK-1 has been reported to play an important role in synaptogenesis by shaping the structure of presynaptic terminal. In this study, we investigated the expression pattern and regulation of the dlk-1 gene in C. elegans. To determine the expression pattern, we made a dlk-1::gfp fusion construct, named pPDdg1, which consisted of -2.2 kb 5' upstream region, the first exon, the first intron, and a part of the second exon of the dlk-1 gene. By microinjecting this construct into the worm, we observed that the DLK-1::GFP was expressed mainly in neurons. We next examined the regulatory elements of gene expression by deletion analysis of pPDdg1. Removal of a large portion of the 5' upstream region (${\Delta}-361$ to -2246) of the gene had little effect on the expression pattern, whereas deletion of the first intron led to elimination of the DLK-1::GFP expression in most of the neurons. Our results suggest that the first intron of the C. elegans dlk-1 gene contains the regulatory element critical for gene expression.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.97-106
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• 1998

The pronuclear injection of metallothionein-human growth hormone (MT-hGH) gene into rabbit zygotes was performed to establish in vitro developmental system and to detect the presence of the injected gene by nested PCR. Mature female New Zealand White rabbits were superovulated by eGG and hCG treatments. The rabbits were mated and the zygotes were collected from the oviducts 18-22 h after hCG injection by flushing with D-PBS. Two to three picoliters of MT-hGH gene was microinjected into male pronuclei. The foreign gene-injected zygotes were cultured in TCM-199 or RD mediurn containing 10% FCS with a monolayer of rabbit oviductal epithelial cefls in a 5% $CO_2$ incubator. The presence of injected DNA in rabbit embryos or blastomeres at different developmental stages .vas detected by a nested PCR analysis. The results are summarized as follows ; 1.The developmental rate of the MT-hGH gene-injected zygotes to blastocyst was significantly higher in TCM-199 medium (68.1%) than in RD medium (42.9%). 2.The gene injection into pronuclei at 18 or 22 hours post hCG treatment during pronuclear stage did not much affect on the in vitro development of the rabbit embryos. 3.The rate of gene-positive embryos detected by the nested PCR analysis was significantly decreased when they developed to blastocysts. The results indicate that the screening of transgene in rabbit embryos by nested PCR analysis could be a prornisible method for the preselection of transgenic embryos. Furthermore, the preselection of transgenic embryos would greatly reduce hoth the cost and effort of production of transgenic animals.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1291-1300
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• 2004

Baicalin, a biologically active flavonoid form the roots of Scutallaria baicalensis (Skullcap), have been reported to not only function as anti-oxidants but also cause anticancer effect. We investigated the mechanism of baicalin-induced cytotoxicity and the macro scale gene expression analysis in leukemia cell line, HL-60 cells. Baicalin (10 μM) were used to treat the cells for 6h, 12h, 24h, 48h and 72h. In a human cDNAchip study of 65,000 genes evaluated 6, 12, 24, 48. 72 hours after treated with Baicalin in HL-60 cells. Hierarchical cluster against the genes which showed expression changes by more than two fold. One hundred one genes were grouped into 6 clusters according to their profile of expression by a hierarchical clustering algorithm. For genes differentially expressed in response to baicalin treatment, we tested functional classes based on Gene Ontology (GO) terms. This study provides the most comprehensive available survey of gene expression changes in response to baicalin treatment in HL-60 cell line.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.1055-1059
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• 2013

The ectomycorrhizal fungus Tricholoma matsutake grows symbiotically with Pinus densiflora. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (E.C. 4.3.1.24) catalyzes the conversion of L-phenylalanine to trans-cinnamic acid. The role of fungal phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, however, has not been clear until now. In this study, the gene encoding phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), which was isolated from T. matsutake, was cloned and characterized. The PAL gene (tmpal) consists of 2,160 nucleotides, coding for a polypeptide containing 719 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence of tmpal from T. matsutake shows high identity (70%) with that from Laccaria bicolor. Comparative analysis of the PAL genes among T. matsutake and other species of the class Agaricomycetes showed that both active sites and binding sites were significantly conserved among these genes. The transcriptional analysis of the PAL gene revealed a differential gene expression pattern depending on the developmental stages (mycelium, primordium, stipe, pileus, and gills) of T. matsutake. These results suggest that the PAL gene in T. matsutake plays an important role in multiple physiological functions.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.45-52
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• 2009

In order to understand the molecular interactions that occur between rice and the rice blast fungus during infection, we previously identified a number of rice blast fungal elicitor-responsive genes from rice (Oryza sativa cv. Milyang 117). Here, we report the cloning and characterization of the rice fungal elicitor-inducible gene Oshin1 (GenBank Accession Number AF039532). Sequence analysis revealed that the Oshin1 cDNA is 1067 bp long and contains an open reading frame encoding 205 amino acid residues. The Oshin1 gene shows considerable sequence similarity to the tobacco hin1 and hin2 genes. The predicted Oshin1 protein has a cysteine-rich domain at the N-terminus and is rich in leucine, serine, and alanine residues. Southern blot analysis suggests that Oshin1 gene is a member of a small gene family in the rice genome. To examine the expression of Oshin1, Northern blot analysis was conducted. Expression of the Oshin1 transcript is rapidly induced in suspension-cultured rice cells treated with fungal elicitor, salicylic acid or hydrogen peroxide. In addition, Oshin1 transcript levels are rapidly increased by treatment with $Ca^{2+}$/A23187. The expression of Oshin1 was also elevated in 3-week old leaf tissues upon ethephon application or fungal elicitor treatment. Our results suggest that the Oshin1 gene is involved in plant defense responses to environmental stresses.