• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.83-87
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• 2001

Disease resistance in plants is often controlled by gene-for-gene mechanism in which avirulence (avr) gene products encoding by pathogens are specifically recognized, either directly or indirectly by plant disease resistance (R) gene products. Recent studies arising from molecular cloning of a number of R genes from various plant species that confer resistance to different pathogens and corresponding avr genes from various pathogens resulted in the accumulation of a wealth of knowledge on mode of action of gene-for-gene interaction. Specially, members of the NBS-LRR class of R genes encoding proteins containing a nucleotide binding site (NBS) and carboxyl-terminal leucine-rich repeats (LRRs) confer resistance to very different types of phytopathogens, such as bacteria, fungi, oomycetes, viruses, nematodes and aphids. This article reviewed the molecular events that occur up-stream of defense response pathway, specially, bacterial avr gene protein recognition mediated by NBS-LRR type R gene product in plant based on current research results of well studied model plants.

• BMB Reports
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• 제52권8호
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• pp.475-481
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• 2019

The evolution of genome editing technology based on CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) system has led to a paradigm shift in biological research. CRISPR/Cas9-guide RNA complexes enable rapid and efficient genome editing in mammalian cells. This system induces double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) at target sites and most DNA breakages induce mutations as small insertions or deletions (indels) by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) repair pathway. However, for more precise correction as knock-in or replacement of DNA base pairs, using the homology-directed repair (HDR) pathway is essential. Until now, many trials have greatly enhanced knock-in or substitution efficiency by increasing HDR efficiency, or newly developed methods such as Base Editors (BEs). However, accuracy remains unsatisfactory. In this review, we summarize studies to overcome the limitations of HDR using the CRISPR system and discuss future direction.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제27권6호
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• pp.657-665
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• 2009

The ovomucoid pre-mRNA has been folded into mini-hairpins adaptable for the RNA recognition motif (RRM) protein binding. The number of mini-hairpins were 372 for pre-mRNA and 83-86 for mature mRNA. The spatial arrangements are, in average, 16 nucleotides per mini-hairpin which includes 7 nt in the stem, 5.6 nt in the loop and 3.7 nt in the inter-hairpin spacer. The constitutive splicing system of ovomucoid-pre-mRNA is characterized by preferred order of intron removal of 5/6 > 7/4 > 2/1 > 3. The 5' splice sites (5'SS), branch point sequences (BPS) and 3' splice sites (3'SS) were identified and free energies involved have been estimated in 7 splice sites. Thermodynamic barriers for splice sites from the least (|lowest| -Kcal) were 5, 4, 7, 6, 2, 1, and 3; i.e., -18.7 Kcal, -20.2 Kcal, -21.0 Kcal, -24.0 Kcal, - 25.4 Kcal, -26.4 Kcal and -28.2 Kcal respectively. These are parallel to the kinetic data of splicing order reported in the literature. As a result, the preferred order of intron removals can be described by a consideration of free energy changes involved in the spliceosomal assembly pathway. This finding is consistent with the validity of hnRNP formation mechanisms in previous reports.

• BMB Reports
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• 제30권5호
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• pp.308-314
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• 1997

We investigated biotinylation of nitrocellulose membrane for immuno-filtration capture assay. In order to enhance the efficiency of biotinylation, nitrocellulose membranes were pretreated with several chemicals for the purpose of suitable protein absorption through surface modification. As a signal generating enzyme, urease was used and the concentration of avidin was optimized for the efficient binding kinetics between urease-biotin in liquid phase and biotinylated membrane in solid phase. For effective biotinylation, bovine serum albumin-biotin complexes could be immobilized at a concentration of $370\;{\mu}g$/stick ($4.4\;cm^2$). Among tested chemicals, polylysine (0.25%) showed a significant effect in biotinylation. Polylysine is thought to enhance surface area by extending unbound residues into solution. Time of treatment over 30 min and higher molecular weight of polylysines (58,100 dalton) showed positive effect on the enhancement of biotinylation. The result from this study may be useful for developing a new biosensor and other biofunctional membranes for examining molecular recognition.

• BMB Reports
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• 제50권2호
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• pp.55-57
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• 2017

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) together with MD2, one of the key pattern recognition receptors for a pathogen-associated molecular pattern, activates innate immunity by recognizing lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Gram-negative bacteria. Although LBP and CD14 catalyze LPS transfer to the TLR4/MD2 complex, the detail mechanisms underlying this dynamic LPS transfer remain elusive. Using negative-stain electron microscopy, we visualized the dynamic intermediate complexes during LPS transfer-LBP/LPS micelles and ternary CD14/LBP/LPS micelle complexes. We also reconstituted the entire cascade of LPS transfer to TLR4/MD2 in a total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscope for a single molecule fluorescence analysis. These analyses reveal longitudinal LBP binding to the surface of LPS micelles and multi-round binding/unbinding of CD14 to single LBP/LPS micelles via key charged residues on LBP and CD14. Finally, we reveal that a single LPS molecule bound to CD14 is transferred to TLR4/MD2 in a TLR4-dependent manner. These discoveries, which clarify the molecular mechanism of dynamic LPS transfer to TLR4/MD2 via LBP and CD14, provide novel insights into the initiation of innate immune responses.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제35권12호
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• pp.3437-3442
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• 2014

A well-known carbazole-based precursor (probe 1) was used for the detection of cysteine/homocysteine and fluoride. Probe 1 shows a "turn-on" response to cysteine/homocysteine and fluoride via enhancement in emission intensity at 442 nm and 462 nm respectively, in solutions and living cells. Furthermore, probe 1 behaves as a fluorescent molecular switch between cysteine/homocysteine and fluoride as the chemical inputs, which have been used for the development of a combinatorial logic circuit and a molecular keypad lock.

• Journal of mucopolysaccharidosis and rare diseases
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• 제2권1호
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• pp.13-16
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• 2016

Mucolipidosis (ML) II/III are autosomal recessive diseases caused by deficiency of post-translational modification of lysosomal enzymes. The mannose-6-phosphate (M6P) residue in lysosomal enzymes synthesized by N-acetylglucosamine 1-phosphotransferase (GlcNAc-phosphotransferase) serves as recognition marker for trafficking in lysosomes. GlcNAc-phosphotransferase is encoded by GNPTAB and GNPTG. Mutations in GNPTAB cause severe ML II alpha/beta and the attenuated ML III alpha/beta. Whereas mutations in GNPTG cause the ML III gamma, the attenuated type of ML III variant. For the diagnostic approaches, increased urinary oligosaccharides excretion could be a screening test in clinically suspicious patients. To confirm the diagnosis, instead of measuring the activity of GlcNAc phosphotransferase, measuring the enzymatic activities of different lysosomal hydrolases are useful for diagnosis. The activities of several lysosomal hydrolases are decreased in fibroblasts but increased in serum of the patients. In addition, the sequence analysis of causative gene is warranted. Therefore, the confirmatory diagnosis requires a combination of clinical evaluation, biochemical and molecular genetic testing. ML II/III show complex disease manifestations with lysosomal storage as the prime cellular defect that initiates consequential organic dysfunctions. As there are no specific therapy for ML to date, understanding the molecular pathogenesis can contribute to develop new therapeutic approaches ultimately.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제25권3호
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• pp.357-360
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• 2004

We developed in the present study molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs), using single templates (pentoxifylline, caffeine and theophylline) and mixed-templates (pentoxifylline-caffeine, pentoxifylline-theophylline and caffeine-theophylline). The MIPs were prepared with methacrylic acid (MAA) as the monomer, ethylene glycol dimetharylate (EGDMA) as the crosslinker and 2,2'-azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) as the initiator. The obtained polymer particles (particle size after grinding was about 25-35 ${\mu}$m) were packed into a HPLC column (3.9 mm i.d. ${\times}$ 150 mm). The selectivity and chromatographic characteristics of the MIPs were studied using acetonitrile as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. UV detector wavelength was set at 270 nm. Different single template MIPs showed different molecular recognitions to the templates and the structurally analogues, according to the rigidity and steric hindrance of the compounds. Recognition was improved on the mixed-template MIPs as a result of the cooperation or sum effect of the templates, whereas on the pentoxifylline-theophylline imprinted polymer, the highest selectivity and affinity were obtained. Separations of the test compounds on different polymers were also investigated.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제45권7호
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• pp.444-453
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• 2022

Multivalent macromolecular interactions underlie dynamic regulation of diverse biological processes in ever-changing cellular states. These interactions often involve binding of multiple proteins to a linear lattice including intrinsically disordered proteins and the chromosomal DNA with many repeating recognition motifs. Quantitative understanding of such multivalent interactions on a linear lattice is crucial for exploring their unique regulatory potentials in the cellular processes. In this review, the distinctive molecular features of the linear lattice system are first discussed with a particular focus on the overlapping nature of potential protein binding sites within a lattice. Then, we introduce two general quantitative frameworks, combinatorial and conditional probability models, dealing with the overlap problem and relating the binding parameters to the experimentally measurable properties of the linear lattice-protein interactions. To this end, we present two specific examples where the quantitative models have been applied and further extended to provide biological insights into specific cellular processes. In the first case, the conditional probability model was extended to highlight the significant impact of nonspecific binding of transcription factors to the chromosomal DNA on gene-specific transcriptional activities. The second case presents the recently developed combinatorial models to unravel the complex organization of target protein binding sites within an intrinsically disordered region (IDR) of a nucleoporin. In particular, these models have suggested a unique function of IDRs as a molecular switch coupling distinct cellular processes. The quantitative models reviewed here are envisioned to further advance for dissection and functional studies of more complex systems including phase-separated biomolecular condensates.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• 제47권4호
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• pp.289-297
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• 2020

The genetic diversity of two subpopulations of Corynandra chelidonii, one of terrestrial and the other of aquatic environments, was measured with molecular markers, such as start codon targeted (SCoT), inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR), and random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD). The traditional morphological traits such as habitat, habit, leaf morphology, the colour of the sepals and petals, number of stamens, and seed morphology formed the base for their realization as two varieties, C. chelidonii var. pallae and C. chelidonii var. chelidonii. The polymorphism between the two variants was 100% with the primers SCoT-2 and OPA-1 and 4, while maximum polymorphism was detected with ISSR-2, SCoT-3, and OPA-3. The study used, for the first time, more than one molecular marker to assess the genetic variation underscoring the morphological variation in Corynandra chelidonii (L.f.) Cochrane & Iltis. The study justifies the recognition of the two subpopulations of Corynandra chelidonii from aquatic and terrestrial environments as two distinct varieties, C. chelidonii var. pallae (Reddy & Raju) V.S.Raju and C. chelidonii var. chelidonii, respectively, based on the traditional taxonomic evidence.