• Title/Summary/Keyword: System biology

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Oviposition site preference in Black Soldier Fly, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), in Artificial Rearing System

  • Park, Kwanho;Kim, Wontae;Kim, Eunsun;Kwak, Kyu-Won;Choi, Ji-Young;Lee, Seokhyun;Song, Myungha;Kim, Sung-Hyun
    • International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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    • v.33 no.2
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    • pp.54-58
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    • 2016
  • In natural conditions, the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), colonizes in warm temperate regions, and is active in Korea from May through October. Information on black soldier fly rearing, which is affected by seasonal factors in Korea, is limited. This species colonizes and oviposits in a wide variety of decomposing vegetable and animal matter. For mass rearing of black soldier flies, the egg deposition methods are dependent on sunlight and oviposition sites. In this study, we investigated the substrates and oviposition sites preferred by black soldier fly in artificial rearing system. Our results showed that as black soldier flies prefer mating under sunlight, they prefer ovipositing at sites where adequate sunlight and food substrate are available. Further detailed research is required to develop methods for artificially rearing black soldier fly throughout the year in Korea.

RING E3 ligases: key regulatory elements are involved in abiotic stress responses in plants

  • Cho, Seok Keun;Ryu, Moon Young;Kim, Jong Hum;Hong, Jeong Soo;Oh, Tae Rin;Kim, Woo Taek;Yang, Seong Wook
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.50 no.8
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    • pp.393-400
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    • 2017
  • Plants are constantly exposed to a variety of abiotic stresses, such as drought, heat, cold, flood, and salinity. To survive under such unfavorable conditions, plants have evolutionarily developed their own resistant-mechanisms. For several decades, many studies have clarified specific stress response pathways of plants through various molecular and genetic studies. In particular, it was recently discovered that ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS), a regulatory mechanism for protein turn over, is greatly involved in the stress responsive pathways. In the UPS, many E3 ligases play key roles in recognizing and tethering poly-ubiquitins on target proteins for subsequent degradation by the 26S proteasome. Here we discuss the roles of RING ligases that have been defined in related to abiotic stress responses in plants.

An Efficient PEG/CaCl2-Mediated Transformation Approach for the Medicinal Fungus Wolfiporia cocos

  • Sun, Qiao;Wei, Wei;Zhao, Juan;Song, Jia;Peng, Fang;Zhang, Shaopeng;Zheng, Yonglian;Chen, Ping;Zhu, Wenjun
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.25 no.9
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    • pp.1528-1531
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    • 2015
  • Sclerotia of Wolfiporia cocos are of medicinal and culinary value. The genes and molecular mechanisms involved in W. cocos sclerotial formation are poorly investigated because of the lack of a suitable and reproducible transformation system for W. cocos. In this study, a PEG/CaCl2-mediated genetic transformation system for W. cocos was developed. The promoter Pgpd from Ganoderma lucidum effectively drove expression of the hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene in W. cocos, and approximately 30 transformants were obtained per 10 μg DNA when the protoplast suspension density was 106 protoplasts/ml. However, no transformants were obtained under the regulation of the PtrpC promoter from Aspergillus nidulans.

Bacterial Hash Function Using DNA-Based XOR Logic Reveals Unexpected Behavior of the LuxR Promoter

  • Pearson, Brianna;Lau, Kin H.;Allen, Alicia;Barron, James;Cool, Robert;Davis, Kelly;DeLoache, Will;Feeney, Erin;Gordon, Andrew;Igo, John;Lewis, Aaron;Muscalino, Kristi;Parra, Madeline;Penumetcha, Pallavi;Rinker, Victoria G.;Roland, Karlesha;Zhu, Xiao;Poet, Jeffrey L.;Eckdahl, Todd T.;Heyer, Laurie J.;Campbell, A. Malcolm
    • Interdisciplinary Bio Central
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    • v.3 no.3
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    • pp.10.1-10.8
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    • 2011
  • Introduction: Hash functions are computer algorithms that protect information and secure transactions. In response to the NIST's "International Call for Hash Function", we developed a biological hash function using the computing capabilities of bacteria. We designed a DNA-based XOR logic gate that allows bacterial colonies arranged in a series on an agar plate to perform hash function calculations. Results and Discussion: In order to provide each colony with adequate time to process inputs and perform XOR logic, we designed and successfully demonstrated a system for time-delayed bacterial growth. Our system is based on the diffusion of ${\ss}$-lactamase, resulting in destruction of ampicillin. Our DNA-based XOR logic gate design is based on the op-position of two promoters. Our results showed that $P_{lux}$ and $P_{OmpC}$ functioned as expected individually, but $P_{lux}$ did not behave as expected in the XOR construct. Our data showed that, contrary to literature reports, the $P_{lux}$ promoter is bidirectional. In the absence of the 3OC6 inducer, the LuxR activator can bind to the $P_{lux}$ promoter and induce backwards transcription. Conclusion and Prospects: Our system of time delayed bacterial growth allows for the successive processing of a bacterial hash function, and is expected to have utility in other synthetic biology applications. While testing our DNA-based XOR logic gate, we uncovered a novel function of $P_{lux}$. In the absence of autoinducer 3OC6, LuxR binds to $P_{lux}$ and activates backwards transcription. This result advances basic research and has important implications for the widespread use of the $P_{lux}$ promoter.

Molecular Analysis of Rice Plants Harboring an Ac/Ds Transposable Element-Mediated Gene Trapping System

  • Hang Gyeong;Mi Sook Choe;Sung-Ho Lee;Sung Han Park;Hyuk Kim;Ja Choon Koo;No Youl Kim;Su Hyun Park;Jeung Joo Lee
    • Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Korea Conference
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    • 1999.07a
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    • pp.17-20
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    • 1999
  • In rice, limited efforts have been made to identify genes by the use of insertional mutagens, especially heterologous transposons such as the maize Ac/Ds. We constructed Ac and gene trap Ds vectors and introduced them into the rice genome by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. In this report, rice plants that contained single and simple insertions of T-DNA were analyzed in order to evaluate the gene-tagging efficiency. The 3'end of Ds was examined for putative splicing donor sites. As observed in maize, three splice donor sites were identified at the 3'end of the Ds in rice. Nearly 80% of Ds elements wered excised from the original T-DNA sites, when Ac cDNA was expressed under a CaMV 35S promoter. Repetitive ratoon culturing was performed to induce new transpositions of Ds in new plants derived from cuttings. About 30% of the plants carried at least one Ds that underwent secondary transposition in the later cultures. 8% of transposed Ds elements expressed GUS in various tissues of rice panicles. With cloned DNA adjacent to Ds, the genomic complexities of the insertion sites were examined by Southern hybridization. Half of the Ds insertion sites showed simple hybriodization patterns which could be easily utilized to locate the Ds. Our data demonstrate that the Ac/Ds mediated gene trap system could prove an excellent tool for the analysis of functions of genes in rice. We discuss genetic strategies that could be employed in a largee scale mutagenesis using a heterologous Ac/Ds family in rice.

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Cooperative Activity of Subunits of Human Ferritin Heteropolymers in Escherichia coli

  • Lee, Jung;Seo, Hyang-Yun;Jeon, Eun-Soon;Park, Ok-Soon;Lee, Kang-Min;Park, Chung-Ung;Kim, Kyung-Suk
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.34 no.4
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    • pp.365-370
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    • 2001
  • We constructed a comparative expression system in order to produce recombinant human ferritin homo- and heteropolymers in Escherichia coli. Human ferritin H-(hfH) and L-chain (hfL) genes were expressed without amino acid changes under the control of a tac promoter. Ferritin heteropolymers of varying subunit composition were also produced by combining two different expression systems, a bicistronic expression system and a coplasmid expression system. As a result, recombinant H-chain ferritin and ferritin heteropolymers were catalytically active in forming iron core in vivo. In particular, the ferritin heteropolymer that is composed of 7% H-subunit and 93% L-subunit was capable of forming an iron core of the protein, while the L-chain ferritin homopolymer was inactive in vivo. This result indicates that the two H-subunits (i.e., 7% H-subunit content) are important to keep ferritin active in the cells. In addition, human ferritins were identified as the major iron binding proteins in the transformed cells. Also, the amount of iron bound to the recombinant ferritins was proportional to the H-subunit content in ferritin heteropolymers in vivo.

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