• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.11-18
• /
• 2006

Salt stress is one of major environmental factors influencing plant growth and development. To identify salt tolerance determinants in higher plants, a large-scale screen was conducted with a bialaphos marker-based T-DNA insertional collection of Arabidopsis ecotype C24 mutants. One line for salt stress-sensitive mutant (referred to as ssm1) exhibited increased sensitivity to both ionic (NaCl) and nonionic (mannitol) osmotic stress in a root growth assay. This result suggests that ssm1 mutant is involved in ion homeostasis and osmotic compensation in plant. Molecular cloning of the genomic DNA flanking T-DNA insert of ssm1 mutant was achieved by mutant genomic DNA library screening. T-DNA insertion appeared in the first exon of an open reading frame on F3M18.7, which is the same as AtSYP61. SSM1 is SYP61/OSM1 that is a member of the SNARE superfamily of proteins required for vesicular/target membrane fusions and factor related to abiotic stress.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.177-186
• /
• 2009

It is well-known that unregulated over-expression of foreign gene may have unwanted physiological or toxic effects in transgenic animals. To circumvent these problems, we constructed retrovirus vector designed to express the foreign gene under the control of the tetracycline-inducible promoter. However, gene expressions in the tetracycline-inducible expression system (Tet system) are not completely regulated but a little leaky due to the inherent defects in conventional Tet-based systems. A more tightly controllable regulatory system can be achieved when the advanced versions ($rtTA2^SM2$) of rtTA and a minimal promoter in responsive components (pTRE-tight) are used in combination therein. In this study, we tried to produce human thrombopoietin (hTPO) from various target cells and transgenic chickens using the retrovirus vector combined with Tet system. hTPO is the primary regulator of platelet production and has an important role in the survival and expansion of hematopoietic stem cells. In a preliminary experiment in vitro, higher hTPO expression and tighter expression control were observed in chicken embryonic fibroblast (CEF) cells. We also measured the biological activity of the hTPO using Mo7e cells whose proliferation is dependant on hTPO. The biological activity of the recombinant hTPO from CEF was higher than both its commercial counterpart and hTPO from other target cells. The recombinant retrovirus was injected beneath the blastoderm of non-incubated chicken embryos (stage X). Out of 138 injected eggs, 15 chicks hatched after 21 days of incubation. Among them, 8 hatched chicks were hTPO positive. When the Go transgenic chicken was fed doxycycline (0.5 mg per 1 gram of feed), a tetracycline derivative, hTPO concentration of the transgenic chicken blood was 200 ng/mL. Germline transmission of the transgene was confirmed in sperm of the Go transgenic roosters. These results are informative to establish transgenic chickens as bioreactors for the mass production of commercially valuable and biological active human cytokine proteins.

• Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.41 no.3
• /
• pp.212-218
• /
• 2003

Citrus phytoene synthase (CitPsy) and ${\beta}$-carotene hydroxylase (CitChx), which are involved in caroteinoid biosynthesis, are distantly related to the corresponding bacterial enzymes from the point of view of amino acid sequence similarity. We investigated these enzyme activities using Pantoea ananatis carotenoid biosynthetic genes and Escherichia coli as a host cell. The genes were cloned into two vector systems controlled by the T7 promoter. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that CitPsy and CitChx proteins are normally expressed in E. coli in both soluble and insoluble forms. In vivo complementation using the Pantoea ananatis enzymes and HPLC analysis showed that ${\beta}$-carotene and zeaxanthin were produced in recombinant E. coli, which indicated that the citrus enzymes were functionally expressed in E. coli and assembled into a functional multi-enzyme complex with Pantoea ananatis enzymes. These observed activities well matched the results of other researchers on tomato phytoene synthase and Arabidopsis and pepper ${\beta}$-carotene hydroxylases. Thus, our results suggest that plant carotenoid biosynthetic enzymes can generally complement the bacterial enzymes and could be a means of carotenoid production by molecular breeding and fermentation in bacterial and plant systems.

• Geotechnical Engineering
• /
• v.12 no.6
• /
• pp.65-78
• /
• 1996

The Chungpyung Dam is a 16 yearn old rock-fill dam for a Pumped storage hydro-Power plant, located in the middle of the Korean Peninsula. Since the dam is subjected to the daily water level fluctuation, such as rapid drawdown and refill, thus inducing a structural impact on the behavior of dam body, it draws attention of many engineering concerns. Traditionally, steady-state analysis was employed to investigate the seepage in the dam body, but in this study the seepage analysis was numerically performed by 2-D FEM thansient analysis. As a boundary condition for an analysis, the water level fluctuation was incorporated to simulate the daily change. As a res41t, the various seepage phenomena such as hydraulic gradient, seepage vector, and pore water pressure distribution were quantified at the corresponding time of interest as the water level rises and recedes. The seepage flux was also estimated and compared with the measured data which were both acceptable considering design criteria. The result proves that there is no sign of hazardous sources contributing to the possibility of piping, internal erosion and excess leakage through the dam body.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.167-171
• /
• 2005

We isolated the Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus(CGMMV) particles from watermelon leaves and designated as CGMMV-HY1 as a watermelon isolate and attempted to characterize the pathogenic isolate responsible for such an epidemic in watermelon and also to monitor dominant viral isolates in greenhouse. The watermelon plants infected with CGMMV generally showed mottle mosaic, mosaic, growth stunting, necrosis and deformed fruit. The reactions of indicator plants to CGMMV-HY1 were the local lesions on Nicotiana tabacum cv. White Burley, Nicotiana tabacum cv. Samsun, and Chenopodium amaranticola, and the mosaic symptoms only on Cucumis sativus, but the CGMMV-HY1 did not infect Nicotiana sylvesytis, Datura stramonium, Chenopodium quinoa, and Petunia hybrida. Purified virus particles were rod-shaped and about 300 nm long. The coat protein (CP) of purified CGMMV-HY1 was single band with molecular weight of about 16.5 kDa which was confirmed by western blot analysis probed with monoclonal antibody of CGMMV-HY1. The genomic and subgenomic RNAs of 6.4 kb and 0.75 kb were revealed by the electrophoresis on 1.2% formaldehydedenatured agarose gel. Viral and complementary CGMMV-specific primer sets were designed for spanning the genome using previously reported CGMMV sequences. A 464bp of CP gene of CGMMV-HY1 was amplified by RT-PCR and cloned into PGEM-T easy vector. The nucleotide sequence of CP gene of CGMMV-HY1 shared 98%, 99%, and 100% identities with that of CGMMV strains W, KOM, and KW respectively. Based on these results, we identified CGMMV-HY1 as a CGMMV isolate of watermelon, a member of Tobamovirus.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.38 no.4
• /
• pp.763-770
• /
• 1998

Salmonella typhimurium is a causitive agent of diarrhea, fever, gastroenteritis, septicemia and sudden death in piglet. The currently used methods such as IFA, ELISA, DNA hybridization assay is needed a long-time and difficult to detect the organism in carrier animal or contaminated sample with other agents. However, it is important to detect rapidly and sensitively S typhimurium in piglet with other infectious pathogens to minimize an economic loss. Two sets of PCR primer, rfbJ forward primer(5'-AGAATATGTAATTGTCAG-3') and reverse primer(5'-TAACCGTTTCAGTAGTTC-3') were designed to amplify a 882 by fragment of Salmonella serovar type B gene. The target genomic DNA for PCR was extracted from the cultivated materials with various enrichment periods in a nonselective enrichment agar and broth with clinical specimens. The PCR is carried out here made it possible to detect the gene from two hours. Also, the amplified fragment with PCR was cloned into pGEM-T vector and digested with restrict enzyme, and sequenced for the identification of Salmonella serotype B rfbJ gene. Duplicated cultivation agar-broth followed by PCR were performed to develop a rapid and sensitive detection of S typhlmurium based on serovar type. This duplicated cultivation-PCR method provides a sensitive and rapid diagnostic tool to detect Salmonella from infected piglet with improved sensitivity.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.17 no.10
• /
• pp.1390-1394
• /
• 2004

We have achieved efficient transformation system for forage-type tall fescue plants by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Mature seed-derived embryogenic calli were infected and co-cultivated with each of three A. tumefaciens strains, all of which harbored a standard binary vector pIG121Hm encoding the neomycin phosphotransferase II (NPTII), hygromycin phosphotransferase (HPT) and intron-containing $\beta$-glucuronidase (intron-GUS) genes in the T-DNA region. Transformation efficiency was influenced by the A. tumefaciens strain, addition of the phenolic compound acetosyringone and duration of vacuum treatment. Of the three A. tumefaciens strains tested, EHA101/pIG121Hm was found to be most effective followed by GV3101/pIG121Hm and LBA4404/pIG121Hm for transient GUS expression after 3 days co-cultivation. Inclusion of 100 $\mu$M acetosyringone in both the inoculation and co-cultivation media lead to an improvement in transient GUS expression observed in targeted calli. Vacuum treatment during infection of calli with A. tumefaciens strains increased transformation efficiency. The highest stable transformation efficiency of transgenic plants was obtained when mature seed-derived calli infected with A. tumefaciens EHA101/pIG121Hm in the presence of 100 $\mu$M acetosyringone and vacuum treatment for 30 min. Southern blot analysis indicated integration of the transgene into the genome of tall fescue. The transformation system developed in this study would be useful for Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of tall fescue plants with genes of agronomic importance.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.321-325
• /
• 1996

To isolate a novel gene for antibacterial peptide, an inducible clone(BmInc8) was selected by differential screening strategy from Bombyx mori cDNA library prepared from lavae injected with Escherichia coli. This clone contained a cDNA insert of 564 nucleotides and encoded 59 amino acids with an apparent molecular mass of 6.3 kDa. The cDNA sequence of BmInc8 had 61.2% identity compared to that of the bactericidin from Manduca sexta and also the deduced amino acids sequences from this insert had 65% identity compared to that of the cecropin D peptide Hyalophora cecropia. The transient expression assay of this insert using prokaryotic expression vector system revealed that the expressed peptide displayed the antibacterial activity. The cDNA sequence was deposited in GenBank under the accession number U30289.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.122-135
• /
• 2018

Listeriolysin O (LLO), one of the most immunogenic proteins of Listeria monocytogenes and its main virulence factor, mediates bacterial escape from the phagosome of the infected cell. Thus, its expression in a nonpathogenic bacterial host may enable effective delivery of heterologous antigens to the host cell cytosol and lead to their processing predominantly through the cytosolic MHC class I presentation pathway. The aim of this project was to characterize the delivery of a model antigen, chicken egg ovalbumin (OVA), to the cytosol of dendritic cells by recombinant Bacillus subtilis vegetative cells expressing LLO. Our work indicated that LLO produced by non-sporulating vegetative bacteria was able to support OVA epitope presentation by MHC I molecules on the surface of antigen presenting cells and consequently influence OVA-specific cytotoxic T cell activation. Additionally, it was proven that the genetic context of the epitope sequence is of great importance, as only the native full-sequence OVA fused to the N-terminal fragment of LLO was sufficient for effective epitope delivery and activation of $CD8^+$ lymphocytes. These results demonstrate the necessity for further verification of the fusion antigen potency of enhancing the MHC I presentation, and they prove that LLO-producing B. subtilis may represent a novel and attractive candidate for a vaccine vector.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.391-397
• /
• 2020

In this study, we used a novel α-L-arabinopyranosidase (AbpBs) obtained from ginsenoside-converting Blastococcus saxobsidens that was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3), and then applied it in the biotransformation of ginsenoside Rb₂ into Rd. The gene, termed AbpBs, consisting of 2,406 nucleotides (801 amino acid residues), and with a predicted translated protein molecular mass of 86.4 kDa, was cloned into a pGEX4T-1 vector. A BLAST search using the AbpBs amino acid sequence revealed significant homology with a family 2 glycoside hydrolase (GH2). The over-expressed recombinant AbpBs in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) catalyzed the hydrolysis of the arabinopyranose moiety attached to the C-20 position of ginsenoside Rb₂ under optimal conditions (pH 7.0 and 40℃). Kinetic parameters for α-L-arabinopyranosidase showed apparent K_m and V_max values of 0.078 ± 0.0002 μM and 1.4 ± 0.1 μmol/min/mg of protein against p-nitrophenyl-α-L-arabinopyranoside. Using a purified AbpBs (1 ㎍/ml), 0.1% of ginsenoside Rb₂ was completely converted to ginsenoside Rd within 1 h. The recombinant AbpBs could be useful for high-yield, rapid, and low-cost preparation of ginsenoside Rd from Rb₂.