• The Microorganisms and Industry
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.27-31
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• 1993

Certain bacterial species possess the capability of differentiation through several morphogenetic changes which enable them to adapt to certain internal and external stimuli(Losick and Shapiro 1984). Upon induction, cells of A. vinelandii undergo a morphological process which leads to the production of one cyst per cell (Sadoff, 1975). The cysts are considerably resistant to desiccation, which confers a survival advantages upon the organism(Socolofsky and Wyss 1962). Like other prokaryotic differentiations encystment provides a relatively simple model of cellular differentiation. Like in other differentiating bacteria, vegetative growth can be separated from differentiation. Furthermore, the differentiation cycle can be synchronized by specific inducer. There have been a great deal of morphological and physiological studies on this process. However, the mechanisms used to regulate cell differentiation can be clearly defined by careful genetic analysis of the process. Unfortunately, A. vinelandii has proven to be difficult for genetic analysis (Sadoff 1975). For example, it has been shown that a variety of metabolic mutants of Azotobacter speicies are difficult to isolate after mutagenesis with chemical mutagens or UV irradiation. Nevertheless recent advances in molecular genetics in Azotobacter species, especially in the nitrogen fixation research area, appear to be able to overcome this difficulty (Robinson et al. 1986; Kennedy et al. 1986).

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.18-23
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• 2000

Streptomyces coelicolor produces three kinds of catalases to cope with oxidative stress and to allow normal differentiation. Catalase A is the major vegetative catalase which functions in removing hydrogen peroxide generated during the process of aerobic metabolism. To understand the regulatory mechanism of response against oxidative stress, hydrogen peroxide-resistant mutant (HR4O) was isolated from S. coelicolor J1501 following UV mutagenesis. The mutant overproduced catalase A more than 50-fo1d compared with the wild type. The mutation locus catRI was mapped closed to the mthB2 locus by genetic crossings. An ordered cosmid library of S. coelicolor encompassing the mthB2 locus was used to isolate the regulator gene (catR) which represses catalase overproduction when introduced into HR4O. A candidate catR gene was found to encode a Fur-like protein of 138 amino acids (15319 Da).

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.185-189
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• 1985

This experiment was undertaken to investigate considerable economy of labor for selection of auxotrophs from strains of Lentinus edodes. Various types of auxotrophs of this strain were isolated after treatment of basidiospores with ultraviolet light, and the highest proportion of putative mutants was also obtained from isolates irradiated to give 1.30 % survival.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.75-78
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• 1985

Mutagenesis of protoplast could serve a great potential tool for improvement of strains and genetics in higher fungi. For the isolation of auxotrophic mutants from protoplasts of Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus florida, viability levels of ultraviolet lights were determined. Seven auxotrophs were obtained from protoplasts irradiating UV to give $0.83{\sim}15%$ survival. The mutants showed a single requirement for each of Arg, Ribo-l, Ribo-2 or Phen for growth. Some of them showed two or three kinds of requirements, Gly Ser, Ade Hypo or Ala Om Tryp for growth.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.78-84
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• 1992

Streptomyces sp. No.8, which produced glucose isomerase was isolated from soil samples. The isolated strain, No.8, was identified as belonging to the Genus Streptomyces. A mutant strain, SM 805, showed the greatest ability to produce glucose isomerase. It was developed from the strain, No.8, by mutagenesis induced by NTG and UV treatment. The mutant strain, SM 805, produced about 7 times more glucose isomerase than the parental strain, No.8. This enzyme catalyzed the isomerization of D-xylose, D-glucose and D-ribose. It was inactive in the absence of metal ions, but was activated by the addition of $Mg^{2+}$ or $Co^{2+}$. The optimum temperature and pH for enzyme activity were $80^\circ{C}$ and pH 8.5, respectively. The enzyme was stable in a pH range of 6.0 to 10.0, and it was highly thermostable. There was no activity loss below $80^\circ{C}$, and even above $90^\circ{C}$ about 45% of its activity was retained. The reaction equilibrium was reached when about 53% fructose was present in the reaction mixture. Whole cells containing glucose isomerase from Streptomyces sp. SM 805 were immobilized by glutaraldehyde treatment. The resultant immobilized enzyme pellets showed a relatively long stability during the isomerizing reaction. The half-life of the immobilized enzyme during the operating was 45 days in the presence of 10mM $Mg^{2+}$.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.118-123
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• 2001

The alginate lyase A1-III gene of Sphingomonas species A1 is composed of 1,077 nucleotides, encoding a protein (359 amino acids) with a molecular mass of 40,322 Da. Recombinant A1-III expressed in Escherichia coli exhibited the same full enzymatic activity as native A1-III. In order to identify the critical residue for activity, a site-directed mutation was introduced into the A1-III gene (H192A, His192->Ala). Recombinant A1-III (H192A) exhibited a significant decrease in enzyme activity (one-thirty thousandth of that of A1-III), without any conformational change, as detected by the CD spectra in the far UV region. Also, the chemical modification of wild-type A1-III with methyl 4-nitro benzene sulfonate resulted in a 40% decrease from the initial activity, whereas the same modification of A1-III (H192A) produced no change in the activity. The role of His192 on the catalytic process was also explored based on a model of A1-III docked with mannuronic acid into the active site.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.338-347
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• 2008

Yeast RAD2, a yeast homolog of human XPG gene, is an essential element of nucleotide excision repair (NER), and its deletion confers UV sensitivity and NER deficiency. 6-Azauracil (6AU) sensitivity of certain rad2 mutants revealed that RAD2 has transcription elongation function. However, the fundamental mechanism by which the rad2 mutations confer 6AU sensitivity was not clearly elucidated yet. Using an insertional mutagenesis, PUF4 gene encoding a yeast pumilio protein was identified as a deletion suppressor of rad2${\Delta}$ 6AU sensitivity. Microarray analysis followed by confirmatory RT-qPCR disclosed that RAD2 and PUF4 regulated expression of HPT1 and URA3. Overexpression of HPT1 and URA3 rescued the 6AU sensitivity of rad2${\Delta}$ and puf4${\Delta}$ mutants. These results indicate that 6AU sensitivity of rad2 mutants is in part ascribed to impaired expression regulation of genes in the nucleotide metabolism. Based on the results, the possible connection between impaired transcription elongation function of RAD2/XPG and Cockayne syndrome via PUF4 is discussed.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.527-536
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• 2009

A potent protein degrading bacterium was isolated from soil samples of different environments. Polyphasic taxonomic studies and phylogenetic 16S rRNA sequence analyses led to identify the isolate IB No. 11 as a strain of Bacillus subtilis. The isolated strain was recognized to produce protease constitutively, and the maximum production (1.64 units/ml) was attained in a shake flask culture when the isolate was grown at $40^{\circ}C$, for 32 h in basal medium supplemented with starch (0.25%) and gelatin (1.25%) as sole carbon and nitrogen source, respectively. The optimum pH and temperature for the protease activity were determined to be pH 7.0 and $50^{\circ}C$, respectively. $Ca^{2+}$ and $Mn^{2+}$ enhanced remarkably the protease activity but neither showed positive effect on the protease's thermal stability. In addition, it was observed that the protease was fairly stable in the pH range of 6.5-8.0 and at temperatures below $50^{\circ}C$, and it could be a good candidate for an animal feed additive. The inhibition profile of the protease by various inhibitors indicated that the enzyme is a member of serine-proteases. A combination of UV irradiation and NTG mutagenesis allowed to develop a protease hyper-producing mutant strain coded as IB No. 11-4. This mutant strain produced approximately 3.23-fold higher protease activity (6.74 units/mg) than the parent strain IB No. 11 when grown at $40^{\circ}C$ for 32h in the production medium. The protease production profile of the selected mutants was also confirmed by the zymography analysis.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.215-221
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• 1995

S. coelicolor A3(2) cells were treated with various redox-cycling agents on nutrient agar plates and examined for their effect on the growth and differentiation. When treated with plumbagin, severe effect on cell viability was observed at concentrations above 250 $\mu$M. However, the surviving colonies differentiated normally. When treated with 100 $\mu$M paraquat, growth rate was decreased and morphological differentiation was inhibited, while the survival rate was maintained at about 100% even at 5 mM paraquat. Menadione or lawsone did not cause any visible changes at concentrations up to 1 mM. The effect of paraquat was also observed when it was added to nutrient agar plate before spore inoculation. Paraquat had also observed when it was added to nutrient agar plate before spore inoculation. Paraquat had no effect on colonies growing on R2YE agar plates. Among the components of R2YE medium selectively added to nutrient agar medium, CaCl$_2$ was found to have some protective function from the inhibitory effect of paraquat. As a first step to study the mechanism of the inhibitory effect of paraquat on differentiation, resistant mutants which sporulate well in the presence of paraquat were screened following UV mutagenesis. Three paraquat-resistant mutants were isolated with a frequency of 3 $\times$10${-5}$. Their mutation sites were determined by genetic crossings. All three mutations were mapped to a single locus near arg4 at about 1 o'clock on the genetic map of S. coelicolor A3(2).

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.3 s.70
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• pp.415-422
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• 2005

library of the mutants was prepared by transposon mutagenesis of the Mycobacterium bovis BCG. We screened this library for the resistance to an anti-tuberculosis antibiotic, PA-824. Most of the mutants resistant to the PA-824 were not able to synthesize the coenzyme $F_{420}$ which is normally produced by the wild type M. bovis BCG strains. HPLC analysis of the cellular extract showed that one of those mutants which lost the ability to synthesize $F_{420}$ still produced F0. The insertion site of the transposon in this mutant was determined by an inverse PCR and the transposon was found to be inserted in the Rv2435c open reading frame (ORF). Rv2435c ORF is predicted to encode an 80.3 kDa protein. Rv2435c protein appears to be bound to the cytoplasmic membrane, its N-terminal present in the periplasm and C-terminal in the cytoplasm. The C-terminal portion of this protein is highly homologous with the adenylyl cyclases of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. There are 15 ORFs which have homology with the class III AC proteins in the genome of the M. tuberculosis and M. bovis. Two of those, Rv1625c and Rv2435c, are highly homologous with the mammalian ACs. We cloned the cytoplasmic domain of the Rv2435c ORF and expressed it with six histidine residues attached on its C-terminal in Escherichia coli to find out if this protein is a genuine AC. Production of that protein in E. coli was proved by purifying the histidine-tagged protein by using the Ni-NTA resin. This protein, however, failed to complement the cya mutation in E. coli, indicating that this protein lacks the AC activity. All of the further attempts to convert this protein to a functional AC by a mutagenesis with UV or hydroxylamine, or construction of several different fusion proteins with Rv1625c failed. It is, therefore, possible that Rv2435c protein might affect the conversion of F0 to $F_{420}$ not by synthesizing cAMP but by some other way.