• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.248-255
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• 2005

To understand the response of cancer cells to anticancer drugs at the gene expression level, we examined the gene expression changes in response to five anticancer drugs, 5-fluorouracil, cytarabine, cisplatin, paclitaxel, and cytochalasin D in NCI-H460 human lung cancer cells. Of the five drugs, 5-fluorouracil had the most distinctive gene expression signature. By clustering genes whose expression changed significantly, we identified three clusters with unique gene expression patterns. The first cluster reflected the up-regulation of gene expression by cisplatin, and included genes involved in cell death and DNA repair. The second cluster pointed to a general reduction of gene expression by most of the anticancer drugs tested. A number of genes in this cluster are involved in signal transduction that is important for communication between cells and reception of extracellular signals. The last cluster represented reduced gene expression in response to 5-fluorouracil, the genes involved being implicated in DNA metabolism, the cell cycle, and RNA processing. Since the gene expression signature of 5-fluorouracil was unique, we investigated it in more detail. Significance analysis of microarray data (SAM) identified 808 genes whose expression was significantly altered by 5-fluorouracil. Among the up-regulated genes, those affecting apoptosis were the most noteworthy. The down-regulated genes were mainly associated with transcription-and translation-related processes which are known targets of 5-fluorouracil. These results suggest that the gene expression signature of an anticancer drug is closely related to its physiological action and the response of caner cells.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.32-44
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• 2006

To investigate non-aflatoxin-production of A. oryzae at the molecular level, an aflatoxin biosynthesis gene homolog cluster of RIB 40 was analyzed. Although most genes in the corresponding cluster exhibited from 97 to 99 % similarity to those of Aspergillus flavus, three genes shared 93 % similarity or less. In addition, although slight expression of aflR, positive transcriptional regulator gene, was detected in some A. oryzae strains having seven aflatoxin biosynthesis homologous genes, other genes related to aflatoxin production were not detected. RIB strains were mainly divided into group 1, having seven aflatoxin biosynthesis homologous genes (aflT, nor-i, aflR, norA, avnA, verB, and vbs), and group 2, having three homologous (avnA, verB, and vbs). Partial aflatoxin homologous gene cluster of RIB62 from group 2 was sequenced and compared with that of RIB40 from group 1. RIB62 showed a large deletion upstream of ver-1 with more than half of the aflatoxin homologous gene cluster missing including aflR, a positive transcriptional regulatory gene. Adjacent to the deletion of the aflatoxin homologous gene cluster, RIB62 has a unique sequence of about 8kb and a telomere. Southern analysis of A. oryzae RIB strains with four kinds of probe derived from the unique sequence of RIB62 showed that all group 2 strains have identical hybridizing signals. Polymerase chain reaction with specific primer set designed to amplify the junction between ver-1 and the unique sequence of RIB62 resulted in the same size of DNA fragment only from group 2 strains. Based on these results, we developed a useful genetic tool that distinguishes A. oryzae group 2 strains from the other groups' strains and propose that it might have differentiated from the ancestral strains due to chromosomal breakage.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.187-195
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• 2000

Nucleotide sequence extending 2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl 1,2-dioxygenase gene (pcbC) and 2-hydroxy-6-oxo-6-phenylhexa-2,4-dienoate hydrolase gene (pcbD) of Pseudomonas sp. DJ-12 was previously analyzed and the two genes were present in the order of pcbD-pcbC preceded by a promoter from Pseudomonas sp. DJ-12. In this study, a 3.8-kb nucleotide sequence located downstream of the pcbC gene was analyzed to have three open reading frames (ORFs) that are designated as orf1, pcbE and orf2 genes. All of the ORFs were preceded by each ribosome-binding sequence of 5-GGAXA-3 (X=G or A). However, no promoter-like sequence and transcription terminator sequence were found in the analyzed region, downstream of pcbC gene. Therefore, the gene cluster appeared to be present in the order of pcbD-pcbC-orf1-pcbE-orf2 as an operon, which is unique organization characterized so far in biphenyl- and PCB-degrading bacteria. The orf1 gene was composed of 1,224 base pairs which can encode a polypeptide of molecular weight 44,950 containing 405 amino acid residues. A deduced amino acid sequence of the orf1 gene product exhibited 21-33％ identity with those of indole dioxygenase and phenol hydroxylase components. The pcbE gene was composed of 783 base pairs encoding 2-hydroxypenta-2,4-dienoate hydratase involved in the 4-chlorobiphenyl catabolism. The orf2 gene was composed of 1,017 base pairs encoding a polypeptide of molecular weight 37,378 containing 338 amino acid residues. A deduced amino acid sequence of the orf2 gene product exhibited 31％ identity with that of a nitrilotriacetate monooxygenase component.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.396-397
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• 2005

The polyene antibiotics are a family of most promising antifungal polyketide compounds, typically produced by actinomycetes species. Using the polyene CYP-specific PCR screening with served actinomycetes genomic DNAs, Pseudonocardia autotrophica strain was identified to contain a unique polyene-specific CYP gene. The genomic DNA library screening using the polyene-specific CYP gene probe revealed the positive cosmid clone containing an approximately 34.5 kb DNA fragment revealed a total of seven complete and two incomplete open reading frame (ORFs), which are highly homologous but unique to previously-known polyene biosynthetic genes. These results suggest that the polyene-specific screening approach should be an efficient way of isolating potectially-valuable cryptic polyene biosynthetic gene cluster from various rare actinomycetes.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.232-238
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• 2003

Previous phylogenetic studies on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolated from Korean patients suggest that the major subtype of Korean isolate is subtype B. In this subtype, some of the Korean isolates seem to be clustered exclusively of foreign isolates. Presence of this so-called “Korean clade” among Korean isolates is unique but needs verification since the number of Korean isolates used in previous studies was limited. This study aimed to identify the presence of the “Korean clade” by molecular phylogenetic analysis using all the Korean nef gene sequences registered in the NCBI GenBank (N=243) together with 32 reference strains and 77 foreign isolates. Extensive analysis of the nef gene nucleotide sequences by neighbor-joining method revealed the following. Most (83.1 ％) of the Korean isolates belonged to subtype B, and 81.2％ of subtype B were clustered together and excluded foreign isolates (bootstrap value=91.9％ ). Within Korean subtype B cluster, no characteristic subcluster formation was evident since the bootstrap values for the subcluster were very low. Due to limited information, the phylogenetic analysis failed to identify the epidemiological linkage among specific groups such as homosexuals and hemophiliacs within the Korean subtype B cluster. Detailed analysis and epidemiological information are needed to clarify the origin and significance of the Korean subtype B cluster.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.229-234
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• 2008

We used serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) approach to derive a profile of expressed genes of the posterior silk glands (PSG) and to create a reference for understanding gene cluster related to the mechanism of silk protein synthesis in the silkworm, Bombyx mori. We constructed a 3' SAGE library from the PSG of the fifth instar larvae of the silkworm. In total we obtained 2,406 SAGE tags, of which 682 were unique tags. Sorted by tag count number, 27 (4%) unique tags were significantly more abundant genes (ten or more times), whereas 445 (65%) unique tags were detected as single copies. The annotation of 682 unique SAGE tags revealed that 462 (68%) of the SAGE tag sequences represented known genes, whereas 220 (32%) of the tag sequences had no matches in SAGE map and silkworm EST databases. Of the 682 SAGE tags, the most abundant tag sequences were that of the fibroin light chain gene and the silk protein P25. In addition, we compared two relative abundance results of the SAGE and the EST approaches to verify whether their transcript quantitative aspects are significant or not. The comparative results of relative abundances of the fibroin H-, L- chain and P25 glycoprotein genes indicated that the quantitative approach based on SAGE tags is effective for quantitative cataloging and comparison of expressed genes in same organs. The SAGE tag information reported in this study would be useful for researchers in the field to analyze genes associated with silk processing mechanisms of insects.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.194-198
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• 2008

A newly designed Cytophaga-Flavobacteria-specific 16S rRNA gene primer pair was employed to investigate the CF community structure in the Bering Sea, revealing a previously unknown and unexpected high CF diversity in this high latitude cold sea. In total, 56 clones were sequenced and 50 unique CF 16 rRNA gene fragments were obtained, clustering into 16 CF subgroups, including nine cosmopolitan subgroups, five psychrophilic subgroups, and two putatively autochthonous subgroups. The majority of sequences (82%) were closely related to uncultured CF species and could not be classified into known CF genera, indicating the presence of a large number of so-far uncultivated CF species in the Bering Sea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.911-917
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• 2022

As valuable antibiotics, microbial natural products have been in use for decades in various fields. Among them are polyene compounds including nystatin, amphotericin, and nystatin-like Pseudonocardia polyenes (NPPs). Polyene macrolides are known to possess various biological effects, such as antifungal and antiviral activities. NPP A1, which is produced by Pseudonocardia autotrophica, contains a unique disaccharide moiety in the tetraene macrolide backbone. NPP B1, with a heptane structure and improved antifungal activity, was then developed via genetic manipulation of the NPP A1 biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC). Here, we generated a Streptomyces artificial chromosomal DNA library to isolate a large-sized NPP B1 BGC. The NPP B1 BGC was successfully isolated from P. autotrophica chromosome through the construction and screening of a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library, even though the isolated 140-kb BAC clone (named pNPPB1s) lacked approximately 8 kb of the right-end portion of the NPP B1 BGC. The additional introduction of the pNPPB1s as well as co-expression of the 32-kb portion including the missing 8 kb led to a 7.3-fold increase in the production level of NPP B1 in P. autotrophica. The qRT-PCR confirmed that the transcription level of NPP B1 BGC was significantly increased in the P. autotrophica strain containing two copies of the NPP B1 BGCs. Interestingly, the NPP B1 exhibited a previously unidentified SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) inhibition activity in vitro. These results suggest that the Streptomyces BAC cloning of a large-sized, natural product BGC is a valuable approach for titer improvement and biological activity screening of natural products in actinomycetes.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.137-143
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• 1999

A novel chromosomal gene tagging technique using a specific fragment of the fatty acid desaturase-like open reading frame (des-like ORF) from the tox-argK gene cluster of Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola was developed to identify Xanthomonas spp.released into the environment as biocontrol agents. X. campestris pv. convolvuli FB-635, a pathogen of Convolvulus arvensis L., (bindweed), was chosen as the organism in which to develop and test the system. A 0.52 kb DES fragment amplified from P. syringae pv. phaseolicola C-199 was inserted into pGX15, a cosmid clone containing a 10.3 kb Eco RI-HindIII fragment derived from the xanthomonadin biosynthetic gene cluster contained in plasmid pIG102, to create a pigG::DES insertion. The 10.8 kb EcoRI-BamHI fragment carrying the pigG:: DES insertion was cloned into pLAFR3 to generate pLXP22. pLXP22 was then conjugated into X. campestris pv. convolvuli FB-635 and the pigG::DES insertion integrated into the bacterial chromosome by marker exchange. Rifampicin resistant, tetracycline sensitive, starch hydrolyzing, white colonies were used to differentiate the marked strain from yellow pigmented wild-type ones. PCR primers specific for the unique DES fragment were used for direct detection of the marked strain. Result showed the marked strain could be detected at very low levels even in the presence of high levels of other closely related or competitive bacteria. This PCR-based DES-tagging system provides a rapid and specific tool for directly monitoring the dispersal and persistence of Xanthomonas spp.released into the environment.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.407-415
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• 2009

The sirtuins are a protein family named after the first identified member, S. cerevisiae Sir2p. Sirtuins are protein deacetylases whose activity is dependent on $NAD^+$ as a cosubstrate. They are structurally defined by two central domains that together form a highly conserved catalytic center, which catalyzes the transfer of an acetyl moiety from acetyllysine to $NAD^+$, yielding nicotinamide, the unique metabolite O-acetyl-ADP-ribose and deacetylated lysine. One or more sirtuins are present in virtually all species from bacteria to mammals. Here we describe a phylogenetic analysis of sirtuins. Based on their phylogenetic relationship, sirtuins can be grouped into over a dozen classes and subclasses. Humans, like most vertebrates, have seven sirtuins: SIRT1-SIRT7. These function in diverse cellular pathways, regulating transcriptional repression, aging, metabolism, DNA damage responses and apoptosis. We show that these seven sirtuins arose early during animal evolution. Conserved residues cluster around the catalytic center of known sirtuin family members.