• Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.265-276
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• 2007

The 13 major blast resistance(R) genes against Magnaporthe grisea were screened in a number of Korean rice varieties using molecular markers. Of the 98 rice varieties tested, 28 were found to contain the Pia gene originating from Japanese japonica rice genotypes. The Pib gene from BL1 and BL7 was incorporated into 39 Korean japonica varieties, whereas this same gene from the IRRI-bred indica varieties was detected in all Tongil-type varieties. We also found that 17 of the japonica varieties contained the Pii gene. The Pii gene in Korean rice varieties originates from the Korean japonica variety Nongbaeg, and Japanese japonica varieties Hitomebore, Inabawase, and Todorokiwase. The Pi5 gene, which clusters with Pii on chromosome 9, was identified only in Taebaeg. Thirty-four varieties were found to contain alleles of the resistance gene Pita or Pita-2. The Pita gene in japonica varieties was found to be inherited from the Japanese japonica genotype Shimokita, and the Pita-2 gene was from Fuji280 and Sadominori. Seventeen japonica and one Tongil-type varieties contained the Piz gene, which in the japonica varieties originates from Fukuhikari and 54BC-68. The Piz-t gene contained in three Tongil-type varieties was derived from IRRI-bred indica rice varieties. The Pi9(t) gene locus that is present in Korean japonica and Tongil-type varieties was not inherited from the original Pi9 gene from wild rice Oryza minuta. The Pik-multiple allele genes Pik, Pik-m, and Pik-p were identified in 24 of the varieties tested. In addition, the Pit gene inherited from the indica rice K59 strain was not found in any of the Korean japonica or Tongil-type varieties tested.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.549-553
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• 2010

Yeast strains with good sensory properties were selected, and those yeasts were subjected to mutation to develop high glutathione producing yeasts. In addition, the antiradical activity and flavoring effect of the yeast extract were evaluated. A total of 68 strains were screened, and three strains of Saccharomyces utilis, four strains of Candida utilis, and one strain of Zygosaccharomyces rouxii were selected based on the flavoring effect. Among them, a random mutation was elicited against SEM-Y8, resulting in a high flavoring effect and growth rate. The glutathione production by SEM-Y8 increased 2.0-fold following the mutation, and the DPPH radical quenching effect of the SY8-M2-1-derived extract increased 3.2-fold compared to that of the wild type. The sensory properties of the SY8-M2-1-derived extract were better than those of garlic or onion extract in umami and mouthfulness. Thus, the SY8-M2-1 extract could be used as a functional flavoring material with improved antiradical activity.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.340-347
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• 1995

We have used two kinds of P element constructs, Pc[(ry+)B] and p[(ry+)$\Delta$SX9], for genetic transformation by microinjection of D. melanogaster. Pc[(ry+)B] construct carrying the rosy gene within an autonomous P element was injected into a true M strain caring the ry506. mutation. The source of transposase for microinjection and transformation was provided by a P element helper plasmid designated p-$\Delta$2-3hs$\pi$, which was co-injected with nonautonomous P[(ry+)$\Delta$SX9] construct into same ry506 M strains. A dechorination method was adopted and 35 independent transformed lines were obtained froin 1143 G0 Injected (35/1143). About 20% of the injected embryos eclosed as adults. Among G0 eclosed flies, approximately 40% exhibited eye color that was similar to wild-type (ry+), but about 60% of fertile G0 transformed lines appeared to have no G1 transformants. Therefore it is unlikely that G0 expression requires integration of the rosy transposon into chromosomes. Pc[(ry+)B] and P[(ry+)$\Delta$SX9] constructs were found to be nearly same in the frequency of element-mediated transformation. On the basis of these results, nonautonomous P elements constructs could he used as same effective vectors in P element-mediated transformation for introducing and fixing genes in insect populations.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.121-129
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• 2015

Alginates are found in marine brown seaweeds and in extracellular biofilms secreted by some bacteria. Previously, we reported an oligoalginate lyase from Sphingomonas sp. MJ-3 (MJ3-Oal) that had an exolytic activity and protein sequence homology with endolytic polymannuronate (polyM) lyase in the N-terminal region. In this study, the MJ3-Oal was tested for both exolytic and endolytic activity by homology modeling using the crystal structure of Alg17c from Saccharophagus degradans 2-40T. The tyrosine residue at the $426^{th}$ position, which possibly formed a hydrogen bond with the substrate, was mutated to phenylalanine. The FPLC profiles showed that MJ3-Oal degraded alginate quickly to monomers as a final product through the oligmers, whereas the Tyr426Phe mutant showed only exolytic alginate lyase activity. $^1H$-NMR spectra also showed that MJ3-Oal degraded the endoglycosidic bond of polyM and polyMG (polymannuronate-guluronate) blocks. These results indicate that oligoalginate lyase from Sphingomonas sp. MJ-3 probably catalyzes the degradation of both exo- and endo-glycosidic bonds of alginate.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.603-610
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• 2006

Korean traditional soy paste (Doenjang) was fermented using Meju prepared by the culture of wild microorganisms in steamed soy beans. During the fermentation, changes in the physicochemical and several functional properties were monitored. Total acidity and amino acidity increased from 0.09 to 0.96, and 2.24% to 3.28% respectively, Amylase and protease activities increased and showed the maximal level after 60 days of fermentation, which were 4.03 and 7.29 units/ml, respectively. However, both enzyme activities decreased after then. The inhibitory activities against tyrosinase and angiotensin converting enzyme increased and reached 20.57 and 38.18% respectively. Antimutagenic activities against N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitiosoguanidine and 4-nitro-O-phenylenediamine (NPD) increased for 90 days and roached 70.21 and 60.01% in S. enterica serovar Typhimurium TA100, respectively. Against NPD and 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide, the antimutagenic activities also increased and reached 50.91 and 46.35% in the strain TA98, respectively.

• Mycobiology
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.373-383
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• 2015

Five halophytic plant species, Suaeda maritima, Limonium tetragonum, Suaeda australis, Phragmites australis, and Suaeda glauca Bunge, which are native to the Muan salt marsh of South Korea, were examined for fungal endophytes by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region containing ITS1, 5.8S rRNA, and ITS2. In total, 160 endophytic fungal strains were isolated and identified from the roots of the 5 plant species. Taxonomically, all 160 strains belonged to the phyla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Zygomycota. The most dominant genus was Fusarium, followed by the genera Penicillium and Alternaria. Subsequently, using 5 statistical methods, the diversity indices of the endophytes were determined at genus level. Among these halophytic plants, P. australis was found to host the greatest diversity of endophytic fungi. Culture filtrates of endophytic fungi were treated to Waito-C rice seedlings for plant growth-promoting effects. The fungal strain Su-3-4-3 isolated from S. glauca Bunge provide the maximum plant length (20.1 cm) in comparison with wild-type Gibberella fujikuroi (19.6 cm). Consequently, chromatographic analysis of the culture filtrate of Su-3-4-3 showed the presence of physiologically active gibberellins, $GA_1$ (0.465 ng/mL), $GA_3$ (1.808 ng/mL) along with other physiologically inactive $GA_9$ (0.054 ng/mL) and $GA_{24}$ (0.044 ng/mL). The fungal isolate Su-3-4-3 was identified as Talaromyces pinophilus.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.192-196
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• 2013

Fungal development is largely affected by many environmental factors. In a model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans, asexual development is promoted by exposure of light, presence of salt and non-fermentable sugars. In other hand, sexual development is largely induced by absence of light, fermentable sugars and hypoxic condition. Also, some important genes including veA and nsdD play positive roles in activating sexual development. Here, we reported that the effect of high concentration of $CO_2$ on developmental decision in A. nidulans. When wild-type $veA^+$ strain was cultured in normal condition, sexual and asexual development occurred in balanced manner. However, high concentration of $CO_2$ (~5%) strongly activated sexual development and inhibited asexual development. Furthermore, this $CO_2$ effect was controlled by the veA or nsdD gene. High $CO_2$ culture of $veA^-$ or $nsdD^-$ mutant didn't activate sexual development, suggesting that the activation of sexual development induced by high $CO_2$ cannot overcome the genetic requirement of sexual development such as veA or nsdD. Since 5% $CO_2$ is an important condition for human pathogenic fungi for surviving and adapting in human body, this developmental pattern of A. nidulans affected by $CO_2$ concentration may provide interesting clues for comparative study with human fungal pathogens including Aspergillus fumigatus.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2002

Phytase from Escherichia coli WC7 was purified from cell extracts and its molecular mass was estimated to be 45 kDa by SDS-PAGE. Its optimum temperature and pH for phytate hydrolysis was 6$0^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.0, respectively. The enzyme was stable up to 6$0^{\circ}C$ and over broad pH range (pH 2-12). The enzyme had higher affinity for sodium phytate than p-nitrophenylphosphate (pNPP). That is, the apparent Km value for sodium phytate and pNPP were $0.15\pm$0.02 mM and 2.82$\pm$0.05 mM, respectively. The gene encoding the phytase was cloned in E. coli XL1-Blue. Sequence analysis showed an open reading frame of 1241 Up encoding a signal peptide (22 aa) and a mature enzyme (410 aa). WC7 phytase was expressed up to 17.5 U/ml in the transformed E. coli XL1-Blue/pUEP, which was 23-fold higher than the activity from wild strain.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1120-1125
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• 2019

The short-lived nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been used as a model organism for many studies, including lifespan extension. To screen common seaweeds for natural anti-aging agents, the lifespan of C. elegans (N2 wild-type strain) was measured by its hatch rate, growth rate, survival rate, chemotaxis, brood size, and egg-laying time after exposure to nematode growth medium (NGM) containing seaweed extracts. Approximately 30 animals synchronized at the first larval stage were incubated until they reached their adult stages before laying their eggs and were transferred to fresh NGM every 3 days. We also identified the major active compound from the seaweed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and tested its optimal dose for longevity. Of 13 common seaweed species, an ethanol extract of the brown seaweed Hizikia fusiformis showed the greatest effect on hatching, growth, and survival rates. The lifespan of C. elegans was significantly expanded 1.54-fold and 1.23-fold in the presence of the ethanol extract (0.05 mg/ml) and the main active component, fucosterol (0.05 mg/ml), respectively. Exposure to the ethanol extract also increased chemotaxis 1.13-fold, decreased brood size 0.74-fold, and shortened egg-laying time 0.96-fold. These results suggest that the aquaculturable H. fusiformis may be a promising source of a diet supplement to support health care.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.351-361
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• 2019

In our previous study, pyrrolnitrin produced in Pseudomonas chlororaphis G05 plays more critical role in suppression of mycelial growth of some fungal pathogens that cause plant diseases in agriculture. Although some regulators for pyrrolnitrin biosynthesis were identified, the pyrrolnitrin regulation pathway was not fully constructed. During our screening novel regulator candidates, we obtained a white conjugant G05W02 while transposon mutagenesis was carried out between a fusion mutant $G05{\Delta}phz{\Delta}prn::lacZ$ and E. coli S17-1 (pUT/mini-Tn5Kan). By cloning and sequencing of the transposon-flanking DNA fragment, we found that a vfr gene in the conjugant G05W02 was disrupted with mini-Tn5Kan. In one other previous study on P. fluorescens, however, it was reported that the deletion of the vfr caused increased production of pyrrolnitrin and other antifungal metabolites. To confirm its regulatory function, we constructed the vfr-knockout mutant $G05{\Delta}vfr$ and $G05{\Delta}phz{\Delta}prn::lacZ{\Delta}vfr$. By quantifying ${\beta}-galactosidase$ activities, we found that deletion of the vfr decreased the prn operon expression dramatically. Meanwhile, by quantifying pyrrolnitrin production in the mutant $G05{\Delta}vfr$, we found that deficiency of the Vfr caused decreased pyrrolnitrin production. However, production of phenazine-1-carboxylic acid was same to that in the wild-type strain G05. Taken together, Vfr is required for pyrrolnitrin but not for phenazine-1-carboxylic acid biosynthesis in P. chlororaphis G05.