• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.917-924
• /
• 2010

The practicability of transgenic tobacco engineered to express bacterial native mercuric reductase (MerA), responsible for the transport of $Hg^{2+}$ ions into the cell and their reduction to elemental mercury ($Hg^0$), without any codon modification, for phytoremediation of mercury pollution was evaluated. Transgenic tobacco plants reduce mercury ions to the metallic form; take up metallic mercury through their roots; and evolve the less toxic elemental mercury. Transformed tobacco produced a large amount of merA protein in leaves and showed a relatively higher resistance phenotype to $HgCl_2$ than wild type. Results suggest that the integrated merA gene, encoding mercuric reductase, a key enzyme of the bacterial mer operon, was stably integrated into the tobacco genome and translated to active MerA, which catalyzes the bioconversion of toxic $Hg^{2+}$ to the least toxic elemental $Hg^0$, and suggest that MerA is capable of reducing the $Hg^{2+}$, probably via NADPH as an electron donor. The transgenic tobacco expressing merA volatilized significantly more mercury than wild-type plants. This is first time we are reporting the expression of a bacterial native merA gene via the nuclear genome of Nicotiana tabacum, and enhanced mercury volatilization from tobacco transgenics. The study clearly indicates that transgenic tobacco plants are reasonable candidates for the remediation of mercurycontaminated areas.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.55 no.1
• /
• pp.80-82
• /
• 2019

Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae strain WSPS007 was isolated from infected twigs (Malus pumila) in 2013 in Yeongju, Gyeongbuk Province, Republic of Korea. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of WSPS007 with a chromosome size of 6,238,498 bp (59.04% G+C content). The genome comprises 5,379 CDS, 16 rRNA genes, and 65 tRNA genes. The P. syringae pv. syringae strain WSPS007 genome possesses an ice-nucleating activation (INA) gene and an antifreeze operon that may be related to frost damage by this pathogen. Thus, the genome sequence determined in this study will be useful in understanding the relationship between the outbreak of bacterial shoot blight disease and frost damage in northern Gyeongbuk Province.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.9-19
• /
• 2011

The Bacillus subtilis pyrimidine biosynthetic (pyr) operon encodes all of the enzymes for the de novo biosynthesis of Uridine monophosphate (UMP) and additional cistrones encoding a uracil permease and the regulatory protein PyrR. The PyrR is a bifunctional protein with pyr mRNA-binding regulatory funtion and uracil phosphoribosyltransferase activity. To study the global regulation by the pyrR deletion, the proteome comparison between Bacillus subtilis DB104 and Bacillus subtilis DB104 ${\Delta}$pyrR in the minimal medium without pyrimidines was employed. Proteome analysis of the cytosolic proteins from both strains by 2D-gel electrophoresis showed the variations in levels of protein expression. On the silver stained 2D-gel with an isoelectric point (pI) between 4 and 10, about 1,300 spots were detected and 172 spots showed quantitative variations in which 42 high quantitatively variant proteins were identified. The results showed that production of the pyrimidine biosynthetic enzymes (PyrAA, PyrAB, PyrB, PyrC, PyrD, and PyrF) were significantly increased in B. subtilis DB104 ${\Delta}$pyrR. Besides, proteins associated carbohydrate metabolism, elongation protein synthesis, metabolism of cofactors and vitamins, motility, tRNA synthetase, catalase, ATP-binding protein, and cell division protein FtsZ were overproduced in the PyrR-deficient mutant. Based on analytic results, the PyrR might be involved a number of other metabolisms or various phenomena in the bacterial cell besides the pyrimidine biosynthesis.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2005

Methylophaga aminosulfidovorans SK1 (KCTC 10323 BP) can utilize trimethylamine as a sole carbon, nitrogen, and energy source. The bacterial flavin-containing monooxygenase (bFMO) gene was identified in the strain and the recombinant enzyme expressed in E. coli oxidized trimethylamine. To study the function and regulation of the bfmo, over 8,000 nucleotide sequences of the neighboring regions including the bfmo were determined. Three open reading frames proceeding to the bfmo gene encoded analogues to highly conserved nitrate/nitrite sensing two-component system regulators and a methyl accepting protein. Two small open reading frames just downstream of the bfmo gene showed no similar proteins of known functions but the sequences were conserved among other bacteria. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that the six putative genes consisted of three transcription units. The three regulatory genes located upstream of the bfmo gene formed two separate transcription units. The bfmo and the two downstream genes were transcribed from a single promoter.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.430-434
• /
• 2009

Bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences have been widely used for the studies on molecular phylogeny, evolutional history, and molecular detections. Bacterial genomes have multiple rRNA operons, of which gene sequences sometimes are variable. In the present study, heterogeneity of the Vibrio 16S rRNA gene sequences were investigated. Vibrio 16S rRNA sequences were obtained from GenBank databases, considering the completion of gene annotation of Vibrio genome sequences. These included V. cholerae, V. harveyi, V. parahaemolyticus, V. splendidus, and V. vulnificus. Chromosome 1 of the studied Vibrio had 7~10 copies of the 16S rRNA gene, and their intragenomic variations were less than 0.9% dissimilarity (more than 99.1% DNA similarity). Chromosome 2 had none or single 16S rRNA gene. Intragenomic 16S rRNA genotypes were detected at least 5 types (V. vulnificus #CMCP6) to 8 types (V. parahaemolyticus #RIMD 2210633, V. harveyi #ATCC BAA-1116). These suggest that Vibrio has high heterogeneity of the 16S rRNA gene sequences.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.35 no.5
• /
• pp.445-458
• /
• 2019

The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) composed of lipid A, core, and O-antigen is the fundamental constituent of the outer membrane in gram-negative bacteria. This study was conducted to investigate the roles of LPS in Burkholderia glumae, the phytopathogen causing bacterial panicle blight and seedling rot in rice. To study the roles of the core oligosaccharide (OS) and the O-antigen region, mutant strains targeting the waaC and the wbiFGHI genes were generated. The LPS profile was greatly affected by disruption of the waaC gene and slight reductions were observed in the O-antigen region following wbiFGHI deletions. The results indicated that disruption in the core OS biosynthesis-related gene, waaC, was associated with increased sensitivity to environmental stress conditions including acidic, osmotic, saline, and detergent stress, and to polymyxin B. Moreover, significant impairment in the swimming and swarming motility and attenuation of bacterial virulence to rice were also observed in the waaC-defective mutant. The motility and virulence of O-antigen mutants defective in any gene of the wbiFGHI operon, were not significantly different from the wild-type except in slight decrease in swimming and swarming motility with wbiH deletion. Altogether, the results of present study indicated that the LPS, particularly the core OS region, is required for tolerance to environmental stress and full virulence in B. glumae. To our knowledge, this is the first functional study of LPS in a plant pathogenic Burkholderia sp. and presents a step forward toward full understanding of B. glumae pathogenesis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.329-338
• /
• 2023

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a foodborne pathogen that produces attaching and effacing lesions on the large intestine and causes hemorrhagic colitis. It is primarily transmitted through the consumption of contaminated meat or fresh produce. Similar to other bacterial pathogens, antibiotic resistance is of concern for EHEC. Furthermore, since the production of Shiga toxin by this pathogen is enhanced after antibiotic treatment, alternative agents that control EHEC are necessary. This study aimed to discover alternative treatments that target virulence factors and reduce EHEC toxicity. The locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) is essential for EHEC attachment to host cells and virulence, and most of the LEE genes are positively regulated by the transcriptional regulator, Ler. GrlA protein, a transcriptional activator of ler, is thus a potential target for virulence inhibitors of EHEC. To identify the GrlA inhibitors, an in vivo high-throughput screening (HTS) system consisting of a GrlA-expressing plasmid and a reporter plasmid was constructed. Since the reporter luminescence gene was fused to the ler promoter, the bioluminescence would decrease if inhibitors affected the GrlA. By screening 8,201 compounds from the Korea Chemical Bank, we identified a novel GrlA inhibitor named Grlactin [3-[(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)methyl]-4-(3-methylbut-2-en-1-yl)-4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-one], which suppresses the expression of LEE genes. Grlactin significantly diminished the adhesion of EHEC strain EDL933 to human epithelial cells without inhibiting bacterial growth. These findings suggest that the developed screening system was effective at identifying GrlA inhibitors, and Grlactin has potential for use as a novel anti-adhesion agent for EHEC while reducing the incidence of resistance.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.30 no.5
• /
• pp.681-688
• /
• 2020

Bacterial cell-based biosensors, or whole-cell bioreporters (WCBs), are an alternative tool for the quantification of hazardous materials. Most WCBs share similar working mechanisms. In brief, the recognition of a target by sensing domains induces a biological event, such as changes in protein conformation or gene expression, providing a basis for quantification. WCBs targeting heavy metal(loid)s employ metalloregulators as sensing domains and control the expression of genes in the presence of target metal(loid) ions, but the diversity of targets, specificity, and sensitivity of these WCBs are limited. In this study, we genetically engineered the metal-binding loop (MBL) of ZntR, which controls the znt-operon in Escherichia coli. In the MBL of ZntR, three Cys sites interact with metal ions. Based on the crystal structure of ZntR, MBL sequences were modified by site-directed mutagenesis. As a result, the metal-sensing properties of WCBs differed depending on amino acid sequences and the new selectivity to Cr or Pb was observed. Although there is room for improvement, our results support the use of currently available WCBs as a platform to generate new WCBs to target other environmental pollutants including metal(loid)s.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.185-189
• /
• 2001

Wild type Bacilus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis and B. sphaericus toxins have been used separately as active in ingredients for bacterial insecticides to control mosquito larvae due to their comparable toxicity to chemical insecticides. Cry11B, recently cloned from B. thuringiensis subsp. jegathesan, shows higher toxicity against three major species of mosquito larvae than Cry11A, one of the major component of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis inclusion body. To determine whether the combination of cry11B and B. sphaericus binary toxins is as toxic as B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis parental strain, cry11B and B. sphaericus binary toxins genes were co-expressed as an operon using cytlA promoters/STAB-SD hybrid expression system in B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis acrystalliferous strain 4Q7. However, unexpectedly, B. sphaericus binary toxins were barely produced, whereas relatively large amount of Cry11B was produced. When this strain was grown in four different media, NB+G and Peptonized Milk produced more toxin proteins and spores per unit of media than GYS and G-Tris. Toxicity of this strain against fourth instar Culex quinquefasciatus was ranged from of 8.3 to 45.7 ng/ml, with NB+G culture being the highest, and GYS culture was the lowest.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.561-565
• /
• 2005

Bacterial arylsulfate sulfotransferase (ASST) catalyzes the transfer of sulfate group from a phenyl sulfate ester to a phenolic acceptor. The promoter region and the transcripti on start sites of Enterobacter amnigenus astA have been determined by primer extension analysis. Northern blot analysis resolved two mRNA species with lengths of 3.3 and 2.0 kb, which correspond to the distances between the transcriptional initiation sites and the two inverted repeat sequences (IRSs). By length, the 3.3 kb RNA could comprise the three-gene (astA with dsbA and dsbB) operon. ASST has three highly conserved cysteine residues. Reducing and non-reducing SDS-PAGE and activity staining showed that disulfide bond is needed for the activity of the enzyme. To identify the cysteine residues responsible for the disulfide bond formation, a series of Cys to Ser mutants has been constructed and the enzymatic activity was measured. Based on the results, we assumed that the first cysteine (Cys349) might be involved in disulfide bond mainly with the second cysteine (Cys445) and result in active conformation.