• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.236-242
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• 1998

While bacteriophage P2-P4 system is very useful experimental tool for the study of viral capsid assembly, there is no useful plasmid vector for the DNA manipulation in bacteriophage P2-P4 system. In this study, a new vector plasmid, P4 ash8 (sid71) kmr, was constructed by swapping the non-essential region of P4 DNA for kanamycin resistance(kmr) gene cassette of plasmid pUC4-K. P4 ash8 sid71 was starting material for the construction, since it tends to be maintained as a plasmid in the absence of the helper phage. The total size of this chimera was designed to be packaged into P4 or P2 size heads with induction by P2 infection. The conversion of plasmid P4 ash8 (sid71) kmr to bacteriophage was proved by burst size determination experiment and CsCl buoyant equilibrium density gradient experiment. Integrase destructed P4 derivative, P4 ash8 sid71 kmr intS, was able to be constructed easily by in vitro DNA manipulation of P4 ash8 sid71 kmr. The plasmid stability experiment with P4 ash8 sid71 kmr if/tS showed that the integrase of P4 affects the stable maintenance of plasmid P4 state.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.348-355
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• 2011

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen that is associated with various types of local and systemic infection. Staphylococcal protin A (SPA), a highly expressed surface component of S. aureus, may have a role in virulence such as activating inflammation and interfering with immune clearance. We examined the effect of recombinant SPA on inflammatory response in human HaCaT keratinocytes. The recombinant SPA protein was prepared using the pET-28a Vector System in Escherichia coli. The expression of pro-inflammatory related adhesion molecules and cytokines in HaCaT cells incubated for 6, 12, and 24 h with SPA (2 ${\mu}g$/ml) was analyzed by comparative RT-PCR or ELISA. The expression of E-selectin, ICAM-1, MCP-1, IL-6 and IL-8 was significantly increased in HaCaT from 6 to 24 h after treatment with SPA. SPA showed the effect on the adhesion-promoting ability of U937 monocytes to HaCaT cells. Our data demonstrate that SPA stimulates inflammatory response of HaCaT cells, implicating an important factor for exacerbation of skin inflammation of immunologic disease.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.335-341
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• 2011

In this study, 22 clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae including Citrobacterfreundii (6 strains), Enterobacter cloacae (5 strains), Enterobacter aerogenes (3 strains), Serratia marcescens (7 strains) and Pantoea spp. (1 strain) were investigated for the biofilm forming ability and biosynthesis of curli and cellulose. Biofilm forming ability was the highest among the isolates of E. cloacae and the lowest among the isolates of E. aerogenes. The expression of the biofilm-forming extracellular matrix components, cellulose and curli fimbriae, was examined by Congo-red (CR) staining and calcofluor staining methods. PCR screening for the presence of curli gene (csgA) revealed that 4 strains of E. cloacae and 1 strain of C. freundii carried the csgA, showing a good correlation between the phenotypic detection of curli fimbriae by CR staining method and the genotypic detection of curli gene by PCR in E. cloacae.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.308-315
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• 2011

The purpose of this work was to examine the antimicrobial activity derived from the lactic acid bacterium, UK-3 isolated from the vaginas of women of childbearing age. Various physiological and biochemical properties of this strain were characterized. Both the BIOLOG system and phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA sequencing were utilized for identification, and the strain was designated as Lactobacillus plantarum UK-3, and registered in GenBank as [JK266589]. Growth rate, production of organic acids (e.g., lactic acid and acetic acid), and pH during growth were monitored. The maximum concentrations of lactic acid and acetic acid were approximately 684.11 mM and 174.26 mM, respectively, and pH changed from 7.0 to 3.7 after 72 h of incubation. High performance liquid chromatography was used to confirm lactic acid and acetic acid production. Significant antimicrobial activity of the concentrated supernatant was demonstrated against various Gram-positive (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Neisseria species., Listeria monocytogenes), Gram-negative bacteria (e.g., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis), and yeast (e.g., Candida albicans) by the plate diffusion method. As a result, the concentrated L. plantarum UK-3 cultures had lower acidity and inhibited the growth of all microorganisms tested, whereas the growth of L. acidophilus was not affected.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 1998

In order to understand the action mechanism of polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) to the cyst of Accnthcnloebc on the morphological basis, the cysts of four corneal isolates of Acanthanoebc were treated with minimal cysticidal concentration (MCC) of PHMB and their ultrastructural changes were examined by transmission electron microscopy. The most striking change of cysts treated with PHMB compared with normal cysts was the shrinkage of intracystic amoebae, which resulted in the separation of the plasma membrane of intracystic amoeba from endocystic wall. Subplasmalemmal lipid droplets became irregularly shaped . In severely damaged cysts, cytoplasm was aggregated and organelles were severely deformed. Cytoplasmic materials were leaked out through the damaged plasma membrane. Most cysts showed aggregation of nuclear chromatin material. Number of mitochondrial cristae was also reduced. Ecto- and endo-cystic walls were relatively well tolerated. Findings in the present study revealed that PHMB affected mainly on plasma membrane, but lesser on organellar membrane of intracystic amoeba. It seemed likely that PHMB might kill cystic forms of Accnthamoebc by similar mechanism in which this environmental biocide can damage the cell wall of Escherichia coli by binding with acidic phospholipids.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.211-216
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• 2003

An epidemic outbreak of food poisoning due to enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli(EHEC) occurred throughout Korea from May to September, 2003. Patients infected via contaminated school lunch foods were found mainly in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. As a result of this food poisoning, 36 patients were diagnosed as hemolytic uremic syndrome(HUS) up to mid-September, 2003 and five of them visited our hospital. Before the outbreak this year, we had experienced only 23 cases of HUS, including diarrhea associated (D+) and atypical (D-) forms, for the last 14 years, and there had been no case with pancreatic enzyme elevation. Unlike the past HUS cases, those of this year presented with severe abdominal pain and spiking elevation of pancreatic enzyme levels in 2 cases. We report 2 cases of transient pancreatitis combined with HUS in children during the epidemic outbreak in 2003 with a brief review of related literatures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.67-86
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• 2001

A strain producing strongly fibrinolytic enzyme was isolated from soil and was identified to be Bacillus subtilis by biochemical and physiological characterization. The optimal culture conditions for the production of fibrinolytic enzyme was determined to be 1.0% tryptone, 1.5% soluble starch, 0.5% Peptone, 0.5% NaCl, $(NH_{4})_{3}PO_4.3H_{2}O, and MgSO_{4}.7H_{2}O.$ Initial pH and temperature were pH 8.0 and $30^{\circ}C$ , respectively, The highest enzyme production was observed at 30 hours of cultivation at $30^{\circ}C$ The fibrinolytic enzyme was purified to homogeneity by DEAE Sephadex A-50 ion exchange column chromatography, 70% ammonium sulfate precipitation, Sephadex G-200 and G-75 gel filtration column chromatography. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was 28,000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A gene encoding the fibrinolytic enzyme was cloned into a plasmid vector pBluescript, transforming E.coli XL-1 Blue. The clone was able to degrade fibrin, This indicated that the gene could encode a fibrinolytic enzyme. The nucleotide sequence of the 2.7 kb insert was determined in both direction. One open reading frame composed of 1023 nucleotides was found to be a potential protein coding region. There was the putative Shine-Dalgano sequence and TATA box upstream of the open reading frame. The homology search data in the genome database showed that both the 2.7 kb insert and 1 kb open reading frame carried no significance in the nucleotide sequence of known fibrinolytic enzyme from Bacillus serovars. The recombinant cell harboring the novel gene involved in fibrinolysis was subjected to protein purification. The molecular mass of the purified fibrinolytic enzyme was determined to be 31864 Dalton, which was highly in accordance with the molecular mass(33 kDa) of the fibrinolytic gene deduced from the insert. The fibrinolytic enzyme was Purified 50.5 folds to homogeneity in overall yield of 10.7% by DEAE Sephadex A-50 ion exchange, 85% ammonium sulfate precipitation, Sephadex G-50, Superdex 75 HR FPLC gel filtration. In conclusion, a novel fibrinolytic gene from Bacillus subtilis was identified and characterized by cloning a genomic library of Bacillus subtilis into pBleuscript. For the soybean fermented by this strain, it is found that there increased assistant protein about 20% compared to the soybean not fermented and increased about 30% according to amino acid analysis and, in particular, essential amino acid increased about 40%. When keeping this fermented soybean powder at room temperature for about 70days, it showed very high stability maintaining almost perfect activity and, therefore, it gave us great suggestion its possibility of development as a new functional food.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.221-226
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• 2011

The gene encoding 4-$\alpha$-glucanotransferase (mgtA) from Thermotoga neapolitana was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli in order to investigate whether this enzyme was capable of producing cycloamylose for industrial applications. MgtA was purified to homogeneity by HiTrap Q HP and Sephacryl S-200 HR column chromatographies. The size of the enzyme as determined by SDS-PAGE was about 52 kDa, which was in good agreement with its deduced molecular mass of 51.9 kDa. The optimal temperature and pH for the activity of the 4-$\alpha$-glucanotransferase was found to be $85^{\circ}C$ and 6.5, respectively. The enzyme hydrolyzed the 1,4-$\alpha$-glucosidic bonds in oligomeric 1,4-$\alpha$-glucans and transferred oligosaccharides (maltotriose being the shortest one) to acceptor maltodextrins. However, the enzymes had no activity against pullulan, glycogen, and other di- or trioligosaccharides with rare types of $\alpha$-bond. MgtA is distinguished from 4-$\alpha$-glucanotransferase from Thermotoga maritima in that it can convert maltotriose into maltooligosaccharides. The treatment of glucoamylase after the reaction of MgtA with maltotriose, maltotetraose, maltopentaose, or maltohexaose as sole substrate revealed that MgtA yielded linear maltooligosaccharides instead of cycloamylose.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.423-428
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• 2009

Superoxide dismutases (SODs) constitute the first line of cellular defense against oxidative stress in plants. SODs generally occur in three different forms with Cu/Zn, Fe, or Mn as prosthetic metals. We cloned the full-length cDNA of the Thellungiella halophila Cu/Zn-SOD gene ThCSD using degenerate RT-PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). Sequence analysis indicated that the ThCSD gene (GenBank accession number EF405867) had an open reading frame of 456 bp. The deduced 152-amino acid polypeptide had a predicted molecular weight of 15.1 kDa, an estimated pI of 5.4, and a putative Cu/Zn-binding site. Recombinant ThCSD protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and assayed for SOD enzymatic activity in a native polyacrylamide gel. The SOD activity of ThCSD was inactivated by potassium cyanide and hydrogen peroxide but not by sodium azide, confirming that ThCSD is a Cu/Zn-SOD. Northern blotting demonstrated that ThCSD is expressed in roots, stems, and leaves. ThCSD mRNA levels increased by about 30-fold when plants were treated with sodium chloride (NaCl), abscisic acid (ABA), and indole-acetic acid (IAA) and by about 50-fold when treated with UVB light. These results indicate that ThCSD is involved in physiological pathways activated by a variety of environmental conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Information Technology Applications Conference
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.185-207
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• 2006

산업단지는 지난 30년간 한국 산업의 성장을 이끌어 온 발전모형으로서 존재하여 왔으나, 최근 지식에 기초한 혁신창출형 경제체제가 국가 및 지역사회의 경쟁력을 위한 핵심요소로 부각되면서 '효율성' 측면에서 그 의미가 크게 퇴색되었다. 이를 위한 대안으로서 '클러스터'가 대두되어 다양한 분석연구가 수행되고 있으며, 정부와 지방자치단체들은 이를 바탕으로 각자의 특색에 맞는 클러스터 조성 정책을 펼치고 있다. 그러나, 기존의 연구들은 클러스터의 종류 및 발전단계에 관한 프레임워크 제시 등의 이론적 수준에 국한되어 있거나, 지역사례 연구를 통한 성공요인분석(CFS) 및 단순한 정책방향 제시 수준에 머물러 있는 한계를 보이고 있다. 본 연구는 '클러스터'에 관한 선행연구를 분석해 보고, 클러스터의 중요한 판단기준이 되는 군집도와 네트워크 연계 정도를 기준으로 한 '$2{\times}2$ 클러스터 전략격자모형'을 효과적인 클러스터 구축전략 수립을 위한 이론적 틀로서 제시하였다. 또한, 분석틀에 실질적인 사례로서 '충북지역의 SW산업'을 전략격자모형에 대응시켜 분석함으로써 전략격자의 유용성을 제시하였다. 이를 위해, 충북지역의 SW 공급업체와 수요업체를 대상으로 설문조사를 실시, 분석한 후 그 결과를 전략격자모형에 대응시켰다. 그 결과, 충북지역의 SW산업은 아직 산업단지 수준에 있는 것으로 분석되었고 충북의 SW산업의 충북 내의 수요만으로는 더 큰 성장이 어려운 것으로 분석, 지역 내에서의 수요창출을 목표로 하는 '단일 클러스터' 구축보다는 지역적 제약을 벗어난 '매가 클러스터'의 구축으로 지역 내외에서의 수요창출이 가능한 클러스터의 구축을 그 대안으로 제시하였다.${\alpha}$에 E. coli Jm109의 plasmid pBX19, pBR322를 전이시켰다. 6. L. lactis ssp. lactis 균주에 lysozyme 처리시 30${\sim}$80%의 생존율을 보였으며, 대부분의 L. acidophilus 균주의 경우 약 70%의 생존율을 보였다. L. casei 102S의 경우는 45분간 처리 시에도 100%의 생존율을 보였다. 8. L. lactis ssp. lactis 균주에 pLZ12를 6.0kV에서 전이시킨 결과 12.5kV에서보다 형질전환 효율이 훨씬 높았으며 lysozyme 처리에 의해 형질전환 효율이 증가되었다. 9. L. acidophilus 균주에 pLZ12를 전이시 6.0kV에서는 전이가 모두 이루어졌으나, 12.5kV에서는 L. acidophilus WIESBY와 NCFM에서 전이가 이루어지지 않았으며, lysozyme 처리 후 pLZ12를 전이시켰을 때 12kV보다 6.0kV에서 형질전환 효율이 증가되었다. 10. Gene Pulser와 Progenitor II를 사용하여 pLZ12를 L. lactis ssp. lactis 균주에 전이하였을 때 Gene Pulser에 비해 Progenitor II의 형질전환 효율이 현저히 떨어졌다. L. acidophilus HY7008과 HY7001은 두 기기 모두 형질전환이 이루어졌으나, L. acidophilus WEISBY와 NCFM은 Progeni-tor II에서 전이가 일어나지 않았으며, Gene Pulser에서 전이균주를 얻어 두 electroporator간에 형질전환 효율의 차이를 보였다. 11. L. casei 102S에 pLZ12