• Journal of Microbiology
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• 제39권3호
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• pp.149-153
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• 2001

The electron transfer reaction is one of the most essential processes of life. Not only does it provide the means of transforming solar and chemical energy into a utilizable form for all living organisms, it also extends into a range of metabolic processes that support the life of a cell. Thus, it is of great interest to understand the physical basis of the rates and reduction potentials of these reactions. To identify the major determinants of reduction potentials in redox proteins, we have chosen the simplest electron transfer protein, rubredoxin, a small (52-54 residue) iron-sulfur protein family, widely distributed in bacteria and archaea. Rubredoxins can be grouped into two classes based on the correlation of their reduction potentials with the identity of residue 44; those with Ala44 (ex: Pyrococcus furiosus) have reduction potentials that are ∼50 mV higher than those with Va144 (ex: Clostridium pasteurianum). Based on the crystal structures of rubredoxins from C. pasteurianum and P. furiosus, we propose the identity of residue 44 alone determines the reduction potential by the orientation of the electric dipole moment of the peptide bond between 43 and 44. Based on 1.5 $\AA$ resolution crystal structures and molecular dynamics simulations of oxidized and reduced rubredoxins from C. pasteurianum, the structural rearrangements upon reduction suggest specific mechanisms by which electron transfer reactions of rubredoxin should be facilitated.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제20권3호
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• pp.361-363
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• 2005

Plasmid Achromobacter secretion (PAS) factor is a putative secretion factor that induces the secretion of periplasmic proteins. PAS factor from Vibrio vulnificus was crystallized at 294 K by the hanging drop vapor-diffusion method. It was isolated as a monomer during the purification procedures. The native crystal belongs to the F222 space group with unit cell parameters a = 56.1, b = 74.4, $c=80.0{\AA}$, ${\alpha}={\beta}={\gamma}=90^{\circ}$. The crystal was soaked in cryoprotectant containing 1 M NaBr for 1 h for MAD phasing. The diffraction limit of the Br-MAD data set was $1.9{\AA}$ using synchrotron X-ray irradiation at beam line BL-18B at the Photon Factory, Japan.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제5권3호
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• pp.138-142
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• 1995

Bacillus thuringiensis strain BT-209 was isolated from a soybean grain dust sample in Korea. The strain BT-209 produced two different sizes of cuboidal crystals and one spore in the cell. In the biochemical characterization, the strain BT-209 showed negative reactions on the production of urease, and the utilization of citrate and sucrose. Examination of its antibiotic resistance revealed that while the strain BT-209 showed higher sensitivity than B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD-1 to ampicillin, bacitracin, chlortetracycline, gentamycin, neomycin, penicillin G, tetracycline and tobramycin, it was more resistant to methicillin than B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD-1. The $\delta$-endotoxin crystal of strain BT-209 consisted of three proteins with apparent molecular weights of appoximately 148, 135 and 62 kDa on a 10% SDS-PAGE. The strain BT-209 had at least eight different plasmids with sizes of 4.1, 5.2, 6.3, 8.6, 14.6, 24.5, 67.6 and 77.6 Kb. The strain BT-209 showed strong lethalities of 70% and 87% against Bombyx mori and Hyphantria cunea larvae. at 72 h, respectively.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제14권1호
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• pp.21-25
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• 2004

Crystal violet와 malachite green색소 분해에 관여하는 유전자들을 규명하기 위하여 색소분해능을 가진 Citrobacter sp.의 염색체 DNA속에의 transposon 도입에 의해 생성된 무작위 변이주들이 분리되었다. 이들 변이 주들로부터 두가지 색소분해능을 소실한 14개의 변이주들이 선별되었고, 이들로부터 염색체 DNA를 분리하여 EcoRl으로 절단한 후 Tn5 단편을 probe로하여 Southern hybridization을 행한 결과, 염색체 DNA상의 각각 다른 부위에 Transposon이 Single 삽입된 5개의 변이주 (Cmg2, Cmg6, Cmg8, Cmgll, Cmg12)가 최종적으로 분리되었다. 이들 변이주들의 Transposon 삽입부위 주위의 염기서열과 이로부터 유추되는 아미노산서열을 database상에 등록되어 있는 유전자의 염기서열과 단백질의 아미노산 서열에 대한 상동성을 비교한 결과, Cmg2는 대장균 maltose trnasporter (Mal C)이고, Cmg6은 LysR-type 전사조절 단백질이며, Cmg12는 산화환원효소를 코드하는 유전자인 것으로 알려졌고, 나머지 Cmg8과 Cmg11은 아직까지 기능이 알려져 있지 않은 단백질을 코드하는 유전자인 것으로임이 판명되었다.

• 식물조직배양학회지
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• 제24권5호
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• pp.305-311
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• 1997

Bacillus thuringiensis는 그람 양성 토양 세균으로 포자형성시 결정화된 내포체를 형성하는데, 이 내포체를 구성하는 결정단백질은 각 곤충에 대하여 특이적인 독성을 나타낸다. 살충성 결정단백질 중 Cry II A 결정단백질은 인시류와 쌍시류 곤충에 모두 특이적으로 작용한다. 결정단백질은 살충제로서 불안정하고 포장에서 지속성이 낮은 단점을 가지고 있으므로, 본 연구에서는 Cry II A 결정단백질 유전자가 형질전환된 담배 식물을 제작하고자 하였다. cry IIA 유전자가 삽입된 벡터를 대장균에 형질전환한 후, 알칼리 용액에 대한 용해도의 차이를 이용하여 Cry II A 결정단백질(70 kDa)을 분리하였고, 분리한 Cry II A 결정단백질을 trypsin 처리하여 활성화된 Cry II A (50 kDa)를 확인하였다. 식물 형질전환을 위하여 두 개의 CaMV 35S promoters에 의해 발현이 조절되는 식물 발현 벡터에 cry II A 유전자를 클로닝 하였다. 이 식물 발현 벡터를 Agrobacterium을 이용한 엽편형질 전환을 통해 담배(N. tabacum var. Petit Havana SRI)에 형질전환 시켰으며, 재분화 과정을 거쳐 여섯 개체의 형질전환 식물체를 얻었다. Southern blot을 통하여 분석한 결과 세 개체 내에 cry II A 유전자가 존재하였는데, 한 개체에는 하나의 cry II A 유전자가, 또 한 개체에는 두 개의 cry II A 유전자가, 다른 한 개체에는 잘려진 형태의 cry II A 유전자가 존재함을 확인할 수 있었다. 본 연구를 통하여 얻어진 cry II A 형질전환 식물체는 살충성 검정 등을 거친 후 내충성 식물 생산 및 후대 유전 양상 분석을 위한 기초 자료로 이용될 수 있을 것이다.

• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.168-173
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• 1988

곤충치사 독소를 생성하는 Bacillus thuringiensis serovar. kurstaki HD1과 HD73 균주에 대한 내독소 단백질의 특성을 규명하기 위하여 독소단백질의 항체 생산성, 항원 안정성, 정량 및 교차반응실험을 수행하였다. 곤충치사 내독소 단백질에 대한 항체는 토끼 마리당 약 2mg의 내독소 항원을 4회 주사했을 때 급격히 증가하여 6~7회 투여시에 최대치의 항체가 생성되었다. 내독소의 항원 안정성을 ELISA로 조사했을 때 5일 이내는 안정하였으나 9일 이후는 급격히 감소하였다. 간접 ELISA에 의한 B. t. k. HD1과 HD73 내독소의 정량 감도는 각각 50$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$, 400ng/$m\ell$이었다. HD1과 HD73 균주의 내독소 단백질에 대한 항혈청은 B. t. serovar israelensis 와 침강반응이 일어나지 않았다. B. t. k. 균주의 동일 아종간 내독소 단백질에 대한 항체의 교차반응에서 HD1 내독소 항체는 HD73 균주의 내독소 항원과 부분적으로 반응하였으나 HD73 내독소 항체는 HD1 항원과 100% 반응하였다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제30권8호
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• pp.1261-1271
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• 2020

Cytochrome c_L (Cytc_L) is an essential protein in the process of methanol oxidation in methylotrophs. It receives an electron from the pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) cofactor of methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) to produce formaldehyde. The direct electron transfer mechanism between Cytc_L and MDH remains unknown due to the lack of structural information. To help gain a better understanding of the mechanism, we determined the first crystal structure of heme c containing Cytc_L from the aquatic methylotrophic bacterium Methylophaga aminisulfidivorans MP^T at 2.13 Å resolution. The crystal structure of Ma-Cytc_L revealed its unique features compared to those of the terrestrial homologues. Apart from Fe in heme, three additional metal ion binding sites for Na⁺, Ca⁺, and Fe²⁺ were found, wherein the ions mostly formed coordination bonds with the amino acid residues on the loop (G93-Y111) that interacts with heme. Therefore, these ions seemed to enhance the stability of heme insertion by increasing the loop's steadiness. The basic N-terminal end, together with helix α4 and loop (G126 to Y136), contributed positive charge to the region. In contrast, the acidic C-terminal end provided a negatively charged surface, yielding several electrostatic contact points with partner proteins for electron transfer. These exceptional features of Ma-Cytc_L, along with the structural information of MDH, led us to hypothesize the need for an adapter protein bridging MDH to Cytc_L within appropriate proximity for electron transfer. With this knowledge in mind, the methanol oxidation complex reconstitution in vitro could be utilized to produce metabolic intermediates at the industry level.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제36권2호
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• pp.103-108
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• 2011

Measurement of estrogen concentration in bio-samples are very important for differential diagnosis of various disease or evaluation of health status. However, it is difficult to collect immediate data of estrogen concentration because they are measured by radioimmunoassay or chromatography which need time- and cost-consuming sample pre-treatment. This study was performed for development of new estrogen biosensor employing taste principles, and for evaluation of cross reactivity between various steroid hormones. Gene sequence of ligand binding domain of ${\alpha}$-human estrogen receptor (amino acid 302-553; hER-LBD) was cloned from human breast cancer cell line. The proteins of hER-LBD were produced by T7-E.coli expression system, and isolated by chromatography. hER-LBD were coated on the gold plated quartz crystal (AT-cut 9MHz), and resonance frequencies were measured by universal frequency counter. Estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and aldosterone were used for cross reactivity of the hER-LBD. We also monitored influences of pH change in resonance frequency. The resonance frequencies of hER-LBD coated quartz crystal were decreased during increase of estrogen concentration from $15 \;{\mu}g/mL$ to $50\;{\mu}g/mL$. However, similar steroid hormones, progesterone and aldosterone, did not elicit the change in resonance frequency. Testosterone evoke weak change in resonance frequency. The new estrogen biosensor was more sensitive in pH 7.2 than in pH 7.6. These results suggest that hER-LBD coated quartz crystal biosensor is a probable estrogen biosensor.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제42권1호
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• pp.56-66
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• 2019

Histidine triad nucleotide-binding protein (HINT) is a member of the histidine triad (HIT) superfamily, which has hydrolase activity owing to a histidine triad motif. The HIT superfamily can be divided to five classes with functions in galactose metabolism, DNA repair, and tumor suppression. HINTs are highly conserved from archaea to humans and function as tumor suppressors, translation regulators, and neuropathy inhibitors. Although the structures of HINT proteins from various species have been reported, limited structural information is available for fungal species. Here, to elucidate the structural features and functional diversity of HINTs, we determined the crystal structure of HINT from the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans (CaHINT) in complex with zinc ions at a resolution of $2.5{\AA}$. Based on structural comparisons, the monomer of CaHINT overlaid best with HINT protein from the protozoal species Leishmania major. Additionally, structural comparisons with human HINT revealed an additional helix at the C-terminus of CaHINT. Interestingly, the extended C-terminal helix interacted with the N-terminal loop (${\alpha}1-{\beta}1$) and with the ${\alpha}3$ helix, which appeared to stabilize the dimerization of CaHINT. In the C-terminal region, structural and sequence comparisons showed strong relationships among 19 diverse species from archea to humans, suggesting early separation in the course of evolution. Further studies are required to address the functional significance of variations in the C-terminal region. This structural analysis of CaHINT provided important insights into the molecular aspects of evolution within the HIT superfamily.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• 제35권4호
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• pp.317-327
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• 2008

Phytocystatins, which are inhibitors of plant cysteine peptidases, are involved in the regulation of protein turnover and in the defense against insect pests and pathogens. Extensive searches in the Brassica rapa genome allowed the prediction of at least eight different phytocystatin genes on seven chromosomes in the B. rapa genome. Structure comparisons based on alignments of the all BrCYS ($\underline{B}$. $\underline{r}apa$ $phyto{\underline{cys}}tatin$) proteins using the CLUSTALW program revealed conservation of the three consensus motifs known to interact with the active site of cysteine peptidases. According to the phylogenetic analysis based on the deduced amino acid sequences, the eight BrCYS proteins were divided into several clusters related to the orthologous phytocystatin. The predicted three-dimensional structure models of the eight BrCYS proteins demonstrate that all of these proteins are similar to the reported crystal structure of oryzacystatin-I (OC-I). Digital northern and RT-PCR analyses indicated that the eight BrCYS genes exhibit different expression patterns in B. rapa tissues and respond differently to abiotic stimuli. The differences in gene structure and expression between the eight BrCYS genes suggest that these proteins may play diverse physiological roles in B. rapa and may interact with cysteine peptidases through different mechanisms.