• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.325-334
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• 2007

Recently, quorum sensing has been implicated as an important global regulator controlling the production of numerous virulence factors such as capsular polysaccharides in bacterial pathogens. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of smcR, a homolog of V. harveyi luxR identified from V. vulnificus ATCC29307, were analyzed. The amino acid sequence of SmcR from V. vulnificus was 72 to 92% similar to those of LuxR homologs from Vibrio spp. Functions of SmcR were assessed by the construction of an isogenic mutant, whose smcR gene was inactivated by allelic exchanges, and by evaluating its phenotype changes in vitro and in mice. The disruption of smcR resulted in a significant alteration in biofilm formation, in type of colony morphology, and in motility. When compared with the wild-type, the smcR mutant exhibited reduced survival under adverse conditions, such as acidic pH and hyperosmotic stress. The smcR mutant exhibited decreased cytotoxic activity toward INT 407 cells in vitro. Furthermore, the intraperitoneal $LD_{50}$ of the smcR mutant was approximately $10^2$ times higher than that of parental wild-type. Therefore, it appears that SmcR is a novel global regulator, controlling numerous genes contributing to the pathogenesis as well as survival of V. vulnificus.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.212-220
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• 2001

Rare mating was used to select a respiratory deficient mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae HDC52 strain. Glucoamylase gene of S. diastaticus K114 was developed into the RD mutant which could uptake maximum amount of non-fermentable sugars through the expression of glu- coamplyase gene and the fermentation characteristics of the developed strain HCS were investigated. The size of HCS yeast and HBD52 yeast strain were 13 $\mu\textrm{m}$ and 10$\mu\textrm{m}$ respectively. HCS strain which can uptake maximum amount of non-fermentable sugar through the expression of glucoamylase gene was developed. By karyotype anal- ysis. HCS stain but not RD mutant HBC52 showed a band of 1150 kb chromosome DNA This band should include glcoamylase gene from Saccharomyces diataticus K114 THis strain has glucoamylase which can degrade starch By transduction and contrnuance of glucoamylase gene HCS strain gegraded strach and formed halo. Also, HCS strain maintained the character after 50 generations. Glucoamylase activities of Saccharomyces diastaticus K114 and HCS yeast strains are 9.5 and 2.7~3.4(unit/ml) HCS and HBC52 strain showed similar sugar fermentation patterns and low flocculation In spore and film forming test, HCS and HBC52 strain formed neither spores nor films. In the limit fermentation test, HBC52 strain showed fermentation level of 68% and HCS strain showed 76~78% As the limit attenuation of HBC52 and HCS were ($2.00^{\circ}$P) and ($0.7~0.93^{\circ}$P) This study demon- strates and HCS strain may be used for low carbohydrate beer fermentation.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.276-285
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• 2003

To control pythium root rot, Bacillus lentimorbus WJ5a17 with high anti-fungal activity against Pythium ultimum was induced from B. lentimorbus WJ5 by gamma radiation ($^{60}Co$). The biocontrollers of FWJ5 and FWJ5a17 were formulated ($1.0\times 10^{11}$) with B. lentimorbus WJ5 and WJ5a17, respectively, The population density of FWJ5 and FWJ5a17 maintained highly up to $1.0\times 10^{9}$ CFU $g^{-1}$ in nursery and field soils until 30 days after treatment. P. ultimum spores germination were inhibited 71.0% and 81.4% by FWJ5 and FWJ5a17, respectively. Pythium root rot of yea pepper, Chinese cabbage and radish were significantly (p < 0.05) controled by one time treatment of FWJ5 and FWJ5a17.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.616-625
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• 2005

It is likely that maltose could provide a good substrate for the bacteria in the intestine, when the pathogenic bacteria invade and colonize in human gut. For better understanding of this organism's maltose metabolism, a mutant that was not able to grow with maltose as a sole carbon source was screened from a library of mutants constructed by a random transposon mutagenesis. By a transposon-tagging method, malPQ genes encoding a maltodextrin phosphorylase and a 4-${\alpha}$-glucanotransferase, were identified and cloned from Vibrio vulnificus. The deduced amino acid sequences of malPQ from V. vulnificus were 48 to $91\%$ similar to those of MalP and MalQ reported from other Enterobacteriaceae. Functions of malPQ genes were assessed by the construction of mutants whose malPQ genes were inactivated by allelic exchanges. When maltose was used as the sole carbon source, neither malP nor malQ mutant was able to grow to a substantial level, revealing that the MalP and MalQ are the only enzymes for metabolic utilization of maltose. The malQ mutant exhibited decreased adherence toward intestinal epithelial cells in vitro, but there was no difference in the $LD_{50}s$ of the wild-type and the malQ mutant in mice. Therefore, it appears that MalQ is less important in the pathogenesis of V. vulnificus than would have been predicted by considering maltose as a most common sugar in the intestine, but not completely dispensable for virulence in mice.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.388-395
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• 1987

In order to obtain a regulatory mutant strain with high cellulase activity, a newly isolated Penicillium verrculosum, strain F-3 was used as parental strain since it was proved to be an efficient cellulase producer. A number of experiments were conducted to determine the optimum conditions to in-duce mutagenesis and isolate the desirable mutant strains. Out of several restriction compounds tested, 1.5% oxgall was found to be most effective to restrict the colony size by suppressing overgrowth. Derepression of catabolites was employed as a criterion in selecting mutant strains with high cellulase productivity. Production of cellulase by Penicillium venculosum F-3 was suppressed when cultured on the media with more than 1% of glucose or glycerol. It was found that either irradiation with UV light for 19 mins or treatment with nitrosoguanidine at 200$\mu\textrm{g}$/m1 for 60 mins, induced mutagenesis at desired level, when the survival rate of the spore was 0.2% and 48%, respectively. Three mutant strains of F-3, UV-9, UV-10, and NTG-3 that had the highest cellulase productivity were finally selected, based on filter paper degradation rate, size of clearing zone on the screening plate and cellulase activity in the medium containing cellulose powder. When the mutant strains were compared with parental strain F-3, on the KC-M-W medium containing cellulose powder, the filter paper activities of UV-9, UV-10, and NTG-3 were increased by 34%, 55%, and 41%, respectively. However, the assimilation of cellobiose octaacetate by UV-9 or NTG-3 was markedly reduced. When the mutant UV-10 was grown on cellobiose octaacetate medium (CCA-4) in shaking flasks, the cellulase activities of the mutant increased by 20 to 50% compared to the parental strain. Excreation of soluble protein from the mutant also elevated up to 30%. The mutant also constitutively produced both CMCase and $\beta$-glucosidase, though at relatively low level, in the presence of glucose or cellobiose as carbon sources.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.395-403
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• 1993

Background: The cell cycle is composed of a series of steps which can be negatively or positively regulated by various factors. Alteration or inactivation of p53 by mutations, or by its interactions with oncogene products of DNA tumor viruses, can lead to cancer. Mutations of the p53 gene occur frequently in human primary lung cancers and the wild-type p 53 allele is often concomitantly deleted. These suggest that deprivation of suppressive role of the wild-type p53 may ensure tumor cell growth presumable by the mutant p53 gene. Methods: In an attempt to investigate this hypothesis, a mutant p53 gene was immunohistochemically demonstrated in the formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections of lung cancers by using a monoclonal antibody p53 (Ab-3 and clone DO7). Results: The expression of p53 (DO7) was found in all four normal lung tissues, four small cell carcinomas, and four non small cell carcinomas in histologic types of lung cancer. In the six normal lung tissues the expressions of p53 (Ab-3) were not found. Contrarily, the expression of p53 (Ab-3) was found in the nuclei of lung cancers among fifteen (46.9%) of thirty-two cases studied. The expression of p53 (Ab-3) was disclosed in three case (37.5%) of eight small cell carcinomas and twelve cases (50.0%) of twenty-four non small cell carcinomas in histologic types of lung cancer. Conclusion: These findings suggest that expression of the mutant p53 is related to the one of events in the pathogenesis of human lung cancer and the role of the other oncogenes might be also related to the development of lung cancers.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.541-546
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• 1997

There are two conserved regions with a significantly high amino acid sequence homology among the A subunits of STX, SLTs and ricin. To produce an inactive Verotoxin-2 (VT-2), two different mutants, pE167D and pDE5A, were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis, respectively, on the basis of the previous reports that two regions lie within the active-site clefts of the A subunits of ricin and STX family. The cytotoxicity ($10^3$ $CD_{50}/ml$) of VT-2 holotoxin with E167D mutation was reduced by $10^3$-fold compared with wild-type level. In addition, VT-2 with DE5A ($Trp_{202}GlyArgIleSer_{206}$) deletion mutation showed a significantly low cytotoxicity ($10^1$ $CD_{50}/ml$), resulting in $10^5$- and $10^2$-fold reductions, respectively, compared with the wild-type and E167D mutatant. SDS-PAGE for protein samples showed a 33-kDa band corresponding to the A subunit of VT-2. These results indicate that reduction in cytotoxic activity was affected not by amount of VT-2 protein produced but by mutation.

• Mycobiology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.20-25
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• 2011

Spores of Aspergillus sp. SU14 were treated repeatedly and sequentially with $Co^{60}$ ${\gamma}$-rays, ultraviolet irradiation, and N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. One selected mutant strain, Aspergillus sp. SU14-M15, produced cellulase in a yield 2.2-fold exceeding that of the wild type. Optimal conditions for the production of cellulase by the mutant fungal strain using solid-state fermentation were examined. The medium consisted of wheat-bran supplemented with 1% (w/w) urea or $NH_4Cl$, 1% (w/w) rice starch, 2.5 mM $MgCl_2$, and 0.05% (v/w) Tween 80. Optimal moisture content and initial pH was 50% (v/w) and 3.5, respectively, and optimal aeration area was 3/100 (inoculated wheat bran/container). The medium was inoculated with 25% 48 hr seeding culture and fermented at $35^{\circ}C$ for 3 days. The resulting cellulase yield was 8.5-fold more than that of the wild type strain grown on the basal wheat bran medium.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.31-35
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• 1995

Using the alkalophillic Bacillus sp. SH-8 and its mutant Bacillus sp. SH-8M capable of growing at the neutral pH, the amino acid compositions of the cell wall and cell membrane were studied at varying cultivation pH's. The pattem of protein electrophoresis was also tested. It was elucidated that the amino acids consisting of the cell wall were alanine, glutamic acid, lysine, aspartic acid, and meso-diaminopimelic acid. There was not any significant difference in the amino acid compositqon betweeo`two straqns regardless of the culture pH. As the results of HPLC ssay, glutamic acid and aspartic aciu accounted for more than 50% in the amqno acid composytqon of the cell wall. By the isolatqon of the crude cell membrane and the SDS-PAGE analysis, it was found that there was a considerable difference qn the protein pattern when the straqns were cultured at the neutral pH. In addition, by the two dimensional gel electrophoresis, it was confirmed that there was a difference in the protein patterns between two strains cultivated at the neutral pH medium but no difference at the alkaline medium.

• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.32-37
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• 1996

The cysteine 43, potentially important in the activity of O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase (OASS) from Salmonella typhimurium, has been changed to serine. This mutant enzyme (C43S) has been studied in order to gain insight into the structural basis for the binding of inhibitor, substrate and product. UV-visible spectra of C43S exhibit the same spectral change in the presence of OAS as that observed with wild type enzyme, indicating C43S will form an ${\alpha}$-aminoacrylate Schiff base intermediate. At pH 6.5, however, the deacetylase activity of C43S is much higher than wild type enzyme indicating that cysteine 43 plays a role in stabilizing the ${\alpha}$-aminoacrylate intermediate. The fluoroscence spectrum of C43S exhibits a ratio of emission at 340 to 502 nm of 16.9, reflecting the lower fluorescence of PLP and indicating that the orientation of cofactor and tryptophan are different from that of the wild type enzyme. The emission spectrum of C43S in the presence of OAS gives two maxima at 340 and 535 nm. The 535 nm emission is attributed to the fluoroscence of the ${\alpha}$-aminoacrylate intermediate. The visible circular dichroic spectrum was similar to wild type enzyme, but the negative effect observed at 530~550 nm and the molar ellipicity values for the mutant are decreased by about 50% compared to wild type enzyme. The circular dichroic and fluoroscence studies suggest binding of the cofactor is less asymmetric in C43S than in the wild type enzyme.