• Molecules and Cells
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.575-581
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• 2009

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is a rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of polyamines, which are essential for cell growth, differentiation, and proliferation. This report presents the characterization of an ODC-encoding cDNA (SlitODC) isolated from a moth species, the tobacco cutworm, Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera); its expression in a polyamine-deficient strain of yeast, S. cerevisiae; and the recovery in polyamine levels and proliferation rate with the introduction of the insect enzyme. SlitODC encodes 448 amino acid residues, 4 amino acids longer than B. mori ODC that has 71% identity, and has a longer C-terminus, consistent with B. mori ODC, than the reported dipteran enzymes. The null mutant yeast strain in the ODC gene, SPE1, showed remarkably depleted polyamine levels; in putrescine, spermidine, and spermine, the levels were > 7, > 1, and > 4%, respectively, of the levels in the wild-type strain. This consequently caused a significant arrest in cell proliferation of > 4% of the wild-type strain in polyamine-free media. The transformed strain, with the substituted SlitODC for the deleted endogenous ODC, grew and proliferated rapidly at even a higher rate than the wild-type strain. Furthermore, its polyamine content was significantly higher than even that in the wild-type strain as well as the spe1-null mutant, particularly with a very continuously enhanced putrescine level, reflecting no inhibition mechanism operating in the putrescine synthesis step by any corresponding insect ODC antizymes to SlitODC in this yeast system.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.113-120
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• 2006

Candida tropicalis was treated with ultraviolet (UV) rays, and the mutants obtained were screened for xylitol production. One of the mutants, the UV1 produced 0.81g of xylitol per gram of xylose. This was further mutated with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), and the mutants obtained were screened for xylitol production. One of the mutants (CT-OMV5) produced 0.85g/g of xylitol from xylose. Xylitol production improved to 0.87 g/g of xylose with this strain when the production medium was supplemented with urea. The CT-OMV5 mutant strain differs by 12 tests when compared to the wild-type Candida tropicalis strain. The XR activity was higher in mutant CT-OMV5. The distinct difference between the mutant and wild-type strain is the presence of numerous chlamvdospores in the mutant. In this investigation, we have demonstrated that mutagenesis was successful in generating a superior xylitol-producing strain, CT-OMV5, and uncovered distinctive biochemical and physiological characteristics of the wild-type and mutant strain, CT-OMV5.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1702-1710
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• 2010

Korean traditional rice wines yakju and takju are generally brewed with nuruk as the source of the saccharogenic enzymes by natural fermentation. To improve the quality of Korean rice wine, the microorganisms in the nuruk need to be studied. The objective of this research was to improve the quality of Korean wine with the wild-type yeast strains isolated from the fermentation starter, nuruk. Only strain YA-6 showed high activity in 20% ethanol. Precipitation of Y89-5-3 was similar to that of very flocculent yeast (>80%) at 75.95%. Using 18S rRNA sequencing, all 10 strains were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Volatile compounds present in yakju were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass selective detector. The principal component analysis (PCA) of the volatile compounds grouped long-chain esters on the right side of the first principal component, PC1; these compounds were found in yakju that was made with strains YA-6, Y89-5-3, Y89-5-2, Y90-9, and Y89-1-1. On the other side of PC1 were short-chain esters; these compounds were found in wines that were brewed with strains Y183-2, Y268-3, Y54-3, Y98-4, and Y88-4. Overall, the results indicated that using different wild-type yeast strains in the fermentation process significantly affects the chemical characteristics of the glutinous rice wine.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.234-241
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• 2000

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae PMR1 gene encodes a Ca2+-ATPase localized in the Golgi. We have investigated the effects of PMR1 disruption in S. cerevisiae on the glycosylation and secretion of three heterologous glycoproteins, human ${\alpha}$1-antitrypsin (${\alpha}$1-AT), human antithrombin III (ATHIII), and Aspergillus niger glucose oxidase (GOD). The pmr1 null mutant strain secreted larger amounts of ATHIII and GOD proteins per a unit cell mass than the wild type strain. Despite a lower growth rate of the pmr1 mutant, two-fold higher level of human ATHIII was detected in the culture supernatant from the pmr1 mutant compared to that of the wild-type strain. The pmr1 mutant strain secreted ${\alpha}$1-AT and the GOD proteins mostly as core-glycosylated forms, in contrast to the hyperglycosylated proteins secreted in the wild-type strain. Furthermore, the core-glycosylated forms secreted in the pmr1 mutant migrated slightly faster on SDS-PAGE than those secreted in the mnn9 deletion mutant and the wild type strains. Analysis of the recombinant GOD with anti-${\alpha}$1,3-mannose antibody revealed that GOD secreted in the pmr1 mutant did not have terminal ${\alpha}$1,3-linked mannose unlike those secreted in the mnn9 mutant and the wild type strains. The present results indicate that the pmr1 mutant, with the super-secretion phenotype, is useful as a host system to produce recombinant glycoproteins lacking high-mannose outer chains.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.576-583
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• 2006

The alkali-soluble glucan of the yeast cell wall contains $\beta-(1,3)-$ and (1,6)-D-linkages and is known to systemically enhance the immune system. In the previous study [6], in order to isolate cell wall mutants, a wild-type strain was mutagenized by exposure to ultraviolet light, and the mutants were then selected via treatment with laminarinase $(endo-\beta-(1,3)-D-glucanase)$. The mass of alkali- and water-soluble glucans produced by the mutant was measured to be 33.8 mg/g of the dry mass of the yeast cell. Our results showed that the mutants generated the amount of alkali-soluble glucan 10-fold higher than that generated by the wild-type. Structural analysis showed that the alkali-soluble glucan from the mutants was associated with a higher degree of $\beta-(1,6)-D-linkage$ than was observed in conjunction with the wild-type. Yeast cell wall $\beta-glucan$ was shown to interact with macrophages via receptors, thereby inducing the release of tumor necrosis factor alpha $(TNF-\alpha)$ and nitric oxide. Alkali-soluble $\beta-glucans$, both from water-soluble and water-insoluble glucan, exhibited a higher degree of macrophage activity with regard to both the secretion of tumor necrosis factor alpha $(TNF-\alpha)$ and nitric oxide and direct phagocytosis, than did the positive control ($1{\mu}g$ of lipopolysaccharide).

• KSBB Journal
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.290-294
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• 2002

The present work describes the improvement of an erythritol-producing strain to lower the formation of glycerol, which is a characteristic by-product of the strain and could cause difficulties in the recovery and purification of the final product. The yeast-like fungi Moniliella suaveolens var. nigra, isolated previously in the same laboratory from beehives, was mutated by exposing it to a 4 g/L NTG solution. From a total of 2000 mutated strains, Em6j30-14 was selected as the one having the most desirable properties. Cultivating the strain for seven days in 300 mL flasks containing 30 mL of a 400 g/L glucose medium resulted in an erythritol yield of 43%. The glycerol yield was 5%, which is a value 50% lower as compared with the wild type. However, attempts to reproduce the above results in a 5L-fermenter failed, resulting in a similar erythritol concentration but a much higher formation of glycerol. Possible reasons for such a different behaviour could be oxygen limitation or the aggregation of cells, but the exact mechanism could not yet be identified. Foam formation, which is another major problem in large-scale fermentation, tended to be much lower for the mutant strain.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.15-18
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• 1998

The entanol productivity of superoxide dismutase (SOD)-deficient mutants of Saccharo-Myces cerevisiae was examined under the oxidative stress by Paraquat. It was observed that MnSOD-deficient mutant of S. cerevisiae had higher ethanol productivity than wild type or CuZnSOD-deficient yeast both in aerobic and in anaerobic culture condition. Pyruvated dehydrogenase activity decreased by 35% and alcohol dehydrogenase activity increased by 32% were observed in MnSOD-deficient yeast grown aerobically. When generating oxygen radicals by Paraquat, the ehanol productivity was increased by 40% in CuZnSOD-deficient or wild strain, resulting from increased activity of alcohol dehydrogenase and decreased a activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase. However, the addition of ascorbic acid with Paraquat returned the enzyme activities at the level of control. These results imply that SOD-deficiency in yeast strains may cause the metabolic flux to shift into anaerobic ethanol fermentation in order to avoid their oxidative damages by Paraquat.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.461-471
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• 1995

The heterofermentative Leuconostoc mesenteroides, which is propagated from the initial to the intermediate stage of Kimchi fermentation, produces organic acids and carbon dioxide to impart refreshment, weak acid taste to Kimchi. But owing to lactic acid production by the homofermentative Lactobacillus Plantarum, Kimchi finally reaches its acidified state. So, Leu. mesenteroides was isolated from Kimchi and identified and was improved by mutation for carbon dioxide production at low pH, and for the high total acceptability. We tested with a wild-type strain K-1 and its improved mutant strain M-10 of Leu. mesenteroides. The wild-type strain K-1 could grow in pH 4.2 at 30$\circ$C or 20$\circ$C, and in pH 5.0 at 10$\circ$C. But the mutant strain M-10 could grow in pH 3.3 at 10$\circ$C. In the respect of total acceptability, mutant strain M-10 inoculated Kimchi was ever better than any others. Mutant M-10 inoculated Kimchi prolonged the optimum ripening period of Kimchi up to two times as compared with the control group.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.3 s.76
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• pp.454-458
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• 2006

HSF1 is the heat shock transcription factor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. S. cerevisiae KNU5377 can ferment at high temperature such as $40^{\b{o}}C$. We have been the subjects of intense study because Hsf1p mediates gene expression not only to heat shock, but to a variety of cellular and environmental stress challenges. Basing these facts, we firstly tried to construct the hsf1 gene-deleted mutant. PCR-method for fast production of gene disruption cassette was introduced in a thermotolerant yeast S. cerevisiae KNU5377, which allowed the addition of short flanking homology region as short as 45 bp suffice to mediate homologous recombination to kanMX module. Such a cassette is composed of linking genomic DNA of target gene to the selectable marker kanMX4 that confers geneticin (G418) resistance in yeast. That module is extensively used for PCR-based gene replacement of target gene in the laboratory strains. We describe here the generation of hsf1 gene disruption construction using PCR product of selectable marker with primers that provide homology to the hsf1 gene following separation of haploid strain in wild type yeast S. cerevisiae KNU5377. Yeast deletion overview containing replace cassette module, deletion mutant construction and strain confirmation in this study used Saccharomyces Genome Deletion Project (http:://www-sequence.standard.edu/group/yeast_deletion_project). This mutant by genetic manipulation of wild type yeast KNU5377 strain will provide a good system for analyzing the research of the molecular biology underlying their physiology and metabolic process under fermentation and improvement of their fermentative properties.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.93-101
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• 1993

The RNAI mutation of Saccharomyces cerevisia is a recessive and temperature sensitive lethal mutation which interferes with the production of mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA. However, the precise role of RNAI gene have not been revealed until yet. We have cloned rna1-1 mutant gene from rna1-1 mutant yeast strain(R49 ; trpl, ura3-52, rna1-1). The 3.4kb BglII fragment of wild type RNAI clone(81-2-6) contains whole RNAI gene. The genomic southern blotting with BglII digested R49 genomic DNA as a probe shows the unique and identical band with wild type 3.4kb BglII fragment. Therefore, We prepared partial BglII genomic library(3~4kb BglII fragments) into BamH I site of pUC19. The rna 1-1 mutant clone was screened with Digoxigenin(DIG)-lableled probe by high density colony hybridization. The 5'-flanking region of rna1-1 gene was sequenced by dideoxy chain termination method. The 5'-flanking sequence of RNAI gene contains three TATA-like sequence ; TAATA, TATA and TTTTAA at position of -67, -45, and -36 from first ATG codon respectively. The 5'-flanking region of wild type RNA I gene from ATG codon to -103nt was deleted with Bal31 exonuclease digestion, generating $pUC{\Delta}$/RNA I. After constructing $pYEP{\Delta}RNA$ I (consists of -103nt deleting RNA I gene, URA3 gene, $2{\mu}m$ rep. origin), pYEPrna1-1(consists of Xba I fragment of pUCrna1-1. URA3 gene, $2{\mu}m$ rep. origin), and pYEPRNAI. each plasmid was transformed into host strain(trpl, ura3-52, rna1-1) by electroporation, respectively. Yeast transformant carrying $pYEP{\Delta}RNA$ I did not complement the thermal sensitivity of rna1-1 gene. It means that TATA-like sequences in 5'-flanking region is not TATA sequence for transcribing RNAI gene and there may be other essential sequence in upstream region for the transcription of RNAI gene.