REOviruses (Respiratory Enteric Orphan viruses) are ubiquitous, non-enveloped viruses containing 10 segments of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) as their genome. They are common isolates of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract of humans but are not associated with severe disease and are therefore considered relatively benign. An intriguing characteristic of reovirus is its innate oncolytic potential, which is linked to the transformed state of the cell. When immortalized cells are transfected in vitro with activated oncogenes such as Ras, Sos, v-erbB, or c-myc, they became susceptible to reovirus infection and subsequent cellular lysis, indicating that oncogene signaling pathways are exploited by reovirus. This observation has led to the use of the virus in clinical trials as an anti-cancer agent against oncogenic tumors. In addition to the exploitation of oncogene signaling, reovirus may further utilize host immune responses to enhance its antitumor activity in vivo due to its innate interferon induction ability. Reovirus is, however, not entirely benign to immunocompromised animal models. Reovirus causes so-called "black feet syndrome" in immunodeficient mice and can also harm neonatal animals. Because cancer patients often undergo immunosuppression due to heavy chemo/radiation-treatments or advanced tumor progression, this pathogenic response may be a hurdle in virus-based anticancer therapies. However, a genetically attenuated reovirus variant derived from persistent reovirus infection of cells in vitro is able to exert potent anti-tumor activity with significantly reduced viral pathogenesis in immunocompromised animals. Importantly, in this instance the attenuated, reovirus maintains its oncolytic potential while significantly reducing viral pathogenesis in vivo.

A marine bacterium was isolated from Mai Po Nature Reserve of Hong Kong and identified as Vibrio cholerae MP-1. It contains a small plasmid designated as pVC of 3.8 kb. Four open reading frames (ORFs) are identified on the plasmid, but none of them shows homology to any known protein. Database search indicated that a 440 bp fragment is 96% identical to a fragment found in a small plasmid of another V. cholerae. Further experiments demonstrated that a 2.3 kb EcoRI fragment containing the complete ORF1, partial ORF4 and their intergenic region could self-replicate. Additional analyses revealed that sequence upstream of ORF1 showed the features characteristic of theta type replicons. Protein encoded by ORF1 has two characteristic motifs existed in most replication initiator proteins (Rep): the leucine zipper (LZ) motif located at the N-terminal region and the alpha helix-turn-alpha helix motif (HTH) located at the C-terminal end. The results suggest that pVC replicates via the theta type mechanism and is likely a novel type of theta replicon.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of soluble carbohydrates (glucose, cellobiose), pH (6.0, 6.5, 7.0), and rumen microbial growth factors (VFA, vitamins) on biohydrogenation of linoleic acid (LA) by mixed rumen fungi. Addition of glucose or cellobiose to culture media slowed the rate of biohydrogenation; only 35-40% of LA was converted to conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) or vaccenic acid (VA) within 24 h of incubation, whereas in the control treatment, 100% of LA was converted within 24 h. Addition of VFA or vitamins did not affect biohydrogenation activity or CLA production. Culturing rumen fungi at pH 6.0 slowed biohydrogenation compared with pH 6.5 or 7.0. CLA production was reduced by pH 6.0 compared with control (pH 6.5), but was higher with pH 7.0. Biohydrogenation of LA to VA was complete within 72 h at pH 6.0, 24 h at pH 6.5, and 48 h at pH 7.0. It is concluded that optimum conditions for biohydrogenation of LA and for CLA production by rumen fungi were provided without addition of soluble carbohydrates, VFA or vitamins to the culture medium; optimum pH was 6.5 for biohydrogenation and 7.0 for CLA production.

Anoxygenic photosynthesis, performed primarily by anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria (APB), has been supposed to arise on Earth more than 3 billion years ago. The long established APB are distributed in almost every corner where light can reach. However, the relationship between APB phylogeny and source environments has been largely unexplored. Here we retrieved the pufM sequences and related source information of 89 pufM containing species from the public database. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that horizontal gene transfer (HGT) most likely occurred within 11 out of a total 21 pufM subgroups, not only among species within the same class but also among species of different phyla or subphyla. A clear source environment feature related phylogenetic distribution pattern was observed, with all species from oxic habitats and those from anoxic habitats clustering into independent subgroups, respectively. HGT among ancient APB and subsequent long term evolution and adaptation to separated niches may have contributed to the coupling of environment and pufM phylogeny.

Trametes versicolor has a lignin degrading enzyme system, which is also involved in the degradation of diverse recalcitrant compounds. Manganese-dependent peroxidase (MnP) is one of the lignin degrading enzymes in T. versicolor. In this study, a cDNA clone of a putative MnP-coding gene was cloned and transferred into an expression vector (pBARGPE1) carrying a phosphinothricin resistance gene (bar) as a selectable marker to yield the expression vector, pBARTvMnP2. Transformants were generated through genetic transformation using pBARTvMnP2. The genomic integration of the MnP clone was confirmed by PCR with bar-specific primers. One transformant showed higher enzyme activity than the recipient strain did, and was genetically stable even after 10 consecutive transfers on non-selective medium.

Insertion sequence IS1112 is a repetitive element with a relatively high number of copies in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), the causal agent of bacterial blight of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Three new loci of IS1112 were identified in seven Chinese strains of Xoo using a single oligonucleotide primer J3; 5'-GCTCA GGTCAGGTGGCCTGG-3' by insertion-sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (IS-PCR). Among the three new loci of IS1112, two were located in the open-reading frame region of genes fhuA and cirA, which encode TonB-dependent receptors, and the third in ISXo2, another type of insertion sequence in Xoo genome. Three variants of IS1112 were identified in those three loci based on their sequence similarities: two were identical to IS1112a and IS1112b, reported in strain PXO86 from the Philippines, while the third was a new member of IS1112, defined as IS1112d. Inserting IS1112 in gene fhuA caused three bases, GGT, to be duplicated at the target site, but inserting it in gene cirA did not cause any duplication in the target site. The diversity of IS1112 sequence and insertion loci in Xoo genome and their potential effects are discussed.

In budding yeast, septin plays as a scaffold to recruits protein components and regulates crucial cellular events including bud site selection, bud morphogenesis, Cdc28 activation pathway, and cytokinesis. Phosphorylation of Bni5 isolated as a suppressor for septin defect is essential to Swe1-dependent regulation of bud morphogenesis and mitotic entry. The mechanism by which Bni5 regulates normal septin function is not completely understood. Here, we provide evidence that Bni5 phosphorylation is important for interaction with septin component Cdc11 and for timely delocalization from septin filament at late mitosis. Phosphorylation-deficient bni5-4A was synthetically lethal with $hof1{\Delta}$. bni5-4A cells had defective structure of septin ring and connected cell morphology, indicative of defects in cytokinesis. Two-hybrid analysis revealed that bni5-4A has a defect in direct interaction with Cdc11 and Cdc12. GFP-tagged bni5-4A was normally localized at mother-bud neck of budded cells before middle of mitosis. In contrast, at large-budded telophase cells, bni5-4A-GFP was defective in localization and disappeared from the neck approximately 2 min earlier than that of wild type, as evidenced by time-lapse analysis. Therefore, earlier delocalization of bni5-4A from septin filament is consistent with phosphorylation-dependent interaction with the septin component. These results suggest that timely de localization of Bni5 by phosphorylation is important for septin function and regulation of cytokinesis.

The DcuS-R two-component system of Escherichia coli senses $C_{4}-dicarboxylates$ of the medium and regulates expression of the genes related to utilization of them. It is known that phospho-DcuR induces expression of genes such as the dcuB-fumB operon, the frdABCD operon, and the dctA gene. We analyzed promoters of the dcuS-R operon to elucidate the transcriptional regulation system. We found a novel internal promoter within the dcuS gene that is regulated by the transcriptional regulator, CRP-cAMP, in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

This study was conducted to determine the optimal conditions for introduction of exogenous DNA into Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Of the three transformation techniques studied, electroporation, ultrasonic transformation and natural transformation, natural transformation showed the highest efficiency. Additionally, this study demonstrated that the higher plasmid concentration and longer homologous recombining fragments resulted in a greater number of transformants. For successful transformation, the lowest concentration of plasmid was $0.02\;{\mu}g/ml$, and the shortest homologous recombining fragment was 0.2 kb. Use of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 in the logarithmic growth phase resulted in two-fold higher transformation rate than that of the same organism when cells in the latent phase or the plateau phase were used for transformation. Pretreatment of the host strain, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, with EDTA (2 mM) for two days prior to transformation increased the transformation efficiency by 23%. Additionally, incubation of the cells and DNA for 5 h under light conditions increased the transformation efficiency by two orders of magnitude. Moreover, recovery treatment of the cells before they were plated onto antibiotic medium also increased the transformation efficiency.

Mutans streptococci have been implicated as cariogenic bacteria in dental caries because they can produce high levels of dental caries-causing lactic acid and extracellular polysaccharide. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize the mutans streptococci from the dental plaque obtained from Koreans. The dental plaque samples were collected from the anterior and molar teeth of both jaws in 155 subjects (aged 2 to 33.2 years, average age $13.7{\pm}4.7\;years$). The samples were diluted by 100-fold in $1{\times}\;PBS$ and plated on mitis-salivarius bacitracin (MSB) agar plates. The mutans streptococci grown on MSB plates were screened by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) targeting dextranase gene (dex). The mutans streptococci were identified at the species level using a 16S rDNA sequencing comparison method. The biochemical tests were carried out to biotype the mutans streptococci. Ninety-five strains of the mutans streptococci out of 358 colonies, which were derived from 141 subjects, were isolated. Of them, 77 strains and 18 strains were Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus, respectively. The biotyping data showed that 62, 1, 20, 10, and 2 strains were biotypes I, II, IV, V and variant, respectively. Of the two strains of variant biotype, one strains was similar to biotype IV except that it was positive to the arginine hydrolysis test. We considered this one strain a new biotype, and classified it as biotype VII. In conclusion, S. mutans and its biotype I was most frequently isolated in Korean dental plaque. The mutans streptococci strains isolated in this study might be useful for the study of the pathogenesis and the prevention of dental caries.

Apoptosis is a step of the cell cycle which is important in the regulation of immune cell populations. Chungkookjang is a Korean traditional fermented soybean containing microorganisms, enzymes, and bioactive compounds which was used in the treatment of mouse spleen as well as thymus cells (CH1-fermented soybean containing barley, wormwood, and sea tangle; CH2-fermented soybean) and was found to exhibit substantially reduced small DNA fragmentation. An MTT assay showed that the treatment of CH1 and CH2 into the mouse splenocytes and thymocytes sharply increased their survival. Moreover, a FACS analysis also showed that CH1 and CH2 are effective at suppressing the apoptosis of splenocytes and thymocytes. The fermented soybean isoflavone concentrations, which are implicated in lowering breast and prostate cancers, lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and improving bone health, were determined using Capillary Electrophoresis-Electrochemical Detection (CE-ED). The amount of Daidzein in fermented soybean significantly increased by 44-fold dramatically, compared with those in unfermented soybean. In this study, we demonstrated that ethanol extracts of Chungkookjang promote the survival of the mouse spleen and thymus cells in culture by suppressing their apoptotic death. Future studies should investigate which genes are related to apoptosis of the immune cells.

During a screening program, an actinomycete strain isolated from the Egyptian soil was investigated for its potential to show antimicrobial activity. The identification of this isolate was performed according to spore morphology and cell wall chemo-type, which suggested that this strain is a streptomycete. Further cultural, physiological characteristics and the analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene (1480 bp) of this isolate indicated that this strain is identical to Streptomyces violaceusniger (accession number EF063682) and then designated S. violaceusniger strain HAL64. In its culture supernatant, this organism could produce one major compound strongly inhibits the growth of Gram-positive but the inhibition of Gram-negative indicator bacteria was lower. The antibiotic was separated by silica gel column chromatography and then purified on a sephadex LH-20 column and finally the purity was checked by HPLC. The chemical structure of the purified compound was determined using spectroscopic analyses (molecular formula of $C_{33}H_{32}N_{2}O_{10}$ and molecular weight of 617.21) and found to be identical to the kosinostatin, a quinocycline antibiotic which is known to be produced by Micromonspora sp. TP-A0468 (Igarashi et al., 2002) and to quinocycline B isolated from Streptomyces aureofaciens (Celmer et al., 1958). Although the antibiotic is known, the newly isolated strain was able to produce the antibiotic as a major product providing an important biotechnological downstream advantage.

In Korea, the Mycobacterium tuberculosis K-strain is the most prevalent clinical isolates and belongs to the Beijing family. In this study, we conducted comparative porteomics of expressed proteins of clinical isolates of the K-strain with H37Rv, H37Ra as well as the vaccine strain of Mycobacterium bovis BCG following phagocytosis by the human monocytic cell line U-937. Proteins were analyzed by 2-D PAGE and MALDI-TOF-MS. Two proteins, Mb1363 (probable glycogen phosphorylase GlgP) and MT2656 (Haloalkane dehalogenase LinB) were most abundant after phagocytosis of M. tuberculosis K-strain. This approach provides a method to determine specific proteins that may have critical roles in tuberculosis pathogenesis.

During May to July 2004, three strains of Providencia spp. with multidrug-resistance (MDR) were isolated from urinary specimen of three patients hospitalized with a same hospital room. By PCR analysis, all three strains have been found to carry both VIM-2 type $metallo-{\beta}-lactamase$ gene and PER-1 type extended spectrum ${\beta}-lactamase$ gene. One out of three strains carried additional resistance gene, armA, 16S rRNA methylase gene responsible for high level resistance to aminoglycosides. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the identification of Providencia spp. simultaneously carrying $bla_{VIM-2},\;bla_{PER-1}$, and armA genes.

The aims of this study were to detect Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) strains in a cohort of Cystic Fibrosis patients (n=276) and to characterize Bcc isolates by molecular techniques. The results showed that 11.23% of patients were infected by Bcc. Burkholderia cenocepacia lineage III-A was the most prevalent species (64.3%) and, of these, 10% was cblA positive and 50% esmR positive. Less than half of the strains were sensitive to ceftazidime, meropenem, piperacillin-tazobactam, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. About half of the strains (41%) had homogeneous profiles, suggesting cross-transmission. The infection by B. cenocepacia was associated to a high rate of mortality (p=0.01).