• Toxicological Research
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.249-257
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• 2002

Cytochrome P450 3As such as 3A4 and 3A5 metabolize a wide range of pharmaceutical compounds. The vectors for the expression of fusion protein containing an N-terminal human P450 3A4 or P450 3A5 sequences and a C-terminal rat NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase moiety were constructed. These plasmids were used to express the fusion protein in Escherichia coli DH5$\alpha$ cells. High levels of expression were achieved (100~200 nmol/liter) and the expressed fusion protein in E. coli membranes were catalytically active for nifedipine oxidation, a typical enzymatic activity of P450 3A4. The NADPH-P450 reductase activities of these fusion protein were also determined by measuring reduction of cytochrome c. To fine a specific Inhibitor of P450 3A4 from naturally occurring chemicals, a series of isothiocyanate compounds were evaluated for the inhibitory activity of P450 using the fusion proteins in E. coli membranes. Of the five isothiocyanates (phenethyl isothiocyanate, phenyl isothiocyanate, benzol isothiocyanate, benzoyl isothiocyanate and cyclohexyl isothiocyanate) tested, benzoyl isothiocyanate showed a strong inhibition of P450 3A4 with an $IC_{50}$value of 2.8 $\mu\textrm{M}$. Our results indicate that the self-sufficient fusion protein will be very useful tool to study the drug metabolism and benzyl isothiocyanate may be valuable for characterizing the enzymatic properties of P450 3A4.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.278-287
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• 2006

Cycloinulooligosaccharide fructanotransferase (CFTase) converts inulin into cycloinulooligosaccharides (cyclofructan, CF) of ${\beta}-(2{\to}1)$-linked D-fructofuranose as well as hydrolysis of cyclofructan. Sequences analysis indicated that CFTase was divided into five distinct regions containing three repeated sequences (R1, R3, and R4) at the N-terminus and C-terminus. Each domain function was investigated by comparison of wild type CFTase enzyme (CFT148) and deletion mutant proteins (CFT108: R1 and R3 deletion; CFT130: R4 deletion; and CFT88: R1, R3, and R4 deletion) of CFTase. The CFT108 mutant had both CFTase and CF hydrolyzing activity as CFT148 did. CFTase activities and CF hydrolysing activities were disappeared in CFT130 and CFT88 mutants. These results indicated that the C-terminal R4 region of P. polymyxa CFTase is necessary for cyclization and hydrolyzing activity.

• Mycobiology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.219-225
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• 2007

A keratinolytic enzyme secreted by Aspergillus flavus K-03 cultured in feather meal basal medium (FMBM) containing 2% (w/v) chicken feather was purified and characterized. Keratinolytic enzyme secretion was the maximal at day 16 of the incubation period at pH 8 and $28^{\circ}C$. No relationship was detected between enzyme yield and increase of fungal biomass. The fraction obtained at 80% ammonium sulfate saturation showed 2.39-fold purification and was further purified by gel filtration in Sephadex G-100 followed by ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50, yielding an active protein peak showing 11.53-fold purification. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and zymograms indicated that the purified keratinase is a monomeric enzyme with 31 kDa molecular weight. The extracellular keratinase of A. flavus was active in a board range of pH ($7{\sim}10$) and temperature ($30^{\circ}C{\sim}70^{\circ}C$) profiles with the optimal for keratinase activity at pH 8 and $45^{\circ}C$. The keratinase activity was totally inhibited by protease inhibitors such as phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), iodoacetic acid, and ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) while no reduction of activity by the addition of dithiothreitol (DTT) was observed. N-terminal amino acid sequences were up to 80% homologous with the fungal subtilisins produced by Fusarium culmorum. Therefore, on the basis of these characteristics, the keratinase of A. flavus K-03 is determined to be subtilisins-like.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.125-130
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• 2000

An antiviral protein (CAP30) with ribosome-inactivating activity was purified from the leaves of Chenopodium album L. through ammonium sulfate precipitation and column chromatography using S-Sepharose, Blue-Sepharose, FPLC Suprose12 HR, and FPLC Mono-S. The molecular wight of CAP30 was estimated to be 30kD. CAP30 was thermostable, maintaing its activity even after incubation at $70^{\circ}C$ for 30 min, and was stable in the pH range of 6 to 9. In a cell-free in vitro translation system using rabbit reticulocyte lysate, protein synthesis was inhibited by the addition of CAP30 with an $IC_{50}$ of 2.26pM. The comparison of N-terminal amino acid sequences of this protein with known ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) revealed that it had some sequence homology with PAP-S and PAP-R from pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)and dodecandrin from P. dodecandra, but had no sequence homology with RIPs from other plants belonging to different orders. The mosaic symptoms on tobacco leaves caused by cucumber mosaic virus infection was completely inhibited by 100 ng/ml of the pure CAP30 protein.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1525-1535
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• 2014

The xynC gene, which encodes high molecular weight xylanase from Paenibacillus sp. DG-22, was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The xynC gene comprised a 4,419bp open reading frame encoding 1,472 amino acid residues, including a 27 amino acid signal sequence. Sequence analysis indicated that XynC is a multidomain enzyme composed of two family 4_9 carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs), a catalytic domain of family 10 glycosyl hydrolases, a family 9 CBM, and three S-layer homologous domains. Recombinant XynC was purified to homogeneity by heat treatment, followed by Avicel affinity chromatography. SDS-PAGE and zymogram analysis of the purified enzyme identified three active truncated xylanase species. Protein sequencing of these truncated proteins showed that all had identical N-terminal sequences. In the protein characterization, recombinant XynC exhibited optimal activity at pH 6.5 and $65^{\circ}C$ and remained stable at neutral to alkaline pH (pH 6.0-10.0). The xylanase activity of recombinant XynC was strongly inhibited by 1 mM $Cu^{2+}$ and $Hg^{2+}$, whereas it was noticeably enhanced by 10 mM dithiothreitol. The enzyme exhibited strong activity towards xylans, including beechwood xylan and arabinoxylan, whereas it showed no cellulase activity. The hydrolyzed product patterns of birchwood xylan and xylooligosaccharides by thin-layer chromatography confirmed XynC as an endoxylanase.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.445-451
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• 2023

Zamioculcas zamiifolia is a popular indoor ornamental plant in Korea. In August 2021, a severe outbreak of soft rot disease affected Z. zamiifolia in Emseong, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea. Infected plants displayed wilting, water-soaked lesions, stem collapse, and green-brown discoloration. The bacterial strain KNUB-05-21 was isolated from infected stems and identified as Pectobacterium aroidearum using 16S rRNA nucleotide sequencing and multilocus sequence analysis based on partial sequences of dnaX, leuS, and recA genes. Confirmation of its affiliation with P. aroidearum was also obtained through biochemical and morphological characterization. To confirm the pathogenicity of strain KNUB-05-21, its suspension was injected into Z. zamiifolia stems. Within a week, soft rot developed on the stems, exhibiting symptoms similar to those observed in field-infected plants. The reisolated strain was identical to those of P. aroidearum. Before this study, P. aroidearum was not reported as a causative pathogen of Z. zamiifolia soft rot in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.103-111
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• 2019

DNA methylation is involved in diverse processes in bacteria, including maintenance of genome integrity and regulation of gene expression. CcrM, the DNA methyltransferase conserved in Alphaproteobacterial species, carries out $N^6$-adenine or $N^4$-cytosine methyltransferase activities using S-adenosyl methionine as a co-substrate. Celeribacter marinus IMCC12053 from the Alphaproteobacterial group was isolated from a marine environment. Single molecule real-time sequencing method (SMRT) was used to detect the methylation patterns of C. marinus IMCC12053. Gibbs motif sampler program was used to observe the conversion of adenosine of 5'-GANTC-3' to $N^6$-methyladenosine and conversion of $N^4$-cytosine of 5'-GpC-3' to $N^4$-methylcytosine. Exocyclic DNA methyltransferase from the genome of strain IMCC12053 was chosen using phylogenetic analysis and $N^4$-cytosine methyltransferase was cloned. IPTG inducer was used to confirm the methylation activity of DNA methylase, and cloned into a pQE30 vector using dam-/dcm- E. coli as the expression host. The genomic DNA and the plasmid carrying methylase-encoding sequences were extracted and cleaved with restriction enzymes that were sensitive to methylation, to confirm the methylation activity. These methylases protected the restriction enzyme site once IPTG-induced methylases methylated the chromosome and plasmid, harboring the DNA methylase. In this study, cloned exocyclic DNA methylases were investigated for potential use as a novel type of GpC methylase for molecular biology and epigenetics.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.531-535
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• 1998

The gene encoding alginate lyase was isolated from a library constructed with the vector, pUC19, and expressed in Escherichia coli. The nucleotide sequence of the cloned alginate lyase gene (ALY) from Pseudomonas sp. W7 was determined. The nucleotide sequence revealed a 1,035 bp open reading frame (ORF), encoding 345 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 37,478 Da. The N-terminal amino acid sequences (15 residues) of purified alginate lyase corresponded to that of the deduced amino acid sequence.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.534-538
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• 2001

The xynA gene encoding an alikali-tolerant endo-1,4-${\beta}$-xylanase (XYN) was cloned from the alkalophilic Bacillus pumilus A-30. The nucleotide sequence of a 974-bp DNA fragment containing the xynA was determined. An ORF of 684 nucleotides that encoded a protein of 228 amino aicds was detected. Asparagine-71 of XYN from B. Pumilus A-30 showed to be highly conservative in alkaline xylanases of family G/11, upon comparing the amino acid sequences of 17 family G/11 xylanases. Site-directed mutation of N71D of the xynA gene resulted in a decrease of 12.4% in the specific acitivity and a significant decline in the enzyme activity in the alkaline pH range.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.101-104
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• 1980

A sequential copolypeptide with repeating unit sequences, in which a glycyl residue is flanked progressively by two ${\gamma}$-benzyl-L-glutamyl residues, has been synthesized by poymerizing p-nitrophenyl ester of ${\gamma}$-benzyl-L-glutamyl-${\gamma}$ -benzyl-L-gutamyl-glycine. Polymers obtained were characterized by viscosity and infra-red spectral data. The highest molecular weight obtained was 21,000. Molecular conformation in solid state was found to be a mixed form of and |${\beta}$-structure. Polymers obtained were insoluble in the most of the organic solvents except in a strong acid like dichloroacetic acid, but in binary mixtures of solvents such as dichloroacetic acid-ethylene dichloride or dichloroacetic acid-chloroform, they were soluble within certain ranges of solvent compositions.