• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.624-632
• /
• 2017

Penicillium expansum causes blue mold rot, a prevalent postharvest disease of pome fruit, and is also the main producer of the patulin. However, knowledge on the molecular mechanisms involved in this pathogen-host interaction remains largely unknown. In this work, a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis-based proteomic approach was applied to probe changes in P. expansum 3.3703 cultivated in apple juice medium, which was used to mimic the in planta condition. The results showed that the pH value and reducing sugar content in the apple juice medium decreased whereas the patulin content increased with the growing of P. expansum. A total of 28 protein spots that were up-regulated in P. expansum when grown in apple juice medium were identified. Functional categorization revealed that the identified proteins were mainly related to carbohydrate metabolism, secondary metabolism, protein biosynthesis or degradation, and redox homeostasis. Remarkably, several induced proteins, including glucose dehydrogenase, galactose oxidase, and FAD-binding monooxygenase, which might be responsible for the observed medium acidification and patulin production, were also detected. Overall, the experimental results provide a comprehensive interpretation of the physiological and proteomic responses of P. expansum to the host plant environment, and future functional characterization of the identified proteins will deepen our understanding of fungi-host interactions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.10-15
• /
• 2014

For hypersonic aircraft, increase of flight speeds causes heat loads that are from aerodynamic heat and engine heat. The heat loads could lead structural change of aircraft's component and malfunctioning. Endothermic fuels are liquid hydrocarbon fuels which are able to absorb the heat loads by undergoing endothermic reactions, such as thermal and catalytic cracking. In this study, methylcyclohexane was selected as a model endothermic fuel and experiments on endothermic properties were implemented. To improve heat of endothermic reaction, we applied zeolites and confirmed that HZSM-5 was the best catalyst for the catalytic performance. The objective is to investigate catalytic effects for heat sink improvement. The catalyst could be applied to system that use kerosene fuel as endothermic fuel.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.25 no.10
• /
• pp.1634-1639
• /
• 2015

Cytochrome P450 hydroxylase (CYP) in actinomycetes plays an important role in the biosynthesis and bioconversion of various secondary metabolites. Two unique CYPs named CYP-sb21 and CYP-pa1, which were identified from Sebekia benihana and Pseudonocardia autotrophica, respectively, were proven to transfer a hydroxyl group at the 4^th or 9^th N-methyl leucine position of immunosuppressive agent cyclosporin A (CsA). Interestingly, these two homologous CYPs showed different CsA regio-selectivities. CYP-sb21 exhibited preferential hydroxylation activity at the 4^th position over the 9^th position, whereas CYP-pa1 showed the opposite preference. To narrow down the CYP domain critical for CsA regio-selectivity, each CYP was divided into four domains, and each domain was swapped with its counterpart from the other CYP. A total of 18 hybrid CYPs were then individually tested for CsA regio-selectivity. Although most of the hybrid CYPs failed to exhibit a significant change in regio-selectivity in the context of CsA hydroxylation, hybrid CYP-pa1 swapped with the second domain of CYP-sb21 showed a higher preference for the 9^th position. Moreover, hybrid CYPsb21 containing seven amino acids from the 2nd domain of CYP-pa1 showed higher preference for the 4^th position. These results imply that the 2nd domain of CsA-specific CYP plays a critical role in CsA regio-selectivity, thereby setting the stage for biotechnological application of CsA regio-selective hydroxylation.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.1681-1686
• /
• 2014

A series of hybrid molecules between (${\alpha}$)-lipoic acid (ALA) and 4-amino-1-benzyl piperidines were synthesized and their in vitro cholinesterase (acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE)) inhibitory activities were evaluated. Even though the parent compounds did not exhibit any inhibitory activity against cholinesterase (ChE) with the exception of compound 14 ($IC_{50}=255.26{\pm}4.41$ against BuChE), all hybrid molecules demonstrated BuChE inhibitory activity. Some hybrid compounds also displayed AChE inhibitory activity. Specifically, compound 17 was shown to be an effective inhibitor against both AChE ($IC_{50}=1.75{\pm}0.30{\mu}M$) and BuChE ($IC_{50}=5.61{\pm}1.25{\mu}M$) comparable to galantamine ($IC_{50}=1.7{\pm}0.9{\mu}M$ against AChE and $IC_{50}=9.4{\pm}2.5{\mu}M$ against BuChE). Inhibition kinetic studies using compound 17 indicated a mixed inhibition type for AChE and a noncompetitive inhibition type for BuChE. Its binding affinity ($K_i$) values to AChE and BuChE were $3.8{\pm}0.005{\mu}M$ and $7.0{\pm}0.04{\mu}M$, respectively.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.82-90
• /
• 2015

Plant cell immobilization can protect plant cells from shear forces and increase the stability of gene. An additional advantage of immobilization is the easiness for performing continuous culture with cell recycling. Therefore plant cell immobilization can overcome the limitations of plant cell applications. In addition, target protein should be selected from pharmaceutical proteins to get rid of low expression level problem. The enhanced production of human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (hGM-CSF) was investigated in immobilized Nicotiana tabacum suspension cell cultures. When the cells were immobilized in polyurethane foam, specific production of hGM-CSF was higher than that in alginate bead immobilization. Optimum continuous culture condition was the addition of 60 g/L sucrose in growth media with exchanging media every 6 day. Under the same condition, specific hGM-CSF production was 7 times higher in a 500-mL spinner flask than that in 100-mL Erlenmeyer flasks. Therefore, development of an effective immobilization process would be possible when the advantage of easy cell recycling was used. Consequently, enhanced production of target proteins could be possible in immobilized continuous cultures when the advantages of immobilization were applied.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.313-317
• /
• 2007

To enhance the growth of cryopreserved cells of transgenic Nicotiana tabacum, Pluronic F-68 was supplemented in a recovery medium during post-thaw period. As cryoprotective agents, 1 M sucrose, 0.5 M glycerol and 0.5 M dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were added before freezing steps. The post-thaw growth of the cells was improved with Pluronic F-68, ranged from 0.1 to 10 g/L. The interactions of Pluronic F-68 with the cells were confirmed by the changes of hydrophobicity or permeability of the cells. Pluronic F-68 did not show any effect on the activity of $\beta$-glucuronidase (GUS) in all treatments. Therefore, the addition of Pluronic F-68 in a recovery medium was found to be beneficial to enhance the post-thaw growth of cryopreserved transgenic tobacco cells without affecting the production of recombinant protein.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.40 no.6
• /
• pp.1028-1038
• /
• 2007

Human plasma Hp is classified as 1-1, 2-1, and 2-2. They are inherited from two alleles Hp 1 and Hp 2, but there is only Hp 1 in almost all the animal species. Hp 2-2 molecule is extremely large and heterogeneous associated with the development of inflammatory-related diseases. In this study, we expressed entire bovine Hp in E. coli as a $\alpha\beta$ linear form. Interestingly, the antibodies prepared against this form could recognize the subunit of native Hp. In stead of a complicated column method, the antibody was able to isolate bovine Hp via immunoaffinity and gelfiltration columns. The isolated Hp is polymeric containing two major molecular forms (660 and 730 kDa). Their size and hemoglobin binding complex are significantly larger than that of human Hp 2-2. The amino-acid sequence deducted from the nucleotide sequence is similar to human Hp 2 containing a tandem repeat over the $\alpha$ chain. Thus, the Hp 2 allele is not unique in human. We also found that there is one additional -SH group (Cys-97) in bovine $\alpha$ chain with a total of 8 -SH groups, which may be responsible for the overall polymeric structure that is markedly different from human Hp 2-2. The significance of the finding and its relationship to structural evolution are also discussed.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.63-72
• /
• 2002

In Korea, a need of automatic dairy farm management system has been increased to lower production cost and to strengthen international competition. However, the present management system was mostly relied on foreign technologies and caused some problems in post management and after-sales services. Therefore, though there is a problem of price and quality at present, domestic technologies of the management system should be developed for the long run. This study was conducted to develop an electronic identification unit for an automatic dairy farm management system. The developed system was consisted of a tag, a reader, a switching circuit, and a personal computer. The tag attachable to each individual cow was developed to transmit individual radio frequency(RF) code into the air with modulation of ASK(amplitude shift keying). And the switching circuit was added to avoid confusion on reception and transmittance. The reader attached to a feeding device was developed to transmit activating signal periodically and to identify code of the individual tag when the tag was approached to the device. The reader was consisted of an active filter, a detecter, a comparator and a microcontroller. The test result was feasible enough to apply it for the automatic farm management system and the identified maximum distance was about 37cm.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.129-138
• /
• 1998

Bovine growth hormone (bGH) gene was expressed in an insect Spodoptera frugiperda cell line using a Baculovirus, Hyphantria cunea nuclear polyhedrosis virus (HcNPV). The bGH gene in pbGH plasmid was sequenced and amplified by PCR technique with two primers containing NcoI sites. The bGH gene consisted of 654 bp (217 amino acid residues), the 5'-untranslated region of the cloned bGH cDNA contains 56 bp, and the 3'-untranslated region contains 145 bp and two pallindromic regions. The amplified bGH gene DNA fragment (654 bp) was inserted into the NcoI site of the pHcEVII vector, which was named pHcbGH. The pHcbGH transfer vector DNA and the wild type HcNPV DNA were cotransfected into S. frugiperda cells to construct a recombinant virus. Eight recombinant viruses were selected and named HcbGH. One clone, HcbGH-4-1 showed largest plaque size, therefore the recombinant virus was further studied. The multiplication pattern of the recombinant HcbGH-4-1 was similar to that of the wild type HcNPV. The bGH gene DNA in the HcbGH-4-1 recombinant was confirmed by Southern blot hybridization. The amount of the bGH (217 amino acid residues, 21 kDa) produced in S. frugiperda cells infected with the HcbGH-4-1 recombinant was approximately 5.5 ng per ml ($10^6$ cells) by radioimmunoassay.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.464-469
• /
• 2005

For the biological production of hydrogen, a new fermentative hydrogen-producing bacterium, Enterobacter sp. SNU-1453, was isolated from a domestic landfill. During the culture of this bacterium, pH significantly decreased with the accumulation of various organic acids, and consequently this inhibited the production of hydrogen. It was found that the metabolic flux in this bacterium depended on the pH and affected the hydrogen production. A butanediol pathway was dominant during the fermentation when pH was not controlled. By controlling the pH at 7 this pathway can be shifted to a mixed acid pathway, which is favorable to the production of hydrogen.