• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.569-575
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• 2006

The 530 stem-loop is a 46 nucleotide stem-loop structure found in all small-subunit ribosomal RNAs. Phylogenetic and mutational studies by others suggest the requirement for Watson-Crick interactions between the nucleotides 505-507 and 524-526 (530 pseudoknot), which are highly conserved. To examine the nature and functional significance of these interactions, a random mutagenesis experiment was conducted in which the nucleotides in the proposed pseudoknot were simultaneously mutated and functional mutants were selected and analyzed. Genetic analysis revealed that the particular nucleotide present at each position except 524 was not exclusively critical to the selection of functional mutants. It also indicated that basepairing interactions between the positions 505-507 and 524-526 were required for ribosomal function, and much weaker base-pairing interactions than those of the wild-type also allowed high ribosomal function. Our results support the hypothesis that the 530 pseudoknot structure may undergo a 'conformational switch' between folded and unfolded states during certain stages of the protein synthesis process by interacting with other ligands present in its environment.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.402-408
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• 1994

For the examination of the role of monocerin(1) on the biological activity, (8S, 9S, 11R)-(-)-monocerin(20) and (9S, 11R)-(+)-fusarentin 4, 5-dimethyl ether(19) were synthesized by a condensation of the benzylic anion of ethyl 2, 3, 4-trimethoxy-6-methylbenzoate(16) with modifyed (R)-ethyl 3-hydroxyhexanoate (9). In a key step, bioreduction with active dried baker's yeast in organic solvent system was employed to get a chiral aldehyde 12. Their phytotoxic activities were tested on rice seedlings and lettuce seeds.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.127-130
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• 2015

Since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, Prussian blue (PB) has attracted increasing attention as a material for use in decontaminating the environment. We have focused the fundamental mechanism of specific $Cs^+$ adsorption into PB in order to develop high-performance PB-based $Cs^+$ adsorbents. The ability of PB to adsorb Cs varies considerably according to its origin such as what synthesis method was used, and under what conditions the PB was prepared. It has been commonly accepted that the exclusive abilities of PB to adsorb hydrated $Cs^+$ ions are caused by regular lattice spaces surrounded by cyanido-bridged metals. $Cs^+$ ions are trapped by simple physical adsorption in the regular lattice spaces of PB. $Cs^+$ ions are exclusively trapped by chemical adsorption via the hydrophilic lattice defect sites with proton-exchange from the coordination water. Prussian blue are believed to hold great promise for the clean-up of $^{137}Cs$ contaminated water around nuclear facilities and/or after nuclear accidents.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.200-203
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• 2008

A conducting polymer layer was introduced into the pore surface of mesoporous carbon via vapor infiltration of a monomer and subsequent chemical oxidative polymerization. The polypyrrole, conducting polymer has attracted considerable attention due to the high electrical conductivity and stability under ambient conditions. The mesoporous carbon-polypyrrole nanocomposite exhibited the retained porous structure, such as mesoporous carbon with a three-dimensionally connected pore system after intercalation of the polypyrrole layer. In addition, the controllable addition of pyrrole monomer can provide the mesoporous carbon-polypyrrole nanocomposites with a tunable amount of polypyrrole and texture property. The polypyrrole layer improved the electrode performance in the electrochemical double layer capacitor. This improved electrochemical performance was attributed to the high surface area, open pore system with three-dimensionally interconnected mesopores, and reversible redox behavior of the conducting polypyrrole. Furthermore, the correlation between the amount of polypyrrole and capacitance was investigated to check the effect of the polypyrrole layer on the electrochemical performance.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.295-300
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• 1996

The physiological effects of oligogalacturonic acid (OGA:D. P. 6-7), a product of acid hydrolysis of polygalacturonic acid (PGA), on ethylene biosynthesis in mung bean (Vigna radiata W.) hypocotyl segments was studied. Among PGA, OGA and monogalacturomic acid (MGA), only OGA stimulated ethylene production in mung bean hypocotyl segments, and the most effective concentraton of OGA was 50$\mu\textrm{g}$/mL. Time course data indicated that this stimulatiion effect of OGA appeared after 90 min incubation period and continued until 24 h. When indol-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) were treated with OGA to investigate the mechanism of OGA on ethylene production, they did not show synergistic effects on ethylene production. The stimulation of ethylene production by OGA was due to the increase of in vivo ACC synthase activity, but OGA treatment had no effect of in vivo ACC oxidase activity. The effect of aminoethoxy vinyl glycine (AVG) and Co2+, the inhibitor of ethylene synthesis, was siminished a little by the OGA, but the treatment of Ca2+, known to increase ACC, with OGA did not increase the ethylene production, this effect seems to be specific for Ca2+ because other divalent cation, Mg2+, did not show the inhibition of OGA-indyuced ethylene production. It is possible that the OGA adopts a different signal transduction pathway to the ethylene bioxynthesis.

• Genes and Genomics
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• v.40 no.11
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• pp.1237-1248
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• 2018

Introduction Cellulose microfibril is a major cell wall polymer that plays an important role in the growth and development of plants. The gene cellulose synthase A (CesA), encoding cellulose synthases, is involved in the synthesis of cellulose microfibrils. However, the regulatory mechanism of CesA gene expression is not well understood, especially during the early developmental stages. Objective To identify factor(s) that regulate the expression of CesA genes and ultimately control seedling growth and development. Methods The presence of cis-elements in the promoter region of the eight CesA genes identified in flax (Linum usitatissimum L. 'Nike') seedlings was verified, and three kinds of ethylene-responsive cis-elements were identified in the promoters. Therefore, the effect of ethylene on the expression of four selected CesA genes classified into Clades 1 and 6 after treatment with $10^{-4}$ and $10^{-3}M$ 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) was examined in the hypocotyl of 4-6-day-old flax seedlings. Results ACC-induced ethylene either up- or down-regulated the expression of the CesA genes depending on the clade to which these genes belonged, age of seedlings, part of the hypocotyl, and concentration of ACC. Conclusion Ethylene might be one of the factors regulating the expression of CesA genes in flax seedlings.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2022

Bacteria communicate with each other through an intricate communication mechanism known as quorum sensing (QS). QS regulates different behavioral aspects in bacteria, such as biofilm formation, sporulation, virulence gene expression, antibiotic production, and bioluminescence. Several different chemical signals and signal detection systems play vital roles in promoting highly efficient intra- and interspecies communication. Gram-negative bacteria coordinate gene regulation through the production of acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs). Gram-positive bacteria do not code for AHL production, while some gram-negative bacteria have an incomplete AHL-QS system. Despite this fact, these microbes can detect AHLs owing to the presence of LuxR solo receptors. Various studies have reported the role of AHLs in interspecies signaling. Moreover, as bacteria live in a polymicrobial community, the production of extracellular compounds to compete for resources is imperative. Thus, AHL-mediated signaling and inhibition are considered to affect virulence in bacteria. In the current review, we focus on the synthesis and regulation mechanisms of AHLs and highlight their role in interspecies bacterial signaling. Exploring interspecies bacterial signaling will further help us understand host-pathogen interactions, thereby contributing to the development of therapeutic strategies intended to target chronic polymicrobial infections.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.50
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• pp.16.1-16.11
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• 2020

Silk is produced by a variety of insects, but only silk made by terrestrial arthropods has been examined in detail. To fill the gap, this study was designed to understand the silk spinning system of aquatic insect. The larvae of caddis flies, Hydatophylax nigrovittatus produce silk through a pair of labial silk glands and use raw silk to protect themselves in the aquatic environment. The result of this study clearly shows that although silk fibers are made under aquatic conditions, the cellular silk production system is quite similar to that of terrestrial arthropods. Typically, silk production in caddisworm has been achieved by two independent processes in the silk glands. This includes the synthesis of silk fibroin in the posterior region, the production of adhesive glycoproteins in the anterior region, which are ultimately accumulated into functional silk dope and converted to a silk ribbon coated with gluey substances. At the cellular level, each substance of fibroin and glycoprotein is specifically synthesized at different locations, and then transported from the rough ER to the Golgi apparatus as transport vesicles, respectively. Thereafter, the secretory vesicles gradually increase in size by vesicular fusion, forming larger secretory granules containing specific proteins. It was found that these granules eventually migrate to the apical membrane and are exocytosed into the lumen by a mechanism of merocrine secretion.

• Biodesign
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.35-37
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• 2019

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is a plant pathogen, which causes a bacterial blight of rice. The bacterial blight is one of the most devastating diseases of rice in most of the rice growing countries and there is no effective pesticide against bacterial blight. The β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase III (FabH) plays a key role in fatty acid synthesis (FAS) and is a promising drug target for the development of antibacterial agents. Xoo0878 gene, a fabH gene, from Xoo was cloned and its gene product Xoo0878 was expressed, purified and crystallized. Xoo0878 crystal diffracted to 2.1Å resolution and belonged to the triclinic space group P1, with unit-cell parameters a = 57.3Å, b = 64.7Å, c = 104.2Å and α = 81.6°, β = 84.7°, γ = 74.4°. There are four monomers in the asymmetric unit, with a corresponding crystal volume per protein weight of 2.65 ų Da^-1 and a solvent content of 53.6%. Xoo0878 structure will be useful to develop new antibacterial agents against Xoo.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.86-93
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• 2014

Mesoporous tin oxide (meso-$SnO_2$) with 5 nm mesopore and well-aligned $SnO_2$ nanowire-bundles with 5~7 nm diameters were prepared by template synthesis method. In addition to meso-$SnO_2$, meso-$SnO_2$/$SiO_2$, which has almost the same structure as meso-$SnO_2$ including $SiO_2$ used as the template were prepared by the modification of template synthesis. X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, transmission electron microscopy observed structures of meso-$SnO_2$ and meso-$SnO_2$/$SiO_2$. Although the meso-$SnO_2$/$SiO_2$ showed some positive evidences to suppress the volume change of meso-$SnO_2$ through cyclic voltammogram, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and voltage profiles during cycling, its cycle life was not improved highly to address modified structural effects. Thus, further study might be done to control the nanostructure of meso-$SnO_2$/$SiO_2$ for enhanced cycle performance.