• Research in Plant Disease
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.174-178
• /
• 2003

Pseudomonas sp. antagonistic to Colletotrichum truncatum and C. gloesporioies was selected as a biological control agent for soybean anthracnose. Pseudomonas sp. inhibited the mycelial growth of pathogens effectively as the funhicides such as benomyl and fluazinam in vitro tests without any adverse effects on soybean. Seed treatment with Pseudomonas sp. increased emergence rate of soybean seeds significantly after inoculaton with C. truncatum. When the suspension of Pseudomonas sp. was sprayed on soybean plants, the control efficacy was not different from that of fungicides, benomyl and fluazinam two weeks after treatment, however the efficacy did not last long enough after three weeks.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.53 no.2
• /
• pp.88-93
• /
• 2020

Cisplatin is a widely used anti-cancer agent. However, the effectiveness of cisplatin has been limited by the commonly developed drug resistance. This study aimed to investigate the potential effects of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress to overcome drug resistance using the cisplatin-resistant A2780/CisR ovarian cancer cell model. The synthetic chalcone derivative (E)-3-(3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-1-(2-methoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (named DPP23) is an ER stress inducer. We found that DPP23 triggered apoptosis in both parental cisplatin-sensitive A2780 and cisplatin-resistant A2780/CisR ovarian cancer cells due to activation of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway in the endoplasmic reticulum. This result suggests that ROS-mediated UPR activation is potential in overcoming drug resistance. DPP23 can be used as a target pharmacophore for the development of novel chemotherapeutic agents capable of overcoming drug resistance in cancer cells, particularly ovarian cancer cells.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.60 no.1
• /
• pp.35-39
• /
• 2017

Turkey has a very rich fungal flora due to its phytogeographical position. The screening of chemical content and active substances of mushrooms becomes an important subject not only for Turkey but also for all over the world. In the last decade, Analyses on phytochemical and biological activity of fungi have gradually increased as a result of improvement in the number and quality of facilities. In the scope of the present research, four medicinal mushrooms; Morchella elata, Lactarius volemus, Cantharellus cibarius and Tricholoma terreum were analyzed for their fatty acid compositions and antioxidant capacities. The fungal species have been found with unsaturated fatty acid/saturated fatty acid ratio of 6.73 for Morchella elata, 4.12 for Lactarius volemus, 5.21 for Cantharellus cibarius, 3.73 for Tricholama terrum. In addition, the concentration of malondialdehyde which was an indicator of lipid peroxidation was also determined in these species. According to the results, free radical scavenging activity of Morchella elata and Lactarius volemus were found higher than the other species. Any of the mushroom species investigated were found having very high metal chelating activity. The results showed that the extract of Morchella elata and Lactarius volemus exhibited significant antioxidant activities. Hence, the mushrooms have a potential to be a natural antioxidant in food industries as antioxidant agent.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.540-546
• /
• 2004

We deviced a new graphite-Mn(II) electrode and found that the modified electrode with Mn(II) can catalyze NADH oxidation and $NAD^+$ reduction coupled to electricity production and consumption as oxidizing agent and reducing power, respectively. In fuel cell with graphite-Mn(II) anode and graphite-Fe(III) cathode, the electricity of 1.5 coulomb (A x s) was produced from NADH which was electrochemically reduced by the graphite-Mn(II) electrode. When the initial concentrations of pyruvate and acetaldehyde were adjusted to 40 mM and 200 mM, respectively, about 25 mM lactate and 35 mM ethanol were produced from 40 mM pyruvate and 200 mM acetaldehyde, respectively, by catalysis of ADH and LDH in the electrochemical reactor with $NAD^+$ as cofactor and electricity as reducing power. By using this new electrode with catalytic function, the bioelectrocatalysts are engineered; namely, oxidoreductase (e.g., lactate dehydrogenase) and $NAD^+$ can function for biotransformation without electron mediator and second oxidoreductase for $NAD^+$/NADH recycling.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.28 no.9
• /
• pp.1457-1466
• /
• 2018

In the present study, the stabilizing effect of four different biological osmolytes on Bacillus licheniformis ${\gamma}$-glutamyl transpeptidase (BlGGT) was investigated. BlGGT appeared to be stable under temperatures below $40^{\circ}C$, but the enzyme retained less than 10% of its activity at $60^{\circ}C$. The tested osmolytes exhibited different degrees of effectiveness against temperature inactivation of BlGGT, and sucrose was found to be the most effective among these. The use of circular dichroism spectroscopy for studying the secondary structure of BlGGT revealed that the temperature-induced conformational change of the protein molecule could be prevented by the osmolytes. Consistently, the molecular structure of the enzyme was essentially conserved by the osmolytes at elevated temperatures as monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy. Sucrose was further observed to counteract guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl)-and urea-induced denaturation of BlGGT. Taken together, we observed evidently that some well-known biological osmolytes, especially sucrose, make a dominant contribution to the structural stabilization of BlGTT.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.35-42
• /
• 2000

Reaction characteristics of 4-methylcatechol 2,3-dioxygenase (4MC230) purified from Pseudomonas putida SU10 with a higher activity toward 4-methylcatechol than catechol or 3-cethylcatechol were studied by altering their physical and chemical properties. The enzyme exhibited a maximum activity at pH 7.5 and approximately 40% at pH 6.0 for 4-methylcatechol hydrolysis. The optimum temperature for the enzyme was around $35^{\circ}C$, since the enzyme was unstable at higher temperature. Acetone(10%) stabilized the 4MC230. The effects of solvent and other chemicals (inactivator or reactivator) for the reactivation of the 4MC230 were also investigated. Silver nitrate and hydrogen peroxid severely deactivated the enzyme and the deactivation by hydrogen peroxide severely deactivated the enzyme and the deactivation by hydrogen peroxide was mainly due to the oxidation of ferrous ion to ferric ion. Some solvents acted as an activator and protector for the enzyme from deactivation by hydrogen peroxide. Ascorbate, cysteine, or ferrous ion reactivated the deactivated enzyme by hydrogen peroxide. The addition of ferrous ion together with a reducing agent fully recovered the enzyme activity and increased its activity abut 2 times.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.24 no.10
• /
• pp.1445-1454
• /
• 2014

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a disease that spread widely in the world during late 2002 to 2004, severely threatened public health. Although there have been no reported infections since 2004, the extremely pathogenic SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), as the causative agent of SARS, has recently been identified in animals, showing the potential for the re-emergence of this disease. Previous studies showed that 27 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mutations among the spike (S) gene of this virus are correlated closely with the SARS pathogenicity and epidemicity. We have developed a SNP DNA microarray in order to detect and genotype these SNPs, and to obtain related information on the pathogenicity and epidemicity of a given strain. The microarray was hybridized with PCR products amplified from cDNAs obtained from different SARS-CoV strains. We were able to detect 24 SNPs and determine the type of a given strain. The hybridization profile showed that 19 samples were detected and genotyped correctly by using our microarray, with 100% accuracy. Our microarray provides a novel method for the detection and epidemiological surveillance of SARS-CoV.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.28 no.6
• /
• pp.667-674
• /
• 2005

The leaves of Persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) has long been used for tea in Korea since it was thought to be effective against hypertension. An anticoagulant fraction was purified through gel filtration G-100, hydrophobic, gel filtration G-150, and FPLC, Phenyl superpose column chromatographies. The purified fraction was homogenous and its Mr was estimated 10,000 Da by gel filtration and SDS-PAGE. The purified fraction was sensitive to treatment of subtilisin B, but not to heat and its activity was not changed after periodate oxidation, indicating that the activity was not due to carbohydrates. It delayed thrombin time (TT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and prothrombin time (PT) using human plasma. TT was more sensitive than APTT and PT, suggesting that the anticoagulant activity may be caused by a degradation or a defect of fibrin or thrombin. It did not cause the hydrolysis of fibrin after incubation. However, it inhibited thrombin-catalyzed fibrin formation with a competitive inhibition pattern. These results indicate that it may be an antithrombotic agent and that it is bound to fibrinogen binding sites of thrombin.

• 보존과학연구
• /
• s.29
• /
• pp.125-136
• /
• 2008

To investigate bioactive materials for development of natural conservative agent on organic cultural heritage, methanol extracts from 17 medicinal plants were screened for antifungal and insecticidal activity against 6 wood rot fungi and adult of Lasioderma serricorne. Antifungal activity of extracts was tested by using paper disc soaking method against wood-rot fungi. Among these extracts, the most significant antimicrobial activity was observed from the extract of Coptis japonica at 5 mg/disc against all wood rot fungi tested. The insecticidal activity of extracts was examined by topical application against L. serricorne adults. The extracts from Asarum sieboldii gave 83.3 % mortality at $25{\mu}g/adult$ for 24hr. From these result, the methanol extract from C. japonica and A. sieboldii described could be useful for conservation of organic cultural heritage against biological deterioration by wood rot fungi and L. serricorne.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.132-139
• /
• 2015

In order to use the symbiotic bacteria from ethomophatogenic nematodes as a biological control agent for agriculture, the cultural condition for maintaining phase I and antifungal activity was investigated. Symbiotic bacteria (SB) 1 stain from nematodes were selected from the three strains isolated from entomopathogenic nematodes. The growth of the SB 1 strain in NB, TSB, TY and YS medium was higher than that of the SB 2 and SB 3 strain. The packed cell volume of the SB 1 strain was reduced in NB medium which showed radical pH change. Phase I of the SB 1 strain was maintained in TSB medium after being stored for 2 weeks at $4^{\circ}C$. Culture broth with the SB 1 strain in TSB medium for 6 days and 7 days showed antifungal activities against Rhizoctonia solani KACC 40142, Botrytis cinerea Pers. KACC 40854, and Botrytis cinerea Pers. KACC 41008. Culture broth with the SB 1 strain in TSB medium containing 100 mM L-proline for 5 days showed antifungal activities against Rhizoctonia solani KACC 40142, and Botrytis cinerea Pers. KACC 40854.