• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.408-414
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• 1996

The SecY is a central component of the protein export machinery that mediate the translocation of secretory proteins across the plasma membrane, and has been known to be rate-limiting factor of secretion in Escherichia coli. In order to study the extracellular protein secretion in Gram-positive microorganism, we have, constructed strains harboring more than one copy of the gene for SecY. Firstly, the gene, for B. subtilis SecY and its promoter region was subcloned into pDH32 and the chimeric vector was inserted into amyE locus by homologous recombination. Secondly, low copy number vector, pCED6, was also used for subcloning the secY gene and for constructing a strain which harbors several copies of secY. The KH1 cell which harbor two copies of secY on the chromosome excreted more extracellular proteins than the wild type PB2. Moreover, the KH2 cells which harbor several copies of secY in pCED6 vector excreted more extracellular proteins than the KH1 cells. Here, we found that the capacity of protein secretion is partly controlled by the number of secY and it is suggested that SecY has also an important role in protein secretion in B. subtilis, a gram positive microorganism, as like in E. coli. This will promote the use of B. subtilis as a host for the expression of useful foreign gene and excretion of precious proteins.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.33-37
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• 2002

An enzymatic reaction for the production of D-alanine from D-aspartic acid and pyruvate as substrates by a thermostable D-amino acid aminotransferase (D-AAT) was investigated at various conditions In the temperature range of 40-70$\^{C}$ and pH range of 6.0-9.5. The D-AAT was produced with recombinant E. coli BL21, which hosted the chimeric plasmid pTLK2 harboring the D-AAT from the novel thermophilic Bacillus sp. LK-2. The enzyme reaction was shown to follow the Ping Pong Bi Bi mechanism. The K$\_$m/ values for D-aspartic acid and pyruvate were 4.38 mar and 0.72 mM, respectively. It was observed that competitive inhibition by D-alanine, the product of this reaction, was evident with the inhibition constant K$\_$i/ value of 0.1 mM. A unique feature of this reaction scheme is that the decorboxylation of oxaloacetic acid, one of the products, spontaneously produces pyruvate. Therefore, only a catalytic amount of pyruvate is necessary for the enzyme conversion reaction to proceed. A typical time-course kinetic study skewed that D-alanine up to 88 mM could be produced from 100 mM of D-aspartic acid with a molar yield of 1.0.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.193-196
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• 2010

Multiplex PCR-based short tandem repeat (STR) analysis is considered as a good tool for monitoring bone marrow engraftment after sex-mismatched allogeneic transplantation and provides a sensitive and accurate assessment of the contribution of both donor and/or recipient cells in post-transplantation specimens. Forensic STR analysis and quantitative real time PCR are used to determine the proportion of donor versus recipient each contained within the total DNA. The STR markers were co-amplified in a single reaction by using commercial $PowerPlex^{(R)}$ 16 system and $AmpFISTR^{(R)}$ $Identifiler^{(R)}$ / $Yfiler^{(R)}$ PCR amplification kits. Separation of the PCR products and fluorescence detection were performed by ABI $PRIS^{(R)}$ 3100 Genetic Analyzer with capillary electrophoresis. The $GeneMapper^{TM}$ ID software were used for size calling and analysis of STR profiles. Extracted DNA was quantified by the $Quantifiler^{TM}$ Human DNA / Y Human Male DNA Quantification Kit The intent of this study was to analyze the ratio of donor versus recipient cells in the post-transplant peripheral blood, spleen, lung and kidney specimens. Specimens were taken from the traffic accident male victim who had been engrafted from bone marrow female donor. Blood and spleen specimens displayed female donor DNA profile. Kidney specimen showed male recipient DNA profile. Interestingly, lung tissue showed mixed profiles. The findings of this study indicate that the forensic STR analysis using fluorescence labeling PCR combined with capillary electrophoresis is quick and reliable enough to assess the ratio of donor versus recipient cells and to monitor the mixed chimeric patterns.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.511-519
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• 2009

A chimeric gene encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and a S-layer protein from Lactobacillus brevis KCTC3102, and/or two copies of the Fe-binding Z-domain, a synthetic analog of the B-domain of protein A, was constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). The S-layer fusion proteins produced in a 500-1 fermentor were likely to be stable in the range of pH 5 to 8 and $0^{\circ}C$ to $40^{\circ}C$. Their adhesive property enabled an easy and rapid immobilization of enzymes or antibodies on solid materials such as plastics, glass, sol-gel films, and intestinal epithelial cells. Owing to their affinity towards intestinal cells and immunoglobulin G, the S-layer fusion proteins enabled the adhesion of antibodies to human epithelial cells. In addition, feeding a mixture of the S-layer fusion proteins and antibodies against neonatal calf diarrhea (coronavirus, rotavirus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella typhimurium) to Hanwoo calves resulted in 100% prevention of neonatal calf diarrhea syndrome (p<0.01), whereas feeding antibodies only resulted in 56% prevention.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1044-1049
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• 2008

In order to study functional nucleotides in prototype foamy virus (PFV) DNA on specific recognition by PFV integrase (IN), we designed chimeric U5 long terminal repeat (LTR) DNA substrates by exchanging comparative sequences between human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) and PFV U5 LTRs, and investigated the 3'-end processing reactivity using HIV-1 and PFV INs, respectively. HIV-1 IN recognized the nucleotides present in the fifth and sixth positions at the 3'-end of the substrates more specifically than any other nucleotides in the viral DNA. However, PFV IN recognized the eighth and ninth nucleotides as distinctively as the fifth and sixth nucleotides in the reactions. In addition, none of the nucleotides present in the twelfth, sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth positions were not differentially recognized by HIV-1 and PFV INs, respectively. Therefore, our results suggest that the functional nucleotides that are specifically recognized by its own IN in the PFV U5 LTR are different from those in the HIV-1 U5 LTR in aspects of the positions and nucleotide sequences. Furthermore, it is proposed that the functional nucleotides related to the specific recognition by retroviral INs are present inside ten nucleotides from the 3'-end of the U5 LTR.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1536-1541
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• 2009

The DNA shuffling technique has been used to generate libraries of evolved enzymes in thermostability. We have shuffled two thermostable cytidine deaminases (CDAs) from Bacillus caldolyticus DSM405 (T53) and B. stearothermophilus IFO12550 (T101). The shuffled CDA library (SH1067 and SH1077 from the first round and SH2426 and SH2429 from the second round) showed various patterns in thermostability. The CDAs of SH1067 and SH1077 were more thermostable than that of T53. SH2426 showed 150% increased halftime than that of T53 at $70^{\circ}C$. The CDA of SH2429 showed about 200% decreased thermostability than that of T53 at $70^{\circ}C$. A single amino acid residue replacement that presented between SH1077 and SH2429 contributed to dramatic changes in specific activity and thermostability. On SDS-PAGE, the purified CDA of SH1077 tetramerized, whereas that of SH2429 denatured and became almost monomeric at $80^{\circ}C$. A simulated three-dimensional structure for the mutant CDA was used to interpret the mutational effect.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.1514-1517
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• 2000

In chicken, exogenous genes introduced into germinal crescent region (GCR) of the early developmental stage, where primordial germ cells (PGCs) were concentrated, were successfully transferred to the gonads via PGCs. The foreign genes were also confirmed to be successfully incorporated into F1 and F2 generations. We tried to incorporate the exogenous genes into PGCs by lipofection, then the DNA mixture was injected into GCR at stage 3-5 or 9-11 of embryonic development (Hamburger and Hamilton, 1951). The manipulated eggs were incubated, and hatched chicks were reared until sexual maturation. F1 generation was obtained from the DNA-treated chicken (DNA-chicken) mated with normal birds. Furthermore, F2 generation was also obtained from the F1 chicken mated with normal birds. The transfer of introduced foreign genes were confirmed by marker gene detection methods and PCR analysis in the hatched chicks, F1 and F2 generations. However, in our experiments, DNA-chickens showed abnormal characteristics such as low egg production rate, abnormal appearance and decreased number of spermatozoa. In the case of F1 chicken, low egg production and the deterioration of sperm capacity for insemination in male chicken were observed.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.37-40
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• 2013

CY-007 and CY-049 pteridine glycosyltransferases (PGTs) that differ in sugar donor specificity to catalyze either glucose or xylose transfer to tetrahydrobiopterin were studied here to uncover the structural determinants necessary for the specificity. The importance of the C-terminal domain and its residues 218 and 258 that are different between the two PGTs was assessed via structure-guided domain swapping or single and dual amino acid substitutions. Catalytic activity and selectivity were altered in all the mutants (2 chimeric and 6 substitution) to accept both UDP-glucose and UDP-xylose. In addition, the wild type activities were improved 1.6-4.2 fold in 4 substitution mutants and activity was observed towards another substrate UDP-N-acetylglucosamine in all the substitution mutants from CY-007 PGT. The results strongly support essential role of the C-terminal domain and the two residues for catalysis as well as sugar donor specificity, bringing insight into the structural features of the PGTs.

• BMB Reports
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.51-56
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• 1995

Thioredoxin is a small redox protein with an active-site disulfide/dithiol, and is ubiquitous in bacteria, plants, and animals. To investigate the structure-function relationship of thioredoxin, the genes encoding Escherichia coli thioredoxin and Corynebacterium nephridii thioredoxin C3 were fused via a common restriction site in the nucleotide sequence coding for the active site of the proteins to generate two chimeric thioredoxins, designated E-C3(N to C-terminal) and C3-E. The hybrid thioredoxin genes were put under the T7 promoter and their productions were confirmed. The two hybrid thioredoxins complemented phenotypes of a thioredoxin-deficient E. coli strain. A strain containing the C3-E hybrid thioredoxin supported growth of the T7 phage, whereas a strain expressing the E-C3 hybrid thioredoxin did not. However, both hybrids supported growth of M13 phages. The two hybrid thioredoxins were also characterized in other aspects. Differences in activity between the hybrid thioredoxins were attributed to altered interactions of the N- and C-terminal domains of the molecule, which produced changes in the three-dimensional structure of the active site region.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.72-78
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• 2008

Human NeuNAc-9-P synthase is a two-domain protein with ability to synthesize both NeuNAc-9-P and KDN-9-P. Its mouse counterpart differs by only 20 out of 359 amino acids but does not produce KDN-9-P. By replacing the AFL domain of the human NeuNAc-9-P synthase which accommodates 12 of these differences, with the mouse AFL domain we examined its importance for the secondary KDN-9-P synthetic activity. The chimeric protein retained almost half of the ability of the human enzyme for KDN-9-P synthesis while the NeuNAc-9-P production was reduced to less than 10%. Data from the homology modeling and the effect of divalent ions and temperature on the enzyme activities suggest conformational differences between the human and mouse AFL domains that alter the shape of the cavity accommodating the substrates. Therefore, although the AFL domain itself does not define the ability of the human enzyme for KDN-9-P synthesis, it is important for both activities by aiding optimal positioning of the substrates.