• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Applied Microbiology Conference
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• 1986.12a
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• pp.529.2-529
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• 1986

pSp-Si (1.6kbp) was originally found in pediococcus halophilus to be a cryptic multicopy-plasmid. Hoping that the plasmid can also replicate in Bacillus subtilis, protoplast transformation of strain 207-25 (recE) was performed using pSP-Sl onto which was added the marker of tmrB8 (on 4.9 kbp EcoRI fragment ) or tmrB+ (on 0.9 kbp xbaI fragment) gene. Though the tmrB8 gene can expres tunicamycin-resistance at the single copy state, and the tmrB+ gene exerts the resistance only at the multicopy state, we could not confirm the replication of pSP-Sl (tmrB8) or pSP-Sl(tmrB+) in B. subtilis. During the experiment, however, we unexpectedly found that the circularized 0.9 kbp xgaI fragment (tmrB+) itself, which had no replication origin, could transform strain 207-25 to tunicamycin-resistant by protoplast transformation. Southern hybridization analyses with tmrB+ and other probes revealed the integration of the fragment at a single copy state into a position other than the homologous tmrB gene. This recE independent integration of another tmrB+ gene into the chromosome may contribute to the tunicamycinresistance in the transformants.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.27
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• pp.14.1-14.6
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• 2012

Objectives: The root barks of Periploca sepium Bge. (P. sepium) has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for healing wounds and treating rheumatoid arthritis. However, toxicity in high-doses was often diagnosed by the presence of many glycosides. The potential mutagenicity of P. sepium was investigated both in vitro and in vivo. Methods: This was examined by the bacterial reverse mutation (Ames) test using Escherichia coli WP2uvrA and Salmonella typhimurium strains, such as TA98, TA100, TA1535, and TA1537. Chromosomal aberrations were investigated using Chinese hamster lung cells, and the micronucleus test using mice. Results: P. sepium did not induce mutagenicity in the bacterial test or chromosomal aberrations in Chinese hamster lung cells, although metabolic activation and micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes were seen in the mice bone marrow cells. Conclusions: Considering these results, it is suggested that P. sepium does not have mutagenic potential under the conditions examined in each study.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.16-24
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• 1991

The yeast gene THR1 encodes the homoserine kinase (EC 2.7.1.39: HKase) which catalyses the first step of the threonine specific arm at the end of the common pathway for methionine and threonine biosynthesis. A recombinant plasmid pMC3 (12.6 kilobase pairs, vector YCp50) has been cloned into E. coli HB101 from a yeast genomic library through its complementing activity of a thr1 mutation in a yeast recipient strain M39-1D. When subcloned into pMC32 (8.6kbp, vector YRp7) and pMC35 (8.3 kbp, vector YIp5), the HindIII fragment (2.7 kbp) of pMC3 insery was positive in the thrI complementing activity in both yeast and E. coli auxotrophic strains. The linearized pMC35 was introduced into the original recipient yeast strain and the mitotically stable chromosomal integrant was identified among the transformants. Through the tetrad analysis, the integration site of the pMC35 was localized to the region of THR1 structural gene at an expected genetic distance of approximately 11.1 cM from the ARG4 locus on the right arm of the yeast chromosome VIII. When episomically introduced into the auxotrophic cells and cultured in Thr omission liquid medium, the cloned gene overexpressed the HKase in the order of thirteen to fifteenfold, as compared with a wildtype. HKase levels are repressed by addition of threonine at the amount of 300 mg/l and 1, 190 mg/l for pMC32 and pMC3, respectively. Data from genetic analysis and HKase response thus support that the cloned HindIII yeast DNA fragment contains the yeast thr1 structural gene, along with necessary regulatory components for control of its proper expression.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.1221-1227
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• 2008

The application of the cellulase gene (celA) as a selection marker of food-grade integration system was investigated in Lactobacillus (Lb.) casei, Lactococcus lactis, and Leuconostoc (Leu.) mesenteroides. The 6.0-kb vector pOC13 containing celA from Clostridium thermocellum with an integrase gene and a phage attachment site originating from bacteriophage A2 was used for site-specific recombination into chromosomal DNA of lactic acid bacteria (LAB). pOC13 was also equipped with a broad host range plus replication origin from the lactococcal plasmid pWV01, and a controllable promoter of nisA ($P_{nisA}$) for the production of foreign proteins. pOC13 was integrated successfully into Lb. casei EM116, and pOC13 integrants were easily detectable by the formation of halo zone on plates containing cellulose. Recombinant Lb. casei EM 116::pOC13 maintained these traits in the absence of selection pressure during 100 generations. pOC13 was integrated into the chromosome of L. lactis and Leu. mesenteroides, and celA acted as an efficient selection marker. These results show that celA can be used as a food-grade selection marker, and that the new integrative vector could be used for the production of foreign proteins in LAB.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.1015-1025
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• 2015

The development of diverse polymyxin derivatives is needed to solve the toxicity and resistance problems of polymyxins. However, no platform has generated polymyxin derivatives by genetically engineering a polymyxin synthetase, which is a nonribosomal peptide synthetase. In this study, we present a two-step approach for the construction of engineered polymyxin synthetases by substituting the adenylation (A) domains of polymyxin A synthetase, which is encoded by the pmxABCDE gene cluster of Paenibacillus polymyxa E681. First, the seventh L-threonine-specific A-domain region in pmxA was substituted with the L-leucine-specific A-domain region obtained from P. polymyxa ATCC21830 to make polymyxin E synthetase, and then the sixth D-leucine-specific A-domain region (A_6-D-Leu-domain) was substituted with the D-phenylalanine-specific A-domain region (A_6-D-Phe-domain) obtained from P. polymyxa F4 to make polymyxin B synthetase. This step was performed in Escherichia coli on a pmxA-containing fosmid, using the lambda Red recombination system and the sacB gene as a counter-selectable marker. Next, the modified pmxA gene was fused to pmxBCDE on the chromosome of Bacillus subtilis BSK4dA, and the resulting recombinant strains BSK4-PB and BSK4-PE were confirmed to produce polymyxins B and E, respectively. We also succeeded in constructing the B. subtilis BSK4-PP strain, which produces polymyxin P, by singly substituting the A_6-D-Leu-domain with the A_6-D-Phe-domain. This is the first report in which polymyxin derivatives were generated by genetically engineering polymyxin synthetases. The two recombinant B. subtilis strains will be useful for improving the commercial production of polymyxins B and E, and they will facilitate the generation of novel polymyxin derivatives.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.776-782
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• 2012

Marbling (intramuscular fat) is the most economically important meat quality trait in Hanwoo (Korean cattle). The endothelial differentiation G-protein coupled receptor 1 (EDG1) gene, involved in blood vessel formation, is located within the genomic region of a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for marbling on bovine chromosome 3. Thus, the EDG1 gene can be considered as a positional and functional candidate gene for meat quality in beef cattle. This study aimed to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the EDG1 gene and to evaluate their associations with carcass traits in Hanwoo population. We have sequenced a fragment of 5'-UTR of the EDG1 gene and identified one SNP. Genotyping of the g.166A>G SNP marker was carried out using PCR-RFLP analysis in 309 Hanwoo steers in order to evaluate their association with carcass traits. The g.166A>G SNP marker showed a significant effect on the marbling score. Animals with the GG genotype had higher marbling score compared with AA and AG genotypes (p<0.05). This SNP marker also showed a significant additive effects for the marbling score (p<0.05). These results suggest that the EDG1 gene can be used as a molecular marker for DNA marker-assisted selection in order to increase the levels of the marbling score in Hanwoo.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.179-187
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• 2006

Objectives: The risk of aneuploidies of embryos increases in advanced maternal age or parental karyotype abnormality and it results in poor reproductive outcomes such as recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) or repeated implantation failure (RIF). Preimplantation genetic diagnosis for aneuploidy screening (PGD-AS) can be applied for better ART outcome by selecting chromosomally normal embryos. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical outcome of PGD-AS and which group can get much benefit from PGD-AS among the patients expected to have poor reproductive outcome. Methods: In 42 patients, 77 PGD cycles were performed for aneuploidy screening. Patients were allocated to 3 groups according to the indication of PGD-AS: group I-patients with old age (${\geq}37$) and RIF more than 3 times (n=11, mean age=42.2 yrs.), group II-patients with RSA (${\geq}3$ times) associated with aneuploid pregnancy (n=19, mean age=38.9 yrs.), group III-parental sex chromosome abnormality or mosaicism (n=18, mean age=29.6 yrs.) including Turner syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome and 47, XYY. PGD was performed by using FISH for chromosome 13, 16, 18, 21, X and Y in group I and II, and chromosome X, Y and 18 (or 17) in group III. Results: Blastomere biopsy was successful in 530 embryos and FISH efficiency was 92.3%. The proportions of transferable embryos in each group were $32.5{\pm}17.5%$, $23.0{\pm}21.7%$ and $52.6{\pm}29.2%$ (mean ${\pm}$ SD), respectively, showing higher normal rate in group III (group II vs. III, p<0.05). The numbers of transferred embryos in each group were $3.9{\pm}1.5$, $1.9{\pm}1.1$ and $3.1{\pm}1.4$ (mean ${\pm}$ SD), respectively. The clinical pregnancy rates per transfer was 0%, 30.0% and 20.0%, and it was significantly higher in group II (group I vs. group II, p<0.05). The overall pregnancy rate per transfer was 19.6% (10/51) and the spontaneous abortion rate was 20% (2/10) of which karyotypes were euploid. Nine healthy babies (one twin pregnancy) were born with normal karyotype confirmed on amniocentesis. Conclusion: Our data suggests that PGD-AS provides advantages in patients with RSA associated with aneuploidy or sex chromosome abnormality, decreasing abortion rate and increasing ongoing pregnancy rate. It is not likely to be beneficial in RIF group due to other detrimental factors involved in implantation.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.317-322
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• 1995

As a basic research for breeding new varieties, reciprocal -intergeneric crosses between Citrus junos and P.trifoliata were made. F$_1$ hybrid production using in vitro ovule culture, gametogenesis, and fertilization phenomena were investigated. Frequency of fruit set resulting from crossing of Citrus junos and Poncirus Trifoliata was 16.6% while that of Poncirus Trifoliata and Citrus junos was 11.7%. Callus formation occurred well when ovules at the 6th week after pollination were cultured on MT (Murashige and Tucker) medium supplemented with zeatin 0.5 mg/L and NAA 1.0 or 3.0 mg/L. Immature ovules developed into mature embryos of the MT medium supplemented with 2,4-D 0.1 or 3.0 mg/L. Immature ovules developed into mature embryos of the MT medium supplemented with 2,4 D 0.1 or 0.5 mg/L. The invitro germination rates of 20-week-old ovules set C. junos $\times$ P. Trifoliata and P. Trifoliata $\times$ C. junos were 54.5% and 48.6%, respectively. The emergence ratios of trifoliate hybrids obtained by C. junos $\times$ P. Trifoliata and P. Trifoliata $\times$ C. junos were 56.7% and 100%, respectively. The chromosome number of C. junos and P. Trifoliata was n = 9 or 2n = 18, and the sizes of their pollen grain were 33.75 $\mu$ and 25.0 $\mu$. The length and width of embryo sac in C. junos and P. Trifoliata were 69.38~79.23 $\mu$ and 27.50~38.56 $\mu$, and those of egg cells were 17.50~41.50 $\mu$ and 6.25~8.12$\mu$. Fertilization of C. junos and P. trifoliata terminated 72 h after pollination.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.239-244
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• 2013

Serum liver enzyme levels are widely used in the clinical diagnosis of liver diseases and the assessment of liver status. They also have epidemiological significance to be prospective risk factors for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease. In the previous study, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in several genes have been reported to be associated with serum liver enzyme levels in American population. We aimed to confirm whether the genetic variation of C16orf47 (chromosome 16 open reading frame 47) gene also influence the serum liver enzyme levels in Korean population. We genotyped variants in or near C16orf47 in a population-based sample including 994 unrelated Korean adult. Here, we performed association analysis to elucidate the possible relations of genetic polymorphisms in C16orf47 gene with serum liver enzyme levels. By examining genotype data of a total of 944 subjects in 5 hospital health promotion center, we discovered the C16orf47 gene polymorphisms are associated with serum liver enzyme levels. The common and highest significant polymorphism was rs7203412 (${\beta}$=3.68, P=3.66E-06) with glutamic oxaloacetic transferase (GOT) and rs7203412 (${\beta}$=6.2, P=7.06E-05) with glutamic pyruvate transaminase (GPT) in all group. Furthermore, the SNP rs7203412 was consistently associated with GOT (${\beta}$=6.41, P=6.78E-08) and GPT (${\beta}$=11.53, P=2.81E-06) in men group. Consequently, we found statistically significant SNP in C16orf47 gene that are associated with serum levels of GOT and GPT. In addition, these results suggest that the individuals with the minor alleles of the SNP in the C16orf47 gene may be more elevated serum liver enzyme levels in the Korean population.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.893-904
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• 2006

To improve sensitivity of biosensor as yeast two-hybrid detection system for estrogenic activity of suspected chemicals, we tested effects of several combinations of the bait and fish components in the two-hybrid system on Saccharomyces cerevisiae inducted a chromosome-integrated lacZ reporter gene that was under the control of CYC1 promoter and the upstream Gal4p-binding element $UAS_{GAL}$. The bait components that were fused with the Gal4p DNA binding domain are full-length human estrogen receptor ${\alpha}$ and its ligand-binding domain. The fish components that were fused with the Gal4p transcriptional activation domain were nuclear receptor-binding domains of co-activators SRC1 and TIF2. We found that the combination of the full-length human estrogen receptor ${\alpha}$ with the nuclear receptor-binding domain of co-activator SRC1 was most effective for the estrogen-dependent induction of reporter activity among the two-hybrid systems so far reported. The relative strength of transcriptional activation by representative natural and xenobiotic chemicals was well correlated with their estrogenic potency that had been reported with other assay systems.