• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.117-123
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• 2003

For screening of autoregulator receptor gene from Saccharopolyspora erythraea, PCR was performed with primers of receptor gene designed on the basis of amino acid sequences of autoregulator receptor proteins with known function. PCR products were subcloned into the BamHI site of pUC19 and transformed into the E. coli DH5$\alpha$. The isolated plasmid from transformant contained the fragment of 120 bp, which was detected on 2% gel after BamHI treatment. The insert, 120 bp PCR product, was confirmed as the expected internal segment of gene encoding autoregulator receptor protein by sequencing. Southern and colony hybridization using Saccha. erythraea chromosomal DNA were performed with the insert as probe. The plasmid (pEsg) having 3.2 kbp SacI DNA fragment from Saccha. erythraea is obtained. The 3.2 kbp SacI DNA fragment was sequenced by the dye terminator sequencing. The nucleotide sequence data was analyzed with GENETYX-WIN (ver 3.2) computer program and DNA database. frame analyses of the nucleotide sequence revealed a gene encoding autoregulator receptor protein which is a region including KpnI and SalI sites on 3.2 kbp SacI DNA fragment. The autoregulator receptor protein consisting of 205 amino acid was named EsgR by author. In comparison with known autoregulator receptor proteins, homology of EsgR showed above 30%.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1353-1358
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• 2005

A rapid and quantitative real-time PCR was developed to target the invasion A (invA) gene of Salmonella spp. We developed quantitative standard curves based on plasmids containing the invA gene. Based on these curves, we detected Salmonella spp. in artificially contaminated buffered peptone water (BPW) and milk samples. We were able to determine the invA gene copy number per ml of food samples, with the minimum detection limit of $4.1{\times}10^{3}$ copies/ml of BPW and $3.3{\times}10^{3}$ copies/ml of milk. When applied directly to detect and quantify Salmonella spp. in BPW and milk, the present real-time PCR assay was as sensitive as the plate count method; however, copy numbers were one to two logs higher than the colony-forming units obtained by the plate count methods. In the present work, the real-time PCR assay was shown to significantly reduce the total time necessary for the detection of Salmonella spp. in foods and to provide an important model for other foodborne pathogens.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.248-256
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• 2007

In this study, the competitive polymerase chain reaction (cPCR) was used to develop a direct enumeration method of Salmonella spp. in pork meat. After comparing three DNA extraction methods, the modified guanidine thiocyanate-phenol-chloroform method was chosen for Salmonella DNA extraction in artificially inoculated pork meat. The previously reported 284-bp invA gene (Rahn et al. Mol. Cell. Probes 1992) was tested for specificity, and 57 Salmonella strains and 24 non-Salmonella strains were evaluated. All Salmonella strains tested were invA positive, and all non-Salmonella strains produced no false positive amplification products. The detection limit achieved was as low as 1,460 colony-forming units (cfu) per 0.1g of pork meat. For cPCR, the invA gene, which features a 82 bp-deletion, was cloned in the pGEM-4Z vector. A known amount of competitor DNA, which has the same primer binding sites, was co-amplified with Salmonella chromosomal DNA from the artificially inoculated pork meat. The cell-number determined by cPCR was approximately equal to the cfu from the most probable number (MPN) method. Finally, the whole procedure took only 5 hr.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.308-314
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• 2004

A degenerate set of PCR primers based on two conserved regions (heme binding region and oxygen ligand pocket) were designed and successfully applied to amplify DNA fragments of cytochrome P450 hydroxylase (CYP) genes from a rare actinomycetes, S. benihana. The PCR amplified products were employed as a DNA probe to clone the entire CYP genes from S. benihana genomic library. Five different CYP-positive cosmids were isolated by colony hybridization as well as PCR confirmation. The complete nucleotide sequencing of five different CYP genes revealed that each unique CYP showed a significant amino acid homology to previously-known CYP genes involved in streptomycetes secondary metabolism. In addition, four CYP genes (CYP502, CYP503, CYP504, CYP506) were found to be linked to ferredoxin genes in the chromosome, and the CYP503 gene showed the high degree of amino acid similarity to the previously well-characterized CYP105 family in streptomycetes.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.30.1-30.12
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• 2021

High expression of mitofusin-2 (MFN2), a mitochondrial fusion protein, has been frequently associated with poor prognosis of patients with cervical cancer. Here, we aimed to identify the function of MFN2 in cervical cancer to understand its influence on disease prognosis. To this end, from cervical adenocarcinoma, we performed an MTT assay and quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis to assess the effects of MFN2 on the proliferation and of HeLa cells. Then, colony-formation ability and tumorigenesis were evaluated using a tumor xenograft mouse model. The migration ability related to MFN2 was also measured using a wound healing assay. Consequently, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of MFN2-knockdowned HeLa cells originating from adenocarcinoma. markers related to MFN2 were assessed by qRT-PCR. Clinical data were analyzed using cBioPortal and The Cancer Genome Atlas. We found that MFN2 knockdown reduced the proliferation, colony formation ability, migration, and in vivo tumorigenesis of HeLa cells. Primarily, migration of MFN2-knockdowned HeLa cells decreased through the suppression of EMT. Thus, we concluded that MFN2 facilitates cancer progression and in vivo tumorigenesis in HeLa cells. These findings suggest that MFN2 could be a novel target to regulate the EMT program and tumorigenic potential in HeLa cells and might serve as a therapeutic target for cervical cancer. Taken together, this study is expected to contribute to the treatment of patients with cervical cancer.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.71-71
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• 2003

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a multifunctional cytokine that has been implicated in the regulation of pre-implantation embryo development across several species. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of mouse granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (mGM-CSF) on development of porcine parthenotes and nuclear transferred embryos, and on their expression of implantation-related genes. In the presence of bovine serum albumin, mGM-CSF did not increase the percentage of oocytes that developed to the blastocyst stage and at day 7 did not increase oocyte cell number. Addition of 10 mM GM-CSF to protein-free culture medium significantly increased the compaction and blastocoel formation of 1- to 2-cell parthenotes and cloned embryos developing in vitro. However, cell number was not increased when they were cultured in the presence of GM-CSF. Semi-quantitative reverse transcripts polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed that mGM-CSF enhances mRNA expression of the leukemia inhibitory factor receptor, but does not influence interleukin-6 or sodium/glucose co-transporter protein gene expression in blastocyst stage parthenotes. These results suggest that mGM-CSF may enhance viability of porcine embryos developing in vitro in a defined culture medium.

• BMB Reports
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.194-199
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• 2024

Overexpression of mitofusin-2 (MFN2), a mitochondrial fusion protein, is frequently associated with poor prognosis in cervical cancer patients. Here, I aimed to investigate the involvement of MFN2 in cervical cancer progression and determine the effect of MFN2 on prognosis in cervical cancer patients. After generating MFN2-knockdown SiHa cells derived from squamous cell carcinoma, I investigated the effect of MFN2 on SiHa cell proliferation using the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and determined the mRNA levels of proliferation markers. Colony-forming ability and tumorigenesis were evaluated using a colony-formation assay and tumor xenograft mouse models. The migratory and invasive abilities associated with MFN2 were measured using wound-healing and invasion assays. Wnt/β-catenin-mediated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers related to MFN2 were assessed through quantitative RT-PCR. MFN2-knockdown SiHa cells exhibited reduced proliferation, colony formation, migration, invasion, and tumor formation in vivo. The motility of SiHa cells with MFN2 knockdown was reduced through Wnt/β-catenin-mediated EMT inhibition. MFN2 promoted cancer progression and tumorigenesis in SiHa cells. Overall, MFN2 could serve as a therapeutic target and a novel biomarker for cervical cancer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.801-806
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• 2002

A multiplex competitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was developed for the rapid identification and quantification of Leuconostoc mesnteroides and Lactobacillus plantarum populations which are the key microorganisms in kimchi fermentation. The strain-specific primers were designed to selectively amplify the target genes encoding 165 rRNA of L. plantarum and dextransucrase of L. mesenteroides. There was a linear relationship between the band intensity of PCR products and the number of colony forming units of each model organism. The PCR quantification method was compared with a traditional plate-counting method f3r the enumeration of the two lactic acid bacteria in a mixed suspension culture and also applied to a real food system, namely, watery kimchi. The population dynamics of the two model organisms in the mixed culture were reliably predictable by the competitive PCR analysis.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.79-81
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• 2023

During the nationwide survey of fire blight, the typical shoot blight symptoms were found on Korean mountain ash (Sorbus alnifolia) which was located near an orchard that produced fire blight on pear trees in Eumseong, Korea, May 2021. To identify the causal agent, we progressed isolation from the symptomatic leaves and shoots. Two white and mucoid colonies were isolated into the pure culture. Two isolates were identified as Erwinia amylovora according to the colony-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with amsB primers and the phylogenetic tree using 16S rRNA sequences. To test of pathogenicity of two isolates, we inoculated immature pear fruits and understock of apple. We observed necrosis and oozes on immature pear fruits and shoot blight resulting in necrosis on apple shoots six days after inoculation. Colonies were recovered from the inoculated pears and apples, and identity was confirmed through colony PCR for amsB genes. To our knowledge, E. amylovora was first reported on Korean mountain ash native to South Korea.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.203-211
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• 2008

Rapid detection-method for Shiga toxin type 1 that was produced from Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) was developed by two-step ultra-rapid real-time (URRT) PCR. The specific primers were deduced from 80 bp stable region of stx type 1 (stxl) gene among various informations of STEC strains. URRT PCR is a microchip-based real-time PCR using 6 ${\mu}l$ of reaction volume with extremely short denaturation step and annealing/extension step (1 sec, 3 sec, respectively) in each cycle of PCR. Using the stx1-specific URRT PCR, 35 cycled PCR were finished in time of 6 min and 38 see, also measured 7 min and 28 see including melting temperature (Tm) analysis. The detection-limit of stxl-specific URRT-PCR was estimated until 3 colony forming units / PCR with products with stable Tm at $81.42{\pm}0.34^{\circ}C$. In the applications to various STEC strains and contaminated genomic DNAs, stx1-specific URRT-PCR were tested and shown that it would be expected an useful method for the rapid detection of stx1-coded STEC strains.