• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.223-228
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• 2010

Schizonepeta tenuifolia (Korean name "Hyung- Gae") is an oriental medicinal plant that is widely used in Korea, China and Japan. S. tenuifolia (Hyung-Gae) has many pharmacological activities and is mostly used for many medicinal preparations. The dried aerial part (spikes and stems) of three oriental medicinal plants, S. tenuifolia (Hyung-Gae), Agastache rugosa (Kwhak-Hyang) and Elsholtzia ciliata (Hyang-Yoo) belonging to the same family, mint family Labiaceae, have such similar shape and smell that it is difficult to differentiate between them. The trnL-F regions of chloroplast DNA of the three medicinal plants were sequenced and used as targets in multiplex PCR reaction to identify S. tenuifolia. After alignment of trnL-F sequences of the authenticated plant samples, one single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) specific to S. tenuifolia was found. Based on this SNP, a new primer was designed that specifically amplifies the trnL-F region of S. tenuifolia. The established multiplex-PCR was proven to be effective in the differentiation of commercial S. tenuifolia samples from A. rugosa and E. ciliata. This rapid and accurate molecular method is highly promising for use in the food industry.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.427-433
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• 2016

Barley yellow mosaic virus (BaYMV) is transmitted by a root-inhabiting Polymyxa graminis (P. graminis) and thus the disease is called "soil-borne". In this study, the presence of P. graminis was confirmed by PCR test based on specific sequences of P. graminis type I (P. graminis f. sp. temperata) Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS). P. graminis was detected in the BaYMV infected soil and root of barley plants. The monitoring of P. graminis was conducted in March 2015 in 8 korean provinces. It was detected in the soil of all collected regions. This is the first report on a P. graminis a survey of Korea.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.79-84
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• 2015

A new cecropin-like antimicrobial peptide (Px-CLP) gene was isolated from the immunechallenged larvae of the swallowtail butterfly, Papilio xuthus, by employing annealing control primer (ACP)-based GeneFishing PCR. The full-length cDNA of Px-CLP is 310 nucleotides encoding a 70 amino acid precursor that contains a putative 22-residue signal peptide, a 4-residue propeptide, a presumed 37-residue mature peptide, and an uncommon 7-residue acidic pro-region at the C-terminus. The deduced amino acid sequence of Px-CLP showed significant identities with other Lepidopteran cecropin D type peptides. RT-PCR revealed that the Px-CLP transcript was detected at significant level after injection with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The peptides with or without C-terminal acidic sequence region were synthesized on-solid phage and submitted to antibacterial activity assay. The synthetic 37-mer peptide (Px-CLPa), which removed C-terminal acidic sequence region, was showed exclusively antibacterial activity against E. coli ML35; meanwhile, a 44-mer peptide (Px-CLPb) with C-terminal acidic peptide region was not active. This result suggests that Px-CLP is produced as a larger precursor containing a C-terminal pro-region that is subsequently removed by C-terminal modification.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.800-808
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• 2005

Leuconostoc mesenteroides SY1, an isolate from kimchi, was able to ferment $\alpha$-galactosides, such as melibiose and raffinose. $\alpha$-Galactosidase ($\alpha$-Gal) activity was higher in cells grown on melibiose and raffinose than cells grown on galactose, sucrose, and fructose. $\alpha$-Gal activity was not detected in cells grown on glucose, indicating the operation of carbon catabolite repression (CCR). A 6 kb DNA fragment was PCR amplified using a primer set based on the nucleotide sequence of a putative $\alpha$-galactosidase gene (aga) from L. mesenteroides ATCC 8293. Nucleotide sequencing of the 6 kb fragment confirmed the presence of aga and other genes involved in the galactosides utilization, and the gene order was galR (transcriptional regulator)-aga-gaIK (galactokinase)-gaIT (galactose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase). Northern blotting experiment showed that aga, gaIK, and gaIT constituted the same operon, that the transcription was induced by galactosides, such as melibiose and raffinose, whereas gaIR was independently transcribed as a monocistronic gene, and that the level of transcription was fairly constant. The aga was overexpressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) using pET26b(+) vector, and $\alpha$-Gal was accumulated in E. coli as an inclusion body.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1024-1032
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• 2008

Efficient expression of the Salmonella Typhimurium tdc ABCDEG operon involved in the degradation of L-serine and L-threonine requires TdcA, the transcriptional activator of the tdc operon. We found that the tdcA gene was transiently activated when the bacterial growth condition was changed from aerobic to anaerobic, but this was not observed if Salmonella was grown anaerobically from the beginning of the culture. Expression kinetics of six tdc genes after anaerobic shock demonstrated by a real-time PCR assay showed that the tdc CDEG genes were not induced in the tdcA mutant but tdcB maintained its inducibility by anaerobic shock even in the absence of tdcA, suggesting that an additional unknown transcriptional regulation may be working for the tdcB expression. We also investigated the effects of nucleoid-associated proteins by primer extension analysis and found that H-NS repressed tdcA under anaerobic shock conditions, and fis mutation delayed the peak expression time of the tdc operon. DNA microarray analysis of genes regulated by TdcA revealed that the genes involved in N-acetylmannosamine, maltose, and propanediol utilization were significantly induced in a tdcA mutant. These findings suggest that Tdc enzymes may playa pivotal role in energy metabolism under a sudden change of oxygen tension.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.49-49
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• 2003

본 연구에서는 vesicular stomatitis virus G glycoprotein (VSV-G)를 envelope로 가지는 pantropic retrovirus vector system을 이용하여 재조합 human FSH 유전자가 전이된 형질전환 닭을 생산하고자 하였다. Human FSH $\alpha$ 및 $\beta$ 유전자와 CTP linker는 human pituitary gland cDNA library에서 RT-PCR 방법을 이용하여 cloning하였으며, 각각의 fragment는 FSH$\beta$-CTP-FSH$\alpha$ 순서의 단일사슬로 연결하였다. 연결된 FSH$\beta$-CTP-FSH$\alpha$는 retroviral vector 내의 $\beta$-actin promoter의 조절 하에 도입한 후, PT67 packaging cell line에 transfection하여 virus를 생산하였으며 생산된 virus는 pantropic한 virus producing cell인 GP293에 infection하여 FSH 유전자가 도입된 virus를 생산하였다. FSH 유전자의 발현을 in vitro에서 확인하기 위하여 CHO (chinese hamster ovary) 세포에 virus를 감염시킨 후, 세포의 배양액을 취하여 electrochemilumine-scence immunoassay 방법으로 정량하였다. In vitro에서 전이 후 발현이 확인된 FSH 외래유전자의 retroviral vector virus를 초원심분리로 고농축하여 stageX의 계란의 배반엽 층에 주입하였으며, 그 결과 18%의 부화율과 91%의 부화한 닭의 유전자 전이율을 확인할 수 있었다. 전이된 유전자의 확인은 FSH$\beta$와 Neo 유전자에 대한 primer를 이용한 RT-PCR의 방법을 이용하였다. In vitro에서와는 달리 in vivo에서는 FSH 유전자의 전이는 확인되었으나 발현을 확인하지는 못하였는데, 이는 적은 수의 실험군이 형질전환율에 비해 상대적이지 못하였거나, 외래 유전자인 FSH의 발현에 의한 생리적인 부작용이 유발되어 해당개체가 부화되지 못한 것으로 추정된다. 본 문제점을 해결하기 위하여 실험군의 수를 늘리고 외래 유전자에 대한 controllable expression system이 보완될 필요성이 요구되며, 이러한 점이 해결된다면 높은 유전자 전이율에 기인하여 retrovirus를 이용한 형질전환 방법은 형질전환 가금의 생산에 있어서 매우 효율적이고 주목할 만한 방법으로 사료된다.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2006

This study was conducted to isolate antilisterial strains of the Bifidobacterium isolates from the infant feces. The bifidobacteria were isolated anaerobically on BL agar and screened for their inhibitory activity on the MRS-cysteine medium against three foodborne pathogens: Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus. Among the 52 bifidobacterial isolates, 5 strains(A24, Bl, B6, B10, and Bl2) were finally selected based on their stronger antilisterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes than other isolates tested. Morphologically, all the isolates were typically shown Y-and V-shaped under electron microscopic examination. Each isolate was primarily subjected to identification by a polymerase chain reaction(PCR) using a genus-specific primer designed for targeting the 16S rRNA gene sequence, and confirmed the primary identification data using an API-kit(Biomeriuex, France), commercially available product for identification based on biochemical and physiological traits. Of the isolates with antilisterial activity, strain A24 was finally confirmed as the Bifidobacterium longum A24.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.389-397
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• 2002

Bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria were isolated from kimchi. One isolate producing the most efficient bacteriocin was identified and named Lactococcus lactis B2, based on the biochemical properties and 16S rDNA sequences. The B2 bacteriocin inhibited many different Gram positive bacteria including Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, and Staphylococcus, but did not inhibit Gram-negative bacteria. The bacteriocin was maximally produced at temperatures between $25^{\circ}C\;and\;30^{\circ}C$ and at the initial pH of 7.0. Ninety $\%$ of the activity remained after 10 min of heat treatment at $121^{\circ}C,\;and\;100\%$, after 1 h exposure to organic solvents. The bacteriocin was purified from culture supernatant by ammonium sulfate precipitation, CM Sepharose column chromatography, ultrafiltration, and finally, by reverse-phase HPLC. A 1.58-kb fragment was amplified from B2 chromosome by using a primer set designed from the published nisA sequence. Sequencing result showed that the fragment contained the whole nisZ and 5' portion of nisB, whose gene product was involved in postmodification of nisin. The upstream sequence, however, was completely different from those of reported nisin genes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.378-387
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• 1998

The DNA sequence immediately following the xynA gene of Bacillus stearothermophilus 236 ［about l-kb region downstream from the translational termination codon (TAA) of the xynA gene］was found to have an ability to enhance the xylanase activity of the upstream xynA gene. An 849-bp ORF was identified in the downstream region, and the ORF was confirmed to encode a novel protein of 283 amino acids designated as XaiF (xylanase-activity-increasing factor). From the nucleotide sequence of the xaiF gene, the molecular mass and pI of XaiF were deduced to be 32,006 Da and 4.46, respectively. XaiF was overproduced in the E. coli cells from the cloned xaiF gene by using the T7 expression system. The transcriptional initiation site was determined by primer extension analysis and the putative promoter and ribosome binding regions were also identified. Blast search showed that the xaiF and its protein product had no homology with any gene nor any protein reported so far. Also, in B. subtilis, the xaiF trans-activated the xylanase activity at the same rate as in E. coli. In contrast, xaiF had no activating effect on the co-expressed ${\beta}-xylosidase$ of the xylA gene derived from the same strain of B. stearothermophilus. In addition, the intracellular and extracellular fractions from the E. coli cells carrying the plasmid-borne xaiF gene did not increase the isolated xylanase activity, indicating that the protein-protein interaction between XynA and XaiF was not a causative event for the xylanase activating effect of the xaiF gene.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.321-332
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• 2009

본 연구의 목적은 다이아지논(Diazinon; O, O-diethyl O-[6-methyl-2 (1-methylethyl)-4-pyrimidinyl] phosphorothioate)에 노출된 모델 생물체(송사리)의 행동변화와 관련된 분자생물학적 기전 규명을 통하여 비정상적 행동의 모니터링을 위한 생물지표(biomarker)를 개발하는데 있다. 이를 위해 우선 suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) 및 DNA microarray 기법을 활용하여 다양한 유전자를 스크리닝하였다. 다이아지논에 노출시킨 송사리에서 발현의 차이가 나는 상향 조절된 유전자 97개 (알려지지 않은 유전자 27개 포함)와 하향 조절된 유전자 99개 (알려지지 않은 유전자 60개 포함)를 동정 하였고 이들 중 이상행동과 관련되는 것으로 보이는 유전자 10개 (상향조절 5개, 하향조절 5개)를 선발하였다. 이들 중에서 primer 제작이 잘된 beta-1, Orla C3-1, parvalbumin 및 apolipoprotein E을 선발하여 그 유전자 발현을 real-time PCR 기법을 사용하여 정량적으로 모니터링 하였다. Orla C3-1, parvalbumin 및 apolipoprotein E는 고농도의 다이아지논 처리(1000 ppb; 24 h)에서 그 발현이 억제됨이 관찰되었다. 다이아지논 처리 시 신경질환 (알츠하이머 병 및 다운신드롬)에 관련된 apolipoprotein E와 근육세포의 유연화에 작용하는 parvalbumin 등의 발현억제는 송사리의 인지능력 교란 및 근육세포의 경직 등을 각각 유도하여 송사리의 비정상적 행동을 야기하는 것으로 판단되었다. 따라서 이들 생물지표는 신경독성물질에 의한 송사리 및 기타 어류의 이상행동의 변화의 감지에 활용될 수 있을 것으로 사료된다.