• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1288-1294
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• 2009

We have used mutational analysis to identity four genes, MXAN3553, MXAN3554, MXAN3555, and MXAN3556, constituting an operon that is essential for normal fruiting body development in Myxococcus xanthus. Deletion of MXAN3553, which encoded a hypothetical protein, resulted in delayed fruiting body development. MXAN3554 was predicted to encode a metallopeptidase, and its deletion caused fruiting body formation to fail. Inactivation of MXAN3555, which encoded a putative NtrC-type response regulator, resulted in delayed aggregation and a severe reduction in sporulation. Fruiting bodies also failed to develop with the deletion of MXAN3556, another gene encoding a hypothetical protein.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.36-39
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• 2014

Chromosome 3 (3p) deletion syndrome is a rare genomic disorder caused by a deletion at the terminal end of the short arm of chromosome 3. The primary characteristics of the syndrome are delayed development, dysmorphic features, and several other congenital anomalies. Here, we describe the case of a 2-year-old Korean girl with typical features of 3p deletion syndrome, including dysmorphic facial features, low birth weight, developmental delay, growth and cognitive retardation, and congenital heart disease. This case represents the first report of 3p deletion syndrome in Korea. Although phenotypes can be variable among patients, a clinically recognizable pattern has been described for this genetic defect, and our report helps to identify other cases with 3p deletion syndrome from a clinical and genetic perspective.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.393-405
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• 2019

Survival factor 1 (Svf1) is a protein involved in cell survival pathways. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Svf1 is required for the diauxic growth shift and survival under stress conditions. In this study, we characterized the role of FgSvf1, the Svf1 homolog in the homothallic ascomycete fungus Fusarium graminearum. In the FgSvf1 deletion mutant, conidial germination was delayed, vegetative growth was reduced, and pathogenicity was completely abolished. Although the FgSvf1 deletion mutant produced perithecia, the normal maturation of ascospore was dismissed in deletion mutant. The FgSvf1 deletion mutant also showed reduced resistance to osmotic, fungicide, and cold stress and reduced sensitivity to oxidative stress when compared to the wild-type strain. In addition, we showed that FgSvf1 affects glycolysis, which results in the abnormal vegetative growth in the FgSvf1 deletion mutant. Further, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulated in the FgSvf1 deletion mutant, and this accumulated ROS might be related to the reduced sensitivity to oxidative stress and the reduced resistance to cold stress and fungicide stress. Overall, understanding the role of FgSvf1 in F. graminearum provides a new target to control F. graminearum infections in fields.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.409-415
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• 2019

Cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD) is an autosomal-dominant disease characterized by the delayed closure of cranial sutures, defects in clavicle formation, supernumerary teeth, and delayed tooth eruption. Defects in the Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), a master regulator of bone formation, have been identified in CCD patients. The aim of this study was to identify the molecular genetic causes in a CCD family with delayed tooth eruption. The 23-year-old female proband and her mother underwent clinical and radiographic examinations, and all coding exons of the RUNX2 were sequenced. Mutational analysis revealed a single nucleotide deletion mutation (NM_001024630.4 : c.357delC) in exon 3 in the proband and her mother. The single C deletion would result in a frameshift in translation and introduce a premature stop codon [p.(Asn120Thrfs^*24)]. This would result in the impaired function of RUNX2 protein, which may be the cause of delayed eruption of permanent teeth in the family.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.59 no.sup1
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• pp.10-13
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• 2016

Chromosome 11q13 deletion syndrome has been previously reported as either otodental syndrome or oculo-oto-dental syndrome. The otodental syndrome is characterized by dental abnormalities and high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss, and by ocular coloboma in some cases. The underlying genetic defect causing otodental syndrome is a hemizygous microdeletion involving the FGF3 gene on chromosome 11q13.3. Recently, a new form of severe deafness, microtia (small ear) and small teeth, without the appearance of eye abnormalities, was also reported. In this report, we describe a 1-year-old girl presenting with ptosis of the left upper eyelid, right auricular deformity, high-arched palate, delayed dentition, simian line on the right hand, microcephaly, and developmental delay. In this patient, we identified a deletion in the chromosome 11q13.2-q13.3 (2.75 Mb) region by using an array-comparative genomic hybridization analysis. The deletion in chromosome 11q13 results in a syndrome characterized by variable clinical manifestations. Some of these manifestations involve craniofacial dysmorphology and require a functional workup for hearing, ophthalmic examinations, and long-term dental care.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.155-167
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• 2006

Hearing impairment children possess poor underlying perceptual knowledge of the sound system and show delayed development of segmental organization of that system. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between phonological awareness ability and word identification ability in hearing impaired children. 14 children with moderately severe hearing loss participated in this study. All tasks were individually administered. Phonological awareness tests consisted of syllable blending, syllable segmentation, syllable deletion, body-coda discrimination, phoneme blending, phoneme segmentation and phoneme deletion. Close-set Monosyllabic Words(12 items) and lists 1 and 2 of open-set Monosyllabic Words in EARS-K were examined for word identification. Results of this study were as follows: First, from the phonological awareness task, the close-set word identification showed a high positive correlation with the coda discrimination, phoneme blending and phoneme deletion. The open-set word identification showed a high positive correlation with phoneme blending, phoneme deletion and phoneme segmentation. Second, from the level of phonological awareness, the close-set word identification showed a high positive correlation with the level of body-coda awareness and phoneme awareness while the open-set word identification showed a high positive correlation only with the level of phoneme awareness.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.676-685
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• 2021

RNA-binding proteins are involved in RNA metabolism and posttranscriptional regulation of various fundamental biological processes. The PUF family of RNA-binding proteins is highly conserved in eukaryotes, and its members regulate gene expression, mitochondrial biogenesis, and RNA processing. However, their biological functions in Aspergillus species remain mostly unknown in filamentous fungi. Here we have characterized the puf genes in the model organism Aspergillus nidulans. We generated deletion mutant strains for the five putative puf genes present in the A. nidulans genome and investigated their developmental phenotypes. Deletion of pufA or pufE affected fungal growth and asexual development. pufA mutants exhibited decreased production of asexual spores and reduced mRNA expression of genes regulating asexual development. The pufE deletion reduced colony growth, increased formation of asexual spores, and delayed production of sexual fruiting bodies. In addition, the absence of pufE reduced both sterigmatocystin production and the mRNA levels of genes in the sterigmatocystin cluster. Finally, pufE deletion mutants showed reduced trehalose production and lower resistance to thermal stress. Overall, these results demonstrate that PufA and PufE play roles in the development and sterigmatocystin metabolism in A. nidulans.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.59 no.sup1
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• pp.14-18
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• 2016

Pediatric epilepsy can be caused by various conditions, including specific syndromes. 1p36 deletion syndrome is reported in 1 in 5,000-10,000 newborns, and its characteristic clinical features include developmental delay, mental retardation, hypotonia, congenital heart defects, seizure, and facial dysmorphism. However, detection of the terminal deletion in chromosome 1p by conventional G-banded karyotyping is difficult. Here we present a case of epilepsy with profound developmental delay and characteristic phenotypes. A 7-year-and 6-month-old boy experienced afebrile generalized seizure at the age of 5 years and 3 months. He had recurrent febrile seizures since 12 months of age and showed severe global developmental delay, remarkable hypotonia, short stature, and dysmorphic features such as microcephaly; small, low-set ears; dark, straight eyebrows; deep-set eyes; flat nasal bridge; midface hypoplasia; and a small, pointed chin. Previous diagnostic work-up, including conventional chromosomal analysis, revealed no definite causes. However, array-comparative genomic hybridization analysis revealed 1p36 deletion syndrome with a 9.15-Mb copy loss of the 1p36.33-1p36.22 region, and fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis (FISH) confirmed this diagnosis. This case highlights the need to consider detailed chromosomal study for patients with delayed development and epilepsy. Furthermore, 1p36 deletion syndrome should be considered for patients presenting seizure and moderate-to-severe developmental delay, particularly if the patient exhibits dysmorphic features, short stature, and hypotonia.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.281-289
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• 2016

The transcription cofactor Swi6 plays important roles in regulating vegetative growth and meiosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Functions of Swi6 ortholog were also characterized in Fusarium graminearum which is one of the devastating plant pathogenic fungi. Here, we report possible role of FgSwi6 in the interaction between F. graminearum and Fusarium graminearum virus 1 (FgV1) strain DK21. FgV1 perturbs biological characteristics of host fungi such as vegetative growth, sporulation, pigmentation, and reduction of the virulence (hypovirulence) of its fungal host. To characterize function(s) of FgSWI6 gene during FgV1 infection, targeted deletion, over-expression, and complementation mutants were generated and further infected successfully with FgV1. Deletion of FgSwi6 led to severe reduction of vegetative growth even aerial mycelia while over-expression did not affect any remarkable alteration of phenotype in virus-free isolates. Virus-infected (VI) FgSWI6 deletion isolate exhibited completely delayed vegetative growth. However, VI FgSWI6 over-expression mutant grew faster than any other VI isolates. To verify whether these different growth patterns in VI isolates, viral RNA quantification was carried out using qRT-PCR. Surprisingly, viral RNA accumulations in VI isolates were similar regardless of introduced mutations. These results provide evidence that FgSWI6 might play important role(s) in FgV1 induced phenotype alteration such as delayed vegetative growth.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.57 no.7
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• pp.333-336
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• 2014

Reports of constitutional ring chromosome 22, r(22) are rare. Individuals with r(22) present similar features as those with the 22q13 deletion syndrome. The instability in the ring chromosome contributes to the development of variable phenotypes. Central nervous system (CNS) atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (ATRTs) are rare, highly malignant tumors, primarily occurring in young children below 3 years of age. The majority of ATRT cases display genetic alterations of SMARCB1 (INI1/hSNF5 ), a tumor suppressor gene located on 22q11.2. The coexistence of a CNS ATRT in a child with a r(22) is rare. We present a case of a 4-month-old boy with 46,XY,r(22)(p13q13.3), generalized hypotonia and delayed development. High-resolution microarray analysis revealed a 3.5-Mb deletion at 22q13.31q13.33. At 11 months, the patient had an ATRT ($5.6cm{\times}5.0cm{\times}7.6cm$) in the cerebellar vermis, which was detected in the brain via magnetic resonance imaging.