• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.312-320
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• 2000

Abstract The full sequence of the plasmid pKJ36, which was derived from Bifidobacterium longum KJ, was determined and analyzed to construct shuttle vectors between E. coli and Bifidobacterium. The plasmid pKJ36 was composed of 3,625 base pairs with a 65.1% G+C content. The structural organization of pKJ36 was highly similar to that of pKJ50, and the three major ORFs on pKJ36 showed high amino acid sequence homologies with those of pKJ50. The putative proteins coded by these three ORFs were designated as RepB (32.0 kDa, pI=9.25), MembB (29.0 kDa, pI=12.25), and MobB (39.0 kDa, pI=IO.66), respectively. The amino acid sequence of RepB showed a 57% identity and 70% similarity with that of the RepA protein of pKJ50. Upstream of the repB gene, the so-called iteron sequence was directly repeated four-and-ahalf times and a conserved dnaA box was identified. An amino acid sequence comparison between the MobB and MobA of pKJ50 revealed a 48% identity and 61 % similarity. A conserved oriT sequence with an inverted repeat identical to that of pKJ50 was also found upstream of the mobB gene. A hydropathy analysis of MembB revealed four possible transmembrane regions. The expressions of the repB and membB genes were confirmed by RT-PCR. The in vitro translation reaction of pKJ36 showed protein bands with anticipated sizes with respect to each putative gene product. S 1 endonuclease treatment and Southern hybridization suggested that pKJ36 replicates by a rolling circle mechanism via a single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) intermediate. A shuttle vector between E. coli and Bifidobacterium sp. was constructed using the pKJ36, pBR322, and staphylococcal chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) gene. The successful transformation of the Bifidobacterium strains was shown by Southern hybridization and PCR. The transformation efficiency differed from strain to strain and, depending on the electroporation conditions, with a range between $1.2{\times}10^1-2.6{\times}10^2{\;}cfu/\mu\textrm{g}$ DNA.X> DNA.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.770-778
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• 2013

To determine the seasonal variation of bacterial community in the seawater of Gwangyang Bay, three hundred thirty six bacterial strains were isolated on February, May, July and October 2011. Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis (ARDRA) was used to construct the phylotyes of the isolates using the restriction endonuclease, Hae III. Diversity indices of ARDRA patterns were calculated. One hundred and one phylotypes including 40 unique pylotypes were found at the 80% similarity level. Partial 16S rRNA genes of one hundred thirty nine strains representing each phylotypes were sequenced and compared. Bacterial community composed of 4 different phyla which include Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Proteobacteria was the prevailing phylum in all seasons, followed by Bacteroidetes in winter, spring and autumn while Actinobacteria in summer. At the family level, Flavobacteriaceae dominated in winter and spring and Pseudoalteromonadaceae did in summer and autumn. Genera Altererythrobacter, Loktanella, Pseudoalteromonas and Vibrio were encountered in all seasons. The most diverse bacterial community was found in autumn followed by the order of spring, winter and summer.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.1007-1013
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• 2015

A COG (Cluster of Orthologous Groups of proteins) algorithm was applied to detect conserved genes in 711 prokaryotes. Only COG0080 (ribosomal protein L11) was common among all the 711 prokaryotes analyzed and 58 COGs were common in more than 700 prokaryotes. Nine COGs among 58, including COG0197 (endonuclease III) and COG0088 (ribosomal protein L4), were conserved in a form of one gene per one organism. COG0008 represented 1356 genes in 709 of the prokaryotes and this was the highest number of genes among 58 COGs. Twenty-two COGs were conserved in more than 708 prokaryotes. Of these, two were transcription related, four were tRNA synthetases, eight were large ribosomal subunits, seven were small ribosomal subunits, and one was translation elongation factor. Among 58 conserved COGs in more than 700 prokaryotes, 50 (86.2%) were translation related, and four (6.9%) were transcription related, pointing to the importance of protein-synthesis in prokaryotes. Among these 58 COGs, the most conserved COG was COG0060 (isoleucyl tRNA synthetase), and the least conserved was COG0143 (methionyl tRNA synthetase). Archaea and eubacteria were discriminated in the genomic analysis by the average distance and variation in distance of common COGs. The identification of these conserved genes could be useful in basic and applied research, such as antibiotic development and cancer therapeutics.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.140-146
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• 2000

P450 CYP2D6 enzyme(=debrisoquine hydroxylase) is known to metabolize many neuroleptics and some genetic polymorphisms in the CYP2D6 gene were reported to be associated with tardive dyskinesia(TD). We investigeted the association of two genetic polymorphisms in the CYP2D6 gene, $CYP2D6^*4$ and $CYP2D6^*10$, with TD in Korean schizophrenic subjects. Subjects consisted of 71 Korean schizophrenics and TD was evaluated using the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS). There were no statistically significant differences in the demographic variables of age, male to female percentage and the current antipsychotic(CPZ equivalent) dose between the group with TD and the group without TD. But the duration of antipsychotic drug exposure was significantly higher in the group without TD(p=0.000, by independent t-test). The mean AIMS score in the group with TD was $11.2{\pm}6.6$(S.D.). Genotypings for the presence of $CYP2D6^*4$ and $CYP2D6^*10$ were done using PCR amplifications and endonuclease digestions. There were no statistically significant genotypic and alleleic associations between TD and $CYP2D6^*4$(by chisquare tests), and between TD and $CYP2D6^*10$(by chi-square tests). These results indicate that the $CYP2D6^*4$ and $CYP2D6^*10$ polymorphisms have no significant roles in the causation of TD.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.208-215
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• 2006

The human ribosomal protein S3 (rpS3) was expressed in E. coli using the pET-I5b vector and the monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were produced and characterized. A total of five hybridoma cell lines were established and the antibodies recognized a single band of molecular weight of 33 kDa on immunoblot with purified rpS3. When the purified rpS3 was incubated with the mAbs, the UV endonuclease activity of rpS3 was inhibited up to a maximum of 49%. The binding affinity of mAbs to rpS3 determined by using a biosensor technology showed that they have similar binding affinities. Using the anti-rpS3 antibodies as probes, we investigated the cross-reactivities of various other mammalian brain tissues and cell lines, including human. The immunoreactive bands on Western blots appeared to be the same molecular mass of 33 kDa in all animal species tested. They also appear to be extensively cross-reactive among different organs in rat. These results demonstrated that only one type of immunologically similar rpS3 protein is present in all of the mammalian brain tissues including human. Furthermore, these antibodies were successfully applied in immunohistochemistry in order to detect rpS3 in the gerbil brain tissues. Among the various regions in the brain tissues, the rpS3 positive neurons were predominantly observed in the ependymal cells, hippocampus and substantia nigra pars compacta. The different distributions of rpS3 in brain tissues reply that rpS3 protein may play an important second function in the neuronal cells.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.447-453
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• 1989

In order to study the transfer of antibiotics resistance genes of the genetically cloned bacteria in water environments, DK1 strain, which is resistant to kanamycin (Km), chloramphenicol (Cm), streptomycin (Sm), and sulfadiazine (Su), was selected from the Gram-negative bacterial isolates from wastewater. One of 4 plasmids harboured in the DK1 strain was found to possess Km$^{${\gamma}$}$Cm$^{${\gamma}$}$ gene and be about 68 kb in size, and it was designated as pDK101. The plasmid of pDK101 was also found to have 16, 32, and 6 restriction sites for EcoRI. .PstI, and SalI, respectively. From the digestion fragments of pDK101 plasmid and pKT230 used as a vector by EcoRI restriction endonuclease, pDT309 and pDT529 were constructed as chimeric plasmids which possess Km$^{${\gamma}$}$Cm$^{${\gamma}$}$ gene and are 30.9 and 52.9 kb in size, respectively. When the chimeric plasmids were trasformed into E. coli C600 or E. coli HB101, transformants of DKC601, DKC602, DKH102, and DKH103 were obtained as cloned bacterial cells. The Km$^{${\gamma}$}$Cm$^{${\gamma}$}$ genes were well expressed in those cloned cells and the chimeric plasmids were clearly detected in the cloned cells of DKC601 and DKH103.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.139-144
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• 2010

In this study, we evaluated the role of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease1/redox factor-1 (Ref-1) on the tumor necrosis factor-$\alpha$ (TNF-$\alpha$) induced cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression using A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells. TNF-$\alpha$ induced the expression of COX-2 in A549 cells, but did not induce BEAS-2B expression. The expression of COX-2 in A549 cells was TNF-$\alpha$ dose-dependent (5~100 ng/ml). TNF-$\alpha$-stimulated A549 cells evidenced increased Ref-1 expression in a dose-dependent manner. The adenoviral transfection of cells with AdRef-1 inhibited TNF-$\alpha$-induced COX-2 expression relative to that seen in the control cells ($Ad{\beta}gal$). Pretreatment with $10\;{\mu}M$ of SB203580 suppressed TNF-$\alpha$-induced COX-2 expression, thereby suggesting that p38 MAPK might be involved in COX-2 expression in A549 cells. The phosphorylation of p38 MAPK was increased significantly after 5 minutes of treatment with TNF-$\alpha$, reaching a maximum level at 10 min which persisted for up to 60 min. However, p38MAPK phosphorylation was markedly suppressed in the Ref-1-overexpressed A549 cells. Taken together, our results appear to indicate that Ref-1 negatively regulates COX-2 expression in response to cytokine stimulation via the inhibition of p38 MAPK phosphorylation. In the lung cancer cell lines, Ref-1 may be involved as an important negative regulator of inflammatory gene expression.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1133-1140
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• 2014

Altered DNA repair capacity can result in increased susceptibility to cancer. The base excision repair (BER) pathway effectively removes DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation and reactive oxidative species (ROS). In the current study, we analyzed the possible relation of polymorphisms in BER genes, including 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1), apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1), and X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 protein (XRCC1), with breast cancer risk in Chinese Han women. This case-control study examined 194 patients with breast cancer and 245 cancer-free hospitalized control subjects. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of OGG1 (Ser326Cys), XRCC1 (Arg399Gln), and APE1 (Asp148Glu and -141T/G) were genotyped and analyzed for their association with breast cancer risk using multivariate logistic regression models. We found that XRCC1 Arg399Gln was significantly associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Similarly, the XRCC1 Gln allele was significantly associated with an elevated risk in postmenopausal women and women with a high BMI (${\geq}24kg/m^2$). The OGG1 Cys allele provided a significant protective effect against developing cancer in women with a low BMI (< $24kg/m^2$). When analyzing the combined effects of these alleles on the risk of breast cancer, we found that individuals with ${\geq}2$ adverse genotypes (XRCC1 399Gln, APE1 148Asp, and OGG1 326Ser) were at a 2.18-fold increased risk of breast cancer (P = 0.027). In conclusion, our data indicate that Chinese women with the 399Gln allele of XRCC1 have an increased risk of breast cancer, and the combined effects of polymorphisms of BER genes may contribute to tumorigenesis.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.312-319
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• 2002

The Sporosarcina psychrophilia pyrB gene, which encodes aspartate transcarbamylase (ATcase), was cloned on Sau3AI restriction endonuclease fragment inserted into pUC19 plasmid vector, S. psychrophilia pyrB gene was expressed in Escherichia coli pyrB mutant for the complementation test. The sequence of 2,606 nucleotides including putative pyrB gene was determined. The region contained one full open reading frame (ORf) and two partial ORFs. The deduced amino acid sequence of the second ORF showed 59% identity with that of Bacillus caldolyticus ATCase. The first and third partial ORFs were closely related to the uracil permease (pyrP) and dihydroorotase (pyrC), respectively. Besides, potential terminator, antiterminator, and anti-antiterminator structures were found in the intergenic region between pyrP and pyrB. These results suggested that S. psychrophilia pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis genes are clustered as well as other Bacillus sp. Over-expressed product of pyrB encoding ATCase was purified and analyzed by the SDS-PAGE. The purified PyrB protein turned out to be molecular mass of 27 kDa and showed ATCase activity.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.9-13
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• 2008

Salmonella enterica serotype gallinarum biovar Gallinarum or Pullorum and Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis are the most important diseases in poultry industry. Transitional diagnosis methods of these diseases such as direct isolation and identification by a biochemical test are time consuming with low specificity. In this study, we have focused on the suitable procedure for the rapid and accurate diagnosis of diseases derived from the three Salmonella strains. We initially confirmed Salmonella species by PCR using a specific ITSF/ITSR primer pair instead of biochemical test, and then the PCR-amplified phase 1 flagellin (fliC) using a specific fliCF/fliCR primer pair was digested with a restriction endonuclease, Bpm I and/or Bfa I, to discriminate among S. Pullorum, S. Gallinarum, and S. Enteritidis. We found that these methods could be applied to field isolates of the three Salmonella strains to detect and to discriminate rapidly for convenient diagnosis.