• Research in Plant Disease
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.231-235
• /
• 2012

Indian citrus ring spot virus (ICRSV) is known to cause a serious disease to citrus, especially to Kinnow mandarin, the popular cultivated citrus species in India. In this study, we developed diagnostic systems based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In order to generate antibodies against ICRSV coat protein, we overexpressed the coat protein in Escherichia coli using the pET15b expression vector containing an optimized ICRSV coat protein gene. The recombinant ICRSV coat protein was overexpressed as soluble form at $37^{\circ}C$ upon IPTG induction. The protein was purified to 95% in purity by Ni-NTA column chromatography. The purified protein was immunized to rabbit for the generation of polyclonal antibody (PAb). The PAb showed a specific immunoreaction to recombinant ICRSV coat protein in western blot analysis and ELISA. Diluted rabbit antisera (10,000 fold) could detect less than 10 ng and 5 ng of the target protein in western blot and ELISA analysis, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.109-117
• /
• 2020

Cre recombinase is widely used to manipulate DNA sequences for both in vitro and in vivo research. Attachment of a trans-activator of transcription (TAT) sequence to Cre allows TAT-Cre to penetrate the cell membrane, and the addition of a nuclear localization signal (NLS) helps the enzyme to translocate into the nucleus. Since the yield of recombinant TAT-Cre is limited by formation of inclusion bodies, we hypothesized that the positively charged arginine-rich TAT sequence causes the inclusion body formation, whereas its neutralization by the addition of a negatively charged sequence improves solubility of the protein. To prove this, we neutralized the positively charged TAT sequence by proximally attaching a negatively charged poly-glutamate (E12) sequence. We found that the E12 tag improved the solubility and yield of E12-TAT-NLS-Cre (E12-TAT-Cre) compared with those of TAT-NLS-Cre (TAT-Cre) when expressed in E. coli. Furthermore, the growth of cells expressing E12-TAT-Cre was increased compared with that of the cells expressing TAT-Cre. Efficacy of the purified TAT-Cre was confirmed by a recombination test on a floxed plasmid in a cell-free system and 293 FT cells. Taken together, our results suggest that attachment of the E12 sequence to TAT-Cre improves its solubility during expression in E. coli (possibly by neutralizing the ionic-charge effects of the TAT sequence) and consequently increases the yield. This method can be applied to the production of transducible proteins for research and therapeutic purposes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.6 no.6
• /
• pp.474-481
• /
• 1996

Since the commercially available rabbit anti-cyclin D3, generated from c-terminal 16 amino acid residues which are common to human and murine cyclin D3, is highly cross-reactive with many other cellular proteins of mouse, a new rabbit polyclonal anti-cyclin D3 has been raised by using murine cyclin D3 protein expressed at a high level in Escherichia coli as the immunogen. To express murine cyclin D3 protein in E. coli, the cyclin D3 cDNA fragment encoding c-terminal 236 amino acid residues obtained by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was inserted into the NcoI/BamHI site of protein expression vector, pET 3d. Molecular mass of the cyclin D3 overexpressed in the presence of IPTG (Isopropyl $\beta$-D-thiogalactopyranoside) was approximately 26 kDa as calculated from the reading frame on the DNA sequence, and the protein was insoluble and mainly localized in the inclusion bodies that could be easily purified from the other cellular soluble proteins. When renaturation was performed following denaturation of the insoluble cyclin D3 protein in the inclusion bodies using guanidine hydrochloride, 4.4 mg of soluble form of cyclin D3 protein was produced from the transformant cultured in 100ml of LB media under the optimum conditions. Four-hundred micrograms of the soluble form of cyclin D3 protein was used for each immunization of a rabbit. When the antiserum obtained 2 weeks after tertiary immunization was applied to Western blot analysis, it was able to detect 33 kDa cyclin D3 protein in both murine lymphoma cell line BW5147.G.1.4 and human Jurkat T cells at 3,000-fold dilution with higher specificity to murine cyclin D3, demonstrating that the new rabbit polyclonal anti-murine cyclin D3 generated against c-terminal 236 amino acid residues more specifically recognizes murine cyclin D3 protein than does the commercially available rabbit polyclonal antibody raised against c-terminal 16 amino acids residues.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.248-254
• /
• 2016

A soil metagenome contains the genomes of all microbes included in a soil sample, including those that cannot be cultured. In this study, soil metagenome libraries were searched for microbial genes exhibiting lipolytic activity and those involved in potential lipid metabolism that could yield valuable products in microorganisms. One of the subclones derived from the original fosmid clone, pELP120, was selected for further analysis. A subclone spanning a 3.3 kb DNA fragment was found to encode for lipase/esterase and contained an additional partial open reading frame encoding a wax ester synthase (WES) motif. Consequently, both pELP120 and the full length of the gene potentially encoding WES were sequenced. To determine if the wes gene encoded a functioning WES protein that produced wax esters, gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy was conducted using ethyl acetate extract from an Escherichia coli strain that expressed the wes gene and was grown with hexadecanol. The ethyl acetate extract from this E. coli strain did indeed produce wax ester compounds of various carbon-chain lengths. DNA sequence analysis of the full-length gene revealed that the gene cluster may be derived from a member of Proteobacteria, whereas the clone does not contain any clear phylogenetic markers. These results suggest that the wes gene discovered in this study encodes a functional protein in E. coli and produces wax esters through a heterologous expression system.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.136-141
• /
• 2009

Marking biocontrol bacteria is an essential step to monitor bacterial behavior in natural environments before application in agricultural ecosystem. In this study, we presented the simple green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter system driven by the promoter active in Bacillus species for tagging of the biocontrol bacteria. A constitutive promoter P43 from Bacillus subtilis was fused to an enhanced promoterless gfp gene by overlap extension PCR. The GFP expression was demonstrated by the high fluorescence intensity detected in B. subtilis and Escherichia coli transformed with the P43-gfp fusion construct, respectively. The GFP reporter system was further investigated in two bacterial biocontrol strains B. licheniformis and Pseudomonas fluorescens. When the reconstructed plasmid pWH34G was introduced into B. licheniformis, GFP level measured with the fluorescence intensity in B. licheniformis was almost equivalent to that in B. subtilis. However, GFP expression level was extremely low in other biocontrol bacteria P. fluorescens by transposon based stable insertion of the P43-gfp construct into the bacterial chromosome. This study provides information regarding to the efficient biomarker P43-gfp fusion construct for bio-control Bacillus species.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.25 no.11
• /
• pp.559-571
• /
• 2022

Galectins, a family of ß-galactoside-binding lectins, have emerged as soluble mediators in infected cells and pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) responsible for evoking and regulating innate immunity. The present study aimed to evaluate the role of galectin-1 in the host immune response of redlip mullet (Liza haematocheilia). We established a cDNA database for redlip mullet, and the cDNA sequence of galectin-1 (LhGal-1) was characterized. In silico analysis was performed, and the spatial and temporal expression patterns in gills and blood in response to lipopolysaccharide polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid, and Lactococcus garvieae were estimated via quantitative real-time PCR. Functional assays were conducted using recombinant protein to investigate carbohydrate binding, bacterial binding, and bacterial agglutination activity. LhGal-1 was composed of 135 amino acids. Conserved motifs (H-NPR, -N- and -W-E-R) within the carbohydrate recognition domain were found in LhGal-1. The tissue distribution revealed that the healthy stomach expressed high levels of LhGal-1. The temporal monitoring of LhGal-1 mRNA expression in the gill and blood showed its significant upregulation in response to immune challenges with different stimulants. rLhGal-1 exhibited binding activity in response to carbohydrates and bacteria. Moreover, the agglutination of rLhGal-1 against Escherichia coli was observed. Collectively, our findings suggest that LhGal-1 may function as a PRR in redlip mullet. Furthermore, LhGal-1 can be considered a significant gene to play a protective role in redlip mullet immune system.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
• /
• v.38 no.sup2
• /
• pp.317-324
• /
• 2008

Purpose: Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans was associated with localized aggressive periodontitis, endocarditis, meningitis, and osteomyelitis. The cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) of A. actinomycetemcomitans was considered as a key factor of these diseases is composed of five open reading frames (ORFs). Among of them, An enzymatic subunit of the CDT, CdtB has been known to be internalized into the host cell in order to induce its genotoxic effect. However, CdtB can not be localized in host cytoplasm without the help of a heterodimeric complex consisting of CdtA and CdtC. So, some studies suggested that CdtC functions as a ligand to interact with GM3 ganglioside of host cell surface. The precise role of the CdtC protein in the mechanism of action of the holotoxin is unknown at the present time. The aim of this study was to generate recombinant CdtC proteins expression from A. actinomycetemcomitans, through gene cloning and protein used to investigate the function of Cdt C protein in the bacterial pathogenesis. Materials and Methods: The genomic DNA of A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4 (ATCC29522) was isolated using the genomic DNA extraction kit and used as template to yield cdtC genes by PCR. The amplifed cdtC genes were cloned into T-vector and cloned cdt C gene was then subcloned to pET28a expression vector. The pET28a-cdtC plasmid expressed in BL21 (DE3) Escherichia coli system. Diverse conditons were tested to opitimize the expression and purification of functional CdtC protein in E. coli. Results: In this study we reconstructed CdtC subunit of A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4 and comfirmed the recombinant CdtC expression by SDS-PAGE and Western Blotting. The expression level of the recombinant CdtC was about 2% of total bacterial proteins. Conclusion: The lab condition of procedure for the purification of functionally active recombinant CdtC protein is established. The active recombinant CdtC protein will serve to examine the role of CdtC proteins in the host recognition and enzyme activity of CDT and investigate the pathological process of A. actinomycetemcomitans in periodontal disease.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.325-330
• /
• 2007

RNase E is an essential Escherichia coli endoribonuclease that plays a major role in the decay and processing of a large fraction of RNAs in the cell and expression of N-terminal domain consisted of 1-498 amino acids (N-Rne) is sufficient to support normal cellular growth. By utilizing these properties of RNase E, we developed a genetic system to screen for amino acid substitutions in the catalytic domain of the protein (N-Rne) that lead to various phenotypes. Using this system, we identified three kinds of mutants. A mutant N-Rne containing amino acid substitution in the S1 domain (I6T) of the protein was not able to support survival of E. coli cells, and another mutant N-Rne with amino acid substitution at the position 488 (R488C) in the small domain enabled N-Rne to have an elevated ribonucleolytic activity, while amino acid substitution in the DNase I domain (N305D) only enabled N-Rne to support survival of E. roli cells when the mutant N-Rne was over-expressed. Analysis of copy number of ColEl-type plasmid revealed that effects of amino acid substitution on the ability of N-Rne to support cellular growth stemmed from their differential effects on the ribonucleolytic activity of N-Rne in the cell. These results imply that the genetic system developed in this study can be used to isolate mutant RNase E with various phenotypes, which would help to unveil a functional role of each subdomain of the protein in the regulation of RNA stability in E. coli.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.451-456
• /
• 2003

An expression vector system was developed for the secretory production of recombinant Bacillus stearothermophilus L1 lipase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The mature L1 lipase gene was fused to ${\alpha}-amylase$ signal sequence from Aspergillus oryzae for the effective secretion into the culture broth and the expression was controlled under GAL10 (the gene coding UDP-galactose epimerase of S. cerevisiae) promoter. S. cerevisiae harboring the resulting plasmid successfully secreted L1 lipase into the culture broth. To examine an optimum condition for L1 lipase expression in the fed-batch culture, L1 lipase expression was induced at three different growth phases (early, mid, and late-exponential growth phases). Maximum product on of L1 lipase (1,254,000 U/l, corresponding to 0.65/1) was found when the culture was induced at an early growth phase. Secreted recombinant L1 lipase was purified only through CM-Sepharose chromatography, and the purified enzyme showed 1,963 U/mg of specific activity and thermoalkalophilic properties similar to those reported for the enzyme expressed in Escherichia coli.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.13 no.6
• /
• pp.892-896
• /
• 2003

High-level expression of the lipase B26 gene from Bacillus pumilus was achieved using Bacillus subtilis Chungkookjang isolated from the Korean traditional fermented bean paste, Chungkookjang. For the secretory production of recombinant lipase B26 in a Bacillus host system, pLipB26 was constructed by ligating the lipase B26 gene into the recently designed Escherichia coli-Bacillus shuttle vector, pLipSM, and that was then transformed into B. subtilis Chungkookjang. Among the various vector, medium, and host combinations, B. subtilis Chungkookjang harboring the pLipB26 exhibited the highest lipase activity in PY medium, and B. subtilis Chungkookjang secreted two times more enzymes than B. subtilis DB 104 under the same condition. When B. subtilis Chungkookjang harboring the pLipB26 was cultured in a 5-1 jar-fermentor containing 21 of a PY medium, the maximum lipase activity (140 U/ml) and production yield (0.68 g/l) were obtained during the late exponential phase from a cell-free culture broth. Although B. subtilis Chungkookjang also secreted extracellular proteases at the late exponential phase, these results suggested the potential of B. subtilis Chungkookjang as a host for the secretory production of foreign proteins.