• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.394-401
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• 2016

Recently, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system, a genome editing technology, was shown to be versatile in treating several antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In the present study, we applied the CRISPR/Cas9 technology to kill extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli. ESBL bacteria are mostly multidrug resistant (MDR), and have plasmid-mediated antibiotic resistance genes that can be easily transferred to other members of the bacterial community by horizontal gene transfer. To restore sensitivity to antibiotics in these bacteria, we searched for a CRISPR/Cas9 target sequence that was conserved among >1,000 ESBL mutants. There was only one target sequence for each TEM- and SHV-type ESBL, with each of these sequences found in ~200 ESBL strains of each type. Furthermore, we showed that these target sequences can be exploited to re-sensitize MDR cells in which resistance is mediated by genes that are not the target of the CRISPR/Cas9 system, but by genes that are present on the same plasmid as target genes. We believe our Re-Sensitization to Antibiotics from Resistance (ReSAFR) technology, which enhances the practical value of the CRISPR/Cas9 system, will be an effective method of treatment against plasmid-carrying MDR bacteria.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.867-874
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• 2016

Although shrimps belonging to family Crangonidae are known to be genetically divergent and ecologically important among the various benthos, any of their mitochondrial genome has not been reported yet. We here determined the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Crangon hakodatei (Rathbun, 1902), which was collected from East China Sea ($124^{\circ}E$ and $34.5^{\circ}N$). Total mitochondrial genome length of C. hakodatei was 16,060 bp, in which 13 proteins, 2 ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs and a putative control region were encoded. Secondary structure prediction analysis showed that twenty tRNA genes exhibit the conserved structure but two genes, $tRNA^{Cys}$ and $tRNA^{Ser}$ (AGN), lack T and D arm, respectively. Based on the sequence similarity of the COI region from the currently reported five species belonging to genus Crangonidae, C. hakodatei was most closely related to Crangon crangon. Phylogenetic analysis of full COXI genes belonging to infraorder Caridea showed that only crangonid shrimps were clustered together with those of Dendrobranchiata. Gene order were well conserved from Penaeoidea to Caridea but $tRNA^{Pro}$ and $tRNA^{Thr}$ in Palaemonid shrimp were flipped each other by the recombination. Further study about mitochondrial genome sequences of shrimps belonging to Crangonidae should be made to know better about their evolutional relationships with other those in infraorder Caridea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1698-1704
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• 2012

Resveratrol, or its glycoside form piceid, is a dietary antioxidant polyphenolic compound, found in grapes and red wine that has been shown to have protective effects against cardiovascular disease. However, very low water solubility of the compound may limit its application in the food and pharmaceutical industries. The amylosucrase (AMAS) of Alteromonas macleodii Deep ecotype was expressed in Escherichia coli and showed high glycosyltransferase activity to produce the glucosyl piceid when piceid was used as an acceptor. The conversion yield of piceid glucoside was 35.2%. Biotransformation using culture of the E. coli harboring the amas gene increased the yield up to 70.8%. The transfer product was purified by reverse phase chromatography and recycling preparative HPLC, and the molecular structure of the piceid glucoside was determined using NMR spectroscopy. The piceid glucoside was identified as glucosyl-${\alpha}$-($1{\rightarrow}4$)-piceid. The solubility of glucosyl piceid was 5.26 and 1.14 times higher than those of resveratrol and piceid, respectively. It is anticipated that dietary intake of this compound is more effective by enhancing the bioavailability of resveratrol in the human body because of its hydrophilic properties in the intestinal fluid.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2003

The genetic relatedness of multidrug-resistant pneumococcal isolates of serotypes 19F and 23F was investigated. The DNA fragments digested with Sma I were resolved by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). PFGE analysis of 365. pneumoniae isolates showed 13 different patterns. Among 22 isolates of serotype 19F, 9 different PFGE patterns were present and 14 isolates of serotype 23F isolates represented 5 distinct PFGE patterns. Two isolates of serotype 19F and six isolates of serotype 23F shared the same PFGE pattern (Pattern I). Based on the genetic relatedness within the strains (one genetic cluster was defined as having more than 85% homology), we divided the pneumococcal strains into genefic clusters (Ⅰ, II, III, IV, V, and VI). The 22 strains of serotype 19F belonged to five distinct genetic clusters (I, II, III, IV, V and VI) and 14 strains of serotype 23F represented two genetic clusters (I and II ). These results showed that strains of serotype 19F are genetically more diverse than those of serotype 23F, Serotype 19F isolates with PFGE patterns H and I appeared to be less related to those of the remaining PFCE patterns (A to G) (less than 60% genetic relatedness), but those strains were genetically closely related with serotype 23f. These results suggest that the latter isolates originated from horizontal transfer of the capsular type 19F gene locus to 23F pneumococcal genotypes. In conclusion, the multidrug-resistant pneumococcal isolates of serotype 19f and 23F isolated in Korea are the result of the spread of a limited number of resistant clones.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.130-139
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• 2017

$CXCR5^+$ T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are associated with aberrant autoantibody production in patients with antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases including lupus. Follicular regulatory T (Tfr) cells expressing CXCR5 and Bcl6 have been recently identified as a specialized subset of $Foxp3^+$ regulatory T (Treg) cells that control germinal center reactions. In this study, we show that retroviral transduction of CXCR5 gene in $Foxp3^+$ Treg cells induced a stable expression of functional CXCR5 on their surface. The Cxcr5-transduced Treg cells maintained the expression of Treg cell signature genes and the suppressive activity. The expression of CXCR5 as well as Foxp3 in the transduced Treg cells appeared to be stable in vivo in an adoptive transfer experiment. Moreover, Cxcr5-transduced Treg cells preferentially migrated toward the CXCL13 gradient, leading to an effective suppression of antibody production from B cells stimulated with Tfh cells. Therefore, our results demonstrate that enforced expression of CXCR5 onto Treg cells efficiently induces Tfr cell-like properties, which might be a promising cellular therapeutic approach for the treatment of antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.320-322
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• 2017

A betaproteobacterium strain GR16-43 was isolated from a surface layer of the Geomnyong Pond in Republic of Korea by a dilution-to-extinction culturing method. We report the whole genome sequence of the strain GR16-43, which contains 4,806,848 bp with a G + C content 67.12%, and to include 4,424 protein-coding genes and 47 transfer RNA genes. The genome was determined to contain the genes encoding carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, nitric oxide reductase, and the sulfur oxidation (sox) gene cluster, highlighting the potential importance of the bacterial group represented by the strain in the cycling of inorganic elements. These results indicate that strain GR16-43 genome showed several traits indicating adaptation of the bacteria to living in freshwater environments.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.189-196
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• 2004

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs) playa key role in tumor invasion and metastasis. As an inhibitor of MMP-2, TIMP-2 is known to block both the invasive and metastatic behavior of cancer cells, and decrease tumor growth activity. We performed this study to investigate the effects of TIMP-2 over-expression induced by retroviral mediated gene transfer in vitro and in vivo. The human colon cancer cell line SW480 was transfected with the retroviral vector encoding TIMP-2. The effects of TIMP-2 over-expression were analyzed by invasion assay and gelatinase activity test in colon cancer cells and tumorigencity in nude mice. In evaluation of the transfection efficiency of the retroviral vector encoding TIMP-2 in colon cancer cells, we confirmed up-regulation of TIMP-2 expression dependent on the time of cell culture. In addition, inhibition of MMP-2 expression in SW480/TIMP-2 was shown by gelatin zymography. In the in vitro invasion assay SW480/TIMP-2 inhibited the invasiveness on matrigel coated with collagen. To determine whether TIMP-2 can modulate in vivo tumorigenicity and metastasis, SW480/TIMP-2 cells were injected subcutaneously in nude mice. The tumor mass formation of SW480/TIMP-2 cells in nude mice was markedly decreased compared to nontransfected cancer cells. These results showed that colon cancer cells transfected with the retroviral vector encoding TIMP-2 inhibits the invasiveness in vitro and tumorigenicity in vivo.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.171-173
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• 2019

The genus Cohnella, which belongs to the family Paenibacillaceae, inhabits a wide range of environmental niches. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of Cohnella sp. HS21, which was isolated from the rhizospheric soil of Korean fir (Abies koreana) on the top of Halla Mountain in the Republic of Korea. Strain HS21 features a 7,059,027 bp circular chromosome with 44.8% GC-content. Its genome contains 5,939 protein-coding genes, 78 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, 27 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 4 noncoding RNA genes (ncRNA), and 90 pseudogenes. The bacterium contains antibiotic-related gene clusters and genes encoding plant cell wall-degrading enzymes.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.321-332
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• 2019

The brain is the most common metastatic site of lung adenocarcinoma; however, the mechanism of this selective metastasis remains unclear. We aimed to verify the hypothesis that exposure of tumor cells to the brain microenvironment leads to changes in their gene expression, which promotes their oriented transfer to the brain. A549 and H1299 lung adenocarcinoma cells were exposed to human astrocyte-conditioned medium to simulate the brain microenvironment. Microarray analysis was used to identify differentially expressed genes, which were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting. Knockdown experiments using microRNAs and the overexpression of genes by cell transfection were performed in addition to migration and invasion assays. In vitro findings were confirmed in clinical specimens using immunohistochemistry. We found and confirmed a significant increase in insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP3) levels. Our results also showed that the up-regulation of IGFBP3 promoted A549 cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition, migration, and invasion, while the knockdown of IGFBP3 resulted in decreased cell motility. We also found that Transforming growth factor-${\beta}$ (TGF-${\beta}$)/Mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 4 (Smad4)-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition was likely IGFBP3-dependent in A549 cells. Finally, expression of IGFBP3 was significantly elevated in pulmonary cancer tissues and intracranial metastatic tissues. Our data indicate that up-regulation of IGFBP3 might mediate brain metastasis in lung adenocarcinoma, which makes it a potential therapeutic target.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.61-73
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• 2022

In this study, we developed a reliable and efficient Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation system by applying sonication and vacuum infiltration to six chickpea cultivars (ICCV2, ICCV10, ICCV92944, ICCV37, JAKI9218, and JG11) using embryo axis explants. Wounded explants were precultured for 3 days in shoot induction medium (SIM) before sonication and vacuum infiltration with an Agrobacterium suspension and co-cultivated for 3 days in co-cultivation medium containing 100 µM/l of acetosyringone and 200 mg/l of L-cysteine. Responsive explants with putatively transformed shoots were selected using a gradual increase in kanamycin from 25 mg/l to 100 mg/l in selection medium to eliminate escapes. Results showed optimal transformation efficiency at a bacterial density of 1.0, an optical density at 600 nm wavelength (OD₆₀₀), and an infection duration of 30 min. The presence and stable integration of the β-glucuronidase (gusA) gene into the chickpea genome were confirmed using GUS histochemical assay and polymerase chain reaction. A high transformation efficiency was achieved among the different factors tested using embryo axis explants of cv. JAKI 9218. Of the six chickpea cultivars tested, JAKI9218 showed the highest transformation efficiency of 8.6%, followed by JG11 (7.2%), ICCV92944 (6.8%), ICCV37 (5.4%), ICCV2 (4.8%), and ICCV10 (4.6%). These findings showed that the Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation system will help transfer novel candidate genes into chickpea.