• Title/Summary/Keyword: Genome sequences

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Computer-Aided Drug Discovery in Plant Pathology

  • Shanmugam, Gnanendra;Jeon, Junhyun
    • The Plant Pathology Journal
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    • v.33 no.6
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    • pp.529-542
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    • 2017
  • Control of plant diseases is largely dependent on use of agrochemicals. However, there are widening gaps between our knowledge on plant diseases gained from genetic/mechanistic studies and rapid translation of the knowledge into target-oriented development of effective agrochemicals. Here we propose that the time is ripe for computer-aided drug discovery/design (CADD) in molecular plant pathology. CADD has played a pivotal role in development of medically important molecules over the last three decades. Now, explosive increase in information on genome sequences and three dimensional structures of biological molecules, in combination with advances in computational and informational technologies, opens up exciting possibilities for application of CADD in discovery and development of agrochemicals. In this review, we outline two categories of the drug discovery strategies: structure- and ligand-based CADD, and relevant computational approaches that are being employed in modern drug discovery. In order to help readers to dive into CADD, we explain concepts of homology modelling, molecular docking, virtual screening, and de novo ligand design in structure-based CADD, and pharmacophore modelling, ligand-based virtual screening, quantitative structure activity relationship modelling and de novo ligand design for ligand-based CADD. We also provide the important resources available to carry out CADD. Finally, we present a case study showing how CADD approach can be implemented in reality for identification of potent chemical compounds against the important plant pathogens, Pseudomonas syringae and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides.

Genomic Analysis of Actinomyces sp. Strain CtC72, a Novel Fibrolytic Anaerobic Bacterium Isolated from Cattle Rumen

  • Joshi, Akshay;Vasudevan, Gowdaman;Engineer, Anupama;Pore, Soham;Hivarkar, Sai Suresh;Lanjekar, Vikram Bholanath;Dhakephalkar, Prashant Kamalakar;Dagar, Sumit Singh
    • Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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    • v.46 no.1
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    • pp.59-67
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    • 2018
  • A xylanolytic and cellulolytic anaerobic bacterium strain CtC72 was isolated from cattle rumen liquor. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain CtC72 shared only 97.78% homology with its nearest phylogenetic affiliate Actinomyces ruminicola, showing its novelty. The strain could grow on medium containing xylan, carboxymethyl cellulose and avicel producing $CO_2$, acetate, and ethanol as major fermentation products. The whole genome analysis of the strain CtC72 exhibited a broad range of carbohydrate-active enzymes required for the breakdown and utilization of lignocellulosic biomass. Genes related to the production of ethanol and stress tolerance were also detected. Further there were several unique genes in CtC72 for chitin degradation, pectin utilization, sugar utilization, and stress response in comparison with Actinomyces ruminicola. The results show that the strain CtC72, a putative novel bacterium can be used for lignocellulosic biomass based biotechnological applications.

Identification and Phylogeny of the Human Endogenous Retrovirus HERV-W LTR Family in Human Brain cDNA Library and Xq21.3 Region

  • KIM, HEUI-SOO;TIMOTHY J. CRO
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.508-513
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    • 2002
  • Human endogenous retroviral long terminal repeats (LTRs) have been found to be coexpressed with sequences of genes located nearby. It has been suggested that the LTR elements have contributed to the structural change or genetic variation of human genome connected to various diseases. The HERV-W family has been identified in the cerebrospinal fluids and brains of individuals with schizophrenia. Using a cDNA library derived from a human brain, the HERV-W LTR elements were examined and five new LTR elements were identified. These elements were examined using a YAC clone panel from the Xq21.3 region linked to psychosis that was replicated on the Y chromosome after the separation of the chimpanzee and human lineages. Fourteen elements of the HERV-W LTR were identified in that region. Those LTR elements showed a high degree of sequence similarity ($91.8-99.5\%$) with previously reported HERV-W LTR. A phylogenetic tree obtained from the neighbor-joining method revealed that new HERV-W LTR elements were closely related to the AXt000960, AF072504, and AF072506 from the GenBank database. The data indicates that several copy numbers of the HERV-W LTR elements exist on the Xq21.3 region and are also expressed in the human brain. These LTR elements need to be further investigated as potential leads to neuropsychiatric diseases.

Unbalanced Restriction Impairs SOS-induced DNA Repair Effects

  • Katna, Anna;Boratynski, Robert;Furmanek-Blaszk, Beata;Zolcinska, Natalia;Sektas, Marian
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.20 no.1
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    • pp.30-38
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    • 2010
  • The contribution of a type II restriction-modification system (R-M system) to genome integrity and cell viability was investigated. We established experimental conditions that enabled the achievement of hemimethylated and unmethylated states for the specific bases of the recognition sequences of the host's DNA. To achieve this, we constructed the MboII R-M system containing only one (i.e., M2.MboII) out of two functional MboII methyltransferases found in Moraxella bovis. Using the incomplete R-M system, we were able to perturb the balance between methylation and restriction in an inducible manner. We demonstrate that upon the SOS-induced DNA repair in mitomycin C treated cells, restriction significantly reduces cell viability. Similar results for the well-studied wild-type EcoRI R-M system, expressed constitutively in Escherichia coli, were obtained. Our data provide further insights into the benefits and disadvantages of maintaining of a type II R-M system, highlighting its impact on host cell fitness.

Molecular Characterization of Rockbream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) Cytoskeletal β-actin Gene and Its 5'-Upstream Regulatory Region

  • Lee, Sang-Yoon;Kim, Ki-Hong;Nam, Yoon-Kwon
    • Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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    • v.12 no.2
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    • pp.90-97
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    • 2009
  • The cytoskeletal $\beta$-actin gene and its 5'-upstream region were isolated and characterized in the rockbream (Oplegnathus fasciatus). Complementary DNA of the rockbream $\beta$-actin represented a 1,125 bp of an open reading frame encoding 375 amino acids, and the rockbream $\beta$-actin cDNA and deduced amino acid sequences were highly homologous to those of other vertebrate orthologs. At the genomic level, the $\beta$-actin gene also exhibited an organization typical of vertebrate cytoskeletal actin genes (2,159 bp composed of five translated exons interrupted by four introns) with a conserved GT/AG exon-intron splicing rule. The putative non-translated exon predicted in the rockbream $\beta$-actin gene was much more homologous with those of teleostean $\beta$-actin genes than those of mammals. The 5'-upstream regulatory region isolated by genome walking displayed conserved and essential elements such as TATA, CArG and CAAT boxes in its proximal part, while several other immune- or stress-related motifs such as those for NF-kappa B, USF, HNF, AP-1 and C/EBP were in the distal part. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR assay results demonstrated that the rockbream $\beta$-actin transcripts were ubiquitously but different-tially expressed across the tissues of juveniles.

Fibrobacter succinogenes, a Dominant Fibrolytic Ruminal Bacterium: Transition to the Post Genomic Era

  • Jun, H.S.;Qi, M.;Ha, J.K.;Forsberg, C.W.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.20 no.5
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    • pp.802-810
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    • 2007
  • Fibrobacter succinogenes, a Gram-negative, anaerobic ruminal bacterium is a major fibre digesting species in the rumen. It intensively degrades plant cell walls by an erosion type of mechanism, burrowing its way through the complex matrix of cellulose and hemicellulose with the release of digestible and undigested cell wall fragments. The enzymes involved in this process include a combination of glucanases, xylanases, arabinofuranosidase(s) and esterases. The genome of the bacterium has been sequenced and this has revealed in excess of 100 putative glycosyl hydrolase, pectate lyase and carbohydrate esterase genes, which is greater than the numbers reported present in other major cellulolytic organisms for which genomes have been sequenced. Modelling of the amino acid sequences of two glycanases, CedA and EGB, by reference to crystallized homologs has enabled prediction of the major features of their tertiary structures. Two dimensional gel electrophoresis in conjunction with mass spectroscopy has permitted the documentation of proteins over expressed in F. succinogenes grown on cellulose, and analysis of the cell surfaces of mutant strains unable to bind to cellulose has enabled the identification of candidate proteins with roles in adhesion to the plant cell wall substrate, the precursor to cellulose biodegradation.

Development of Strain-Specific Primers for Identification of Bifidobacterium bifidum BGN4

  • Youn, So Youn;Ji, Geun Eog;Han, Yoo Ri;Park, Myeong Soo
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.27 no.5
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    • pp.909-915
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    • 2017
  • Bifidobacterium bifidum BGN4 (BGN4) has many proven beneficial effects, including antiallergy and anticancer properties. It has been commercialized and used in several probiotic products, and thus strain-specific identification of this strain is very valuable for further strain-dependent physiological study. For this purpose, we developed novel multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primer sets for strain-specific detection of BGN4 in commercial products and fecal samples of animal models. The primer set was tested on seven strains of B. bifidum and 75 strains of the other Bifidobacterium species. The BGN4-specific regions were derived using megaBLAST against genome sequences of various B. bifidum databases and four sets of primers were designed. As a result, only BGN4 produced four PCR products simultaneously whereas the other strains did not. The PCR detection limit using BGN4-specific primer sets was $2.8{\times}10^1CFU/ml$ of BGN4. Those primer sets also detected and identified BGN4 in the probiotic products containing BNG4 and fecal samples from a BGN4-fed animal model with high specificity. Our results indicate that the PCR assay from this study is an efficient tool for the simple, rapid, and reliable identification of BGN4, for which probiotic strains are known.

A DNA Microarray LIMS System for Integral Genomic Analysis of Multi-Platform Microarrays

  • Cho, Mi-Kyung;Kang, Jason Jong-ho;Park, Hyun-Seok
    • Genomics & Informatics
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    • v.5 no.2
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    • pp.83-87
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    • 2007
  • The analysis of DNA microarray data is a rapidly evolving area of bioinformatics, and various types of microarray are emerging as some of the most exciting technologies for use in biological and clinical research. In recent years, microarray technology has been utilized in various applications such as the profiling of mRNAs, assessment of DNA copy number, genotyping, and detection of methylated sequences. However, the analysis of these heterogeneous microarray platform experiments does not need to be performed separately. Rather, these platforms can be co-analyzed in combination, for cross-validation. There are a number of separate laboratory information management systems (LIMS) that individually address some of the needs for each platform. However, to our knowledge there are no unified LIMS systems capable of organizing all of the information regarding multi-platform microarray experiments, while additionally integrating this information with tools to perform the analysis. In order to address these requirements, we developed a web-based LIMS system that provides an integrated framework for storing and analyzing microarray information generated by the various platforms. This system enables an easy integration of modules that transform, analyze and/or visualize multi-platform microarray data.

Isolation, Restriction Mapping, and Promoter Sequence Analysis of an Isoperoxidase Gene from Korean-Radish, Raphanus sativus L.

  • Park, Jong-Hoon;Kim, Soung-Soo
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.29 no.1
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    • pp.52-57
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    • 1996
  • A specific DNA fragment from Korean radish (Raphanus sativus L.) was amplified by performing PCR with oligonucleotide primers which correspond to the highly conserved regions of plant peroxidases. The size of the PCR product was ca. 400 bp, as expected from the known plant peroxidase genes. Comparison of the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the PCR product to those of other plant peroxidase-encoding genes revealed that the amplified fragment corresponded to the highly conserved region I and III of plant peroxidases. By screening a genomic library of Korean radish using the amplified fragment as a probe, two positive clones, named prxK1 and prxK2, were isolated. Restriction mapping studies indicated that the 5.2 kb Sail fragment of the prxK1 clone and the 4.0 kb EcoRI fragment of the prxK2 clone encode separate isoperoxidase genes. Analyses of the promoter region of the prxK1 clone shows that putative CAAT box, CMT box, and TGA1b binding sequence (5' TGACGT) are present 718 bp upstream from the start codon.

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Evolutionary history of the monospecific Compsopogon genus (Compsopogonales, Rhodophyta)

  • Nan, Fangru;Feng, Jia;Lv, Junping;Liu, Qi;Xie, Shulian
    • ALGAE
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    • v.31 no.4
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    • pp.303-315
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    • 2016
  • Compsopogon specimens collected in China were examined based on morphology and DNA sequences. Five molecular markers from different genome compartments including rbcL, COI, 18S rDNA, psbA, and UPA were identified and used to construct a phylogenetic relationship. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that two different morphological types from China clustered into an independent clade with Compsopogon specimens when compared to other global samples. The Compsopogon clade exhibited robust support values, revealing the affiliation of the samples to Compsopogon caeruleus. Although the samples were distributed in a close geographical area, unexpected sequence divergences between the Chinese samples implied that they were introduced by different dispersal events and from varied origins. It was speculated that Compsopogon originated in North America, a portion of the Laurentia landmass situated in the Rodinia supercontinent at approximately 573.89-1,701.50 million years ago during the Proterozoic era.Although Compsopogonhad evolved for a rather long time, genetic conservation had limited its variability and rate of evolution, resulting in the current monospecific global distribution. Additional global specimens and sequence information were required to increase our understanding of the evolutionary history of this ancient red algal lineage.