• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.676-681
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• 2002

Different types of transcripts encoding growth hormone (GH) were identified from cDNA libraries constructed with pituitaries of a marine fish species, greenling (Hexagrammos otakii). GH-homologous cDNA clones were isolated using the high-density filter hybridization and the expressed sequence tag techniques. Of 39 full-length positive cDNA clones, 31 clones ($79\%$) displayed an identical sequence, however, remaining 8 clones exhibited several polymorphisms in their sequences including (1) the length and sequence variability in the 5' upstream region, (2) insertional sequences in open reading frame, and (3) deletion and/or single nucleotide polymorphism in the untranslated 3' region. Based on RT-PCT and RNA dot blot analyses, these transcripts were proven to be expressed in a pituitary-specific manner.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.116-121
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• 2010

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) promote the development of brain and vision of the fetus, relieve inflammation, inhibit oral dysplasia of rumor cell, decrease the incidence of cardiovascular disease and regulate arrhythmia. ${\Delta}-6$ desaturase is the rate-limited enzyme in the desaturation process. This study reports the cloning, characterization and tissue expression of a ${\Delta}-6$ desaturase gene in the chicken. PCR primers were designed based on the predicted sequence of chicken ${\Delta}-6$ desaturase (accession number: XM421053) and used to isolate a cDNA fragment of 1,323 bp from chicken liver. Based on the 1,323 bp fragment an EST (BI390105) was obtained by BLAST. The EST and 5'nd of the 1,323 bp fragment were partially overlapped. Gene specific primers derived from the EST were used for amplification of the 5'nd. Another gene-specific primer derived from the 1,323 bp fragment was used for amplification of the 3'nd by 3'ACE. Then the three overlapping cDNA sequences obtained were assembled with DNAMAN software and a full-length ${\Delta}-6$ desaturase of 2,153 bp was obtained. The full-length cDNA contained an ORF of 1,335 bp with a 5'ntranslated region of 147 nucleotides followed by an ATG initiation codon. Stop codon TGA was at position 1,481-1,483 bp. The deduced amino acids shared an homology above 77% with bovine, mice, orangutan, rat and human. The protein sequence had three histidine-rich regions HDFGH (HisI region), HFQHH (HisII region) and HH (HisIII region), a cytochrome $b_{5}$-like domain containing a heme-binding motif and two transmembrane domains. Sequence analysis of the chicken genomic DNA revealed that the coding sequence of chicken ${\Delta}-6$ desaturase included 12 exons and 11 introns. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed that the ${\Delta}-6$ desaturase expression levels were in turn liver, spleen, pancreas, lung, breast muscle, heart, and abdominal fat. The expression of ${\Delta}-6$ desaturase in liver was significantly higher than that in breast muscle (p<0.01). The expression of ${\Delta}-6$ desaturase in lung was significantly higher than that in abdominal fat (p<0.01). This is the first clone of chicken ${\Delta}-6$ desaturase.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.845-850
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• 2011

Norovirus (NoV) causes major acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis in humans. NoV genus is a member of the family Caliciviridae, which is transmitted by contaminated food and water or from human to human. Many genotypes of genogroups I and II have been reported because of their high genetic diversity. To obtain molecular epidemiological information on gastroenteritis sporadic cases in Busan, Korea, we analyzed the nucleotide sequences of NoV strains detected during 2008~2010. We performed one step RT-PCR amplifying the open reading frame (ORF) 2 (capsid region) followed by semi-nested PCR. Fecal samples were collected from 4,071 acute gastroenteritis, and genotypes of the 421 positive samples were determined by sequence analysis. Based on partial sequence of capsid region, 7 NoV were categorized into genogroup I and 13 into genogroup II. Prevalent genotypes among gastroenteritis patients within Busan were GII.4, GI.6, GII.5 in 2008~2010. The results of this study will contribute to the currently available epidemiological data and improve public health and hygiene via development of diagnostic methods and sustainable surveillance.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.372-377
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• 2011

A virus causing mottle and stunt symptom on Zea mays was observed around Ulleng-do, Korea and identified as Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV-ZM) based upon biological, serological, and molecular characteristics. In host range studies, the CMV-ZM isolate produced local lesions on Datura stramonium, Vigna unguiculata, Cucurbita moschata, Chenopodium amaranticolor, Ch. quinoa, whereas this isolate produced systemic mosaic on Nicotiana tabacum cv. 'Xanthi-nc', Capsicum annuum, Solanum lycopersicum, Solanum melongena, Cucurbita pepo, and Z. mays. In addition, chlorotic local rings on inoculated leaves along with severe mosaic, malformation, and fern leaf symptoms on upper systemic leaves were shown in N. glutinosa plants. Complete nucleotide sequences of each genomic RNA segment was determined and compared to those of the other CMV strains. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence of 1a open reading frame (ORF) revealed approximately 89.2-92.4% sequence identity with each CMV subgroup IA and IB strain, while showing only 78% sequence identity with CMV subgroup II. Nucleotide sequence analysis of RNA2 ORFs revealed 85.3-97.6% sequence identity with subgroup I. In ORFs of RNA3, levels of nucleotide sequence identities were higher than 92-99.2% with CMV subgroup I and lower than 82% with CMV isolates of subgroup II. These results suggest that CMV-ZM isolate is more closely related to subgroup I than subgroup II and therefore, CMV-ZM isolate might be classified into as CMV subgroup I based on biological and molecular analysis.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.93-97
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• 1997

For the molecular genetic study of cold tolerance mechanism in plants, a cDNA encoding fatty acid desaturase (fad3), converting linoleic acid (18:2, $\omega$-6) to linolenic acid (18:3, $\omega$-3), was isolated from $\lambda$ZAPII Arabidopsis thaliana cDNA expression library by plaque hybridization using fad3 cDNA probe derived from Brassica napus. A 1.8 kb-EcoRI fragment from a lambda clone showing a strong positive hybridization signal was subcloned into pGEM7 and analyzed for its nucleotide sequence. From deduced amino acid sequences, the fad3 gene was revealed to have an open reading frame(ORF) consisting of 386 amino acids with a molecular mass of 44,075 Da. The fad3 gene was compared to chloroplast $\omega$-3 fatty acid desaturase (fad7) and endoplasmic reticulum Δ12 fatty acid desaturase (fad2) to show 70% and 58% amino acid sequence homology, respectively, Especially, amino acids of internal (82 to 151) and carboxy terminal (276 to 333) regions were highly conserved, implying their requisite role for enzymatic functioning of fatty acid desaturases. IPTG-induced fad3 cDNA expression in E. coli cells was suggested to be toxic to bacterial growth.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.95-101
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• 2009

Tea leaves are major source of catechins—antioxidant flavonoids. Dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR, EC 1.1.1.219) is one of the important enzymes that catalyzes the reduction of dihydroflavonols to leucoanthocyanins, a key ''late'' step in the biosynthesis of catechins. This manuscript reports characterization of DFR from tea (CsDFR) that comprised 1,413 bp full-length cDNA with ORF of 1,044 bp (115-1,158) and encoding a protein of 347 amino acids. Sequence comparison of CsDFR with earlier reported DFR sequences in a database indicated conservation of 69-87% among amino acid residues. In silico analysis revealed CsDFR to be a membrane-localized protein with a domain (between 16 and 218 amino acids) resembling the NAD-dependent epimerase/dehydratase family. The theoretical molecular weight and isoelectric point of the deduced amino sequence of CsDFR were 38.67 kDa and 6.22, respectively. Upon expression of CsDFR in E. coli, recombinant protein was found to be functional and showed specific activity of 42.85 nmol $min^{-1}$ mg $protein^{-1}$. Expression of CsDFR was maximum in younger rather than older leaves. Expression was down-regulated in response to drought stress and abscisic acid, unaffected by gibberellic acid treatment, but up-regulated in response to wounding, with concomitant modulation of catechins content. This is the first report of functionality of recombinant CsDFR and its expression in tea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.749-755
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• 2005

The ccpA gene encoding catabolite control protein A (CcpA) of Leuconostoc mesenteroides SYl, a strain isolated from kimchi, was cloned, sequenced, analyzed for transcript, and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The ccpA ORF (open reading frame) is 1,011 bp in size, which can encode a protein of 336 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 36,739 Da. The transcription start site was mapped at a position 49 nucleotides upstream of the start codon, and promoter sequences were also identified. The putative cre site overlapped with the -35 promoter sequence. The deduced amino acid sequence of the CcpA contained the helix-turn-helix motif found in many DNA-binding regulatory proteins. CcpA from 1. mesenteroides SY1 had $54.6\%$ identity with CcpA from Lactobacillus casei. The Northern blot experiment showed that ccpA was transcribed as a single 1.1 kb transcript, and transcription was repressed when grown on media containing glucose. CcpA was overproduced in E. coli BL21(DE3) cells using the pET expression vector, and purified to an apparent homogeneity. Gel Mobility Shift Assay with purified CcpA and a DNA fragment containing the ere sequence of the $\alpha$-galactosidase gene (aga) from L. mesenteroides SY1 revealed that CcpA bound specifically to the cre site of aga.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.859-865
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• 2003

Surfactin is a mixture of cyclic lipopeptides built from variants of a heptapeptide and a ${\beta}-hydroxy$ fatty acid produced by several strains of Bacillus sp. Surfactin isoforms produced by endophytic Bacillus sp. CY22 from a balloon flower were isolated and characterized. It was found that the purified surfactin had three isoforms with protonated masses of m/z 1,008, 1,022, and 1,036, and different structures in combination with Na, K, Ca ions using MALDI-TOF MS, ESI-MS/MS, and ICP MS, respectively. In the MS/MS analysis, the isolated surfactin had the identical amino acid sequence (LLVDLL) and hydroxy fatty acids (with 13 to 15 carbons in length), even though isolated from different Bacillus strains. The sfp22 gene, required for producing the surfactin, consisted of an open reading frame (ORF) of 675 bp encoding 224 amino acid residues with a signal peptide of 20 amino acids. The predicted amino acid sequence of sfp22 was very similar to that of Ipa-8.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.650-655
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• 1998

The chromosomal DNA fragment from Phaffia rhodozyma CBS 6938 which is able to autonomously replicate in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cloned on an integrative URA3 plasmid. Its minimal fragment exhibiting autonomously replicating activiy in the S. cerevisiae gave a higher frequency transformation efficiency than that found for centromere-based plasmid, and enabled extrachromosoma1ly stable transmission of the plasmids in one copy per yeast cell under non-selective culture condition. The 836-bp DNA element lacked an ORF and did not contain any acceptable match to an ARS core consensus. Sequence analysis, however, displayed a cluster of three hairpin-Ioop-sequences with individual $\triangle {G_{25}}^{\circ}C$ free energy value of -10.0, -17.5, and -17.0 kcal. $mor^{-l}$as well as a 9-bp sequence with two base pair mismatches to the S. cerevisiae/E. coli gyrase-binding site. This 836-bp sequence also included one 7-bp sequence analogous to the core consensus of centromeric DNA element III (CDEIII) of S. cerevisiae, but CDEIII-like 7 bp sequence alone did not give a replicative function in this yeast.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.921-928
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• 2002

Microorganism producing extracellular CFTase was isolated from soil and designated as Bacillus polymyxa MGL21. The gene encoding the CFTase (cft) from B. polymyxa MGL21 was cloned and sequenced. The ORF of the cf gene was composed of 3,999 nucleotides, encoding a protein (1,333 amino acids) with a predicted molecular mass of 149,375 Da. Sequence analysis indicated that CFTase was divided into five distinct regions. CFTase contained three regions of repeat sequences at the N-terminus and C-terminus. The endo-inulinase region of homology (ERH) of CFTase was similar to that of Pseudomonas mucidolens endo-inulinase ($50\%$ identity, 259 amino acids). Furthermore, CFTase possessed a highly conserved core region, which is considered to be functional for the hydrolysis reaction of inulin. The cft gene was expressed in a His-tagged form in Escherichia coli cells, and the His-tagged CFTase was purified to homogeneity. The optimal temperature and pH for CFTase activity were found to be $50^{\circ}C$ and 9.0, respectively. The enzyme activity was completely inhibited by 10 mM $Ag^+\;and\;Cu^2+$. Thin-layer chromatography analyses indicated that CFTase catalyzed not only the cyclization reaction ut also disproportionation and hydrolysis reactions as well.