• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.607-613
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• 2012

Improvement of endoglucanase activity was accomplished by utilizing error-prone rolling circle amplification, supplemented with 1.7 mM $MnCl_2$. This procedure generated random mutations in the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens endoglucanase gene with a frequency of 10 mutations per kilobase. Six mutated endoglucanase genes, recovered from six colonies, possessed endoglucanase activity between 2.50- and 3.12-folds higher than wild type. We sequenced these mutants, and the different mutated sites of nucleotides were identified. The mutated endoglucanase sequences had five mutated amino acids: A15T, P24A, P26Q, G27A, and E289V. Among these five substitutions, E289V was determined to be responsible for the improved enzyme activity. This observation was confirmed with site-directed mutagenesis; the introduction of only one mutation (E289V) in the wild-type endoglucanase gene resulted in a 7.93-fold (5.55 U/mg protein) increase in its enzymatic activity compared with that (0.7 U/mg protein) of wild type.

• Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.193-200
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• 2007

Mungbean plants generally have a relatively close canopy, thus a large amount of self-shading can reduce yield due to poor light penetration. Modification of leaflet type can affect leaf canopy and could alter seed yield. Two multiple leaflet mutants were obtained from gamma-ray irradiation and used to study the mode of inheritance related to leaflet types and to evaluate their agronomic features. The cross between large-heptafoliate leaflet with small-pentafoliate leaflet mutants produce all $F_1$ plants with normal trifoliate leaflets. The $F_2$ plants segregated in leaflet size and leaflet number into a 9:3:3:1 ratio of large-trifoliate: large-heptafoliate: small-pentafoliate: small-heptafoliate plants, suggesting that independent loci control leaflet size and leaflet number. Regarding leaflet number, the $F_2$ population can be classified into normal-trifoliate, small-pentafoliate, large-heptafoliate, and small-heptafoliate at the dihybrid ratio of 9:3:3:1. The gene symbols $N_1,n_1$ and $N_2,n_2$ are proposed to represent leaflet number. Since no plant was found with large-pentafoliate leaflets, we hypothesize that the $N_2$ allele expresses pleiotropic effect on both leaflet number and leaflet size. Another possibility is that an additional locus with S and s alleles controls leaflet size and S is tightly linked with $N_2$. The effect of multifoliate leaflet on yield and yield components was evaluated in four mungbean families each with four leaflet isolines under three environments. Averaging across the families and environments, the normal-trifoliate and large-heptafoliate lines gave higher yield than small pentafoliate and heptafoliate ones. These two large leaflet lines also had higher leaf area per plant than the other multifoliate lines. Therefore, the mungbean lines with a greater leaf area, which were likely to intercept more sunlight, gave greater yield. Three AFLP markers that were found to be linked to number of leaflets per leaf, corresponded to the N1 allele of the smallpentafoliate parent.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.326-333
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• 2003

Transgenic rice plants expressing a Bacillus subtilis protoporphyrinogen oxidase (Protox), the last shared enzyme of the porphyrin pathway in the expressed cytoplasm or the plastids, were compared with non-trangenic rice plants in their growth characteristics such as tiller number, plant height, biomass, and yield. Transgenic rice plants of $\textrm{T}_3$ generation had 8 to 15 % and 25 to 43% increases in tiller number compared to non-transgenic rice plants at 4 and 8 weeks after transplanting(WAT); similar values were observed for $\textrm{T}_4$ generation at 4 and 8 WAT. However, the plant height in both $\textrm{T}_3$ and $\textrm{T}_4$ generations was similar between transgenic rice plants and non-transgenic rice plants at 4 and 8 WAT. Transgenic rice plants had 13 to 32% increase in above-ground biomass and 9 to 28% increase in grain yield compared to non-transgenic rice plants, demonstrating that biomass and yield correlate with each other. The increased grain yield of the transgenic rice plants was closely associated with the increased panicle number per plant. The percent of filled grain, thousand grains and spikelet number per panicle were similar between transgenic and non-transgenic rice plants. Generally, the growth and yield of transgenic generations ($\textrm{T}_2$, $\textrm{T}_3$, and $\textrm{T}_4$) and gene expressing sites (cytoplasm-expressed and plastid-targeted transgenic rice plants) were similar, although they slightly varied with generations as well as with gene expressing sites. The transgenic rice plants had promotive effects, indicating that regulation of the porphyrin pathway by expression of B. subtilis Protox in rice influences plant growth and yield.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.229-235
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• 1992

Differential expression of the three chlorophyll afb binding (cab) protein gene (cabl, cab2, and cab3) promoters of Arabidopsis thaliana was studied in tobacco plants transformed with cab-CAT (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase) translational fusions. CAT activity was measured to monitor the activities of the cab promoters. The activity of cabi promoter was higher than the other two in transformed tobacco leaves and also in calli and shoots derived from the leaves. Their activities were organ-specific and were the lowest in roots, medium in stems, and the highest in leaves. The relative activity of cabi promoter in stems comparing to it activity in leaves was, however, much higher than the values of cab2 and cab3. When the cab promoter activity was expressed as CAT activity per unit chlorophyll instead of CAT activity per unit protein, the relative cab] promoter activity (stem/leaf) became almost unity. This result suggests that cab2 and cab3 show photosynthetic organ-specificity but cabl does not. Similar result was obtained in the differentiation process of stems and leaves from shoots derived from the transgenic tobacco leaves.leaves.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2000.10a
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• pp.1-2
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• 2000

High production of milk and its components are necessary to allow maximal growth of developing piglets. In this study, transgenic pigs were produced containing the $\alpha$-lactalbumin gene, whose product is a potential limiting component in the production of milk. Two lines of transgenic pigs were produced to analyze the effects that overproduction of the milk protein $\alpha$-lactalbumin may have on milk production and piglet growth. Transgenic pigs were produced through microinjection of the bovine $\alpha$-lactalbumin gene. The gene construct contained 2.0 kb of 5 flanking region, the 2.0 kb coding region and 329 bp of 3 flanking region. Sows hemizygous for the transgene produced as much as 0.9 g of bovine $\alpha$-lactalbumin per liter of pig milk. The production of the bovine protein caused approximately a 50 % increase in the total $\alpha$-lactalbumin concentration in pig milk throughout lactation. The concentration of bovine $\alpha$-lactalbumin was highest on day 0 and 5 of lactation and decreased as lactation progressed. The ratio of bovine to porcine $\alpha$-lactalbumin changed during the sow's lactation. This ratio was 4.3 to 1 on day 0 of lactation, but by day 20 of lactation the ratio was 0.43 to 1. This suggested that the bovine transgene and the endogenous porcine gene were under slightly different control mechanisms. The higher level of total $\alpha$-lactalbumin present on day 0 of lactation was correlated with higher lactose percentage on day 0 in transgenic sows (3.8 %) as compared to controls (2.6 %) (P < 0.01). Although there was also a trend for higher lactose percentage in transgenic sows on day 5 and 10 of lactation, no significant differences were observed. These data suggest that $\alpha$-lactalbumin is limiting early in lactation of swine. Furthermore, higher concentrations of $\alpha$-lactalbumin early in lactation may boost milk output.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.284-294
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• 2023

Objective: This study investigated the effects of in ovo feeding of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and embryonic thermal manipulation (ETM) on growth performance, organ indices, plasma biochemical parameters, hepatic antioxidant levels, and expression of lipid metabolism-related genes in broilers. Methods: Two hundred and fifty eggs were assigned to one of four treatments: control eggs incubated under standard conditions (CON); eggs that received an in ovo injection of 10% GABA on day 17.5 of incubation (G10); thermally manipulated eggs between days 10 and 18 of incubation at 39.6°C for 6 h daily (TM); and eggs that received both treatments during incubation (G10+TM). After 28 days of rearing, five birds per treatment were selected for blood and organ sampling. Results: No differences were found in hatchability or growth parameters among different treatment groups. Hepatic gene expression of catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx1) was upregulated (p = 0.046 and p = 0.006, respectively) in the G10+TM group, while that of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) was upregulated (p = 0.039) in the G10 group. In addition, the relative gene expression of NADPH oxidase 1 (NOX1) was significantly lower (p = 0.007) in all treatment groups than that in the CON group. Hepatic fatty acid synthase (FAS) levels and average daily feed intake (ADFI) of last week showed a positive correlation (r = 0.50, p = 0.038). In contrast, the relative gene expression of the extracellular fatty acid-binding protein (EXFAB) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) were positively correlated (r = 0.48, p = 0.042 and r = 0.50, p = 0.031) with the overall ADFI of birds. Conclusion: Taken together, the results of this study suggest that the combination of in ovo feeding of GABA and ETM can enhance hepatic antioxidant function in broilers.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.573-580
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• 2004

To prepare chitosan-based polymeric amphiphiles that can form nanosized core-shell structures (nanopar­ticles) in aqueous milieu, chitosan oligosaccharides (COSs) were modified chemically with hydrophobic cholesterol groups. The physicochemical properties of the hydrophobized COSs (COSCs) were investigated by using dynamic light scattering and fluorescence spectroscopy. The feasibility of applying the COSCs to biomedical applications was investigated by introducing them into a gene delivery system. The COSCs formed nanosized self-aggregates in aqueous environments. Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of the COSC nanoparticles were closely related to the molecular weights of the COSs and the number of hydrophobic groups per COS chain. The critical aggregation concentration values decreased upon increasing the hydrophobicity of the COSCs. The COSCs effi­ciently condensed plasmid DNA into nanosized ion-complexes, in contrast to the effect of the unmodified COSs. An investigation of gene condensation, performed using a gel retardation assay, revealed that $COS6(M_n=6,040 Da)$ containing $5\%$ of cholesteryl chloroformate (COS6C5) formed a stable DNA complex at a COS6C5/DNA weight ratio of 2. In contrast, COS6, the unmodified COS, failed to form a stable COS/DNA complex even at an elevated weight ratio of 8. Furthermore, the COS6C5/DNA complex enhanced the in vitro transfection efficiency on Human embryonic kidney 293 cells by over 100 and 3 times those of COS6 and poly(L-lysine), respectively. Therefore, hydrophobized chitosan oligosaccharide can be considered as an efficient gene carrier for gene delivery systems.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.129-138
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• 1998

Bovine growth hormone (bGH) gene was expressed in an insect Spodoptera frugiperda cell line using a Baculovirus, Hyphantria cunea nuclear polyhedrosis virus (HcNPV). The bGH gene in pbGH plasmid was sequenced and amplified by PCR technique with two primers containing NcoI sites. The bGH gene consisted of 654 bp (217 amino acid residues), the 5'-untranslated region of the cloned bGH cDNA contains 56 bp, and the 3'-untranslated region contains 145 bp and two pallindromic regions. The amplified bGH gene DNA fragment (654 bp) was inserted into the NcoI site of the pHcEVII vector, which was named pHcbGH. The pHcbGH transfer vector DNA and the wild type HcNPV DNA were cotransfected into S. frugiperda cells to construct a recombinant virus. Eight recombinant viruses were selected and named HcbGH. One clone, HcbGH-4-1 showed largest plaque size, therefore the recombinant virus was further studied. The multiplication pattern of the recombinant HcbGH-4-1 was similar to that of the wild type HcNPV. The bGH gene DNA in the HcbGH-4-1 recombinant was confirmed by Southern blot hybridization. The amount of the bGH (217 amino acid residues, 21 kDa) produced in S. frugiperda cells infected with the HcbGH-4-1 recombinant was approximately 5.5 ng per ml ($10^6$ cells) by radioimmunoassay.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.215-224
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• 1998

Cloning, sequencing and expressing in E. coli of the thymidine kinase (TK) gene of Herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) strain F was investigated. The TK gene, located in the BamHI 3.74 kb DNA fragment of the plasmid pHLA-12, was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The 1,131 kb PCR product was cloned into the BamHI and EcoRI sites of pBacPAK9 plasmid and then named pBac-TK recombinant. The TK gene was subcloned into the BamHI and BglII sites of pQE-30, and named pQE-TK recombinant. The nucleotide sequence of the 1,131 kb TK gene was determined, and the GC content was 65.13%. There were deduced 367 amino acid residues with a total molecular weight of 43 kDa. The weight was confirmed by the protein produced by E. coli M15/pQE-TK on the SDS-PAGE and Western blot. The production of the TK protein in the IPTG induced cells was measured over 4 h. At the end of 1, 2 and 3 h the level increased by 146, 204 and 242%, respectively. The amount of the protein at the highest fraction purified with Ni-NTA resin chromatography was $0.68\;{\mu}g$ per ml. The soluble state TK protein was present in the cytoplasm. In these results the F strain was different in base sequence and amino acid sequence from that of the CL101 strain, which caused difference in their strains.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.255-259
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• 1999

A 6.9-kb DNA fragment including the minimal Bacillus pasteurii urease gene cluster was subcloned into a high-copy-number plasmid vector, pUC19, and the recombinant B. pasteurii urease was overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant urease was purified 25.9-fold by using combinations of anion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography followed by Mono-Q chromatography on a FPLC. N-terminal peptide sequencing analyses revealed that two distinct smaller peptide bands resolved on a 10-18％ gradient SDS-PAGE corresponded to UreA and UreB peptides, respectively. It was also shown that the ureB gene was translated from a GUG codon and the first methionine residue was post-translationally cleaved off. The native molecular weight of the recombinant urease was 176,000 and 2 nickel atoms were present per catalytic unit. pH stability studies of the purified enzyme showed that the recombinant Bacillus pasteurii urease is stable in alkaline pH range, which is similar to the enzyme of the evolutionarily related bacterium, Sporosarcina ureae.