• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2002

Peptidohlycan recognition protein (PGRP) is one of the pattern recognition proteins in innate immunity of insect. We isolated differentially expressed two cDNAa, BTL-LPI and BTL-LP2, in the fat body of Bombyx mori larvae injected with bacteria by subtractive hybridization method. These two clones showed amino acid sequence divergence of 30.4%. In the comparison with other insect PGRP genes, BTL-LP2 showed 48.8% and 45.2% of sequence homology to the known PGRP genes of Bombyx mori and Tricoplusia ni, respectively, and BTL-LP2 was 31.8% and 30.9% , respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed relatively close relationship of the BTL-LP2 to the known insect PGRP, unlike BTL-LPI, which was equidistant both to insect and mammals, suggesting a divergent relationships of the two newly cloned B. mori PGRP genes. Northern blot analyses confirmed an induction of the expression of BTL-LP2 by the bacterial infection in the Int body of B. mori, suggesting the involvement of the gene in the insect immunity.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2002

A cDNA encoding a putative member of cathepsin B of the thiol pretense superfamily was cloned from a cDNA library of the mulberry longicorn beetle, Apriona germari. Sequence analysis of the cDNA encoding the cathepsin B of A. germari (AgCatB) revealed that the 972 bp cDNA has an open reading frame of 324 amino acid residues. The deduced protein sequence of the AgCatB showed high homology with cathepsin B of the insects, Bombyx mori (47.3% amino acid identity), Helicoverpa armigera (46.6%) and Sarcophaga peregrina (45.6%), and the lowest homology with Aedes aegypti (33.2%). The AgCatB contains six disulfate bonds typical for cysteine pretenses. The three amino acid positions Cys-109, His-267, and Asn-287 which are conserved, active sites characteristic for cathepsin B, were also found. Phylogenetic analysis further confirmed that the AgCatB has a close relationship with that of B. mori, H. armigera and S. peregrina.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2003

Two microbial communities of activated sludge in the same municipal wastewater, but treated with different systems, were studied and compared using molecular microbiological approaches. The bacterial 16S rDNA sequences from 124 clones were analyzed, however, the majority of them were not closely related to any known species, and found to belong to 8 different phylogenetic groups and 3 different unidentified groups. The relative frequencies of each group were similar between the two microbial communities. Fingerprinting using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) showed that the putative Nitrospira-related populations were more diverse and quantitatively higher in the KNR process system than in the other system using a conventional activated sludge process. The relationship between the bacterial community composition and the higher removal efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus in the KNR process is discussed.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.122-129
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• 2004

Harmful Cochlodinium polykrikoides is a notorious harmful algal bloom (HAB) species that is causing mass mortality of farmed fish along the Korean coast with increasing frequency. We analyzed the sequence of the large subunit (LSD) rDNA D1-D3 region of C. polykrikoides and conducted phylogenetic analyses using Bayesian inference of phylogeny and the maximum likelihood method. The molecular phylogeny showed that C. polykrikoides had the genetic relationship to Amphidinium and Gymnodinium species supported only by the relatively high posterior probabilities of Bayesian inference. Based on the LSU rDNA sequence data of diverse dinoflagellate taxa, we designed the C. polykrikoides-specific PCR primer set, CPOLY01 and CPOLY02 and developed PCR detection assays for its sensitive, accurate HAB monitoring. CPOLY01 and CPOLY02 specifically amplified C. polykrikoides and did not cross-react with any dinoflagellates tested in this study or environmental water samples. The effective annealing temperature $(T_{p})$ of CPOLY01 and CPOLY02 was $67^{\circ}C$. At this temperature, the conventional and nested PCR assays were sensitive over a wide range of C. polykrikoides cell numbers with detection limits of 0.05 and 0.0001 cells/reaction, respectively.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.578-585
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• 2006

The cDNA of a firefly luciferase from lantern mRNA of Lampyroidea maculata has been cloned, sequenced and functionally expressed. The cDNA has an open reading frame of 1647 bp and codes for a 548-residue-long polypeptide. Noteworthy, sequence comparison as well as homology modeling showed the highest degree of similarity with H. unmunsana and L. mingrelica luciferases, suggesting a close phylogenetic relationship despite the geographical distance separation. The deduced amino acid sequence of the luciferase gene of firefly L. maculata showed 93% identity to H. unmunsana. Superposition of the three-dimensional model of L. maculata luciferase (generated by homology modeling) and three dimensional structure of Photinus pyralis luciferase revealed that the spatial arrangements of Luciferin and ATP-binding residues are very similar. Putative signature of AMP-binding domain among the various firefly species and Lampyroidea maculata was compared and a striking similarity was found. Different motifs and sites have been identified in Lampyroidea maculata by sequence analysis. Expression and purification of luciferase from Lampyroidea maculata was carried out using Ni-NTA Sepharose. Bioluminescence emission spectrum was similar to Photinus pyralis luciferase.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.787-792
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• 2016

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a protozoan disease which is endemic in Iran. It is transmitted by the Phlebotomus sand fly. The eyelid is rarely involved possibly because the movement of the lids impedes the sand fly from biting the skin in this region. Here, we report 6 rare cases of eyelid CL. The patients were diagnosed by skin scraping, culture, and PCR from the lesions. Skin scraping examination showed Leishmania spp. amastigotes in the cytoplasm of macrophages. Culture examination was positive for Leishmania spp. PCR was positive for Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica. The lesions were disguised as basal cell carcinoma, chalazion, hordeolum, and impetigo. The patients were treated with intramuscular meglumine antimoniate (20 mg/kg/day) for at least 3 weeks. They showed a dramatic response, and the lesions almost completely disappeared. We emphasized the importance of clinical and diagnostic features of lesions, characterized the phylogenetic relationship of isolated parasites, and reviewed the literature on ocular leishmaniasis.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.172-177
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• 2008

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5B (eIF5B) plays a role in recognition of the AUG codon in conjunction with translation factor eIF2, and promotes joining of the 60S ribosomal subunit. To see whether the eIF5B proteins of other organisms function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we cloned the corresponding genes from Oryza sativa, Arabidopsis thaliana, Aspergillus nidulans and Candida albican and expressed them under the control of the galactose-inducible GAL promoter in the $fun12{\Delta}$ strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Expression of Candida albicans eIF5B complemented the slow-growth phenotype of the $fun12{\Delta}$ strain, but that of Aspergillus nidulance did not, despite the fact that its protein was expressed better than that of Candida albicans. The Arabidopsis thaliana protein was also not functional in Saccharomyces. These results reveal that the eIF5B in Candida albicans has a close functional relationship with that of Sacharomyces cerevisiae, as also shown by a phylogenetic analysis based on the amino acid sequences of the eIF5Bs.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.250-257
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• 1997

The relationship of nine Medicago species belonging to four subgenera were analyzed by using SDS-PAGE and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RELP) methodologies. Sixty-eight bands of alcohol and salt soluble proteins and 85-133 RFLP markers were used to estimate the genetic distance among the species. These species were clustered together at around 0.1 to 0.4 level of distance for both kind of markers, indicating that Medicago species have a large genetic similarity. A combined cluster diagram, at a dissimilarity level of 0.3, differentiated nine species in four groups: group 1, M. littoralis , M. truncatulam, M.scutellata and M. rigidula; group 2, M. sativa ; group 3, M. lupulina ; group 4, M. orbicularis, M. radiata and M. minima. All of them, but except for M. minima. corrensponded to the existing four subgenera of the genus Medicago classified by Lesins and Lesins(1979).The most similar species were M. littoralis and M. trucatula and the most dissimilar one was M. lupulina. In separate cluster diagrams based on RFLP and protein markers, some differences were observed. In the case of RFLP or DNA markers, M. sativa (alfalfa) was distantly clustered with other Medicago species. But in the case of protein markers, M. sativa was closely clustered with M. scutellata, M. littorulis and M. truncatula.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.86-86
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• 2017

Prolamins are the main seed storage proteins in cereals. Gluten proteins seem to be prolamins because their primary structure have the meaningful quantity of proline and glutamine amino acid residues. Gluten proteins are found in crops such as wheat (Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), and rye (Secale cereale) which are major food crops in the Triticeae tribe. Glutenin and gliadin, hordein, and secalin are typical gluten proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye, respectively. Gluten affect grain quality so that many researches, such as isolation or characterization of their genes, have been carried out. To improve the quality of grains in the Triticeae tribe, it is necessary to understand the relationship within their gluten proteins and their evolutionary changes. The sequences of nucleotides and amino acids of gluten protein including glutenins, gliadins, hordeins, and secalins were retrieved from NCBI (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) and Uniprot (http://www.uniprot.org/). The sequence analysis and the phylogenetic analysis of gluten proteins were performed with various website tools. The results demonstrated that gluten proteins were grouped with their homology and were mostly corresponded with the previous reports. However, some genes were moved, duplicated, or disappeared as evolutionary process. The obtained data will encourage the breeding programs of wheat, barley, rye, and other crops in the Triticeae tribe.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.109-115
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• 2020

A disease causing leaf blight and vine rot was recognized on kudzu plants (Pueraria lobata) in Korea since 1991. A species of Phytophthora has been repeatedly isolated from the infected leaves. Identification in species level of the Phytophthora sp. remained unsolved. An isolate, KACC 47616 originally collected from Manchon Park in Daegu, has been kept in our laboratory. In 2013, three new isolates, KACC 47617 and KACC 47618 from Yeongyang and KACC 47619 from Gunwi in Gyeongbuk province, were collected and examined to classify up to species level by characterizing morphology, response to temperature and phylogenetic relationship. On the basis of morphological characters such as the nature of hyphal swelling, sporangia and sex organs, absence of chlamydospore production, optimum temperature for mycelial growth, and internal transcribed spacer rDNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 sequence analysis of the pathogen, the causal fungus of kudzu plant was identified as Phytophthora asiatica.