• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.625-635
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• 2007

The enzyme squalene synthase (EC 2.5.1.21) catalyzes a reductive dimerization of two farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) molecules into squalene, a key precursor for the sterol and triterpene biosynthesis. A full-length cDNA encoding squalene synthase (designated as TcSqS) was isolated from Taxus cuspidata, a kind of important medicinal plants producing potent anti-cancer drug, taxol. The full-length cDNA of TcSqS was 1765 bp and contained a 1230 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polypeptide of 409 amino acids. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that the deduced TcSqS protein had high similarity with other plant squalene synthases and a predicted crystal structure similar to other class I isoprenoid biosynthetic enzymes. Southern blot analysis revealed that there was one copy of TcSqS gene in the genome of T. cuspidata. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis and northern blotting analysis showed that TcSqS expressed constitutively in all tested tissues, with the highest expression in roots. The promoter region of TcSqS was also isolated by genomic walking and analysis showed that several cis-acting elements were present in the promoter region. The results of treatment experiments by different signaling components including methyl-jasmonate, salicylic acid and gibberellin revealed that the TcSqS expression level of treated cells had a prominent diversity to that of control, which was consistent with the prediction results of TcSqS promoter region in the PlantCARE database.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.155-161
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• 2009

Mammal microsomal glutathione transferase 1 (MGST1) can conjugate many toxic or carcinogenic substances and depress oxidative stress. In this study, Chicken MGST1 and its variants were cloned for the first time and were composed of 956 or 944 nucleotides. The 12 nt deletion in the exon 2 did not alter the GT-AG rule and the ORFs for the two MGST1 variants were the same, which both comprised 465 nucletides and encoded a peptide with 155 amino acids. It was found that the two different splice variants identified using RT-PCR expressed in all three organs investigated of Dwarf Brown Chicken, namely liver, spleen and shell gland. Moreover, the expression level of MGST1 mRNA in the liver of Dwarf Brown chickens was the highest (p<0.01), and there were no significant differences between the spleen and the shell gland. These results provide a base for studying the biological function of Chicken MGST1.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.9
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• pp.1237-1241
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• 2005

Mannose-P-dolichol utilization defect 1 (MPDU1) gene is required for utilization of the mannose donor MPD in synthesis of both lipid-linked oligosaccharides (LLOs) and glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPI) which are important for functions such as protein folding and membrane anchoring. The full length cDNA of the porcine MPDU1 was determined by in silico cloning and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The deduced amino acid showed 91% identity to the corresponding human sequence with five predicted transmembrane regions. RT-PCR was performed to detect its expression pattern in five tissues and results showed that it is expressed ubiquitously among the tissues checked. A single nucleotide substitution resulting in the amino acid change (137 Tyr-137 His) was detected within exon 5. Allele frequencies in six pig breeds showed distinctive differences between those Chinese indigenous pigs breeds and European pigs. Using the pig/rodent somatic cell hybrid panel (SCHP), we mapped the porcine MPDU1 gene to SSC12, which is consistent with the comparative mapping result as conservative syntenic groups presented between human chromosome 17 and pig chromosome 12.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.938-945
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• 2016

Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is one of the most serious threats to rice production. In this study, screening of rice for resistance to BLB was carried out at two different times and locations; that is, in a greenhouse during winter and in an open field during summer. The pathogenicity of Xoo race K1 was tested on 32 Korean rice cultivars. Inoculation was conducted at the maximum tillering stage, and the lesion length was measured after 14 days of inoculation. Five cultivars, Hanareum, Namcheon, Samgdeok, Samgang, and Yangjo, were found to be resistant in both the greenhouse and open-field screenings. Expression of the plant defense-related genes JAmyb, OsNPR1, OsPR1a, OsWRKY45, and OsPR10b was observed in resistant and susceptible cultivars by qRT-PCR. Among the five genes tested, only OsPR10b showed coherent expression with the phenotypes. Screening of resistance to Xoo in rice was more accurate when conducted in open fields in the summer cultivation period than in greenhouses in winter. The expression of plant defense-related genes after bacterial inoculation could give another perspective in elucidating defense mechanisms by using both resistant and susceptible individuals.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.301-307
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• 2009

Whole-body insulin resistance results largely from impaired insulin-stimulated glucose disposal in skeletal muscle. Our previous studies using differential display and quantitative real-time RT-PCR have shown that a novel cDNA band (DD23) had a higher level of expression in insulin resistant skeletal muscle and it was correlated with whole-body insulin action, independent of age, sex, and percent body fat. In this study, we cloned and characterized DD23. The DD23 sequence is part of the 3'UTR region of the RNA binding motif, single stranded interacting protein (RBMS3). We have cloned the full length cDNA for RBMS3 and identified two splice variants. These variants named DD23-L and DD23-S have 15 and 14 exons respectively and differ from RBMS3 in the 3'UTR significantly. Northern blot analyses showed that an ~8.8 kb mRNA transcript of DD23 was predominantly expressed in skeletal muscle and to a lesser extent in placenta, but not in heart, brain, lung, liver, or kidney, unlike RBMS3. Elevated expression levels of these novel alternatively spliced variants of RBMS3 in skeletal muscle may play a role in whole body insulin resistance.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.9
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• pp.664-669
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• 2008

Znf230, the mouse homologue of the human spermatogenesis-related gene, ZNF230, has been cloned by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). This gene is expressed predominantly in testis, but its expression in different testicular cells and spermatogenic stages has not been previously analyzed in detail. In the present study, the cellular localization of the Znf230 protein in mouse testis and epididymal spermatozoa was determined by RT-PCR, immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. It is primarily expressed in the nuclei of spermatogonia and subsequently in the acrosome system and the entire tail of developing spermatids and spermatozoa. The results indicate that Znf230 may play an important role in mouse spermatogenesis, including spermatogenic cell proliferation and sperm maturation, as well as motility and fertilization.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.25-30
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• 2018

The larvae of Hermetia. illucens have a high probability of coming into contact with microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. Therefore, the survival of H. illucens is primarily the protection of their own against microbial infection. This effect depends on the development of the innate immune system. Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) exhibit antimicrobial activity against other bacterial strains and can provide important data to understand the basis of the innate immunity of H. illucens. In this study, we injected larvae with Enterococcus. faecalis (gram-positive bacteria) and Serratia. marcescens as (gram-negative bacteria) to test the hypothesis that H. illucens is protected from infection by its immune-related gene expression repertoire. To identify the inducible immune-related genes, we performed and cataloged the transcriptomes by RNA-Seq analysis. We compared the transcriptomes of whole larvae and obtained a DNA fragment of 465 bp including the poly (A) tail by RACE as a novel H. illucens immune-related gene against bacteria. A novel target mRNA expression was higher in immunized larvae with E. faecalis and S. marcescens groups than non-immunized group. We expect our study to provide evidence that the global RNA-Seq approach allowed for the identification of a gene of interest which was further analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR, together with genes chosen from the available literature.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.595-603
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• 2007

To investigate whether phospholipase D (PLD, EC 3.1.4.4) plays a role in adaptive response of post-harvest fruit to environment, a PLD gene was firstly cloned from grape berry (Vitis Vinifera L. cv. Chardonnay) using RT-PCR and 3'- and 5'-RACE. The deduced amino acid sequence (809 residues) showed 84.7% identity with that of PLD from Ricinus communis. The secondary structures of this protein showed the characteristic C2 domain and two active sites of a phospholipid-metabolizing enzyme. The PLD activity and its expression in response to heat acclimation were then assayed. The results indicated PLD was significantly activated at enzyme activity, as well as accumulation of PLD mRNA and synthesis of new PLD protein during the early of heat acclimation, primary suggesting that the grape berry PLD may be involved in the heat response in post-harvest grape berry. This work offers an important basis for further investigating the mechanism of post-harvest fruit adaptation to environmental stresses.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.791-800
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• 2007

Ethylene performs an important function in plant growth and development. 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase (ACS), the key enzyme involved in ethylene biosynthesis, has been the focus of most ethylene studies. Here, a cotton ACS gene referred to as Gossypium hirsutum ACS1 (GhACS1), was isolated. The full-length cDNA of GhACS1 encodes for a 476-amino acid protein which harbors seven conserved regions, 11 invariant amino acid residues, and the PLP binding active site, all of which characterize ACC synthases. Alignment analysis showed that GhACS1 shared a high degree of identity with other known ACC synthases from different species. Two introns were detected in the genomic DNA sequence, and the results of Southern blot analysis suggested that there might be a multi-gene family encoding for ACC synthase in cotton. From the phylogenetic tree constructed with 24 different kinds of ACC synthases, we determined that GhACS1 falls into group II, and was closely associated with the wound-inducible ACS of citrus. The analysis of the 5' flanking region of GhACS1 revealed a group of putative cis-acting elements. The results of expression analysis showed that GhACS1 displayed its transient expression nature after wounding, abscisic acid (ABA), and $CuCl_2$ treatments. These results indicate that GhACS1, which was transiently expressed in response to certain stimuli, may be involved in the production of ethylene for the transmission of stress signals.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.272-278
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• 2010

In this study, we cloned, sequenced and characterized porcine y+L Amino Acid Transporter-1 (y+LAT1). By screening a translated EST database with the protein sequence of the human $y^{+}$LAT1 and by using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), the full-length cDNA encoding porcine $y^{+}$LAT1 was isolated from porcine intestine RNA. It was 2,111 bp long, encoding a 511 amino acid trans-membrane glycoprotein composed of 12 transmembrane domains. The predicted amino acid sequence was found to be 91%, 90%, 87% and 87% identical to those of cattle, human, mouse and rat $y^{+}$LAT1 respectively. Real-time RT-PCR results indicated that the small intestine had the highest $y^{+}$LAT1 mRNA abundance and the lung had the lowest $y^{+}$LAT1 mRNA abundance. Baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells transfected with green fluorescent protein (GFP) tagged porcine $y^{+}$LAT1 cDNA indicated that the cellular localization of the gene product in BHK was on the plasma membrane.