• Journal of Photoscience
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• 제7권3호
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• pp.103-108
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• 2000

We have evaluated a new mutagenesis strategy called random insertional mutagenesis with subtracted cDNA fragments. The cDNAs from long day Arabidopsis plants were subtracted by cDNAs from short day plants using PCR based cDNA subtraction. The subtracted cDNAs were inserted between 35S promoter and 3'-NOS terminator regardless of orientation. When the cDNA library was used for the random insertion into Arabidopsis genome by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, approximately 15% of transformants showed abnormal development in leaf, floral organ, shoot apex. When 20 mutants were analyzed, 12 mutants showed single cDNA fragment insertion and 8 mutants showed more than 2 transgene insertions. Only two mutants among 12 mutants that have single cDNA insert showed consistent phenotype at T2 generation, suggesting the genetic instability of the mutants.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제25권3호
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• pp.205-212
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• 2009

Colletotrichum acutatum was the main cause of the recent outbreaks of anthracnose on pepper fruit in Korea. To facilitate molecular analysis of C. acutatum, we generated an arginine auxotrophic mutant of the C acutatum strain JC24 using a targeted gene replacement strategy. A 3.3-kb genomic region carrying an ortholog (designated CaARG2) of the fungal gene encoding N-acetylglutamate synthase, the first enzyme of arginine biosynthesis in fungi, was deleted from the fungal genome. The mutant exhibited normal growth only when arginine was exogenously supplied into the culture medium. Transformation of the arginine auxotrophic mutant with a plasmid DNA carrying an intact copy of CaARG2, which was smaller than the deleted region in the mutant, not only caused random vector insertions in the fungal genome, but also recovered both hyphal growth and pathogenicity of the mutant to the wild-type level. Using this new selection system, we have successfully developed a restriction enzyme-mediated integration procedure, which would provide an economically efficient random mutagenesis method in C. acutatum.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제5권2호
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• pp.110-113
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• 1995

Transposon Tn5 was used to induce random insertional mutations in Bradyrhizobium japonicum, a soybean endosymbiont. By genomic Southern blot analysis, transposition events were found to have occurred randomly throughout the B. japonicum genome. After screening 3, 626 mutants by auxotrophy test, a histidine auxotroph was isolated. Upon plant infection test, the His mutant showed a 3~4 day delay in nodule formation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제27권9호
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• pp.1609-1616
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• 2017

The complex roles of cell surface modification in the biofilm formation of Campylobacter jejuni, a major cause of worldwide foodborne diarrheal disease, are poorly understood. In a screen of mutants from random transposon mutagenesis, an insertional mutation in the eptC gene (cj0256) resulted in a significant decrease in C. jejuni NCTC11168 biofilm formation (<20%) on major food contact surfaces, such as polystyrene and borosilicate glass, when compared with wild-type cells (p < 0.05). In C. jejuni strain 81-176, the protein encoded by eptC modified cell surface structures, such as lipid A, the inner core of lipooligosaccharide, and the flagellar rod protein (FlgG), by attaching phosphoethanolamine. To assess the role of eptC in C. jejuni NCTC11168, adherence and motility tests were performed. In adhesion assays with glass surfaces, the eptC mutant exhibited a $0.77log\;CFU/cm^2$ decrease in adherence compared with wild-type cells during the initial 2 h of the assay (p < 0.05). These results support the hypothesis that the modification of cell surface structures by eptC affects the initial adherence in biofilm formation of C. jejuni NCTC11168. In motility tests, the eptC mutant demonstrated reduced motility when compared with wild-type cells, but wild-type cells with the transposon inserted in a gene irrelevant to biofilm formation (cj1111c) also exhibited decreased motility to a similar extent as the eptC mutant. This suggests that although eptC affects motility, it does not significantly affect biofilm formation. This study demonstrates that eptC is essential for initial adherence, and plays a significant role in the biofilm formation of C. jejuni NCTC11168.

• Mycobiology
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• 제49권5호
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• pp.491-497
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• 2021

An endolichenic fungus Xylaria grammica EL000614 produces grammicin, a potent nematicidal pyrone derivative that can serve as a new control option for root-knot nematodes. We optimized an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) protocol for X. grammica to support genetic studies. Transformants were successfully generated after co-cultivation of homogenized young mycelia of X. grammica with A. tumefaciens strain AGL-1 carrying a binary vector that contains the bacterial hygromycin B phosphotransferase (hph) gene and the eGFP gene in T-DNA. The resulting transformants were mitotically stable, and PCR analysis showed the integratin of both genes in the genome of transformants. Expression of eGFP was confirmed via fluorescence microscopy. Southern analysis showed that 131 (78.9%) out of 166 transformants contained a single T-DNA insertion. Crucial factors for producing predominantly single T-DNA transformants include 48 h of co-cultivation, pretreatment of A. tumefaciens cells with acetosyringone before co-cultivation, and using freshly prepared mycelia. The established ATMT protocol offers an efficient tool for random insertional mutagenesis and gene transfer in studying the biology and ecology of X. grammica.