• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.213-220
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• 2006

In year 2003, a soybean(Glycine max) sample showing severe dwarfing symptom was collected from a farmers' field in Cheongsong in Korea. The results from the diagnosis of the sample by RT-PCR revealed that it was infected by Soybean dwarf virus(SbDV), SbDV-L81. This study could be the first report of the occurrence of the virus in Korea. To further characterize the virus, the partial nucleotide sequence of the genomic RNA of SbDV-L81 was determined by RT-PCR using species-specific primers. The sequences were analyzed and subsequently compared to previously characterized strains of SbDV based on the pattern of symptom expression and vector specificities. The intergenic region between ORF 2 and 3 and the coding regions of ORF 2, 3 and 4 were relatively similar to those of dwarfing strains(SbDV-DS and DP) rather than those of yellowing strains(SbDV-YS and YP). Likewise, the result from the analysis of 5'-half of the coding region of ORF5 indicated that SbDV-L81 was closely related to strains(SbDV-YP and DP) transmitted by Acyrthosiphon pisum. These data from the natural symptom and the comparisons of five regions of nucleotide sequences of SbDV suggested that SbDV-L81 might be closely related SbDV-DP.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.343-351
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• 2014

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) plays a central role in cell signaling and leads to cell proliferation, survival, motility, exocytosis, and cytoskeletal rearrangements, as well as specialized cell responses, superoxide production, and cardiac myocyte growth. PI3K is divided into three classes; type I PI3K is preferentially expressed in leukocytes and activated by ${\beta}{\gamma}$ subunits of heterotrimeric G-proteins. In this study, the cDNAs encoding the $PI3K{\gamma}$ gene were isolated from a brain cDNA library constructed using the flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus). The sequence of the isolated $PI3K{\gamma}$ was 1341 bp, encoding 447 amino acids. The nucleotide sequence of the $PI3K{\gamma}$ gene was analyzed with that of other species, including Oreochromis niloticus and Danio rerio, and it turned out to be well conserved during evolution. The $PI3K{\gamma}$ gene was subcloned into the expression vector pET-44a(+), and expressed in the E. coli BL21 (DE3) codon plus cell. The resulting protein was expressed as a fusion protein of approximately 49 kDa containing a C-terminal six-histidine extension that was derived from the expression vector. The expressed protein was purified to homogeneity by His-tag affinity chromatography and showed enzymatic activity corresponding to $PI3K{\gamma}$. The binding of wortmannin to $PI3K{\gamma}$, as detected by anti-wortmannin antisera, closely followed the inhibition of the kinase activities. The results obtained from this study will provide a wider base of knowledge on the primary structure and characterization of the $PI3K{\gamma}$ at the molecular level.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.306-314
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• 2023

Stream sediments are an important component of water quality management because they are receptors of various pollutants such as heavy metals and organic matters emitted from upland sources and can be secondary pollution sources, adversely affecting water environment. To effectively manage the stream sediments, identification of primary sources of sediment contamination and source-associated control strategies will be required. We evaluated the performance of machine learning models in identifying primary sources of sediment contamination based on the physico-chemical properties of stream sediments. A total of 356 stream sediment data sets of 18 quality parameters including 10 heavy metal species(Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, As, Zn, Cr, Hg, Li, and Al), 3 soil parameters(clay, silt, and sand fractions), and 5 water quality parameters(water content, loss on ignition, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorous) were collected near abandoned metal mines and industrial complexes across the four major river basins in Korea. Two machine learning algorithms, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers were used to classify the sediments into four cases of different combinations of the sampling period and locations (i.e., mine in dry season, mine in wet season, industrial complex in dry season, and　industrial complex in wet season). Both models showed good performance in the classification, with SVM outperformed LDA; the accuracy values of LDA and SVM were 79.5% and 88.1%, respectively. An SVM ensemble model was used for multi-label classification of the multiple contamination sources inlcuding landuses in the upland areas within 1 km radius from the sampling sites. The results showed that the multi-label classifier was comparable performance with sinlgle-label SVM in classifying mines and industrial complexes, but was less accurate in classifying dominant land uses (50~60%). The poor performance of the multi-label SVM is likely due to the overfitting caused by small data sets compared to the complexity of the model. A larger data set might increase the performance of the machine learning models in identifying contamination sources.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.191-197
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• 2005

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Tat protein transduction domain (PTD) is responsible for highly efficient protein transduction across plasma membranes. In a previous study, we showed that Tat-Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (Tat-SOD) can be directly transduced into mammalian cells across the lipid membrane barrier. In this study, we fused the human SOD gene with a Tat PTD transduction vector at its N- and/or C-terminus. The fusion proteins (Tat-SOD, SOD-Tat, Tat-SOD-Tat) were purified from Escherichia coli and their ability to enter cells in vitro and in vivo compared by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. The transduction efficiencies and biological activities of the SOD fusion protein with the Tat PTD at either terminus were equivalent and lower than the fusion protein with the Tat PTD at both termini. The availability of a more efficient SOD fusion protein provides a powerful vehicle for therapy in human diseases related to this anti-oxidant enzyme and to reactive oxygen species.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.315-324
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• 2004

Cytochrome P450 aromatase is the enzyme responsible for biosynthesis of female sex hormone(estrogen) and 19-nortestosterone(nandrolone), a unique steroid hormone endogenously synthesized in the pig. By use of RT-PCR coupled with DHPLC technique (WAVE analysis), expression pattern of isoforms of porcine cytochrome P450 aromatase gene was investigated. Relatively higher expression of aromatase mRNA was observed in testis than in ovary and this result accounted for the previous findings of higher blood estrogen level in male compared with female in this species. The result from the DHPLC demonstrated that PCR amplified DNA fragments of ovary and testis tissues. using unique PCR primers for all three types of aromatase genes, were different from those of type II and ill genes. Further nucleotide sequence analyses of the plasmid clones containing the PCR products revealed that nucleotide sequences of all clones were identical to type I aromatase gene(ovary type). Thus, the result from the present study indicates that the ovary and testis express the same type of aromatase gene. Therefore, the efficacy of DHPLC techniques used for this study helped us to analyze tissue-specific expression of isoform of genes containing the nucleotide sequences with high homology.

• BMB Reports
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.282-291
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• 2004

Phytases catalyze the release of phosphate from phytic acid. Phytase-producing microorganisms were selected by culturing the soil extracts on agar plates containing phytic acid. Two hundred colonies that exhibited potential phytase activity were selected for further study. The colony showing the highest phytase activity was identified as Aspergillus niger and designated strain 113. The phytase gene from A. niger 113 (phyI1) was isolated, cloned, and characterized. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence identity between phyI1 and phyA from NRRL3135 were 90% and 98%, respectively. The identity between phyI1 and phyA from SK-57 was 89% and 96%. A synthetic phytase gene, phyI1s, was synthesized by successive PCR and transformed into the yeast expression vector carrying a signal peptide that was designed and synthesized using P. pastoris biased codon. For the phytase expression and secretion, the construct was integrated into the genome of P. pastoris by homologous recombination. Over-expressing strains were selected and fermented. It was discovered that ~4.2 g phytase could be purified from one liter of culture fluid. The activity of the resulting phytase was 9.5 U/mg. Due to the heavy glycosylation, the expressed phytase varied in size (120, 95, 85, and 64 kDa), but could be deglycosylated to a homogeneous 64 kDa species. An enzymatic kinetics analysis showed that the phytase had two pH optima (pH 2.0 and pH 5.0) and an optimum temperature of $60^{\circ}C$.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.208-215
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• 2006

The human ribosomal protein S3 (rpS3) was expressed in E. coli using the pET-I5b vector and the monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were produced and characterized. A total of five hybridoma cell lines were established and the antibodies recognized a single band of molecular weight of 33 kDa on immunoblot with purified rpS3. When the purified rpS3 was incubated with the mAbs, the UV endonuclease activity of rpS3 was inhibited up to a maximum of 49%. The binding affinity of mAbs to rpS3 determined by using a biosensor technology showed that they have similar binding affinities. Using the anti-rpS3 antibodies as probes, we investigated the cross-reactivities of various other mammalian brain tissues and cell lines, including human. The immunoreactive bands on Western blots appeared to be the same molecular mass of 33 kDa in all animal species tested. They also appear to be extensively cross-reactive among different organs in rat. These results demonstrated that only one type of immunologically similar rpS3 protein is present in all of the mammalian brain tissues including human. Furthermore, these antibodies were successfully applied in immunohistochemistry in order to detect rpS3 in the gerbil brain tissues. Among the various regions in the brain tissues, the rpS3 positive neurons were predominantly observed in the ependymal cells, hippocampus and substantia nigra pars compacta. The different distributions of rpS3 in brain tissues reply that rpS3 protein may play an important second function in the neuronal cells.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.440-447
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to identify the causation and variation among the various types of onion prices in the major production sites to predict these prices. The Granger causal relationship was tested on the basis of VECM by setting the onion price of the early, middle, and late species as individual variables. The analysis shows that the amount of onions produced in the prior term affects the price of onions for the later period, while garlic in the substitution relationship with onions also affects the prices of onions for the early and middle-variety. On the other hand, the price of the late-variety is affected by the price of the early-variety, and the price of the middle-variety is also affected by the price of the early-variety. If the price of onions on Jeju changes due to other factors, the prices of onions in Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangnam-do provinces will be affected. Accordingly, when the production of late-variety increases or decreases in production under any factor and to promote stability of the prices of middle and late-variety through preemptive supply and demand measures when the prices of ultra-breed onions rise or fall due to any factor (Ed- I cannot understand this last sentence and cannot guess at the correct meaning. Please try to rewrite very simply).

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.140-145
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• 2005

Streptomyces natalensis ATCC27448 produces natamycin, a commercially important macrolide antifungal antibiotic. For molecular genetic study of S. natalensis, we have developed a system for introducing DNA into S. natalensis via conjugal transfer from Escherichia coli. An effective transformation procedure for S. natalensis was established based on transconjugation from E, coli ET12567/pUZ8002 using a ${\Phi}C31$-derived integration vector, pSET152, containing oriT and attP fragments. The high frequency was obtained on MS medium containing 10 mM $MgCl_2$ using $6.25\times10^8$ of E.coli donor cells without heat treatment of spores. In addition, southern blot analysis of exconjugants and the sequence of plasmids containing DNA flanking the insertion sites from the chromosome revealed that S. natalensis contains a single ${\Phi}C31$ attB site and at least a secondary or pseudo attB site. Similar to the case of various Streptomyces species, a single ${\Phi}C31$ attB site of S. natalensis is present within an ORF encoding a pirin-homolog, but a pseudo-attB site is present within a distinct site (GenBank accession no. $YP\_117731$) and also its sequence deviates from the consensus sequences of attB sequence.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.127-133
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• 2006

[ $17\;{\alpha}-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase(P450_{C17})$ ] is the key enzyme mediating the conversion of progesterone to $17\;{\alpha}-hydroxyprogesterone$, ultimately to androstenedione during steroidogenesis. R. dybowskii's ovarian $P450_{C17}$ cDNA was cloned to understand the regulatory mechanism of ovarian steroidogenic pathway at the molecular level in amphibian. A 2.5kb cDNA clone encoding a single open-reading frame with a 519 deduced amino acid was isolated with the screening of ovarian cDNA library. This sequence contained the three highly conserved domains as seen in $P450_{C17}$ of other species. The comparison of amino acid sequence of Rana $P450_{C17}$ with other animal's $P450_{C17}$ showed relatively high identity with 76% in Xenopus, 63% in chicken, 60% in rainbow trout, and 45% in human. Phylogenic analysis also indicated that Rana $P450_{C17}$ gene was evolutionary well conserved among vertebrate. Northern analysis indicated that the two different sizes of $P450_{C17}$ transcripts with approximately 2.5 and 3.6kb were detected in ovary tissue, but not in other tissues. The expression vector of Rana $P450_{C17}$ clearly showed the $17\;{\alpha}-hydroxylase$ activity converting the exogenous progesterone into $17\;{\alpha}-hydroxyprogesterone$ in the nonsteroidogenic COS-1 cells. Therefore, Rana $P450_{C17}$ cDNA is very useful to investigate the molecular mechanism of the ovarian steroidogenesis in amphibian.