• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.23-38
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• 2023

The fire blight caused by Erwinia amylovora (Ea) is a devastating disease of Rosaceae plants, including commercially important apple and pear trees. Since the first report in Korea in May 2015, it has been spreading to neighboring regions gradually. Host plants can be infected by pollinators like bees, rainfall accompanied by wind, and cultural practices such as pruning. Many studies have revealed that wild Rosaceae plants such as Cotoneaster spp., Crataegus spp., Pyracantha spp., Prunus spp., and Sorbus spp. can be reservoirs of Ea in nature. However, wild Rosaceae plants in Korea have not been examined yet whether they are susceptible to fire blight. Therefore, the susceptibility to fire blight was examined with 25 species in 10 genera of wild Rosaceae plants, which were collected during 2020-2022, by artificial inoculation. Bacterial suspension (10⁸ cfu/ml) of Ea type strain TS3128 was inoculated artificially in flowers, leaves, stems, and fruits of each plant species, and development of disease symptoms were monitored. Moreover, the presence of Ea bacteria from inoculated samples were checked by conventional polymerase chain reaction. Total 14 species of wild Rosaceae plants showed disease symptoms of fire blight, and Ea bacteria were detected inside of inoculated plant parts. These results suggest that wild Rosaceae plants growing nearby commercial apple and pear orchards in Korea can be Ea reservoirs, and thus they should be monitored regularly to minimize the damage by Ea infection and spreading.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.2046-2055
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• 2007

Wild-type V. vulnificus cannot grow using lactose as the sole carbon source or take up the sugar. However, prolonged culture of this species in media containing lactose as the sole carbon source leads to the generation of a spontaneous lactose-utilizing (LU) mutant. This mutant showed strong ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity, whereas the wild-type strain showed a barely detectable level of the activity. A mutant with a lesion in a gene homologous to the lacZ of E. coli in the bacterium no longer showed ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity or generated spontaneous LU mutants, suggesting that the lacZ homolog is responsible for the catabolism of lactose, but the expression of the gene and genes for transport of lactose is tightly regulated. Genetic analysis of spontaneous LU mutants showed that all the mutations occur in a lacI homolog, which is located downstream to the lacZ and putative ABC-type lac permease genes. Consistent with this, a genomic library clone containing the lad gene, when present in trans, made the spontaneous LU mutants no longer able to utilize lactose as the sole carbon source. Taken together with the observation that excessive amounts of exogenously supplemented possible catabolic products of lactose have negative effects on the growth and survivability of V. vulnificus, we suggest that V. vulnificus has evolved to carry a repressor that tightly regulates the expression of lacZ to keep the intracellular toxic catabolic intermediates at a sublethal level.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.10
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• pp.727-733
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• 2014

Spinosyns A and D are potent ingredient for insect control with exceptional safety to non-target organisms. It consists of a 21-carbon tetracyclic lactone with forosamine and tri-Omethylated rhamnose which are derived from S-adenosyl-methionine. Although previous studies have revealed the involvement of metK1 (S-adenosylmethionine synthetase), rmbA (glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase), and rmbB (TDP-D-glucose-4, 6-dehydratase) in the biosynthesis of spinosad, expression of these genes into rational screened Saccharopolyspora spinosa (S. spinosa MUV) has not been elucidated till date. In the present study, S. spinosa MUV was developed to utilize for metabolic engineering. The yield of spinosyns A and D in S. spinosa MUV was $244mgL^{-1}$ and $129mgL^{-1}$, which was 4.88-fold and 4.77-fold higher than that in the wild-type ($50mgL^{-1}$ and $27mgL^{-1}$), respectively. To achieve the better production; positive regulator metK1-sp, rmbA and rmbB genes from Streptomyces peucetius, were expressed and co-expressed in S. spinosa MUV under the control of strong $ermE^*$ promoter, using an integration vector pSET152 and expression vector pIBR25, respectively. Here-with, the genetically engineered strain of S. spinosa MUV, produce spinosyns A and D up to $372/217mgL^{-1}$ that is 7.44/8.03-fold greater than that of wild type. This result demonstrates the use of metabolic engineering on rationally developed high producing natural variants for the production.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.85.1-85
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• 2003

In most ascomycetes, a single mating type locus, MAT, with two alternate forms (MAT1-1 and MAT1-2) called idiomorphs, controls mating ability. In heterothallic ascomycetes these alternate idiomorphs reside in different nuclei. In contrast, most homothallic ascomycetes carry both MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 in a single nucleus, usually closely linked. An example of the latter is Gibberella zeae, a producer of mycotoxins such as trichothecene and zearalenone that threaten human and animal health. We asked if G. zeae could be made strictly heterothallic by manipulation of MAT. Targeted gene replacement was used to differentially delete MAT1-1 or MAT1-2 from a wild type haploid MAT1-1 MAT1-2 strain, resulting in MAT1-1；mat1-2, mat1-1；MAT1-2 strains that were self-sterile, yet able to cross to wild type testers and more importantly, to each other. These results indicated that differential deletion of MAT idiomorphs eliminates selfing ability of G. zeae, but the ability to outcross is retained. To our knowledge, this is the first report of complete conversion of fungal reproductive strategy from homothallic to heterothallic by targeted manipulation of MAT. Practically, this approach opens the door to simple and efficient procedures for obtaining sexual recombinants of G. zeae that will be useful for genetic analyses of mycotoxin production and other traits, such as ability to cause disease.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.93-95
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• 2010

White rot fungi which have lignin degrading enzymes show high degrading activity to diverse recalcitrant compounds such as polycyclic aromatic compounds, dyes, explosives and endocrine disrupting chemicals. We have examined decolorizing activity of dyes by Phlebia tremellosa and two transformants which had genetically transformed using laccase or manganese peroxidase (MnP) gene. In case of methyl green, wild type strain showed 50% decolorization while laccase transformant (TF2-1) and MnP transformant (T5) showed more than 90% decolorization on day 3. Remazol brilliant blue R(RBBR) was decolorized up to 85% by two transformants while the wild type showed 67% decolorization on day 3. Transformants TF2-1 and T5 both showed increased laccase and MnP activity respectively during the whole growing phase.

• BMB Reports
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.265-270
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• 1995

Acetolactate synthase (ALS, EC 4.1.3.18) is the first common enzyme in the biosynthesis of leucine, isoleucine, and valine. It is the target enzyme for several classes of herbicides, including the sulfonylureas, the imidazolinones, the triazolopyrimidines, the pyrimidyl-oxy-benzoates and the pyrimidyl-thio-benzens. The sulfonylurea-resistant ALS gene (SurB) from Nicotiana tabaccum [Lee et al. (1988) The EMBO J. 7, 1241-1248] was cloned into the bacterial expression plasmid pT7-7. The resulting recombinant plasmid pT7-ALS was used to transform an ALS-deficient Escherichia coli strain MF2000. MF2000 cells transformed with pT7-ALS grew in the absence of valine and isoleucine. ALS activities of 0.042 and 0.0002 ${\mu}mol/min/mg$ protein were observed in the crude extracts prepared from MF2000 cells transformed with plasmids pT7-ALS and pT7-7, respectively. In addition, the former crude extract containing mutant ALS was insensitive to inhibition by K11570, a new chemical class of herbicides. $IC_{50}$ values for K11570 were $0.13{\pm}0.01$ mM. For comparison, a plasmid pTATX containing the wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana ALS coding sequences was also expressed in MF2000. ALS activities of 0.037 ${\mu}mol/min/mg$ protein were observed, and the wild type ALS was sensitive to two different classes of herbicides, K11570 and ALLY, a sulfonylurea. $IC_{50}$ values for K11570 and ALLY were $0.63{\pm}0.07$ and $80{\pm}5.6$ nM, respectively. Thus, the results suggest that the sulfonylurea-resistant tobacco ALS was functionally expressed in the bacteria, and that K11570 herbicides bind to the regulatoty site of ALS enzymes.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.37-42
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• 2005

We cloned the $\beta$-tubulin genes from the wild type strain and two benomyl-resistant mutants of Metahizium anisopliae and determined their nucleotide sequences. A $\beta$-tubulin encoding 448-residue protein from wild type M. anisopliae shows strong homology to other $\beta$-tubulins. The coding region is interrupted by four introns. Comparisons of intron position between the M. anisopliae gene and other fungal $\beta$-tubulin genes show considerable positional conservation. The mutations responsible for benomyl resistance were determined in two spontaneous mutants, 8-18 and 8­19. One mutant 8-18 substituted glutamate for aspar­agine at position 33 and lysine for glutamine at position 134. The other mutant 8-19 showed alterations at three positions of $\beta$-tubulin arginine for tryptophan at position 21, lysine for asparagine at position 33, and phenylalanine for leucine at position 240. These data suggest that regions of $\beta$-tubulin containing amino acids 21, 33,134, and 240 interact to form the binding site of benomyl.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1196-1203
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• 2010

In the present work, methanethiol and dimethyldisulfide were investigated as sulfur sources for methionine synthesis in Corynebacterium glutamicum. In silico pathway analysis predicted a high methionine yield for these reduced compounds, provided that they could be utilized. Wild-type cells were able to grow on both methanethiol and dimethyldisulfide as sole sulfur sources. Isotope labeling studies with mutant strains, exhibiting targeted modification of methionine biosynthesis, gave detailed insight into the underlying pathways involved in the assimilation of methanethiol and dimethyldisulfide. Both sulfur compounds are incorporated as an entire molecule, adding the terminal S-$CH_3$ group to O-acetylhomoserine. In this reaction, methionine is directly formed. MetY (O-acetylhomoserine sulfhydrylase) was identified as the enzyme catalyzing the reaction. The deletion of metY resulted in methionine auxotrophic strains grown on methanethiol or dimethyldisulfide as sole sulfur sources. Plasmid-based overexpression of metY in the ${\Delta}$metY background restored the capacity to grow on methanethiol or dimethyldisulfide as sole sulfur sources. In vitro studies with the C. glutamicum wild type revealed a relatively low activity of MetY for methanethiol (63 mU/mg) and dimethyldisulfide (61 mU/mg). Overexpression of metY increased the in vitro activity to 1,780 mU/mg and was beneficial for methionine production, since the intracellular methionine pool was increased 2-fold in the engineered strain. This positive effect was limited by a depletion of the metY substrate O-acetylhomoserine, suggesting a need for further metabolic engineering targets towards competitive production strains.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Applied Microbiology Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.157-167
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• 2000

A thermostable chitosanase gene from the isolated strain, Bacillus sp. CK4, was cloned, and its complete DNA sequence was determined. The thermostable chitosanase gene was composed of an 822-bp open reading frame which encodes a protein of 242 amino acids and a signal peptide corresponding to a 30 kDa enzyme in size. The deduced amino acid sequence of the chitosanase from Bacillus sp. CK4 exhibits 76.6%, 15.3%, and 14.2% similarities to those from Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus ehemensis, and Bacillus circulans, respectively. C-terminal homology analysis shows that Bacillus sp. CK4 belongs to the Cluster III group with Bacillus subtilis. The size of the gene was similar to that of a mesophile, Bacillus subtilis showing a higher preference for codons ending in G or C. The functional importance of a conserved region in a novel chitosanase from Bacillus sp. CK4 was investigated. Each of the three carboxylic amino acid residues were changed to E50D/Q, E62D/Q, and D66N/E by site-directed mutagenesis. The D66N/E mutants enzymes had remarkably decreased kinetic parameters such as $V_{max}$ and k$\sub$cat/, indicating that the Asp-66 residue was essential for catalysis. The thermostable chitosanase contains three cysteine residues at position 49, 72, and 211. Titration of the Cys residues with DTNB showed that none of them were involved in disulfide bond. The C49S and C72S mutant enzymes were as stable to thermal inactivation and denaturating agents as the wild-type enzyme. However the half-life of the C211S mutant enzyme was less than 60 min at 80$^{\circ}C$, while that of the wild type enzyme was about 90 min. Moreover, the residual activity of C211S was substantially decreased by 8 M urea, and fully lost catalytic activity by 40% ethanol. These results show that the substitution of Cys with Ser at position 211 seems to affect the conformational stability of the chitosanase.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.314-322
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• 2020

Interplay between histone acetylation and deacetylation is one of the key components in epigenetic regulation of transcription. Here we report the requirement of MoHDA1-mediated histone deacetylation during asexual development and pathogenesis for the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae. Structural similarity and phylogenetic analysis suggested that MoHDA1 is an ortholog of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hda1, which is a representative member of class II histone deacetylases. Targeted deletion of MoHDA1 caused a little decrease in radial growth and large reduction in asexual sporulation. Comparison of acetylation levels for H3K9 and H3K14 showed that lack of MoHDA1 gene led to significant increase in H3K9 and H3K14 acetylation level, compared to the wild-type and complementation strain, confirming that it is a bona fide histone deacetylase. Expression analysis on some of the key genes involved in asexual reproduction under sporulation-promoting condition showed almost no differences among strains, except for MoCON6 gene, which was up-regulated more than 6-fold in the mutant than wild-type. Although the deletion mutant displayed little defects in germination and subsequent appressorium formation, the mutant was compromised in its ability to cause disease. Wound-inoculation showed that the mutant is impaired in invasive growth as well. We found that the mutant was defective in appressorium-mediated penetration of host, but did not lose the ability to grow on the media containing H₂O₂. Taken together, our data suggest that MoHDA1-dependent histone deacetylation is important for efficient asexual development and infection of host plants in M. oryzae.