• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.402.1-402.1
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• 2014

Photonic force microscopy (PFM) is an optical tweezers-based scanning probe microscopy, which measures the forces in the range of fN to pN. The low stiffness leads proper to measure single molecular interaction. We introduce a novel photonic force microscopy to stably map various chemical properties as well as topographic information, utilizing weak molecular bond between probe and object's surface. First, we installed stable optical tweezers instrument, where an IR laser with 1064 nm wavelength was used as trapping source to reduce damage to biological sample. To manipulate trapped material, electric driven two-axis mirrors were used for x, y directional probe scanning and a piezo stage for z directional probe scanning. For resolution test, probe scans with vertical direction repeatedly at the same lateral position, where the vertical resolution is ~25 nm. To obtain the topography of surface which is etched glass, trapped bead scans 3-dimensionally and measures the contact position in each cycle. To acquire the chemical mapping, we design the DNA oligonucleotide pairs combining as a zipping structure, where one is attached at the surface of bead and other is arranged on surface. We measured the rupture force of molecular bonding to investigate chemical properties on the surface with various loading rate. We expect this system can realize a high-resolution multi-functional imaging technique able to acquire topographic map of objects and to distinguish difference of chemical properties between these objects simultaneously.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.127-134
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• 2009

Members of the NAM-ATAF-CUC (NAC) protein family are plant-specific transcription factors that contain a highly conserved N-terminal NAC-domain and diverse C-terminal regions. They have been implicated in plant development and abiotic stress responses. To identify interacters of rice NAC-domain proteins (OsNACs), we performed yeast two-hybrid screening of rice cDNA library using OsNAC5 as a bait, and the results showed that OsNAC5 interacts with other OsNACs including itself. To delineate an interacting domain, a series of deletion constructs of four OsNACs were made and transformed into yeast in various combinations. The results revealed that the conserved NAC domain of OsNACs plays a primary role in homodimer and heterodimer formation, and a part of C-terminal sequence is also necessary for the interaction. In vitro pull-down assays using recombinant OsNAC proteins verified the dimer formations, together suggesting that OsNACs may act by forming homodimers and/or heterodimers in plants.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.109-114
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• 2003

A promoter that is inducible by paraquat and menadione, the superoxide generators, independently of soxRS has been found in front of the sufABCDSE operon in Escherichia coli. Based on the observation that SufA is a holomog of IscA that functions in the assembly of iron sulfur cluster and the sufA promoter (sufAp) contains a putative Fur-binding consensus, we investigated whether this gene is regulated by Fur, a ferric uptake regulator, When examined in several sufAp-lacZ chromosomal fusion strains, sufAp was induced by EDTA, an iron chelator and a well-known Fur-inducer, The basal level of sufA expression increased dramatically in fur mutant, suggesting repression of sufAp by Fur. The derepression in fur mutant and EDTA-induction of sufA expression required nucleotides up to -61, where a putative Fur box is located. Purified Fur protein bound to the DNA fragment containing the putative Fur box between -35 and -10 promoter elements. The regulation by Fur and menadione induction of sufAp acted independently. The rpoS mutation increased sufA induction by menadione, suggesting that the stationary sigma factor RpoS acts negatively on sufA induction.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1118-1123
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• 2009

Event-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection method for genetically modified (GM) maize MIR604 was developed based on integration junction sequences between the host plant genome and the integrated transgene. In this study, 2 primer pairs and probes were designed for specific amplification of 100 and 111 bp DNA fragments from the zSSIIb gene (the maize endogenous reference gene) and MIR604. The quantitative method was validated using 3 certified reference materials (CRMs) with levels of 0.1, 1, and 10% MIR604. The method was also assayed with 14 different plants and other GM maize. No amplification signal was observed in real-time PCR assays with any of the species tested other than MIR604 maize. As a result, the bias from the true value and the relative deviation for MIR604 was within the range from 0 to 9%. Precision, expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD), varied from 2.7 to 10% for MIR604. Limits of detections (LODs) of qualitative and quantitative methods were all 0.1%. These results indicated that the event-specific quantitative PCR detection system for MIR604 is accurate and useful.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.196-203
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• 1995

The c-myc proto-oncogene, one of the immediately earlY genes, is expressed in various mammalian cell types and heavily involved in the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation. To determine endogeneous expression pattern of c-myc gene in preimpBantation mouse embwos, we employed a reverse transcription coupled to polvrnerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Transcript of c-myc was detected at fertilized embryos as a maternal transcript. At the early two-cell stave, transcript of c-myc gene was hardly detected, bu, appeared at late two-cell embryos as a zygotic transcript. The level of c-myc expresion was increased at later stases and peaked at blastocvst stage. To examine the functional role of promoter region for c-myc gene transcription, we fused the 5'upstream region (1.8 kb) including econ 1 of c-myc genomic DNA with E. coli lacE gene fnamed as pcMYC-laczl. pcMYC-lacZ was microiniected into the pronscleus of mouse one-cell embryovs, and p·salactosidase activity was determined tv histochemical staining with X-gal at different stases. f-galactosidase activity was detected only at blastocyst, but not at the earlier stage embryos. This result indicates that c-myc gene is transcriptionallv active during mouse preimplantation development.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Applied Microbiology Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.236-241
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• 2004

In Escherichia coli, L-lysine biosynthetic pathway is composed of nine enzymatic reactions. It has been well established that most of the lysine biosynthetic genes are regulated by the lysine availability, even though they are all scattered around the chromosome without forming any multigenic operon structure. However, no transcriptional regulatory mechanism has been identified except for the activation of lysA gene by the LysR. In this study, changes in transcriptome profiles of wild type cells and lysR deletion mutant cells grown in the absence or presence of lysine were investigated by using DNA microarray technique. Microarray data analysis revealed three groups of genes whose expression varies depending on the availability of lysine or LysR or both. To further examine the regulatory patterns of lysine biosynthetic genes, lacZ operon fusions were constructed and their expression was measured under various conditions. Obtained results strongly suggest that there is an additional regulatory mechanism which senses the lysine availability and coordinates gene expression.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.1030-1036
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• 2018

Bacillus strains produce various types of antibiotics, and random mutagenesis has traditionally been used to overproduce these natural metabolites. However, this method leads to the accumulation of unwanted mutations in the genome. Here, we rationally designed a single nucleotide substitution in the degU gene to generate a B. subtilis strain displaying increased plipastatin production in a foreign DNA-free manner. The mutant strain (BS1028u) showed improved antifungal activity against Pythium ultimum. Notably, pps operon deletion in BS1028u resulted in complete loss of antifungal activity, suggesting that the antifungal activity strongly depends on the expression of the pps operon. Quantitative real-time PCR and lacZ assays showed that the point mutation resulted in 2-fold increased pps operon expression, which caused the increase in antifungal activity. Likewise, commercial Bacillus strains can be improved to display higher antifungal activity by rationally designed simple modifications of their genome, rendering them more efficient biocontrol agents.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.67-74
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• 2003

Viral and non-viral vectors have been used in the delivery of genetic materials into animal cells and tissues, with each approach having pros and cons. Non-viral vectors have many useful merits such as easy preparation, low immunity and size tolerance of a transgene when compared to those of viral vectors. Delivery specificity may be achieved by complex formation between receptor ligands and a non-viral vector. In the present study, non-viral vector systems are investigated in an effort to find a practical delivery means for gene therapy, Receptor-ligand interaction between transferrin-receptor and transferrin was utilized for efficient gene transfer into cancer cells. A plasmid vector, pcDNA3 (LacZ) was ligated with a small duplexed oligo fragment in which a Biotin- VN$^{TM}$ phosphoramidite was placed in the middle of the oligo. The plasmid vector labeled by biotin was then conjugated with biotin-labeled transferrin via streptavidin. This trimeric conjugates were delivered to a hepatoma cell line, HepG2. The delivery efficiency of the trimeric conjugate was 2-fold higher than that of cationic liposomes used for transfection of a plasmid vector. These results demonstrate that a plasmid vector can be efficiently transferred into cells by forming a trimeric complex of plasmid vector-linker-ligand.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.281-285
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• 1998

We examined Y chromosomal DNA polymorphisms at the DYS19 and DXYS5Y loci in a total of 480 unrelated male samples from the Korean population. All five common alleles were identified at the tetranucleotide microsatellite locus DYS19 in this study. The C allele was the most frequent (212/480), followed by D (136/480), B (75/480), E (36/480) and A (21/480) allele. The frequency of Y2 allele at the DXYS5Y locus was found to be 4.6% (22/480). Combining the allelic variation at these two loci resulted in a total of 9 combination haplotypes. The mean combination haplotype diversity wIns 0.72. Based on the results of these two loci, Korean and Japanese populations may share some common genetic structure that is rare or absent in the other ethnic groups. The genetic similarity between Korean and Japanese populations may be due to the large infusion of Y chromosomes through the Yayoi migration starting 2,300 years ago from Korea to Japan.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.85-88
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• 2011

Podosphaera fusca (syn. Sphaerotheca fusca, S. fuliginea) is a causal agent of powdery mildew infections on Zinnia elegans, and has been documented in Korea since 1967. An outbreak involving about 1,000 plants in October 2008, in Yangpyeong, Korea, was caused by Golovinomyces cichoracearum. Further surveys of zinnia powdery mildew from 2008-2010 confirmed the widespread occurrence of Zinnia-Golovinomyces association in Korea. Chasmothecia of this fungus have not been found on Z. elegans in Korea. Analysis of internal transcribed spacer rDNA from five Korean collections confirmed the powdery mildew as G. cichoracearum. Comparison with the those from GenBank revealed 100% identity with sequences from zinnia powdery mildew, forming a monophyletic clade with 100% bootstrap support, and with those of G. cichoracearum parasitic on the hosts belonging to the tribe Heliantheae of the family Asteraceae.