• Molecules and Cells
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.45-59
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• 2007

We describe the gene expression profile of third leaves of rice (cv. Nipponbare) seedlings subjected to salt stress (130 mM NaCl). Transcripts of Mn-SOD, Cu/Zn-SOD, cytosolic and stromal APX, GR and CatB were up-regulated, whereas expression of thylakoid-bound APX and CatA were down-regulated. The levels of the compatible solute proline and of transcripts of its biosynthetic gene, ${\Delta}^1$-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS), were strongly increased by salt stress. Interestingly, a potential compatible solute, ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA), was also found to be strongly induced by salt stress along with marked up-regulation of transcripts of GABA-transaminase. A dye-swap rice DNA microarray analysis identified a large number of genes whose expression in third leaves was altered by salt stress. Among 149 genes whose expression was altered at all the times assayed (3, 4 and 6 days) during salt stress, there were 47 annotated novel genes and 76 unknown genes. These results provide new insight into the effect of salt stress on the expression of genes related to antioxidant enzymes, proline and GABA as well as of genes in several functional categories.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.118-124
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• 2005

In this research, we examined the effect of NaCl on the growth, energy metabolism, and proton motive force of Halomonas salina, and the effect of compatible solutes on the bacterium growing in the high salinity environment. H. salina was isolated from seawater and identified by 16srDNA sequencing. The growth of H. salina was not enhanced by the addition of external compatible solutes (choline and betaine) in the high salinity environment. The resting cells of H. salina absorbed more glucose in the presence of 2.0 M NaCl than in its absence. H. salina did not grow in the medium with either KCl, RbCl, CsCl, $Na_2SO_4$, or $NaNO_3$, in place of NaCl. The optimal concentration of NaCl for the growth of H. salina ranged from 1.4 M to 2.5 M, and the growth yield was decreased in the presence of NaCl below 1.4M and above 2.5M. The activity of isocitrate dehydrogenase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, and malate dehydrogenase of H. salina was not inhibited by NaCl in in vitro test. The proton translocation of H. salina was detected in the presence of NaCl only. These results indicate that NaCl is absolutely required for the normal growth and energy metabolism of H. salina, but the bacterial growth is not enhanced by the compatible solutes added to the growth medium.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.174-180
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• 2004

A halophilic bacterium was isolated from fermented seafood. The 16S rDNA sequence identity between the isolate and Halomonas subglaciescola AJ306801 was above 95％. The isolate that did not grow in the condition without NaCl or in the condition with other sodium (Na$\^$+/) or chloride ions (Cl$\^$-/) instead of NaCl was named H. subglaciescola DH-l. Two mutants capable of growing without NaCl were obtained by random mutagenesis, of which their total soluble protein profiles were compared with those of the wild type by two-dimensional electrophoresis. The external compatible solutes (betaine and choline) and cell extract of the wild type did not function as osmoprotectants, and these parameters within the mutants did not enhance their growth in the saline environment. In the proton translocation test, rapid acidification of the reactant was not detected for the wild type, but it was detected for the mutant in the condition without NaCl. From these results, we derived the hypothesis that NaCl may be absolutely required for the energy metabolism of H. subglaciescola DH-l but not for its osmoregulation, and the mutants may have another modified proton translocation system that is independent of NaCl, except for those mutants with an NaCl-dependent system.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.1560-1568
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• 2013

Salmonella, a main cause of foodborne diseases, encounters a variety of environmental stresses and overcomes the stresses by multiple resistance strategies. One of the general responses to hyperosmotic stress is to import or produce compatible solutes so that cells maintain fluid balance and protect proteins and lipids from denaturation. The ProP and ProU systems are the main transport systems for compatible solutes. The OsmU system, recently identified as a third osmoprotectant transport system, debilitates excessive growth as well by reducing production of trehalose. We studied a fourth putative osmoprotectant transport system, YehZYXW, with high sequence similarity with the OsmU system. A Salmonella strain lacking YehZ, a predicted substrate-binding protein, did not suffer from hyperosmolarity but rather grew more rapidly than the wild type regardless of glycine betaine, an osmoprotectant, suggesting that the YehZYXW system controls bacterial growth irrespective of transporting glycine betaine. However, the growth advantage of ${\Delta}yehZ$ was not attributable to an increase in OtsBA-mediated trehalose production, which is responsible for the outcompetition of the ${\Delta}osmU$ strain. Overexpressed YehZ in trans was capable of deaccelerating bacterial growth vice versa, supporting a role of YehZ in dampening growth. The expression of yehZ was increased in response to nutrient starvation, acidic pH, and the presence of glycine betaine under hyperosmotic stress. Identifying substrates for YehZ will help decipher the role of the YehZYXW system in regulating bacterial growth in response to environmental cues.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.21-25
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• 1999

Two low-salt complex media, bactopeptone and desalted yeast extract, were used for high density cultivation of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus (DSM 1617). Bactopeptone, which has low mineral ion content among various complex media, was good for cell growth in batch cultures; the maximal cell density in bactopeptone was comparable to that in yeast extract. However, cell growth was rather poor when bactopeptone was added by the fed-batch procedure. Since several vitamins are deficient in abctopeptone, the effect of vitamins on cell growth was examined. Among the vitamins tested, pyridoxine was found to improve the growth rate of S. solfataricus. To reduce the growth inhibition caused by mineral ions, yeast extract was dialyzed against distilled water and then fed-batch cultures were carried out using a fed medium containing desalted yeast extract. Although the concentrations of mineral ions in yeast extract were significantly lowered by the dialysis whether low molecular weight solutes in yest extract are crucial for cell growth, we investigated the effect of trehalose, a most abundant compatible solute in yeast extract, on the growth pattern. Cell densities were increased and the length of the lag phase was markedly shortened by the presence of trehalose, indicating that trehalose plays an important role in the growth of S. solfataricus.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.1034-1040
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• 2009

Porin proteins of Gram-negative bacteria are outer membrane proteins that act as receptors for bacteriophages and are involved in a variety of functions like solute transport, pathogenesis, and immunity. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi), a Gram-negative bacterium, is the causative agent of typhoid fever. Porins of S. Typhi have been shown to have a potential role in diagnostics and vaccination. In the present study, the major outer membrane proteins OmpF and OmpC from S. Typhi were cloned in pQE30UA vector and expressed in E. coli. The immunogenic nature of the recombinant porin proteins were evaluated by ELISA by raising hyperimmune sera in Swiss Albino mice with three different adjuvants (i.e., Freund's adjuvant and two human-compatible adjuvants like montanide and aluminium hydroxide gel) and proved to be immunogenic. The recombinant OmpF and OmpC generated in this work may be used for further studies for vaccination and diagnostics.

• Environmental Sciences Bulletin of The Korean Environmental Sciences Society
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2000

The present study was undertaken in investigate the response to salinity and effect of plant growth regulators and proline under salinity stress on the germination and seedling growth of Vigna angularis. The protective effect of external Ca2+ on root elongation under saline conditions was also investigated. The seed germination of Vigna angularis decreased with an increase in salinity. The growth regulators GA3 was more effective than kinetin. At a higher salinity, low concentrations of kinetin and high concentrations of GA3 were more effective. The external application of proline and betaine improved germination under saline conditions. At a low salinity proline and betaine alleviated the salinity-induced inhibition of germination, yet at higher NaCl concentrations, proline and betaine were both ineffective. Exposure to salinity during germination was accompanied by an increase in the proline content, thereby suggesting that one compatible solute in the germinating seed would seem to be proline. The inhibition of germination by high NaCl concentrations was relatively more severe in scarified seeds than in intact seeds, indicating that the seed coat acts as a partial barrier to an Na2+ ameliorated the adverse effect of salinity stress.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.101-107
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• 1993

Zygosaccharomyces rouxii is a salt-tolerant yeast which plays an important role during the ripening stage of soy sauce fermentation. Z. rouxii used in the experiment could grow in YPD (1 % yeast extract, 2% peptone and 2% glucose, pH5.0) medium with 18% (w/v) NaCl, whereas Saccharomyces cerevisiae could only grow in YPD medium with less than 8% NaCl. In the presence of 15% NaCl, Z. rouxii accumulates a large amount of glycerol as a compatible solute within the cells in the exponential phase. It is a characteristic of salt-tolerant yeasts. From the chemical analyses on membrane lipid fluidity, the membrane structure of the cells grown in 15% NaCl was suggested to become more rigid and its fluidity was decreased to keep glycerol within the cells in response to surrounding medium with high concentrations of salt.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2015

Glycine betaine (GB) is one of the compatible solutes that accumulate in the chloroplasts of certain halotolerant plants under salt or cold stress. The codA gene for choline oxidase, the enzyme that converts choline into GB, has been cloned from a soil bacterium Arthrobacter globiformis. We generated transgenic sweetpotato plants [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] expressing codA gene in chloroplasts under the control of the SWPA2 promoter (referred to as SC plants) and evaluated SC plants under oxidative and drought stresses. SC plants showed enhanced tolerance to methyl viologen (MV)-mediated oxidative stress and drought stress due to induced expression of codA. At $5{\mu}M$ of MV treatment, all SC plants showed enhanced tolerance to MV-mediated oxidative stress through maintaining low ion leakage and increased GB levels compared to wild type plants. When plants were subjected to drought conditions, SC plants showed enhanced tolerance to drought stress through maintaining high relative water contents and increased codA expression compared to wild type plants. These results suggest that the SC plants generated in this study will be useful for enhanced biomass production on global marginal lands.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.109-117
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• 1999

Thirty two species of coastal plants (mainly halophytes) were investigated for their free amino acids and the total and water-soluble nitrogen contents in leaves. All plants except some species (e.g. Scutellaria and Linaria) contained proline, but only Ageratum. Tetragonia and Raphanus in rather high amounts, that it can be thought to serve as a cytoplasmic osmolyte. In some plant species (Euphorbia. Glehnia. Peucedanum. Raphanus and monocotyledonous Carex and Zoysia), however, hydroxyproline. (OH-Pro) rather than proline were accumulated to a considerable extent. The concentrations of total free amino acids were low in Aster tripolium, Linaria. Lysimachia. Plantago. Rumex, Vitex and especially in the members of the Chenopodiaceae and Crassulaceae. Marked differences also occurred in the nitrogen levels. Aizoaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Convolvulaceae, Cruciferae, Euphorbiaceae and Leguminosae usually showed high values of total and soluble amino nitrogen, while the opposite was true for most of the Cyperaceae, Gramineae, Lamiaceae, Plantaginaceae, Scophuriaceae, and Verbenaceae. The free amino acids in the investigated plant species contributed very little to the nitrogen content, but in plants of Euphorbia, Messerschmidia and Orostachys. their amino acid-N made up for 25∼30% of the total nitrogen. In conclusion, only a few cases did proline known as compatible solute constitute a significant proportion of the free amino acid pool in coastal plants.