• Molecules and Cells
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.61-66
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• 2008

Cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP) is allosterically activated by cAMP and functions as a global transcription regulator in enteric bacteria. Structural information on CRP in the absence of cAMP (apo-CRP) is essential to fully understand its allosteric behavior. In this study we demonstrated interdomain interactions in apo-CRP, using a comparative thermodynamic approach to the intact protein and its isolated domains, which were prepared either by limited proteolysis or using recombinant DNA. Thermal denaturation of the intact apo-CRP, monitored by differential scanning calorimetry, revealed an apparently single cooperative transition with a slight asymmetry. Combined with circular dichroism and fluorescence analysis, the thermal denaturation of apo-CRP could be interpreted as a coupled process involving two individual transitions, each attributable to a structural domain. When isolated individually, both of the domains exhibited significantly altered thermal behavior, thus pointing to the existence of non-covalent interdomain interactions in the intact apo-CRP. These observations suggest that the allosteric conformational change of CRP upon binding to cAMP is achieved by perturbing or modifying pre-existing interdomain interactions. They also underline the effectiveness of a comparative approach using calorimetric and structural probes for studying the thermodynamics of a protein.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.353-358
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• 2016

Thiolase is an enzyme that catalyzes condensation reactions between two acetyl-CoA molecules to produce acetoacetyl-CoA. As thiolase catalyzes is the first reaction in the production of n-butanol, knowledge of the molecular and regulatory mechanism of the enzyme is crucial for synthesizing high-value biofuel. Thiolase from Clostridium butyricum (CbTHL) was expressed, purified, and crystallized. X-ray diffraction data were collected from the crystals, and the 3-dimentional structure of the enzyme was determined at 2.0 Å. The overall structure of thiolase was similar to that of type II biosynthetic thiolases, such as thiolase from C. acetobutylicum (CaTHL). The superposition of this structure with that of CaTHL complexed with CoA revealed the residues that comprise the catalytic and substrate binding sites of CbTHL. The catalytic site of CbTHL contains three conserved residues, Cys88, His349, and Cys379, which may function as a covalent nucleophile, general base, and second nucleophile, respectively. For substrate binding, the way in which CbTHL stabilized the ADP moiety of CoA was unlike that of other thiolases, whereas the stabilization of β-mercaptoethyamine and pantothenic acid moieties of CoA was quite similar to that of other enzymes. The most interesting observation in the CbTHL structure was that the enzyme was regulated through redox-switch modulation, using a reversible disulfide bond.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.287-292
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• 2009

The nucleocapsid (N) protein of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is a basic multifunctional protein which has been reported to be a serine phosphoprotein with yet-identified functions. As a first step towards understanding the general role of N protein phosphorylation during virus replication, the non-phosphorylated mutant N gene was constructed by mutating all serine residues to alanine. This recombinant N protein was identified to be unphosphorylated, confirming that serine residues truly function as core amino acids responsible for N protein phosphorylation. The PRRSV N protein has been shown to possess the biological features of nuclear localization and N-N homodimerization which individually play critical roles in virus infection. In the present study, therefore, it was attempted to investigate whether these two properties of the N protein are modulated by its phosphorylation status. However, experimental results showed that the non-phosphorylated N protein was still present in the nucleus and nucleolus, and was able to associate with itself by non-covalent interactions. Taken together, the data suggest phosphorylation-independent regulation of N protein nuclear transport or oligomerization, thereby implying the potential involvement of phosphorylation in regulating the activities of the N protein at other levels including RNA-binding capacity.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.210-217
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• 2003

An alternative method to the empirical approach such as Langmuir and Freundlich model, surface complexation model using thermodynamic database is used to simulate adsorption behavior of cadmium for oxide minerals. Sorption of cadmium onto amorphous silica ($SiO_2$) and synthetic goethite (${\alpha}$-FeOOH) at various conditions of pH, initial cadmium loading, oxide concentration, and ionic strength, were investigated. For both oxide minerals, increasing cadmium concentration resulted in right shifting of the sorption curve of cadmium as the function of pH. The $pH_{50}$, where 50% of cadmium sorbed, of goethite (pH 5.25) was much smaller than that of the silica (pH 7.83). The sorption of cadmium onto both minerals were not affected by the background ion strength from $10^{-1}$ to $10^{-2}$ M of $KNO_3$. It indicated that the binding affinity of goethite surface for cadmium is much stronger than that of silica. The strong affinity of oxide mineral for cadmium can be explained by the existence of coordination or covalent bond between cadmium and surface of it.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.164-170
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• 1985

Yellowish modified wool, dithiocarbamate(DTC) wool, was synthesized by partial hydrolysis in 0.2 N-NaOH reacting with carbon disulfide to use as ${\alpha}-amylase$ immobilization matrix. ${\alpha}-amylase$ was immobilized reacting with sulfide group of DTC-wool by covalent binding within 1 hour. 0.5 gram of this preparation, $DTC-wool-{\alpha}-amylase$, contained 150 ug of enzyme protein and its specific activity was about 90% of the native one. General properties of $DTC-wool-{\alpha}-amylase$ were a little different from optimum temperature, optimum pH, heat stability, kinetic constants and activation energy. An apparent Michaelis constant and maximum velocity of $DTC-wool-{\alpha}-amylase$ were 5.56 mg/ml and 0.37 mg/ml. $min^{-1}$ respectively, while activation energy was 16.6 kcal/mole.