• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.305-311
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• 1997

Bacillus thuringiensis, a gram-positive soil bacterium, is characterized by its ability to produce crystalline inclusions during sporulation. The crystal proteins exhibit a highly specific insecticidal activity. An insecticidal crystal protein (ICP), Cry II A, is specifically toxic to both lepidopteran and dipteran insects. In this study, tobacco plants transformed by the cry II A gene have been generated. The Cry II A crystal protein was purified from E. coli JM103 harboring cry II A gene by differential solubility. The activated Cry II A was prepared by tryptic digestion. The purified protoxin (70 kDa) and the activated toxin (50 kDa) were analyzed by SDS-PAGE. To generate the transgenic tobacco having cry II A gene, the cry II A gene was subcloned to a plant expression vector, pSRL2, having two CaMV 35S promoters. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into tobacco (N. tabacum var. Petit Havana SR1) by Agrobacterium-mediated leaf disc transformation. Through the regeneration, six putative transgenic tobacco plants were obtained and three transformants were confirmed by Southern blot analysis. It has been found that one plant had single copy of cry II A gene, another had two copies of the gene, and the third had a truncated gene. After the immunochemical confirmation of cry II A expression in plants, the transgenic tobacco plants will be used to study the genetics of future generation with the insecticidal crystal protein gene cry II A.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.177-182
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• 1996

Effects of 14 carbohydrates supplied as carbon sources on cell growth and sporulation of, and the production of insecticidal crystal proteins by Bacillus thuringiensis strains were investigated in liquid cultures. Strains grew well in media containing any one of the 14 carbohydrates supplied, reaching maximum cell densities of $10^7{\sim}10^8\;cells/ml$ in 16.7 to 22 hours after inoculation depending on the strain. Spores first appeared in 16.7 to 24.7 hours after inoculation, and 80% sporulation was reached in 28 to 51.3 hours after inoculation depending on the strain. No change in pH of media was observed after cell multiplication. The production of total protein was highest when supplied with sucrose and was lowest with starch. More insecticidal crystal proteins were produced when supplied with glucose, lactose, maltose, or sucrose. The amount of insecticidal crystal proteins produced by the strains was proportional to that of the total protein. The relative amount of individual insecticidal crystal protein species produced by B.t. kurstaki and B.t. israelensis was not influenced by the carbohydrates supplied.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.428-434
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• 1993

Cloning and expression of two different crystal protein genes from transformed Bacillus thuringiensis were investigated. B. thuringiensis NT0423 is toxic to both Lepidopterous and Dipte-rous larvae. The pCG5 vector carrying crystal protein genes (mosquitocidal and hemolytic activity) of B. thurigiensis subsp. morrisoni PG-14 was transformed into B. thurigiensis NT0423. Transformant has expressed two type crystals of bipyramid from NT0423 and ovoid from pCG5 in one cell.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1969-1972
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• 2008

In this study, horse spleen apoferritins were induced to form biominerals using up to 3000 Fe atoms per protein molecule. The morphology and crystallinity of the nanometer-sized biominerals formed in the ferritins were then analyzed using field emission-energy filtering-transmission electron microscopy (FE-TEM). The ferritins were found to have reconstitution yields of 60-70% in the experiments. The mean core size of the ferritins varied somewhat with protein concentrations, indicating that crystal growth in ferritins could be controlled via protein concentrations. The core mineral size increased with the amount of Fe used. Lattice fringes of the core, associated with good crystallinity, were found in all samples. The lattice fringe images of a single domain ferrihydrite mineral appeared frequently in the (011) planes (d-spacing of 0.246 nm) under [100] zone axis in all samples of this study. In addition, the lattice image occasionally revealed fringes corresponding to the (100) planes (d = 0.254 nm) from the [001] zone axis, indicating the characteristic pattern of hexagonal crystal lattice. Diffraction patterns in the minerals identified as ferrihydrite were fitted well into the space group of $P3_{1c}$.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers D
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• v.55 no.7
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• pp.313-318
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• 2006

An automatic sample centering system is underway at the protein crystallography beam line of the Pohang Light Source to improve the efficiency of the crystal screening process. A sample pin which contains a protein crystal is mounted on a goniometer head. Then the crystal should be moved to the center of X-ray beam by controlling the motorized goniometer to obtain diffraction data. Since the X-ray beam is located at the center of the image obtained from the CCD camera when the image of the sample pin is in focus, an auto-focusing algorithm is a very important part in the auto-sample-centering system. However the results of applying several well-known auto focusing algorithms directly to the images are not satisfactory owing to the following factors: misalignment of CCD camera, non-uniform cryo-stream in the background of the image and the supporter of the loop. The performance of an auto-focusing algorithm can be increased if the algorithm is applied to only the loop region identified. Non-uniform cryo-stream and a various illumination condition and a stain, which is shown in the image, are main obstacles to loop region identification. In this paper, a simple loop region identification algorithm, which can solve these problems, is proposed and the effective ness of the proposed scheme is shown by applying the auto-focusing algorithm to the loop region identified.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 1991

The crystal protein gene (cp) of Bacillus tizuringienszs subsp. liuvstaki (B.t.k.) HI173 was subcloned into HanzHI site of central region (Tn5-cp) or BglII site of IS50L region (IS50L-cp) in Tn5, and transposed into the chromosomal DNA of five strains of root-colonizing Pseudomonas. The expression of cp gene in Acwiomoncrs transconjugants was demonstrated by immunoblot analysis and bioassay against larvae of the Hyphantria cunea.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.443-446
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• 2007

A prognostic indicator of coronary heart disease, C-reactive protein, was tried to be determined by a batch-type quartz crystal microbalance immunosensor. The sensor was operated by direct-binding mode and the optimum concentration for the corresponding antibody for immobilization was $50{\mu}g/ml$. The reaction buffer for the system was 0.1 M sodium phosphate (pH 7.0) and system operation was performed in the order of baseline stabilization, analyte addition and measurement, and regeneration of the sensor chip with 10 mM NaOH. When plotted in double-logarithmic scale, the sensor showed a linear detection range of 0.27-106.00 nM for rat C-reactive protein with the limit of detection of 0.53 nM. It also showed a good reusability.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.359-363
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• 1995

The antigenic variation of B. thuringiensis subsp. satto have been investigated for 120 hours during sporulation and crystallization by using SDS-PAGE and Western blot. Most antigens of a vegetative cell were found to disappear as it was in sporulation and crystallization, but protein antigens of 46, 29, 27, and 21 kDa continued to be expressed. The new protein bands of 293, 138, 119, 75, and 68 kDa appeared on days 2 through 5 in modified GYS medium. They were thought to be involved in sporulation and crystallization. The protein of 138 kDa was found to be a major protein of both crystal and spore. The expression patterns were immunologically analyzed by Western blot. The polyclonal antisera against the intact crystal showed strong immunoreactivity to proteins with molecular masses of 293, 138, 68, and 46 kDa. The polyclonal antisera against the spore recognized proteins of 293, 138, 68, and 46 kDa. Both crystals and spores appeared to express the common protein antigens.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.157-161
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• 1994

To investigate the morphology of Bacillus thuringiensis crystal proteins, two type crystal protein genes, cryIA(c) gene under the control of cryIA(b) gene promoter and cryIIA gene under the control of its own promoter, were transformed in B. thuringiensis acrystalliferous mutant strain and the transformants were characterized by SDS-PAGE and scanning electron microscopy. The expression and formation of crystal proteins in B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki Cry-B revealed that crystal proteins appear to have same molecular weight and morphology to those of wild type strain's, suggesting that the expression and formation of crystal proteins affected not by host cell or recombination of cryIA(e) gene under the control of cryIA(b) gene promoter but by only structural fragment of protoxin.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.500-505
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• 2019

Staphylococcus aureus is a round-shaped, gram-positive bacterium that can cause numerous infectious diseases ranging from mild infections such as skin infections and food poisoning to life-threatening infections such as sepsis, endocarditis and toxic shock syndrome. Various antibiotic-resistant strains of S. aureus have frequently emerged, threatening human lives significantly. Despite much research on the genetics of S. aureus, many of its genes remain unknown functionally and structurally. To counteract its toxins and to prevent the antibiotic resistance of S. aureus, our understanding of S. aureus should be increased at the proteomic scale. SAV0927 was first sequenced in an antibiotic resistant S. aureus strain. The gene is a conserved hypothetical protein, and its homologues appear to be restricted to Firmicutes. In this study, we determined the crystal structure of SAV0927 at $2.5{\AA}$ resolution. The protein was primarily dimeric both in solution and in the crystals. The asymmetric unit contained five dimers that are stacked linearly with ${\sim}80^{\circ}$ rotation by each dimer, and these interactions further continued in the crystal packing, resulting in a long linear polymer. The crystal structures, together with the network analysis, provide functional implications for the SAV0927-mediated protein network.