• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.780-787
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• 2012

The maize pathogen Gibberella moniliformis produces fumonisins, a group of mycotoxins associated with several disorders in animals and humans, including cancer. The current focus of our research is to understand the regulatory mechanisms involved in fumonisin biosynthesis. In this study, we employed a proteomics approach to identify novel genes involved in the fumonisin biosynthesis under nitrogen stress. The combination of genome sequence, mutant strains, EST database, microarrays, and proteomics offers an opportunity to advance our understanding of this process. We investigated the response of the G. moniliformis proteome in limited nitrogen (N0, fumonisin-inducing) and excess nitrogen (N+, fumonisin-repressing) conditions by one- and two-dimensional electrophoresis. We selected 11 differentially expressed proteins, six from limited nitrogen conditions and five from excess nitrogen conditions, and determined the sequences by peptide mass fingerprinting and MS/MS spectrophotometry. Subsequently, we identified the EST sequences corresponding to the proteins and studied their expression profiles in different culture conditions. Through the comparative analysis of gene and protein expression data, we identified three candidate genes for functional analysis and our results provided valuable clues regarding the regulatory mechanisms of fumonisin biosynthesis.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.203-210
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• 2006

Fumonisins are a group of mycotoxins produced by a pathogen Fusarium verticillioides in infected maize kernels. Consumption of fumonisin-contaminated maize has been implicated in a number of animal and human illnesses, including esophageal cancer and neural tube defects. Since the initial discovery, chemistry, toxicology, and biology of fumonisins as well as the maize-Fusarium pathosystem have been extensively studied. Furthermore, in the past decade, significant progress has been made in terms of understanding the molecular biology of toxin biosynthetic genes. However, there is a critical gap in our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms involved in fumonisin biosynthesis. Here, we review and discuss our current knowledge about the molecular mechanisms by which fumonisin biosynthesis is regulated in F. verticillioides. In addition, we discuss the impact of maize kernel environment, particularly sugar and lipid molecules, on fumonisin biosynthesis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.648-657
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• 2008

In this study, we used functional genomic strategies, proteomics and quantitative real-time (qRT)-PCR, to advance our understanding of genes associated with fumonisin production in the fungus Fusarium verticillioides. Earlier studies have demonstrated that deletion of the FCC1 gene, which encodes a C-type cyclin, leads to a drastic reduction in fumonisin production and conidiation in the mutant strain (FT536). The premise of our research was that comparative analysis of F. verticillioides wild-type and FT536 proteomes will reveal putative proteins, and ultimately corresponding genes, that are important for fumonisin biosynthesis. We isolated proteins that were significantly upregulated in either the wild type or FT536 via two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and subsequently obtained sequences by mass spectrometry. Homologs of identified proteins, e.g., carboxypeptidase, laccase, and nitrogen metabolite repression protein, are known to have functions involved in fungal secondary metabolism and development. We also identified gene sequences corresponding to the selected proteins and investigated their transcriptional profiles via quantitative real-time (qRT)-PCR in order to identify genes that show concomitant expression patterns during fumonisin biosynthesis. These genes can be selected as targets for functional analysis to further verify their roles in $FB_1$ biosynthesis.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.61-67
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• 1999

Geranyllinalool, a polyisoprenoid compound, was found to block the early biosynthetic pathway of sphingolipids in LLC-PKl cells. Sphinganine, an intermediate in sphingolipid biosynthetic pathway, was abruptly accumulated in LLC-PKl cells at $2{\;}{\mu}M$ of fumonisin B1(FB1), a specific inhibitor of sphinganine N-acyltransferase, for 24 hr. Geranyllinalool lowered the $B_1(FB_1)$, a specific inhibitor of sphinganine N-acyltransferase, for 24 hr. Geranyllinalool lowered th FB1 and $50{\;}\mu$M geranyllinalool. l-Cy-closerine, an inhibitor of serine-palmitoyl transferase, was used as a positive control to evaluate the inhibitory effect of geranyllinalool. These results suggest that geranyllinalool may inhibit the serine-palmitoyl transferase, the first enzyme in de novo sphingolipid biosynthesis, resulting in the altered regulation of sphingolipid metabolism.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.306-311
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• 2010

To detect Fusarium mycotoxins, grain samples were collected from 32 rice fields all over the country and from 19 maize fields in eastern and midland provinces in Korea in 2009. Maize contamination with Fusarium species (54.9%) was higher than in rice (8.2%). Using Fusarium species specific PCR primer sets (Fg16 and VERT), 58 and 354 of total 506 isolates from maize samples were putatively identified as F. graminearum (11.5%) and F. verticillioides (70.0%), respectively. From rice samples, 276 of 315 isolates (87.8%) were putatively identified as F. graminearum but F. verticillioides was not identified. LC or LC-MS analysis of the samples revealed that fumonisin was the most commonly detected mycotoxin in maize samples but its level was below the regulation limit. Only two maize samples were contaminated with deoxynivalenol and zearalenone at the levels above the regulation limit. In rice samples, contamination with zearalenone was common but the levels were below the regulation limit. This study showed that most of the Korean maize and rice samples collected in 2009 were contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins but the levels were below the Korean regulations for deoxynivalenol, fumonisin and zearalenone.

• 한국약용작물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.396-397
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• 2008

• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.220-225
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• 2019

We have identified a mechanism to diminish the proliferative capacity of cells during cell expansion using human adipose-derived stromal cells (hAD-SCs) as a model of replicative senescence. hAD-SCs of high-passage numbers exhibited a reduced proliferative capacity with accelerated cellular senescence. Levels of key bioactive sphingolipids were significantly increased in these senescent hAD-SCs. Notably, the transcription of sphingosine kinase 1 (SPHK1) was down-regulated in hAD-SCs at high-passage numbers. SPHK1 knockdown as well as inhibition of its enzymatic activity impeded the proliferation of hAD-SCs, with concomitant induction of cellular senescence and accumulation of sphingolipids, as seen in high-passage cells. SPHK1 knockdown-accelerated cellular senescence was attenuated by co-treatment with sphingosine-1-phosphate and an inhibitor of ceramide synthesis, fumonisin $B_1$, but not by treatment with either one alone. Together, these results suggest that transcriptional down-regulation of SPHK1 is a critical inducer of altered sphingolipid profiles and enhances replicative senescence during multiple rounds of cell division.