• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3955-3961
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• 2013

Background: Defects of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) have long been implicated in generation of oxidative stress and risk susceptibility to various cancers. Two functional polymorphisms within the MnSOD gene, including the Val-9Ala of the mitochondrial targeting sequence (MTS) and the Ile58Thr of the exon-3, have been proposed to reduce its enzyme activity and antioxidant potential. Materials and Methods: A high-throughput multiplex SNaPshot$^{(R)}$ system was developed herein for simultaneous analyses of Val-9Ala and Ile58Thr in a single reaction. Genomic DNA extracted from each whole blood sample of 248 patients including 107 with cervical cancer and 141 with breast cancer and from 136 healthy women as controls was analyzed by the multiplex SNaPshot$^{(R)}$ system. Results: The Val/Val, Val/Ala genotypes and the Val allele of the MTS were predominant in patients with cervical or breast cancer as well as healthy women in Thailand. The Ile/Ile genotype and the Ile allele of the exon-3 were found in all of them whereas none of the Ile/Thr, the Thr/Thr genotypes and the Thr allele was detected. Genotypic association of both Val-9Ala and Ile58Thr polymorphisms with cervical cancer and breast cancer of these patients comparing to healthy women was not statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusions: The Val/Val, Val/Ala genotypes and the Val allele of the MTS were found predominantly but the Ile/Ile genotype and the Ile allele of the exon-3 were detected in patients with cervical cancer, breast cancer and healthy women in Thailand. These two functional polymorphisms (Val-9Ala and Ile58Thr) in MnSOD gene did not associate with susceptibility risk of these cancer patients in Thailand.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 1999

The visco-elastic properties of gluten are major determinants of the processing properties of doughs. These visco-elastic properties are strongly influenced by the ratio of monomeric and polymeric proteins and the size distribution of the polymeric proteins, which make up the gluten fraction of the dough. Recent studies have revealed that other features, such as the number of the cysteine residues of the HMW-GS, also play an important role in determining the functional characteristics. To modify the processing properties at molecular level, the relationship between the structure of molecules and dough properties has to be understood. In order to explore the relationships between individual proteins and dough properties, we have developed procedures for incorporating bacterially expressed proteins into doughs, and measuring their functional properties in small-scale equipment. A major problem in investigating the structure/function relationships of individual seed storage proteins is to obtain sufficient amounts of pure polypeptides from the complex families of proteins expressed in the endosperm. Therefore, we have established a simplified model system in which we produce specific protein genes through bacterial expression and test their functional properties in smallscale apparatus after incorporation into base flour. An S poor protein gene has been chosen as a template gene. This template gene has been modified using standard recombinant DNA techniques in order to test the effects of varying the number and position of cysteine residues, and the size of the protein. Doughs have been mixed in small scale apparatus and characterized with respect to their polymeric composition and their functional properties, including dough mixing, extensibility and small scale bating. We conclude that dough characteristics can be manipulated in a predictable manner by altering the cysteine residues and the size of high molecular weight glutenins.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.474-480
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• 2008

OsMADS1 is a rice MADS box gene necessary for floral development. To identify the key cis-regulatory regions for its expression, we utilized transgenic rice plants expressing GUS fusion constructs. Histochemical analysis revealed that the 5.7-kb OsMADS1 intragenic sequences, encompassing exon 1, intron 1, and a part of exon 2, together with the 1.9-kb 5' upstream promoter region, are required for the GUS expression pattern that coincides with flower-preferential expression of OsMADS1. In contrast, the 5' upstream promoter sequence lacking this intragenic region caused ectopic expression of the reporter gene in both vegetative and reproductive tissues. Notably, incorporation of the intragenic region into the CaMV35S promoter directed the GUS expression pattern similar to that of the endogenous spatial expression of OsMADS1 in flowers. In addition, our transient gene expression assay revealed that the large first intron following the CaMV35S minimal promoter enhances flower-preferential expression of GUS. These results suggest that the OsMADS1 intragenic sequence, largely intron 1, contains a key regulatory region(s) essential for expression.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.12 no.10
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• pp.1044-1049
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• 2006

Multiple sequence alignment is a method to compare two or more DNA or protein sequences. Most of multiple sequence alignment tools rely on pairwise alignment and Smith-Waterman algorithm to generate an alignment hierarchy. Therefore, in the existing multiple alignment method as the number of sequences increases, the runtime increases exponentially. In order to remedy this problem, we adopted a parallel processing suffix tree algorithm that is able to search for common subsequences at one time without pairwise alignment. Also, the cross-matching subsequences triggering inexact-matching among the searched common subsequences might be produced. So, the cross-matching masking process was suggested in this paper. To identify the function of the clusters generated by suffix tree clustering, BLAST and CDD (Conserved Domain Database)search were combined with a clustering tool. Our clustering and annotating tool consists of constructing suffix tree, overlapping common subsequences, clustering gene sequences and annotating gene clusters by BLAST and CDD search. The system was successfully evaluated with 36 gene sequences in the pentose phosphate pathway, clustering 10 clusters, finding out representative common subsequences, and finally identifying functional domains by searching CDD database.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.406-411
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• 2011

Background: Invariant Natural killer T (iNKT) cells, a distinct subset of CD1d-restricted T cells with invariant $V{\alpha}{\beta}$ TCR, functionally bridge innate and adaptive immunity. While iNKT cells share features with conventional T cells in some functional aspects, they simultaneously produce large amount of Th1 and Th2 cytokines upon T-cell receptor (TCR) ligation. However, gene expression pattern in two types of cells has not been well characterized. Methods: we performed comparative microarray analyses of gene expression in murine iNKT cells and conventional $CD4^+CD25^-$ ${\gamma}{\delta}TCR^-$ T cells by using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) method. Results: Here, we describe profound differences in gene expression pattern between iNKT cells and conventional $CD4^+CD25^-$ ${\gamma}{\delta}TCR^-$ T cells. Conclusion: Our results provide new insights into the functional competence of iNKT cells and a better understanding of their various roles during immune responses.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.218-218
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• 2022

Granules-bound starch synthase II (GBSSII), one of the isoforms of granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS), is responsible for amylose synthesis by expressing in non-storage tissues such as leaf, stem, root, and pericarp. Up to date, little is known about this gene functions and basic knowledge of heritable characteristics of this gene, GBSSII. We identified functional haplotypes and performed evolutionary analyses on the GBSSII using 374 rice accessions (320 Korean bred and 54 wild) based on the classified groups. A total of 14 haplotypes were found, and almost all haplotypes (13) were functional, carrying 19 non-synonymous SNPs in two exons (exons 1 and 2). The lowest nucleotide diversity was detected in Tropical japonica (0.00145), while the highest pi-value was in Aus (0.01081), illustrating the signal of this gene evolution. The highest Tajima's D value in Aus (1.6380) indicates GBSSII gene domestication signature under balancing selection, while the lowest Tajima's D value in Temperate japonica (-0.8243) highlights that they were under positive selection, which may be purified due to the excess of rare alleles. The highest genetic differentiation was observed between Tropical japonica and aroma (F_ST = 0.921928). In contrast, the highest interbreed level was detected in Aus-admixture (F_ST = -0.20157). The genetic relatedness between and or among the wild and cultivated subpopulations was revealed through PCA, population structure, and phylogenetic analyses.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.39-45
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• 2023

As advanced sequencing technologies continue to uncover an increasing number of variants in genes associated with human genetic diseases, there is a growing demand for systematic approaches to assess the impact of these variants on human development, health, and disease. While in silico analyses have provided valuable insights, it is essential to complement these findings with model organism studies to determine the functional consequences of genetic variants in vivo. Drosophila melanogaster is an excellent genetic model for such functional studies due to its efficient genetic technologies, high gene conservation with humans, accessibility to mutant fly resources, short life cycles, and cost-effectiveness. The traditional GAL4-UAS system, allowing precise control of gene expression through binary regulation, is frequently employed to assess the effects of monoallelic variants. Recombinase medicated cassette exchange or CRISPR-Cas9-mediated GAL4 insertion within coding introns or substitution of gene body with Kozak-Gal4 result in the loss-of-function of the target gene. This GAL4 insertion strategy also enables the expression of reference complementary DNA (cDNA) or cDNA carrying genetic variants under the control of endogenous regulatory cis elements. Furthermore, the CRISPR-Cas9-directed tissue-specific knockout and cDNA rescue system provides the flexibility to investigate candidate variants in a tissue-specific and/or developmental-timing dependent manner. In this review, we will delve into the diverse genetic techniques available in Drosophila and their applications in diagnosing and studying numerous undiagnosed diseases over the past decade.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.303-307
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• 1990

A genomic clone carrying a proteinase inhibitor I sequence was isolated and characterized. The clone contained a 0.7 kb EcoRI fragment hybridized with tomato inhibitor I cDNA. The nucleotide sequence of the EcoRI fragment revealed presence of a truncated form of a proteinase inhibitor I gene of potato. The truncated gene contained the 5' flanking region and the first exon of a functional proteinase inhibitor I gene. Although the 5' flanking region contained the regulatory sequences TATAAA and CCACT, a deletion of 40 bp occurred between them.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Bioinformatics Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.53-55
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• 2000

Xenie is the JAVA application software that integrates and represents 'gene to function'information of human gene. Xenie extracts data from several heterogeneous molecular biology databases and provides integrated information in human readable and machine usable way. We defined 7 semantic frame classes (Gene, Transcript, Polypeptide, Protein_complex, Isotype, Functional_object, and Cell) as a common schema for storing and integrating gene to function information and relationship. Each of 7 semantic frame classes has data fields that are supposed to store biological data like gene symbol, disease information, cofactors, and inhibitors, etc. By using these semantic classes, Xenie can show how many transcripts and polypeptide has been known and what the function of gene products is in General. In detail, Xenie provides functional information of given human gene in the fields of semantic objects that are storing integrated data from several databases (Brenda, GDB, Genecards, HGMD, HUGO, LocusLink, OMIM, PIR, and SWISS-PROT). Although Xenie provide fully readable form of XML document for human researchers, the main goal of Xenie system is providing integrated data for other bioinformatic application softwares. Technically, Xenie provides two kinds of output format. One is JAVA persistent object, the other is XML document, both of them have been known as the most favorite solution for data exchange. Additionally, UML designs of Xenie and DTD for 7 semantic frame classes are available for easy data binding to other bioinformatic application systems. Hopefully, Xenie's output can provide more detailed and integrated information in several bioinformatic systems like Gene chip, 2D gel, biopathway related systems. Furthermore, through data integration, Xenie can also make a way for other bioiformatic systems to ask 'function based query'that was originally impossible to be answered because of separatly stored data in heterogeneous databases.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.427-434
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• 2011

Mitochondria diseases have been reported to involve structural and functional defects of complex I-V. Especially, many of these diseases are known to be related to dysfunction of mitochondrial proton-translocating NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I). The dysfunction of mitochondria complex I is associated with neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). Mammalian mitochondrial proton-translocating NADH-quinone oxidoreductase (complex I) is largest and consists of at least 46 different subunits. In contrast, the NDI1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a single subunit rotenone-insensitive NADH-quinone oxidoreductase that is located on the matrix side of the inner mitochondrial membrane. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae NDI1 gene using a recombinant adeno-associated virus vector (rAAV-NDI1) was successfully expressed in AML12 mouse liver hepatocytes and the NDI1-transduced cells were able to grow in media containing rotenone. In contrast, control cells that did not receive the NDI1 gene failed to survive. The expressed Ndi1 enzyme was recognized to be localized in mitochondria by confocal immunofluorescence microscopic analyses and immunoblotting. Using digitonin-permeabilized cells, it was shown that the NADH oxidase activity of the NDI1-transduced cells was not affected by rotenone which is inhibitor of complex I, but was inhibited by antimycin A. Furthermore, these results indicate that Ndi1 can be functionally expressed in the AML12 mouse liver hepatocytes. It is conceivable that the NDI1 gene is powerful tool for gene therapy of mitochondrial diseases caused by complex I deficiency. In the future, we will attempt to functionally express the NDI1 gene in mouse embryonic stem (mES) cell.