• BMB Reports
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• 제36권6호
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• pp.545-551
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• 2003

A cDNA of bovine brain glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) was isolated from a cDNA library by recombinant PCR. The isolated cDNA has an open-reading frame of 1677 nucleotides, which codes for 559 amino acids. The expression of the recombinant bovine brain GDH enzyme was achieved in E. coli. BL21 (DE3) by using the pET-15b expression vector containing a T7 promoter. The recombinant GDH protein was also purified and characterized. The amino acid sequence was found 90% homologous to the human GDH. The molecular mass of the expressed GDH enzyme was estimated as 50 kDa by SDS-PAGE and Western blot using monoclonal antibodies against bovine brain GDH. The kinetic parameters of the expressed recombinant GDH enzymes were quite similar to those of the purified bovine brain GDH. The $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ values for $NAD^+$ were 0.1 mM and $1.08\;{\mu}mol/min/mg$, respectively. The catalytic activities of the recombinant GDH enzymes were inhibited by ATP in a concentration-dependent manner over the range of 10 - $100\;{\mu}M$, whereas, ADP increased the enzyme activity up to 2.3-fold. These results indicate that the recombinant-expressed bovine brain GDH that is produced has biochemical properties that are very similar to those of the purified GDH enzyme.

• BMB Reports
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• 제37권6호
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• pp.741-748
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• 2004

The hepatitis C virus is associated with the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinomas. Among the 10 polyproteins produced by the virus, no function has been clearly assigned to the non-structural 5A (NS5A) protein. This study was designed to identify the hepatocellular proteins that interact with NS5A of the HCV. Yeast two-hybrid experiments were performed with a human liver cDNA prey-library, using five different NS5A derivatives as baits, the full-length NS5A (NS5A-F, amino acid (aa) 1~447) and its four different derivatives, denoted as NS5A-A (aa 1~150), -B (aa 1~300), -C (aa 300~447) and D (aa 150~447). NS5A-F, NS5A-B and NS5A-C gave two, two and 10 candidate clones, respectively, including an AHNAK-related protein, the secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP4), the N-myc downstream regulated gene 1 (NDRG1), the cellular retinoic acid binding protein 1 (CRABP-1), ferritin heavy chain (FTH1), translokin, tumor-associated calcium signal transducer 2 (TACSTD2), phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase (PI4K) and $centaurin{\delta}$ 2 ($CENT{\delta}2$). However, NS5A-A produced no candidates and NS5A-D was not suitable as bait due to transcriptional activity. Based on an in vitro binding assay, CRABP-1, PI4K, $CENT{\delta}2$ and two unknown fusion proteins with maltose binding protein (MBP), were confirmed to interact with the glutathione S-transferase (GST)/NS5A fusion protein. Furthermore, the interactions of CRABP-1, PI4K and $CENT{\delta}2$ were not related to the PXXP motif (class II), as judged by a domain analysis. While their biological relevance is under investigation, the results contribute to a better understanding of the possible role of NS5A in hepatocellular signaling pathways.

• BMB Reports
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• 제43권3호
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• pp.193-198
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• 2010

In this study, we report the identification and characterization of a novel C2H2 zinc finger protein, ZNF552, from a human embryonic heart cDNA library. ZNF552 is composed of three exons and two introns and maps to chromosome 19q13.43. The cDNA of ZNF552 is 2.3 kb, encoding 407 amino acids with an amino-terminal KRAB domain and seven carboxyl-terminal C2H2 zinc finger motifs in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Northern blotting analysis indicated that a 2.3 kb transcript specific for ZNF552 was expressed in liver, lung, spleen, testis and kidney, especially with a higher level in the lung and testis in human adult tissues. Reporter gene assays showed that ZNF552 was a transcriptional repressor, and overexpression of ZNF552 in the COS-7 cells inhibited the transcriptional activities of AP-1 and SRE, which could be relieved through RNAi analysis. Deletion studies showed that the KRAB domain of ZNF552 may be involved in this inhibition.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제23권12호
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• pp.1717-1725
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• 2013

Traditional soybean paste from Shandong Liangshan and Tianyuan Jiangyuan commercial soybean paste were chosen for analysis and comparison of their bacterial and fungal dynamics using denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis and 16S rRNA gene clone libraries. The bacterial diversity results showed that more than 20 types of bacteria were present in traditional Shandong soybean paste during its fermentation process, whereas only six types of bacteria were present in the commercial soybean paste. The predominant bacteria in the Shandong soybean paste were most closely related to Leuconostoc spp., an uncultured bacterium, Lactococcus lactis, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus spp., and Citrobacter freundii. The predominant bacteria in the Tianyuan Jiangyuan soybean paste were most closely related to an uncultured bacterium, Bacillus licheniformis, and an uncultured Leuconostoc spp. The fungal diversity results showed that 10 types of fungi were present in the Shandong soybean paste during the fermentation process, with the predominant fungi being most closely related to Geotrichum spp., an uncultured fungal clone, Aspergillus oryzae, and yeast species. The predominant fungus in the commercial soybean paste was Aspergillus oryzae.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제25권4호
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• pp.559-565
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• 2008

Members of the TGA family of basic domain/leucine zipper transcription factors regulate defense genes through physical interaction with NON-EXPRESSOR OF PR1 (NPR1). Of the seven TGA family members, TGA4/octopine synthase (ocs)-element-binding factor 4 (OBF4) is the least understood. Here we present evidence for a novel function of OBF4 as a regulator of flowering. We identified CONSTANS (CO), a positive regulator of floral induction, as an OBF4-interacting protein, in a yeast two-hybrid library screen. OBF4 interacts with the B-box region of CO. The abundance of OBF4 mRNA cycles with a 24 h rhythm under both long-day (LD) and short-day (SD) conditions, with significantly higher levels during the night than during the day. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that OBF4 binds to the promoter of the FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) gene, a direct target of CO. We also found that, like CO and FT, an OBF4:GUS construct was prominently expressed in the vascular tissues of leaf, indicating that OBF4 can regulate FT expression through the formation of a protein complex with CO. Taken together, our results suggest that OBF4 may act as a link between defense responses and flowering.

• 한국산업정보학회논문지
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• 제12권4호
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• pp.138-147
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• 2007

대사 공학의 발전과 함께 생물체에 유전자 재조합기술과 관련 분자생물학 및 화학공학적 기술을 이용하여 새로운 대사회로를 도입하거나 기존의 대사회로를 제거 증폭 변경시켜 세포나 균주의 대사 특성을 조절하는(directed modification) 일련의 기술들이 가능해지고 있다. 하지만 이러한 대사회로를 조절하기 위해서는 많은 선행 연구에 대한 고찰이 필요하며, 일선 연구자들은 방대한 선행 자료를 검색하고 일일이 읽으면서 자신에게 필요한 정보를 수집하고 있다. 따라서 효율적으로 대사 모델을 구축하고, 방대한 대사관련 연구논문으로부터 대사흐름 관련 정보를 자동으로 추출하는 기술의 개발이 중요한 이슈로 부각되고 있다. 본 논문에서는 대사경로 재구축을 위한 서열과 패턴 기반의 텍스트 마이닝 기법을 제안한다. 제안된 기법은 웹 로봇을 이용하여 최신의 논문을 반자동적으로 수집하고 이를 이용하여 최신의 논문을 로컬 데이터베이스로 구축한다. 또한 생물학 개체명의 인식율을 높이기 위해 유전자 온토로지를 이용하며, NCBI에서 제공하는 Tokenizer 라이브러리를 이용하여 개체명의 파괴 없이 인식할 수 있게 하였다. 본 연구에서 제안한 텍스트 마이닝 기법에서는 패턴을 이용하여 논문으로부터 대사경로 지식을 추출하게 되므로 올바른 패턴을 확보하는 것이 중요한 문제이다. 논문에서는 패턴의 수집을 위하여 대표적인 대사 경로 전문 사이트인 일본의 KEGG 경로 데이터베이스에서 추출한 Glycosphingolip건 종에 대한 20,000 여건의 논문에서 66개의 패턴을 추출하였다. 제안된 기법의 유효성을 입증하기 위하여 Glycosphingolipid종의 GLS 대사경로 19개 개체명을 이용하여 시스템을 평가하였다. 그 결과 논문 125,907건에 대하여 정확도 96.3%, 재현을 95.1%, 처리시간 15초의 성능을 보였다. 본 논문에서 제안된 시스템은 대사 경로 재구축에 유용하게 활용될 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• 제33권2호
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• pp.85-91
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• 2006

Flavanone 3$\beta$-hydroxylase (FHT)는 flavonoid 생합성 경로의 가장 중심부에 작용하는 효소로 flavanone으로부터 dihydroflavonol으로의 변환을 촉매하는 역할을 한다. 본 연구에서는 색소유전자의 전이를 통하여 새로운 색소발현체계를 가진 품종을 육종하기 위한 기초연구로 숙성안개초 (Gypsophila paniculata L.)의 꽃봉오리로부터 cDNA-library를 합성하였고 카네이션의 FHT 유전자를 probe로 사용하여 anthocyanin 합성경로의 중요 효소의 하나인 FHT 유전자를 분리하였다. 염기서열분석을 수행하여 분리유전자의 크기가 1471 bp 이며 이 중 coding region은 1047 bp 임을 확인하였다. 이미 밝혀진 다른 식물체의 FHT 유전자와 서로 염기서열의 일치성을 비교해 본 결과 아라비돕시스, 오렌지, 카네이션, 고구마, 스톡, 페튜니아, 감자 및 포도에서 각각 69% 이상을 나타내었다. 분리유전자의 발현을 확인하기 위하여 Northern blot분석 및 인위적으로 기내에서의 transcription과 translation을 수행하였고, 분리한 유전자의 효소활성을 측정해 본 결과 dihtydrokaempferol의 작은 peak을 확인하였다. Southern blot 분석의 결과 안개초의 FHT 유전자는 다른 대부분의 식물체와 유사하게 한 개가 존재함을 확인하였다

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• 제7권6호
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• pp.468-474
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• 2015

PURPOSE. The aim of this study was to characterize and compare bacterial diversity on the removable partial denture (RPD) framework over time. MATERIALS AND METHODS. This descriptive pilot study included five women who were rehabilitated with free-end mandibular RPD. The biofilm on T-bar clasps were collected 1 week ($t_1$) and 4 months ($t_2$) after the RPD was inserted ($t_0$). Bacterial 16S rDNA was extracted and PCR amplified. Amplicons were cloned; clones were submitted to cycle sequencing, and sequences were compared with GenBank (98% similarity). RESULTS. A total of 180 sequences with more than 499 bp were obtained. Two phylogenetic trees with 84 ($t_1$) and 96 ($t_2$) clones represented the bacteria biofilm at the RPD. About 93% of the obtained phylotypes fell into 25 known species for $t_1$ and 17 for $t_2$, which were grouped in 5 phyla: Firmicutes ($t_1=82%$; $t_2=60%$), Actinobacteria ($t_1=5%$; $t_2=10%$), Bacteroidetes ($t_1=2%$; $t_2=6%$), Proteobacteria ($t_1=10%$; $t_2=15%$) and Fusobacteria ($t_1=1%$; $t_2=8%$). The libraries also include 3 novel phylotypes for $t_1$ and 11 for $t_2$. Library $t_2$ differs from $t_1$ (P=.004); $t_1$ is a subset of the $t_2$ (P=.052). Periodontal pathogens, such as F. nucleatum, were more prevalent in $t_2$. CONCLUSION. The biofilm composition of the RPD metal clasps changed along time after RPD wearing. The RPD framework may act as a reservoir for potentially pathogenic bacteria and the RPD wearers may benefit from regular follow-up visits and strategies on prosthesis-related oral health instructions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.318-326
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• 2002

The pathogenic marine bacterium Vibrio vulnificus is the causative agent of food-borne diseases such as life-threatening septicemia. To better understand this organism's strategies to survive osmotic stress, a mutant that was more sensitive to high osmolarity was screened from a library of mutants constructed by a random transposon mutagenesis. By a transposon-tagging method, putAP genes encoding a proline dehydrogenase and a proline permease were identified and cloned from V. vulnificus. The amino acid sequences deduced from nucleotide sequences of putAP from V. vulnificus were 38 to $59\%$ similar to those of PutA and PutP reported from other Enterobacteriaceae. Functions of putAP genes were assessed by the construction of mutants, whose putAP genes were inactivated by allelic exchanges. When proline as the sole carbon or nitrogen source was used, the putA mutant was not able to grow to the substantial level, revealing the proline dehydrogenase is the only enzyme for metabolic conversion of proline into other amino acids. Although the growth rate of the putP mutant on proline as the sole carbon or nitrogen source was significantly reduced, the mutant still grew. This indicated that at least one more proline permease is produced by V. vulnificus. The putP mutant decreased approximately $2-log_10$ CFU/ml after a hyperosmotic challenge, while the parent strain decreased approximately $l-log_10$ CFU/ml. This result suggests that the gene product of putP contributes to the osmotic tolerance of V. vulnificus.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.363-370
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• 2014

Campylobacter jejuni is a prevalent foodborne pathogen worldwide. Human infection by C. jejuni primarily arises from contaminated poultry meats. Genes expressed in vivo may play an important role in the pathogenicity of C. jejuni. We applied an immunoscreening method, in vivo-induced antigen technology (IVIAT), to identify in vivo-induced genes during human infection by C. jejuni. An inducible expression library of genomic proteins was constructed from sequenced C. jejuni NCTC 11168 and was then screened using adsorbed, pooled human sera obtained from clinical patients. We successfully identified 24 unique genes expressed in vivo. These genes were implicated in metabolism, molecular biosynthesis, genetic information processing, transport, and other processes. We selected six genes with different functions to compare their expression levels in vivo and in vitro using real-time RT-PCR. The results showed that the selected six genes were significantly upregulated in vivo but not in vitro. In short, these identified in vivo-induced genes may contribute to human infection of C. jejuni, some of which may be meaningful vaccine candidate antigens or diagnosis serologic markers for campylobacteriosis. IVIAT may present a significant and efficient method for understanding the pathogenicity mechanism of Campylobacter and for finding targets for its prevention and control.