• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Applied Microbiology Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.18-25
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• 2002

The pikromycin biosynthetic system in Streptomyces venezuleae is unique for its ability to produce two groups of antibiotics that include the 12-membered ring macrolides methymycin and neomethymycin, and the 14-membered ring macrolides narbomycin and pikromycin. The metabolic pathway also contains two post polyketide-modification enzymes, a glycosyltransferase and P450 hydroxylase that have unusually broad substrate specificities. In order to explore further the substrate flexibility of these enzymes a series of hybrid polyketide synthases were constructed and their metabolic products characterized. The plasmid-based replacement of the multifunctional protein subunits of the pikromycin PKS in S. venezuelae by the corresponding subunits from heterologous modular PKSs resulted in recombinant strains that produce both 12- and 14-membered ring macrolactones with predicted structural alterations. In all cases, novel macrolactones were produced and further modified by the DesVII glycosyltransferase and PikC hydroxylase leading to biologically active macrolide structures. These results demonstrate that hybrid PKSs in S. venezuelae can produce a multiplicity of new macrolactones that are modified further by the highly flexible DesVII glycosyltransferase and PikC hydroxylase tailoring enzymes. This work demonstrates the unique capacity of the S. venezuelae pikromycin pathway to expand the toolbox of combinatorial biosynthesis and to accelerate the creation of novel biologically active natural products. The polyketide backbone of rifamycin B is assembled through successive condensation and ${\beta}$-carbonyl processing of the extender units by the modular rifamycin PKS. The eighth module, in the RifD protein, contains nonfunctional DH domain and functional KR domain, which specify the reduction of the ${\beta}$-carbonyl group resulting in the C-21 bydroxyl of rifamycin B. A four amino acid substitution and one amino acid deletion were introduced in the putative NADPH binding motif in the proposed KR domain encoded by rifD. This strategy of mutation was based on the amino acid sequences of the corresponding motif of the KR domain of module 3 in the RifA protein, which is believed dysfunctional, so as to introduce a minimum alteration and retain the reading frame intact, yet ensure loss of function. The resulting strain produces linear polyketides, from tetraketide to octaketide, which are also produced by a rifD disrupted mutant as a consequence of premature termination of polyketide assembly. Much of the structural diversity within the polyketide superfamily of natural products is due to the ability of PKSs to vary the reduction level of every other alternate carbon atom in the backbone. Thus, the ability to introduce heterologous reductive segments such as ketoreductase (KR), dehydratase (DH), and enoylreductase (ER) into modules that naturally lack these activities would increase the power of the combinatorial biosynthetic toolbox. The dehydratase domain of module 7 of the rifamycin PKS, which is predicted to be nonfunctional in view of the sequence of the apparent active site, was replaced with its functional homolog from module 7 of rapamycin-producing polyketide synthase. The resulting mutant strain behaved like a rifC disrupted mutant, i.e., it accumulated the heptaketide intermediate and its precursors. This result points out a major difficulty we have encountered with all the Amycolatopsis mediterranei strain containing hybrid polyketide synthases: all the engineered strains prepared so far accumulate a plethora of products derived from the polyketide chain assembly intermediates as major products instead of just analogs of rifamycin B or its ansamycin precursors.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1386-1392
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• 2008

A gene (sll0158) putatively encoding a glycogen branching enzyme (GBE, E.C. 2.4.1.18) was cloned from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, and the recombinant protein expressed and characterized. The PCR-amplified putative GBE gene was ligated into a pET-21a plasmid vector harboring a T7 promoter, and the recombinant DNA transformed into a host cell, E. coli BL21(DE3). The IPTG-induced enzymes were then extracted and purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. The putative GBE gene was found to be composed of 2,310 nucleotides and encoded 770 amino acids, corresponding to approx. 90.7 kDa, as confirmed by SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF-MS analyses. The optimal conditions for GBE activity were investigated by measuring the absorbance change in iodine affinity, and shown to be pH 8.0 and $30^{\circ}C$ in a 50 mM glycine-NaOH buffer. The action pattern of the GBE on amylose, an $\alpha$-(1,4)-linked linear glucan, was analyzed using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) after isoamylolysis. As a result, the GBE displayed $\alpha$-glucosyl transferring activity by cleaving the $\alpha$-(1,4)-linkages and transferring the cleaved maltoglycosyl moiety to form new $\alpha$-(1,6)-branch linkages. A time-course study of the GBE reaction was carried out with biosynthetic amylose (BSAM; $M_p{\cong}$8,000), and the changes in the branch-chain length distribution were evaluated. When increasing the reaction time up to 48 h, the weight- and number-average DP ($DP_w$ and $DP_n$) decreased from 19.6 to 8.7 and from 17.6 to 7.8, respectively. The molecular size ($M_p$, peak $M_w{\cong}2.45-2.75{\times}10^5$) of the GBE-reacted product from BSAM reached the size of amylose (AM) in botanical starch, yet the product was highly soluble and stable in water, unlike AM molecules. Thus, GBE-generated products can provide new food and non-food applications, owing to their unique physical properties.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.40-49
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• 1984

To investigate the factors influencing the artifical transformation in Escherichia coli, E. coli C600 was transformed by pBR322 DNA with tetracycline and ampicillin resistant gene purified by CsCl-Etbr equilibrium density gradient centrifugation from E.coli HB 101. The influencing factors in the transformation such as concentration of calcium chloride, time of ice incubation, temperature and time of heat shock, time of gene expression, effects of plasmid DNA concentration and adding time were examined in these experiments. The results obtained were as follows; 1. The highest transformation frequency was observed in the treatments of 100 mM $CaCl_2$ before heat shock and the treatment of $CaCl_2$ was essential step in the process of E. coli transformation. 2. The highest transformation frequency was observed in the treatment of heat shock at $42^{\circ}C$ for 4 min. or $37^{\circ}C$ for 6 min., but the prolonged heat shock resulted a decreased transformation frequency. 3. Treatments of ice incubation at $0^{\circ}C$ for 45 min. before heat stocks or at $0^{\circ}C$ for 30min. after heat shock resulted an increased transformation frequency. 4. There was a linear relationship between DNA concentration and transformation frequency at the concentration of $8{\times}10^3$ recipient cells. The highest transformation frequency reached in carte of 7 mcg of donor DNA, but above 1 mcg of DNA concentration, transformation frequency was not remarkably increased. Addition of donor DNA just after the treatment of $CaCl_2$ was the best. 5. The best condition of gene expression at $37^{\circ}C$ were 40min. for TC-resistant gene and 100min. for AP-resistant gene. TC-resistant gene was higher in the transformation frequency and faster in the gene expression time than AP-resistant gene. In these results, the best conditions for the transformation of E. coli C 600 with pBR322 DNA were: treatment with 100mM $CaCl_2$, ice incubation at $0^{\circ}C$ for 45 min, heat shock at $42^{\circ}C$ for 4 min., 30 min. of ice incubation and incubation at $37^{\circ}C$ for 100min. for gene expression in that order.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.4
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• pp.36-41
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• 1986

The transformation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with YIp26, YRp7 and YEp13 was investigated. Transformation frequences of YIp5, YIp26, YRp7 and YEp13 in Escherichia coli HB101 was $5.1{\times}10^{-4}$, $1.5 {\times}10^{-3}$, $1.3{\times}10^{-3}$, $3{\times}10^{-3}$, respectively. When plasmids were used in covalently closed circular form, transformation frequency of YEp13 was $1.2{\times}10^{-4}$ in S. cerevisiae DBY747 and $3.3{\times}10^{-4}$ in S. cerevisiae MC16 and that of YRp7, YIp26 was $3{\times}10^{-6}$, below $6{\times}10^{-8}$ respectively in S. cerevisiae DBY747 by the method of Ito. Cotransformation of YIp26 and YEp13 in linear form increased the frequency of transformation with efficiences 270-fold higher than transformation of YIp26 only in S. cerevisiae DBY747. In cotransformation of YIp5+YEp13 and YIp26+YRp7 with S. cerevisiae DBY747 by Beggs' method. Expression frequency of YIp5+YEp13 and YIp26+YRp7 was $4{\times}10^{-6}$, $1.5{\times}10^{-6}$, respectively. The recombinant plasmid of cotransformant was thought that YIp26 and YEp13, YIp5 and YEp13, and YIp26 and YRp 7 were ligated in vivo in S. cerevisiae DBY747.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.202-209
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• 2014

RNA interference (RNAi) is the method which controls phenotypes of gene in live cells. Chitinase is the enzyme helping digestion and absorption of old cuticles during the ecdysis of insects. In order to investigate molting-inhibition effect with the chitinase related gene in Spodoptera litura, RNA was extracted from the $5^{th}$ instars. cDNA was synthesized and then we obtained about 700 bp size chitinase. After PCR products were cloned into a pGEM T-easy vector, colonies were picked. DNA was extracted from the colony cultures. EcoR I enzyme was used to check whether PCR products were inserted or not. And then we confirmed vector band of about 3 kb and insert band of about 700 bp. To synthesize the dsRNA, each DNA was cut with Spe I and Nco I enzymes (Circular DNA became lineared DNA). After synthesis of dsRNA, approximately 5 ul dsRNA was injected into the $3^{rd}$ abdominal segment of S. litura $4^{th}$ larvae. The concentration of dsRNA was about $10{\mu}g/{\mu}l$. We confirmed larval-larval molting : there were phenotypically abnormal individuals - for instance malformation, molting inhibition and change of integument color. Pupaadult molting : there were phenotypically abnormal individuals - for instance molting inhibition, change of wings and malformation. Also we could investigate the pupation, emergence and variation about noninjection, treated with DW and dsRNA. Each pupation was non-injection 83.3%, DW 78.3% and dsRNA 66.7%. Each emergence was non-injection 90.0%, DW 72.3% and dsRNA 65.0%. So we considered that chitinase dsRNA induced molting inhibition effect. But each variation was non-injection 8.9%, DW 2.9% and dsRNA 19.2%. Therefore dsRNA group showed the highest variation value. When 18 hours after injecting dsRNA, we could obtain abnormal individual.