• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.869-872
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• 2009

The cyclic undecapeptide cyclosporin A (CyA), one of the most valuable immunosuppressive drugs, is produced nonribosomally by a multifunctional cyclosporin synthetase enzyme complex by the filamentous fungus Tolypocladium niveum. To increase CyA productivity by wild-type T. niveum (ATCC 34921), random mutagenesis was first performed using an antifungal agar-plug colony assay (APCA) selection approach. This generated a mutant strain producing more than 9-fold greater CyA than the wild-type strain. Additionally, a foreign bacterial gene, Vitreoscilla hemoglobin gene (VHb), was transformed via protoplast regeneration and its transcription was confirmed by RT-PCR in the UV-irradiated mutant cell. This led to an additional 33.5% increase of CyA production. Although most protoplast-regenerated T. niveum transformants tend to lose CyA productivity, the optimized combination of random mutagenesis and protoplast transformation described here should be an efficient strategy to generate a commercially valuable, yet metabolite low-producing, fungal species, such as CyA-producing T. niveum.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.2248-2252
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• 2007

SOMT-9 is an O-methyltransferase that utilizes quercetin to produce 3'-methoxy quercetin. In order to determine which amino acids of SOMT-9 are important for this reaction and its regioselectivity, molecular docking experiments followed by site directed mutagenesis were performed. Molecular modeling and molecular docking experiments identified several amino acid residues involved in metal binding, AdoMet binding, and substrate binding. Site-directed mutagenesis showed that Asp188 is critical for metal binding and that Lys165 assists other metal binding residues in maintaining quercetin in the proper position during the reaction. In addition, Tyr207 was shown to play an important role in the determination of the regioselectivity and Met60 was shown to be involved in formation of the hydrophobic pocket necessary for substrate binding. The molecular modeling and docking experiments discussed in this study could be applicable to future research including prediction of substrate binding and regioselectivity of an enzyme.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.159-168
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• 1977

In order to evaluate the mutagenic potentential in mammalian system for those pesticides which were proved to be mutagenic in Salmonella microsome assay system, we have studied drug-resistant mutagenesis in cultured L5178Y cells and unscheduled DNA synthesis in human lymphocytes in vitro. We have tested five pesticides: insecticides DDVP and trichlorfon, fungicide TMTD and herbicides MO and NIP. Of these pesticides, TMTD induced weak mutation to MTX-resistance in L5178Y cells in vitro and gave positive responses in DNA repair assay system. Therefore, its potential genetic risks in human beings should be re-evaluated. DDVP and trichlorfon gave negative response in L5178Y mutagenesis test system but stimulated incorporation of $^{3}H$-TdR in DNA repar assay. MO and NIP gave also negative responses both in L5178Y mutagenesis test systemand in DNA repair assay system.

• Mycobiology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.272-277
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• 2011

Chemical mutagenesis of basidiospores of Hypsizygus marmoreus generated new mushroom strains. The basidospores were treated with methanesulfonate methylester, an alkylating agent, to yield 400 mutant monokaryotic mycelia. Twenty fast-growing mycelia were selected and mated each other by hyphal fusion. Fifty out of the 190 matings were successful (mating rate of 26.3%), judged by the formation of clamp connections. The mutant dikaryons were cultivated to investigate their morphological and cultivation characteristics. Mutant strains No. 3 and No. 5 showed 10% and 6% increase in fruiting body production, respectively. Eight mutant strains showed delayed and reduced primordia formation, resulting in the reduced production yield with prolonged cultivation period. The number of the fruiting bodies of mutant No. 31, which displayed reduced primordial formation, was only 15, compared to the parental number of 65. Another interesting phenotype was a fruiting body with a flattened stipe and pileus. Dikaryons generated by mating with the mutant spore No. 14 produced flat fruiting bodies. Further molecular biological studies will provide details of the mechanism. This work shows that the chemical mutagenesis approach is highly utilizable in the development of mushroom strains as well as in the generation of resources for molecular genetic studies.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.235-243
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• 2010

For decades, traditional mutation breeding technologies using spontaneous mutation, chemicals, or conventional radiation sources have contributed greatly to the improvement of crops and microorganisms of agricultural and industrial importance. However, new mutagens that can generate more diverse mutation spectra with minimal damage to the original organism are always in need. In this regard, ion beam irradiation, including proton-, helium-, and heavier-charged particle irradiation, is considered to be superior to traditional radiation mutagenesis. In particular, it has been suggested that ion beams predominantly produce strand breaks that often lead to mutations, which is not a situation frequently observed in mutagenesis induced by gamma-ray exposure. In this review, we briefly describe the general principles and history of particle accelerators, and then introduce their successful application in ion beam technology for the improvement of crops and microbes. In particular, a 100-MeV proton beam accelerator currently under construction by the Proton Engineering Frontier Project (PEFP) is discussed. The PEFP accelerator will hopefully prompt the utilization of ion beam technology for strain improvement, as well as for use in nuclear physics, medical science, biology, space technology, radiation technology and basic sciences.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.59-68
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• 2008

N-ethyl-N-nitrosoures (ENU) is effective in inducing hypermorphic mutation as well as hypomorphic and antimorphic mutations. Therefore, this mutagen is used to the production of mutant in the mice. In order to perform an effective ENU mutagenesis using BALB/cAnN mice, determination of optimal dosage and dosage regimen of ENU is necessary. And this study tried to develop a suitable screening method and searched for novel and various mutants as model animals in phenotypedriven ENU mutagenesis. We have carried out dosage regimen for mutagenizing dose of 200 mg/kg ENU in the BALB/c mice. Total screened mice were 30,133. As the results of Esaki and Cho's Phenotype Screening, we got 2,516 phenotypic and behavior abnormalities in $G_1,\;G_2\;and\;G_3$ mice. One hundred thirty five $G_1$ phenodeviants were tested for inheritance and 16 dominant mutants were discovered. Forty two recessive mutants were also found in tested 201 micropedigrees. Early-onset mutant mice included the dysmorphology of face, eye, tail, limb, skin, and foot and abnormal behavior like circling, swimming, head tossing, stiff-walking, high cholesterol level, and tremor etc. In this study we could effectively screen $G_3$ recessive mutants. The frequent and concise early-onset screening before weaning will be available for ENU mutagenesis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.1249-1253
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• 2007

A hyperthermostable endoglucanase from Pyrococcus horikoshii with the capability of hydrolyzing crystalline cellulose was analyzed. A protein engineering study was carried out to obtain a reduced-size mutant. Five amino acid residues at both the N- and C-terminus were found to be removable without any loss of activity or thermal stability. Site-directed mutagenesis was also performed on R102, N200, E201, H297, Y299, E342, and W377, residues possibly involved in the active center or in the recognition and binding of a cellulose substrate. The activity of the resulting mutants was considerably decreased, confirming that the mutated residues were all important for activity. A reduced-size enzyme, as active as the wild-type endoglucanase, was successfully obtained, plus the residues critical for its activity and specificity were confirmed. Consequently, an engineered enzyme with a reduced size was obtained, and the amino acids essential for activity were confirmed by site-directed mutagenesis and comparison with a known three-dimensional structure.

• BMB Reports
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.363-367
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• 1995

E. coli methionyl-tRNA synthetase is one of the class I tRNA synthetases. The Tryptophane residue at the position 461 located in the C-terminal domain of the enzyme is a key amino acid for the interaction with the anticodon of $tRNA^{Met}$. W461 was replaced with other amino acids to determine the chemical requirement for the interaction with the anticodon of $tRNA^{Met}$. Saturation mutagenesis at the position 461 generated a total of 12 substitution mutants of methionyl-tRNA synthetase. All the mutants showed the same in vivo stability as the wild-type enzyme, suggesting that the amino acid substitutions did not cause severe conformational change of the protein The mutants containing tyrosine, phenylalanine, histidine and cysteine substitutions showed in vivo activity while all the other mutants did not. The comparison of the in vitro aminoacylation activities of these mutants showed that aromatic ring structure, Van der Waals volume and hydrogen bond potential of the amino acid residue at the position 461 are the major determinants for the interaction with the anticodon of $tRNA^{Met}$.

• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.17-21
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• 1996

Ile91 of restriction endonuclease EcoRV, which has not been known to take part directly in catalytic activity, was substituted with Leu by site-directed mutagenesis. The Ile91Leu mutant shows over 1000-fold less activity than the wild type EcoRV under standard reaction condition. The metal ion dependency of the reaction was altered. In contrast to the wild type EcoRV, the mutant prefers $Mn^{2+}$ to $Mn^{2+}$ as the cofactor. In $Mn^{2+}$ buffer the mutant is as active as the wild type enzyme in $Mn^{2+}$ buffer. Like the wild type enzyme, the mutant shows an unspecific binding of DNA in gel shift experiments. In contrast to the wild type enzyme, the mutant did not cleave at noncognate sites of DNA under star condition.

• Mycobiology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.159-163
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• 2013

A chemical mutagenesis technique was employed for development of mutant strains of Sparassis crispa targeting the shortened cultivation time and the high ${\beta}$-glucan content. The homogenized mycelial fragments of S. crispa IUM4010 strain were treated with 0.2 vol% methyl methanesulfonate, an alkylating agent, yielding 199 mutant strains. Subsequent screening in terms of growth and ${\beta}$-glucan content yielded two mutant strains, B4 and S7. Both mutants exhibited a significant increase in ${\beta}$-glucan productivity by producing 0.254 and 0.236 mg soluble ${\beta}$-glucan/mg dry cell weight for the B4 and S7 strains, respectively, whereas the wild type strain produced 0.102 mg soluble ${\beta}$-glucan/mg dry cell weight. The results demonstrate the usefulness of chemical mutagenesis for generation of mutant mushroom strains.