• Mycobiology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.114-121
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• 2018

Mon1 is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor subunit that activates the Ypt7 Rab GTPase and is essential for vacuole trafficking and autophagy in eukaryotic organisms. Here, we identified and characterized the function of Mon1, an ortholog of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mon1, in a human fungal pathogen, Cryptococcus neoformans. Mutation in mon1 resulted in hypersensitivity to thermal stress. The mon1 deletion mutant exhibited increased sensitivity to cell wall and endoplasmic reticulum stress. However, the mon1 deletion mutant showed more resistance to the antifungal agent fluconazole. In vivo studies demonstrated that compared to the wild-type strain, the mon1 deletion mutant attenuated virulence in the Galleria mellonella insect model. Moreover, the mon1 deletion mutant was avirulent in the murine inhalation model. These results demonstrate that Mon1 plays a crucial role in stress survival and pathogenicity in C. neoformans.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.89-92
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• 2001

Aspergillus niger has been used as a host system to express many heterologous proteins. It has various advantages over other expression systems in that it is a small eukaryotic GRAS (Generally Recognized aS Safe) organism with a capacity of secreting large amount of foreign proteins. However, it has been known that the presence of an abundant protease is a limiting factor to express a heterologous protein. The proteases deficient mutants of A. niger were obtained using UV -mutagenesis. A total of 1 ${\times}$ $10^5$ spores were irradiated with 10-20% survival dose of UV, 600J/M2 at 280nm, and the resulting spores were screened on the casein -gelatin plates. Ten putative protease deficient mutants were further analyzed on the starch plates to differentiate the pro from the secretory mutant. An endogenous extracellular enzyme, glucose oxidase, was also examined to confirm that the mutant phenotype was due to the proteases deficiency rather than the mutation in the secretory pathway. The reduced proteolytic activity was measured using SDS-fibrin zymography gel, casein degradation assay, and bio-activity of a supplemented hGM -CSF (human Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor). Comparing with the wild type strain, less than 30 % of proteolytic activity was observed in the culture filtrate of the protease deficient mutant (pro -20) without any notable changes in cell growth and secretion.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.487-493
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• 2004

To investigate the antifungal activity related protein in pesticidal bacteria, a bacterial strain LTD was isolated from soil collected at Gimje in Jeonbuk province, Korea, and identified as Bacillus subtilis LTD based on a API50 CHB kit and 168 rDNA sequencing. It has an antifungal activity against 9 plant pathogenic fungi in a paper disc assay. The antifungal activity- deficient mutant, B. subtilis mLTD was induced at a 5 kGy dose of $^{60}Co$ gamma radiation. Using the two-dimensional electrophoresis and the matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, the comparison analysis of proteins between the wild and mutant were performed. A major intracellular serine proteinase IspA (MW: 32.5 kDa), a NAD (P) H dehydrogenase (MW: 20.0 kDa), and a stage II sporulation protein AA, SpoIIAA (MW: 14.3kDa) were detected only in the B. subtilis LTD. These results suggested that the functions of these proteins found only in the B. subtilis LTD could. be closely related to the antifungal activity against plant pathogenic fungi.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.173-182
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• 1982

From FGSC 159 strain of Aspergillus nidulans, temperature sensitive mutants that are defective in growth and differentiation have been isolated by N-methyl-N'-nitroN-nitrosoguanidine (NTG) treatment. The optimum concentration of NTG and incubation time to get the highest mutation frequency was $100{\mu}g$ per ml and 1 hour, respectively. The survival frequency was 1%. Among the isolated mutants, five strains that were affected in early steps of differentiation were selected for further studies and named smK, smY, smB, smF, and smZ. The execution point of each mutant was determined and the growing pattern of each mutant at the restrictive temperature was observed under the microscope. Growth of mutant was arrested near at the execution point. From genetic analysis, each temperature-sensitive mutants was thought to have a single recessive gene. The genes of smK, smY, smB, smF, and smZ are linked to the chromosome VII, IV, VIII, I, and VI, respectively. It can be concluded that the genes controlling the differentiation are widely dispersed in the genome. From the results of mutant, smK, it is considered that a single gene can affect a function (functions) which act(s) at two different steps during differentiation.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.151-156
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• 1994

Pseudomonas fluorescens produces the antibiotic, 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (Phl), which promotes plant growth by inhibiting bacteria and fungi. Cosmids (genomic library) were mobilized into Phl-nonproducing mutants through the triparental matings with pRK2013 as the helper plasmid at the frequency of 8.37$\times$10-4. Complemented mutants that showed antibiotic activity were selected among about 2,000 transconjugants. The complemented mutants were confirmed by acquired drug resistances (kanamycin and tetracycline). The antibiotic substances of wild type and complemented mutants showed the most excellent anti-bacterial activity. Inhibitory effects of complemented P. fluorescens against phytopathogenic fungi were equal to the parental strain. Complemented mutant and wild type of P. fluorescens were causal microbes of fungal morphological abnormalities. Complemented mutants in potato dextrose agar supplemented with bromothymol blue also showed restoration of glucose utilization as wild type. Plasmids of complemented mutants were isolated from transconjugant sand transformed into competent cells of E. coli DH5$\alpha$. The plamid DNA was reisolated from transformed E. coli DH5$\alpha$.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2008

Fusarium verticillioides (teleomorph Gibberella moniliformis) is associated with maize worldwide causing ear rot and stalk rot, and produces fumonisins, a group of mycotoxins detrimental to humans and animals. While research tools are available, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with fungal virulence and fumonisin biosynthesis in F. verticillioides is still limited. One of the restraints that hampers F. verticillioides gene characterization is the fact that homologous recombination (HR) frequency is very low (<2%). Screening for a true gene knock-out mutant is a laborious process due to a high number of ectopic integrations. In this study, we generated a F. verticillioides mutant (SF41) deleted for FvKU70, a gene directly responsible for non-homologous end-joining mechanism, with the aim of improving HR frequency. Here, we demonstrate that FvKU70 deletion does not impact key Fverticillioides phenotypes, e.g., development, secondary metabolism, and virulence, while dramatically improving HR frequency. Significantly, we also confirmed that a high percentage (>85%) of the HR mutant strains harbor a desired mutation with no additional copy of the mutant allele inserted in the genome. We conclude that SF41 is suitable for use as a type strain when performing high-throughput gene function studies in F. verticillioides.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.1533-1537
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• 2007

In this study, in order to develop a continuous production process of lactosucrose in a packed-bed reactor, Sterigmatomyces elviae ATCC 18894 was selected and mutated. The mutant strain of S. elviae showed 54.3% higher lactosucrose production than the wild type. Reaction conditions such as temperature, pH, substrate concentration and flow rate were also optimized. Under optimized reaction conditions ($50^{\circ}C$, pH 6.0, 25% sucrose and 25% lactose as substrate, flow rate 1.2 ml/min), the maximum concentration of lactosucrose (192 g/l) was obtained. In a packed-bed reactor, continuous production of lactosucrose was performed using S. elviae mutant immobilized in calcium alginate, and about 180 g/l of lactosucrose production was achieved for 48 days.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.538-543
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• 1994

Effect of partial oxygen pressure on the cell growth and the activities of oxidative defense enzymes were measured in the continuous culture of Streptomyces coelicolor. Both the wild type and the mutant strain resistant to hydrogen peroxide were cultured and the dry cell weight of the two cultures were measured at different oxygen tensions. Growth of the wild type was inhibited by oxygen at above 0.5 vvm. Growth of the hydrogen peroxide resistant mutant was stimulated by pure oxygen at 0.5 vvm but was inhibited by oxygen at 1.0 vvm. Therefore, growth of the hydrogen peroxide resistant mutant was less affected by the deleterious oxidative stress of oxygen. Activities of the several defense enzymes were also measured at different oxygen tensions. Activities of catalase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase increased significantly as oxygen pressure increased in the wild type culture. In the mutant, however, increase in those enzyme activities was not obvious whereas the uninduced levels of the above enzymes were higher than those of wild type. As judged by Western blotting, the amount of the major catalase increased as the oxygen pressure increased. This indicates that the induction of the catalase activity by oxygen pressure is mostly due to the increase in the expression level for the major catalase.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.59-66
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• 2013

Colonization studies previously performed with a green-fluorescent-protein, GFP, labeled derivative of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42 revealed that the bacterium behaved different in colonizing surfaces of plant roots of different species (Fan et al., 2012). In order to extend these studies and to elucidate which genes are crucial for root colonization, we applied targeted mutant strains to Arabidopsis seedlings. The fates of root colonization in mutant strains impaired in synthesis of alternative sigma factors, non-ribosomal synthesis of lipopeptides and polyketides, biofilm formation, swarming motility, and plant growth promoting activity were analyzed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Whilst the wild-type strain heavily colonized surfaces of root tips and lateral roots, the mutant strains were impaired in their ability to colonize root tips and most of them were unable to colonize lateral roots. Ability to colonize plant roots is not only dependent on the ability to form biofilms or swarming motility. Six mutants, deficient in abrB-, sigH-, sigD-, nrfA-, yusV and RBAM017410, but not affected in biofilm formation, displayed significantly reduced root colonization. The nrfA- and yusV-mutant strains colonized border cells and, partly, root surfaces but did not colonize root tips or lateral roots.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.62-74
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• 2023

Plant pathogenic Pectobacterium species cause severe soft rot/blackleg diseases in many economically important crops worldwide. Pectobacterium utilizes plant cell wall degrading enzymes (PCWDEs) as the main virulence determinants for its pathogenicity. In this study, we screened a random mutant, M29 is a transposon insertion mutation in the metC gene encoding cystathionine β-lyase that catalyzes cystathionine to homocysteine at the penultimate step in methionine biosynthesis. M29 became a methionine auxotroph and resulted in growth defects in methionine-limited conditions. Impaired growth was restored with exogenous methionine or homocysteine rather than cystathionine. The mutant exhibited reduced soft rot symptoms in Chinese cabbages and potato tubers, maintaining activities of PCWDEs and swimming motility. The mutant was unable to proliferate in both Chinese cabbages and potato tubers. The reduced virulence was partially restored by a complemented strain or 100 µM of methionine, whereas it was fully restored by the extremely high concentration (1 mM). Our transcriptomic analysis showed that genes involved in methionine biosynthesis or transporter were downregulated in the mutant. Our results demonstrate that MetC is important for methionine biosynthesis and transporter and influences its virulence through Pcc21 multiplication in plant hosts.