• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.63-70
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• 2022

Two small cryptic plasmids, pHG1 and pHG2, were isolated from Levilactobacillus zymae (formerly Lactobacillus zymae) GU240 and characterized. pHG1 is 1,814 bp in size with a GC content of 37.4% and contains two open reading frames. orf1 can potentially encode a protein of 101 amino acids (aa) with 99% identity with the copy number control protein of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei. orf2 can potentially encode a protein of 230 aa with 99% identity with a replication protein from multiple species. Six inverted repeats (IR I-VI) and six direct repeats (DR I-VI) were found in pHG1. pHG2 is 2,864 bp in size, with a GC content of 39.6%. pHG2 has two orfs. orf1 might encode a protein with 99% identity with the TrsL transmembrane protein. orf2 might encode a protein with 99% identity with plasmid recombination proteins from lactic acid bacteria. Both pHG1 and pHG2 may be useful as frames for constructing lactic acid bacteria-Escherichia coli shuttle vectors.

• Annals of Laboratory Medicine
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.555-562
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• 2018

Background: The emerging mobile colistin resistance gene, mcr-1, is an ongoing worldwide concern and an evaluation of clinical isolates harboring this gene is required in Korea. We investigated mcr-1-possessing Enterobacteriaceae among Enterobacteriaceae strains isolated in Korea, and compared the genetic details of the plasmids with those in Escherichia coli isolates from livestock. Methods: Among 9,396 Enterobacteriaceae clinical isolates collected between 2010 and 2015, 1,347 (14.3%) strains were resistant to colistin and those were screened for mcr-1 by PCR. Colistin minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined by microdilution, and conjugal transfer of the mcr-1-harboring plasmids was assessed by direct mating. Whole genomes of three mcr-1-positive Enterobacteriaceae clinical isolates and 11 livestock-origin mcr-1-positive E. coli isolates were sequenced. Results: Two E. coli and one Enterobacter aerogenes clinical isolates carried carried IncI2 plasmids harboring mcr-1, which conferred colistin resistance (E. coli MIC, 4 mg/L; E. aerogenes MIC, 32 mg/L). The strains possessed the complete conjugal machinery except for E. aerogenes harboring a truncated prepilin peptidase. The E. coli plasmid transferred more efficiently to E. coli than to Klebsiella pneumoniae or Enterobacter cloacae recipients. Among the three bacterial hosts, the colistin MIC was the highest for E. coli owing to the higher mcr-1-plasmid copy number and mcr-1 expression levels. Ten mcr-1-positive chicken-origin E. coli strains also possessed mcr-1-harboring IncI2 plasmids closely related to that in the clinical E. aerogenes isolate, and the remaining one porcine-origin E. coli possessed an mcr-1-harboring IncX4 plasmid. Conclusions: mcr-1-harboring IncI2 plasmids were identified in clinical Enterobacteriaceae isolates. These plasmids were closely associated with those in chicken-origin E. coli strains in Korea, supporting the concept of mcr-1 dissemination between humans and livestock.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2001.03a
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• pp.52-52
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• 2001

Many nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinases are ubiquitous enzymes responsible for the exchange of ${\gamma}$-phosphates between tri- and diphosphonucleosides. The catalytic Many nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinases are ubiquitous enzymes responsible for the exchange of ${\gamma}$-phosphates between tri- and diphosphonucleosides. The catalytic reaction follows a ping-pong mechanism in which the enzyme is transiently phosphorylated on a histidine residue conserved in all nucleoside diphosphate kinases. Beside their role in nucleotide synthesis, these enzymes present additional functions, possibly independent of catalysis, in processes such as differentiation, cell growth, tumor progression, metastasis and development. To clone murine nm23-M5, several expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of the GenBank data base, selected according to their homology to nm23-H5 cDNA, reconstituted a complete open reading frame (GenBank AF222750). To test whether murine NDPKs (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) can inhibit Bax-mediated toxicity in yeast, co-transformation was performed respectively. The yeast S.cerevisiae was transformed with a copy expression plasmid containing the histidine selection marker and expressing murine Bax under the control of a galactose-inducible promoter. Several clones were selected and found to be growth inhibited when Bax expression was induced with galactose. A representative clone was transformed again with a copy expression plasmid containing the tryptophane selection marker and expressing either murine Bcl-xL or NDPK under the control of a galactose-inducible promoter. Several subclones of the double-transformants were selected and characterized. The ability of Bcl-xL and NDPKs to suppress Bax-mediated toxicity was determined by growing yeast cells overnight in galactose media and spot-testing on galactose plates starting with an equal number of yeast cells as determined by taking the OD$_{600}$. Ten-fold serial dilutions were used in the spot-test. Plates were grown at 3$0^{\circ}C$ for 2-3 days. All murine NDPKs suppressed Bax dependent apoptosis. Futher study will be peformed whether Bax-toxicity inhibition was caused by NDP kinase activity or additional function.n.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1279-1287
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• 2012

We established an efficient transformation method for thermophile Geobacillus kaustophilus HTA426 using conjugative transfer from Escherichia coli of host-mimicking plasmids that imitate DNA methylation of strain HTA426 to circumvent its DNA restriction barriers. Two conjugative plasmids, pSTE33T and pUCG18T, capable of shuttling between E. coli and Geobacillus spp., were constructed. The plasmids were first introduced into E. coli BR408, which expressed one inherent DNA methylase gene (dam) and two heterologous methylase genes from strain HTA426 (GK1380-GK1381 and GK0343-GK0344). The plasmids were then directly transferred from E. coli cells to strain HTA426 by conjugative transfer using pUB307 or pRK2013 as a helper plasmid. pUCG18T was introduced very efficiently (transfer efficiency, $10^{-5}-10^{-3}\;recipient^{-1}$). pSTE33T showed lower efficiency ($10^{-7}-10^{-6}\;recipient^{-1}$) but had a high copy number and high segregational stability. Methylase genes in the donor substantially affected the transfer efficiency, demonstrating that the host-mimicking strategy contributes to efficient transformation. The transformation method, along with the two distinguishing plasmids, increases the potential of G. kaustophilus HTA426 as a thermophilic host to be used in various applications and as a model for biological studies of this genus. Our results also demonstrate that conjugative transfer is a promising approach for introducing exogenous DNA into thermophiles.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.378-383
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• 2020

The objective of this research was introduction of chit42 to tuber mustard plants through Agrobacteriummediated transformation against white mold caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. The binary plasmid pGisPEC1 was used in this study. Polymerase chain reaction analysis detected the transgene in 27 transformants with a transformation efficiency of 6.9%. Southern blot test was used to assess the copy number of transgene in tuber mustard plants. One, two, two, and two chit42-related bands were observed in the transformed lines TMB4, TMB7, TMB12, and TMB18, respectively. Enzymatic tests showed a significant increase in the activity of endochitinase in protein isolated from leaf tissues of chit42 transgenic 75-day tuber mustard lines. The pathogenicity of three pathogen isolates was tested on the leaves of transformed plans. The results of current study showed that expression of the gene chit42 in tuber mustard plants markedly reduced infection radius on the leaves 7 days after inoculation with the fungus.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.291-297
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• 1998

Cop protein has been overexpressed in Escherichia coli using a T7 RNA polymerase system. Purification to apparent homogeneity was achieved by the sequential chromatography on ion exchange, affinity chromatography, and reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography system. The molecular weight of the purified Cop was estimated as 6.1 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). But the molecular mass of the native state Cop was shown to be 19 kDa by an analytical high performance size exclusion chromatography, suggesting a trimer-like structure in 50 mM Tris-HCI buffer (pH 7.5) containing 100 mM NaCl. Cop protein Was calculated to contain $39.1% {\alpha}-helix, 16.8% {\beta}-sheet$, 17.4% turn, and 26.8% random structure. The DNA binding property of Cop protein expressed in E. coli Was preserved during the expression and purification process. The isoelectric point of Cop was determined to be 9.0. The results of amino acid composition analysis and N-terminal amino acid sequencing of Cop showed that it has the same amino acid composition and N-terminal amino acid sequence as those deduced from its DNA sequence analysis, except for the partial removal of N-terminal methionine residue by methionyl-aminopeptidase in E. coli.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2000

For the rapid selection of higher recombinant hirudin producing strain in a methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha, a multiple gene integration and dose-dependent selection vector, based on a telomere-associated ARS and a bacterial aminoglycoside 3-phosphotransferase (aph) gene, was adopted. Two hirudin expression cassettes (HV1 and HV2) were constructed using the MOX promoter of H. polymorpha and the mating factor $\alpha$ secretion signal of S. cerevisiae. Multiple integrants of a transforming vector containing hirudin expression cassettes were easily selected by using an antibiotic, G418. Hirudin expression level and integrated plasmid copy number of the tested transformants increased with increasing the concentration of G418 used for selection. The expression level of HV1 was consistently higher than that of HV2 under the similar conditions, suggesting that the gene context might be quite important for the high-level gene expression in H. polymorpha. The highest hirudin producing strain selected in this study produced over 96 mg/L of biologically active hirudin in a 500-mL flask and 165 mg/L in a 5-L fermentor.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.164-171
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• 2019

An assay for detecting Apple scar skin viroid (ASSVd) was developed based on nucleic acid sequence based amplification (NASBA) in combination with realtime detection during the amplification process using molecular beacon. The ASSVd specific primers for amplification of the viroid RNA and molecular beacon for detecting the viroid were designed based on highly conserved regions of several ASSVd sequences including Korean isolate. The assay had a detection range of $1{\times}10^4$ to $1{\times}10^{12}$ ASSVd RNA $copies/{\mu}l$ with reproducibility and precision. Following the construction of standard curves based on time to positive (TTP) value for the serial dilutions ranging from $1{\times}10^7$ to $1{\times}10^{12}$ copies of the recombinant plasmid, a standard regression line was constructed by plotting the TTP values versus the logarithm of the starting ASSVd RNA copy number of 10-fold dilutions each. Compared to the established RT-PCR methods, our method was more sensitive for detecting ASSVd. The real-time quantitative NASBA method will be fast, sensitive, and reliable for routine diagnosis and selection of viroid-free stock materials. Furthermore, real-time quantitative NASBA may be especially useful for detecting low levels in apple trees with early viroid-infection stage and for monitoring the influence on tree growth.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.210-215
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• 2014

Pseudomonas nitroreducens TX1 was isolated from a rice field drainage in Taiwan. The bacterium is of special interest because of its capability to use a group of nonionic surfactants such as alkylphenol polyethoxylates even at high concentrations as a sole carbon source. In this study, a small cryptic circular plasmid, pTX1, was characterized from P. nitroreducens TX1. It is 2,286 bp in length with a GC content of 63.3% and harbors three open reading frames, $Rep_{pTX1}$ and functionally unidentified ORF1 and ORF2. The predicted $rep_{pTX1}$ gene product is homologous to Rep proteins of plasmids belonging to the pC194/pUB110 family, which is predominantly found in Gram-positive bacteria and is known to replicate by the rolling-circle mechanism. The copy number of pTX1 was estimated to be about 150 in each cell. Based on the genetic fingerprints and comparison with other plasmids, it is concluded that pTX1 replicates by a rolling circle mechanism which is rarely found for Pseudomonas plasmids.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.253-261
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• 1997

In order to enhance glutathione production, various recombinant plasmids containing gshI and/or gshII genes isolated from E. coli K-12 were constructed and introduced into E. coli. Some plasmids contained one to three copies of gshI genes in pBR325 and others contained both gshI and genes for glutathione biosynthesis. $\gamma$-Glutamylcysteine synthetase activities of E, coli strains amplified tandem repeated gshI genes were dependent on the number of inserted gshI genes. The glutathione productivity of E. coli strains harboring various plasmids was investigated using an E. coli acetate kinase reaction as an ATP regenerating system. The glutathione productivity of E. coli strains harboring tandem repeated gshI genes was increased in proportion to the number of inserted gshI genes. By the introduction of gshII gene, the glutathione productivity of the E. coli was increased by two-fold compared with E. coli strain amplified gshI gene only. The enzymatic production of glytathione in E. coli was mainly affected by the increase of $\gamma$-glutamylcysteine synthetase activity. The highest glutathione productivity was obtained in E. coli strains harboring pGH-501 plasmid containing two copies of gshI and copy of gshII genes in pUC8 vector.