• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 1994

A model equation to describe the plasmid instability in recombinant Escherichia coli fermentation is proposed. The equation allows one to estimate easily the two model parameters; (1) the difference in the specific growth rates between plasmid-free cells and plasmid-harboring cells ($\delta$), and (2) the probability of plasmid loss by plasmid-harboring cells ($\rho$). The estimated values of $\delta and \rho$ were in the range of 0.02-0.07 and $10^{-3}-10^{-5}$, respectively, and were strongly dependent on the dilution rate. As another parameter, the ratio of specific growth rates of plasmid-free cells and plasmid-harboring cells ($\alha$) was calculated and the result showed the highest value of 1.28 at the lowest dilution rate of 0.075 $hr^{-l}$, examined in this work. By the sensitivity analyses on the estimates of $\delta and \rho$, it was found that the growth rate difference ($\delta$) affected the plasmid instability more seriously than the probability of plasmid loss ($\rho$). Furthermore, the profound instability of plasmid at low dilution rate could be explained by the high values of $\alpha and \rho$.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 1995

S. pneumoniae (pneumococcus) gene cloning and library construction in E. coli multicopy plasmid has been hampered, in part, by instability problems. In this study, stability of pneumococcus gene library in cosmid vector and pACYC184 was examined. Pneumococcus library in the cosmid vector pHC79 was extermely unstable that most of the recobinant clones were degenerated rapidly. Only 2 out 849 clones were stable and had appropriate insert size. Pneumococcus library in pACYC184 was also so unstable that the pneumococcal inserg and/or part of the vector were deleted. However, the instability problems seemed to be resolved when transcription teminator plasmid was employed for pneumococcus library construction.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.129-134
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• 1992

Segregational instability of a recombinant plasmid, pDML6, encoding extracellular $\beta$-lactamase in Streptomyces lividans PD6 was characterized by growth kinetic analysis. The quantitative determination of the plasmid harbored in the mycelia was evaluated with mycelia fragmented mechanically, and also with colonies regenerated from protoplasts. Conditions for the formation of protoplasts and regeneration of protoplasts were established. The maximal specific growth rates of the host strain and the plasmid-harboring strain in a chemically defined medium without selection pressure were the same. The probability of plasmid loss from the harbouring cells was higher at higher growth rates. Mathematical models for the prediction of cell growth, substrate uptake, and accumulation of the cloned gene product were developed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.321-326
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• 2000

To examine the feasibility of the long-term production of the human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (hG-CSF) using the $_{L}-arabinose$ promoter system of Escherichia coli, flask relay culture and cyclic fed-batch culture were performed. In the flask relay culture, it was found that the pismid was maintained stably up to about 170 generations in an uninduced condition, whereby the cells could also maintain the capability of expressing hG-CSF expression were maintained stably up to at least 100 generations. In contrast, in the cyclid fed-batch culture, segregational plasmid instability was observed within about 4 generations after induction, even though the cell growth and hG-CSF production reached their maximum balues, 78.0 g/l of dry cell weight and 7.0 g/l of hG-CSF, respectively. It would appear that, when compared to the flask relay culture, the high-cell density and high-level expression of hG-CSF in the cyclic fed-batch cultrure led to the segregational plasmid instability; in other words, a severe metabolic burden existe on the cells due to the high-level expression of hG-CSF. Accordingly, based on these long-term cultures, the segregational and structural plasmid instability was observed and a strategy to overcome such problems could be designed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.1711-1715
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• 2017

In this study, we characterized the $bla_{NDM-5}$-bearing plasmid in a Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate that had lost the plasmid during serial passage. We determined the complete sequences of the plasmid pCC1410-2, which was extracted from a K. pneumoniae ST709 isolate collected at a Korean hospital from which two NDM-5-producing K. pneumoniae isolates were subsequently isolated. As a result, the pCC1410-2 plasmid had a backbone structure that was similar to those of two plasmids previously reported from the same hospital, but lacked some antibiotic resistance genes ($bla_{TEM-1}$, rmtB, mphR(A), mrx(A), and mph(A)). A 9-bp repeating unit encoding three amino acids (Gln-Gln-Pro) was inserted in TraD in pCC1410-2. Thus, the pCC1410-2 plasmid might be transferred from the previously identified carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae, but some delections and inversions might have occurred during the process. We compared the transfer frequency and stability of the plasmids. The relative frequency of conjugative transfer and stability in the host were significantly lower in pCC1410-2 than in previously reported $bla_{NDM-5}$-bearing plasmids in Korea. A low transfer frequency and instability in the host may cause underestimation of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in the clinical setting and in surveillance studies.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 1994

Continuous culture was carried out with a recombinant Escherichia coli W3110/pCR185, which encodes trp-operon enzymes when the temperature is shifted from $37^{circ}C\;t;42^{\circ}C$. Under derepressed condition of $42^{\circ}C$. plasmlid stability and gene expression were analysed as function of the dilution rate. The stability of plasmid increased with the dilution rate, but maximal levels of gene expression (tryptophan concentration) and plasmid DNA content were obtained at the lowest dilution rate, $0.075\;hr^{-1}$. The plasmid instability, observed at low dilution rates, could be explained by the unbalanced biosynthetic state of the recombinant cell harboring a high copy number of plasmid.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.301-305
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• 2001

The co-expression of the arg U gene in a double-vector expression system of recombi-nant Escherichia coli BL22(DE3)[pET-IEN2a+pAC-argU] significantly enhanced the production level of reconminant human interferon -$\alpha$2a(rhIFN-$\alpha$2a) in high cell density cultures, compared to a recombinant E. coli culture containing only the single expression vector, pET-IEN2a. The dry cell mass concentration increased to almost 100 g/L, and more than 4 g/L of rhIFN-$\alpha$2a was accumu-lated in the culture broth. Evidently, the synthesis of rhIFN-$\alpha$2a was strongly dependent on the pre-induction growtih rate and more efficient at a higher specific growth rate. The additional sup-ply of tRN $A^{Arg(AGG/AGA)}$ enhanced the expression level of the rhIFN-$\alpha$2a gene in the early stage of the post-induction phase, yet thereafter the specific production rate of rhIFN-$\alpha$2a rapidly de-creased due to severe segregational instability of plasmid vector pET-IEN2a. It would appear that the plasmid instability with only occurred to pET-IEN2a in the double vector system, was re-lated to the effect of translational stress due to the over expression of rhIFN-$\alpha$2a.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.551-553
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• 2000

A strong constitutive $P_{JH}$ promoter from Bacillus was applied to overexpress the endoxylanase gene in B. subtilis. The expression plasmid, pHJKJ4, was designed to contain the $P_{JH}$ promoter and endoxylanase promoter ($P_B$), and introduced into B. subtilis DB104. Through batch fermentation of the trasformant cell on a maltose medium, endoxylanase was produced in a growth-associated manner as the predominant protein. The total activity reached about 600 unit/ml at the end of the cultivation, which corresponded to 698 mg endoxylanase protein/l with a specific activity of 860 unit/mg protein. It was also found that the segregational plasmid instability was less than 30% and most of the endoxylanase activity was detected in the culture medium. This result suggests that the secretory production of endoxylanase can be significantly enhanced with the use of the $P_{JH}$ promoter and high-cell density culture techniques, quantitatively as well as qualitatively.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 1992

S. fradiae showed the highest acetanilide p-hydroxylation activity in the tested strains. And S. fradiae was well characterized genetically, especially with respect to tylosin production. Two mutants, which lost hydroxylation, were isolated in 140 regenerated colonies from protoplasts. In restriction enzyme digesion of total DNAs, isolation of giant linear plasmid DNA and determination of antibiotic resistances to chloramphenicol, tylosin, hygromycin B and mitomycin C, any differences among mutants and a wild type strain were not detected. These facts suggest that lesion on 6, 000 Kb chromosomal DNA was responsible for the lack of p-hydroxylation activity induced by protoplast formation and regeneration.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.323-333
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• 1989

Plasmid DNA molecules containing strong promoter upstream from IS50L or IS50R, the two insertion sequences that flank Tn5, were constructed to amplify the synthesis of Tn5-encoded polypeptides. When proteins made by cells that contain these plasmids were analyzed on polyacrylamide gels, enhanced synthesis of IS50R polypeptides could be detected. Synthesis of this polypeptide apparently is initiated within the large open reading frame of this element. In addition, the stability of IS50L-and IS50R-encoded polypeptides was analyzed. It was found that IS50L polypeptides are relatively unstable in vivo. This instability could account for the observed inability of this element to promote transposition.