• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.5 no.5
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• pp.320-326
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• 2000

Promoters of the genes G3P, ICL1, POT1, POX1, POX2 and POX5 of the yeast Y. lipolytica were studied in respect to their regulations and activities during growth on different carbon sources. The aim of this study was to select suitable promoters for high expression of heterologous genes in this yeast. For this purpose the promoters were fused with the reporter gene lacZ of E. coli and integrated as single copies into the genome of Y. lipolytica strain PO1d. The measurement of expressed activities of ${\beta}$-galactosidase revealed that pICL1, pPOX2 and pPOT1 are the strongest regulable promoters available for Y. lipolytica, at present. pPOX2 and pPOT1 were highly induced during growth on oleic acid and were completely repressed by glucose and glycerol. pICL1 was strongly inducible by ethanol besides alkanes and fatty acids, however, not completely repressible by glucose or glycerol. Ricinoleic acid methyl ester appeared as a very strong inducer for pPOT1 and pPOX2, in spite of that it inhibited growth of Y. lipolytica transformants.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.277-283
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• 1997

Promoters inducible by paraquat, a superocide-generating agent, were isolated from Escherichia coli using a promoter-probing plasmid pRS415 with promoterless lacA gene. Twenty one promoters induced by paraquat were selected and further characterized. From sequence analysis, thirteen of the promoters were mapped to their specific loci on the Escherichia coli chromosome. Several promoters were mapped to the upstream of known genes such as usgl, katG, and mglB, whose relationships with superoxide response have not been previously reported. Other promoters were mapped to the upstream region of unknown open reading frames. Downstream of HC 96 promoter are uncharacterized ORFs whose sequences are homologous to ABC-transporter subunits. Downstream of HC84 promoter is an ORF encoding a transcriptional regulator-like protein, which contains a LysR family-specific HTH (helix-turn-helix) DNA bindign motif. We investigated whether these promoters belong to the soxRS regulon. All promoters except HC96 were found to belong to the soxRS regulon. The HC96 promoter was significantly induced by paraquat in the soxRS deletion mutant strain. The basal transcription level of three promoters (HE43, HC71, HD94) significantly increased at the stationary phase, implying that they are regulated by RpoS. However, paraquat inducibility of all promoters disappeared in the stationary phase, suggesting that SoxRS regulatory system is active only in rapidly growing cells.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.534-540
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• 2007

The Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) genome contains six operons (rrnA to F) for ribosomal RNA synthesis. Transcription from rrnD occurs from four promoters (p1 to p4). We found that transcripts from the p1 and p3 promoters were most abundant in vivo in the early exponential phase. However, at later phases of exponential and stationary growth, transcripts from the p1 promoter decreased drastically, with the p3 and p4 transcripts constituting the major forms. Partially purified RNA polymerase supported transcription from the p3 and p4 promoters, whereas pure reconstituted RNA polymerase with core enzyme (E) and the major vegetative sigma factor ${\sigma}^{HrdB}$ ($E{\cdot}{\sigma}^{HrdB}$) did not. In order to assess any potential requirement for additional factor(s) that allow transcription from the p3 and p4 promoters, we fractionated a partially purified RNA polymerase preparation by denaturing gel filtration chromatography. We found that transcription from the p3 and p4 promoters required factor(s) of about 30-35 kDa in addition to RNAP holoenzyme ($E{\cdot}{\sigma}^{HrdB}$). Therefore, transcription from the p3 and p4 promoters, which contain a consensus -10 region but no -35 for ${\sigma}^{HrdB}$ recognition, are likely to be regulated by transcription factor(s) that modulate RNA polymerase holoenzyme activity in S. coelicolor.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.639-647
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• 2008

The heat-inducible expression vectors for Corynebacterium glutamicum and C. ammoniagenes were constructed by using the ${\lambda}O_L1$ and the cryptic promoters, CJ1 and CJ4 that express genes constitutively in C. ammoniagenes. Although the promoters were isolated from C. ammoniagenes, CJ1 and CJ4 were also active in C. glutamicum. To construct vectors, the $O_L1$ from the ${\lambda}P_L$ promoter was isolated and fused to the CJ1 and CJ4 promoters by recombinant PCR. The resulting artificial promoters, CJ1O and CJ4O, which have one ${\lambda}O_L1$, and CJ1OX2, which has two successive ${\lambda}O_L1$, were fused to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene followed by subcloning into pCES208. The expression of GFP in the corynebacteria harboring the vectors was regulated successfully by the temperature-sensitive cI857 repressor. Among them, C. ammoniagenes harboring plasmid pCJ1OX2G containing GFP fused to CJ1OX2 showed more GFP than the other ones and the expression was tightly regulated by the repressor. To construct the generally applicable expression vector using the plasmid pCJ1OX2G, the His-tag, enterokinase (EK) moiety, and the MCS were inserted in front of the GFP gene. Using the vector, the expression of pyrR from C. glutamicum was tried by temperature shift-up. The results indicated that the constructed vectors (pCeHEMG) can be successfully used in the expression and regulation of foreign genes in corynebacteria.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.237-243
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• 2006

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neuromodulator of nociceptive responses in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and spinal cord. BDNF synthesis increases in response to nerve growth factor (NGF) in trkA-expressing small and medium-sized DRG neurons after inflammation. Previously we demonstrated differential activation of multiple BDNF promoters in the DRG following peripheral nerve injury and inflammation. Using reporter constructs containing individual promoter regions, we investigated the effect of NGF on the multiple BDNF promoters, and the signaling pathway by which NGF activates these promoters in PC12 cells. Although all the promoters were activated 2.4-7.1-fold by NGF treatment, promoter IV gave the greatest induction. The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor, SB203580, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI-3K) inhibitor, LY294003, protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor, H89, and protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, chelerythrine, had no effect on activation of promoter IV by NGF. However, activation was completely abolished by the MAPK kinase (MEK) inhibitors, U0126 and PD98059. In addition, these inhibitors blocked NGF-induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) 1/2. Taken together, these results suggest that the ERK1/2 pathway activates BDNF promoter IV in response to NGF independently of NGF-activated signaling pathways involving PKA and PKC.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.33-37
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• 1999

Recombinant adenovirus vector systems with strong promoters have been used to achieve high level production of recombinant protein. However, this overexpression system cause some problems such as disturbance of cell physiology and increment of cellular toxicity. Here, we showed a tetracycline-regulated adenovirus expression vector system. Our results showed that the expression level of transgene(p-53) was high and easily regulated by tetracycline. In addition, the maximal gene expression level of the tetracycline-controlled gene expression system was higher than that of the wild type CMV promoter system. Therefore, tetracycline-regulated adenoviral vector system could be applicable for regulatory high-level expression of toxic gene. Also, this system will be useful for functional studies and gene therapy.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.83-85
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• 2007

Deep-sea bacteria are adapted to extreme environments, such as high pressures and cold temperatures. We have isolated many piezophiles which grow well even under high pressures from deep-sea sediment. Shewanella violacea DSS12 and Moritella japonica DSK1 have the ability to grow at up to 70 MPa, and those bacteria have unique mechanisms of gene expression in response to high pressure conditions. The combination of gene expression systems in piezophiles, like the high pressure-dependent promoters and GFP reporter gene, may reveal highly fluorescent cells when exposed to high hydrostatic pressure conditions. It is predicted that a novel bio-sensing system can be made to probe high pressure environments using living bacteria. First, gene transformation into our piezophiles, strains DSS12 and DSK1, were examined. Eschericha coli S17-1 was used for bacterial conjugation with those piezophiles. As a result, the broad host range vector, pKT231, and the shuttle vector, pTH10, were successfully introduced to DSS12 and DSK1, respectively. Next, The pressure regulated promoters from DSS12 and DSK1 were cloned into proper vectors and combined with GFP as a reporter gene downstream of each promoter. The transformants of DSK1 and DSS12 with the recombinant pTH10 and pKT231 plasmid, which has cadA and glnA promoters (each of them is a pressure regulated promoter from DSK1 and DSS12, respectively) and GFP, were grown under high pressure and gene expression of GFP promoted by 50 MPa pressure was confirmed. This is a critical point to create a pressure-sensing bacteria, as the "High Pressure Glow Cells", which will indicate the level of environmental pressure using fluorescence of GFP as a reporter gene.

• Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.66-70
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• 2005

Telomerase, a specialized RNA-directed DNA polymerase that extends telomeres of eukaryotic chromosomes, has activity in most malignant tumors and provides a mechanism for the unlimited potential for division of neoplastic cells. Although telomerase is known to be a regulated enzyme, the factors and mechanisms involved in telomerase regulation are not well understood. In the present study, we compared the effect of 12-O­tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) and non-phorbol ester tumor promoters such as okadaic acid, anthralin and benzoyl peroxide on the expression of telomerase in the mouse skin carcinogenesis system, a well characterized model for studying pre-malignant and malignant progression. We found that most early papillomas harvested after 10 weeks of TPA promotion showed telomerase activity. Other papillomas harvested after 10 weeks of okadaic acid, anthralin and benzoyl peroxide promotion and after single treatment of DMBA only also showed telomerase activity, respectively. On the other hand, normal and all skins surrounded by papillomas harvested after 10 weeks of these promoters has no telomerase activity. Taken together these results, there appears to be no clear association between the level of telomerase activity and protein phosphorylation in mouse skin papillomas and telomerase may be useful as bio-markers in early detection of tumors.

• Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Korea Conference
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• 1996.07a
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• pp.26-38
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• 1996

To investigate the regulation of plant histone H2A gene expression, we isolated two H2A genes (TH254 and TH274) from wheat, which encode different types of variants. Both genes had an intron in the coding region. In the promoters, some characteristics sequences, such as Oct and Nona motifs, which are conserved among plant histone genes were also found, and they were located in a short region (about 120 bp) upstream from the putative TATA box. Analyses of promoter activity with H2A-GUS fusion genes in the transient system using tobacco protoplasts revealed novel types of positive cis-acting sequences in the TH254 promoter: a direct repeat of a 13-bp sequence (AGTTACATTATTG) and a stretch composed of an AT-rich sequence (ATATAGAAAATTAAAA) and a G-box (CACGTG). A quantitative S1 assay of the mRNA amounts from the TH254/GUS and TH274/GUG chimeric genes in stably transformed and cell cycle-synchronized tobacco cell lines showed that the promoters of both genes contained at least one cis-acting element responsible for S phase-specific expression. Histochemical analysis of transgenic tobacco plants carrying the chimeric genes showed that the promoters of the two H2A genes were both active in developing seedlings and flower organs but regulated in different manner.

• BMB Reports
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.320-325
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• 1997

Thioredoxin is a multi-functional protein which is ubiquitous in microorganisms, animals and plants. Previously, expression of the E. coli thioredoxin gene was found to be negatively regulated by cAMP. In the present study, the effect of cAMP on two separate promoters of the E. coli thioredoxin gene was investigated. Cyclic AMP had a repressible effect on P1 and P1P2 promoter activity of the constructs. This effect was also observed in the cya strain. The P2 promoter construct gave very high -galactosidase activity, and its expression was not affected by exogenous cAMP. It was assumed that a cis-acting negative element, probably the cAMP-CRP binding site, might have been deleted in the P1 promoter construct. Repression of the thioredoxin gene expression by cAMP appeared to be independent of ppGpp.