• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.86-89
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• 1997

Epidermal growth factor(EGF) known as a urgastrone is a powerful mitogen with a wide variety of possibilities for medical usages. A mature EGF coding region was isolated from human prepro-EGF sequence by a conventional PCR and cloned into pQE vector in which the gene product was supposed to be expressed with 6$\times$His tag for the subsequent purification. The recombinant mature EGF was expressed in M15[Rep4], an Escherichia coli host strain, in amount of 30-40% of total proteins pressent in E. coli extract by the addition of isopropylthio-$\beta$-galactopyranoside (IPTG). The recombinant EGF purified using a Ni2+-NTA affinity colume chromatography was active in its ability to induce phosphorylation on tyrosine residues of several substrate proteins when murine NH3T3 and human MRC-5 fibroblast cells were stimulated with it. This work may provide the basic technology and information for the production of recombinant EGF.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.80-84
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• 2008

We constructed the null mutants of fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe spDbp5 gene that is homologous to DEAD-box RNA helicase DBP5 in budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which plays important roles in mRNA export out of nucleus. A null mutant in an $h^+/h^+$ diploid strain was constructed by replacing the spDbp5-coding region with an $ura4^+$ gene using one-step gene disruption method. Tetrad analysis showed that the spDbp5 is essential for vegetative growth. The haploid spDbp5 null mutants harboring pREP81X-spDbp5 plasmid showed extensive $poly(A)^+$ RNA accumulation in the nucleus and decrease in the cytoplasm after repression of spDbp5 expression. These results suggest that spDbp5 is also involved in mRNA export from the nucleus.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.520-528
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• 2021

Plesiomonas shigelloides, a member of the family Vibrionaceae, is a gram-negative, rod-shaped, facultative anaerobic bacterium with flagella. P. shigelloides has been isolated from such sources as freshwater, surface water, and many wild and domestic animals. P. shigelloides contains 102 O-antigens and 51 H-antigens. The diversity of O-antigen gene clusters is relatively poorly understood. In addition to O1 and O17 reported by other laboratories, and the 12 O serogroups (O2, O10, O12, O23, O25, O26, O32, O33, O34, O66, O75, and O76) reported previously by us, in the present study, nine new P. shigelloides serogroups (O8, O17, O18, O37, O38, O39, O44, O45, and O61) were sequenced and annotated. The genes for the O-antigens of these nine groups are clustered together in the chromosome between rep and aqpZ. Only O38 possesses the wzm and wzt genes for the synthesis and translocation of O-antigens via the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter pathway; the other eight use the Wzx/Wzy pathway. Phylogenetic analysis using wzx and wzy showed that both genes are diversified. Among the nine new P. shigelloides serogroups, eight use wzx/wzy genes as targets. In addition, we developed an O-antigen-specific PCR assay to detect these nine distinct serogroups with no cross reactions among them.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.52-55
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• 2003

There is considerable evidence that ionizing radiation (IR) mediates checkpoint control, repair and cell death. In this study, we have used a high density microarray hybridization approach to characterize the transcriptional response of human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cell line to ${\gamma}$-radiation, such as 4 Gy 4 hr, 8 Gy 4 hr, and 8 Gy 12 hr. We found that exposure to ${\gamma}$-ray alters by at least a $log_2$ factor of 1.0 the expression of 115 known genes. Of the 66 genes affected by ${\gamma}$-radiation, 49 are down-regulated. In our results, the cellular response to irradiation includes induction of the c-jun and EGR1 early response genes. The present work has examined potential cytoplasmic signaling cascades that transduce IR-induced signals to the nucleus. 40S ribosomal protein s6 kinase modulates the activities of the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and c-Jun $NH_2$-terminal kinase (JNK1) cascades in human monocytic leukemia (U937/pREP4) cells. 14-3-3 family members are dimeric phosphoserine -binding proteins that participate in signal transduction and checkpoint control pathways.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 1996

We have exmained the re-establishment of HIMRE mediated silencing function on the transcriptional activity of yeast heast shock gene HSP82. To test whether the onset of SIR repression can occur in growing cells in the rpesence of a potent inhibitor of DNA replication, HMRa/HSP82 strains with SIR4- and SIR4S$^{+}$ genetic backgrounds were arrested in S phase by incubation of a culture in 200 mM hydroxyurea for 120 min. It was clear that following a 20 minute heat shock, silencing of the HMRa/HSP82 allele in cells pretreated with hydroxyurea does occur in a SIR4-dependen fashion, even though the kinetics of repression appears to be substantially delayed. We also have tested whether re- establishement of silencing at the HMR/hsp82 locus can occur in G1-arrested cells. Cell cycle arrest at G1 phase was achieved by treatment of early log a cell cultures with .alpha.-factor mating pheromone, which induces G1 arrest. The result suggests that passage through S phase (and therefore DNA replication) is nor required for re-establishing silencer-mediated repression at the HMNRa/HSP82 locus. Finally, to test whether de nono protein synthesis is required for re-establishment of silencer-mediated repression, cells were pretreated with cycloheximide (500 /.mu.g/ml) 120 min. It was apparent that inhibiting protein synthesis delays, but does not prevent, re-establishment of silencer-mediated repression. Altogether, these results indicate that re-establishment of silencer-mediated repression is not dependent on the DNA replication and has no requirement for protein synthesis.s.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.396-401
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• 2009

The nucleotide sequence contains 2 open reading frames encoding a 45-amino-acid protein homologous to a transcriptional repressor protein CopG, and a 203-amino-acid protein homologous to a replication protein RepB. Putative countertranscribed RNA, a double-strand origin, and a single-strand origin were also identified. A shuttle vector, pUCL2.1, for various lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was constructed on the basis of the pCL2.1 replicon, into which an erythromycin-resistance gene as a marker and Escherichia coli ColE1 replication origin were inserted. pUCL2.1 was introduced into E. coli, Lc. lactis, Lactobacillus (Lb.) plantarum, Lb. paraplantarum, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides. The recombinant LAB maintained traits of transformed plasmid in the absence of selection pressure over 40 generations. Therefore, pUCL2.1 could be used as an E. coli/LAB shuttle vector, which is an essential to engineer recombinant LAB strains that are useful for food fermentations.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.87-93
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• 2004

Twelve mecoprop-degrading bacteria were isolated from soil samples, and their genetic and phenotypic characteristics were investigated. Analysis of 16S rDNA sequences indicated that the isolates were related to members of the genus Sphingomonas. Ten different chromosomal DNA patterns were obtained by polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) amplification of repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP) sequences from the 12 isolates. The isolates were found to be able to utilize the chiral herbicide meco-prop as a sole source of carbon and energy. While seven of the isolates were able to degrade both (R)-and (S)-mecoprop, four isolates exhibited enantioselective degradation of the (S)-type and one isolate could degrade only the (R)-enantiomer. All of the isolates were observed to possess plasmid DNAs. When certain plasmids were removed from isolates MPll, MP15, and MP23, those strains could no longer degrade mecoprop. This compelling result suggests that plasmid DNAs, in this case, conferred the ability to degrade the herbicide. The isolates MP13, MP15, and MP24 were identified as the same strain; however, they exhibited different plasmid profiles. This indicates that these isolates acquired dif-ferent mecoprop-degradative plasmids in different soils through natural gene transfer.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.193-198
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• 2007

A marine bacterium was isolated from Mai Po Nature Reserve of Hong Kong and identified as Vibrio cholerae MP-1. It contains a small plasmid designated as pVC of 3.8 kb. Four open reading frames (ORFs) are identified on the plasmid, but none of them shows homology to any known protein. Database search indicated that a 440 bp fragment is 96% identical to a fragment found in a small plasmid of another V. cholerae. Further experiments demonstrated that a 2.3 kb EcoRI fragment containing the complete ORF1, partial ORF4 and their intergenic region could self-replicate. Additional analyses revealed that sequence upstream of ORF1 showed the features characteristic of theta type replicons. Protein encoded by ORF1 has two characteristic motifs existed in most replication initiator proteins (Rep): the leucine zipper (LZ) motif located at the N-terminal region and the alpha helix-turn-alpha helix motif (HTH) located at the C-terminal end. The results suggest that pVC replicates via the theta type mechanism and is likely a novel type of theta replicon.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.153-155
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• 2006

We constructed the null mutants of fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe spSac3 gene that is homologous to budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae SAC3 involved in mRNA export out of nucleus. Tetrad analysis showed that the spSac3 is essential for vegetative growth. The spSac3 mutants harboring pREP81X-spSac3 plasmid showed poly(A)+ RNA export defect in the presence of thiamine. These results suggest that spSac3 is also involved in mRNA export from the nucleus.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.115-119
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• 1994

Replication control region of pSBK203, a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase conferring plasmid from Staphylococus aureus was cloned and its nucleotide sequence has been determined. Base sequence homology of this copy control region with those of plasmids belonging to pT181 family was obtained and analyzed. Copy number of four copy mutants derived by addtion or deletion of nucleotides in unique XbaI recognition site in copy control region of pSBK203 was also determined.