• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2009

We have previously isolated a CCCH type zinc-finger protein gene, OsZF2 (Oryza sativa Zinc Finger 2), from the cold-treated rice cDNA library. To investigate the potential role of OsZF2, transgenic rice lines over-expressing OsZF2 under the control of CaMV 35S promoter have been developed through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Elevated level of OsZF2 transcripts was confirmed by RNA gel blot analysis in transgenic rice. Under the 100 mM NaCl condition, the transgenic rice showed significantly enhanced growth rate in terms of shoot length and fresh weight, implicating that OsZF2 is likely to be involved in salt response of rice. In the field condition, however, the transgenic rice showed a dwarf phenotype and flowering time was delayed. Genome expression profiling analysis of transgenic plants using the 20K NSF rice oligonucleotide array revealed many up-regulated genes related to stress responses and signaling pathways such as chaperone protein dnaJ 72, salt stress-induced protein, PR protein, disease resistance proteins RPM1 and Cf2/Cf5 disease resistance protein, carbohydrate/ sugar transporter, OsWAK kinase, brassinosteroid LRR receptor kinase, and jasmonate O-methyltransferase. These data suggest that the CCCH type zinc-finger protein OsZF2 is a upstream transcriptional factor regulating growth and stress responsiveness of rice.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.194-200
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• 2014

Monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) is an important enzyme that plays a role in the detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by maintaining reduced pool of ascorbate through recycling the oxidized form of ascorbate. In this study, we isolated a PagMDHAR1 gene from Populus alba ${\times}$ P. glandulosa, and investigated its expression characteristics. The PagMDHAR1 cDNA encodes a putative 434 amino acids containing FAD- and NAD(P)H-binding domains. Southern blot analysis indicated that a single nuclear gene encodes this enzyme. Northern hybridization analysis revealed that PagMDHAR1 is highly expressed in both suspension cells and flower tissues, while its expression levels were enhanced by drought, salt, cold, wounding and ABA. Therefore, PagMDHAR1 might be expressed in response to abiotic stress through the ABA-mediated signaling pathway in this poplar species, suggesting that the PagMDHAR1 plays an important role in the defense mechanisms against oxidative stress.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.631-636
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• 2019

A new nitric oxide-induced (NOI) gene was isolated by screening ESTs from a cDNA library of dehydration-treated fibrous roots of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas). The 720 bp cDNA fragment, IbNOI, was sequenced, from which a 77 amino acid residue protein was deduced. A search of the protein BLAST database identified significant similarity to other plant NOI protein sequences. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed diverse expression patterns of IbNOI in various tissues of the intact sweetpotato plant, and in leaves exposed to different stresses. The IbNOI gene was highly expressed in storage roots and suspension-cultured cells. In leaf tissues, IbNOI showed strong expression during sodium nitroprusside (SNP)-induced NO accumulation and chemical stress treatments. Expression of IbNOI was also induced under various abiotic stress conditions, such as dehydration, salt, and bacterial pathogen infection. These results suggest that IbNOI is involved in plant responses to diverse abiotic stresses and pathogen infection through a NO-related pathway.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.120-122
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• 2007

All living organisms use numerous signal-transduction pathways to sense and respond to their environments and thereby survive and proliferate in a range of biological niches. Molecular dissection of these signalling networks has increased our understanding of these communication processes and provides a platform for therapeutic intervention when these pathways malfunction in disease states, including infection. Owing to the expanding availability of sequenced genomes, a wealth of genetic and molecular tools and the conservation of signalling networks, members of the fungal kingdom serve as excellent model systems for more complex, multicellular organisms. Here, we employed Cryptococcus neoformans as a model system to understand how fungal-signalling circuits operate at the molecular level to sense and respond to a plethora of environmental stresses, including osmoticshock, UV, high temperature, oxidative stress and toxic drugs/metabolites. The stress-activated p38/Hog1 MAPK pathway is structurally conserved in many organisms as diverse as yeast and mammals, but its regulation is uniquely specialized in a majority of clinical Cryptococcus neoformans serotype A and D strains to control differentiation and virulence factor regulation. C. neoformans Hog1 MAPK is controlled by Pbs2 MAPK kinase (MAPKK). The Pbs2-Hog1 MAPK cascade is controlled by the fungal "two-component" system that is composed of a response regulator, Ssk1, and multiple sensor kinases, including two-component.like (Tco) 1 and Tco2. Tco1 and Tco2 play shared and distinct roles in stress responses and drug sensitivity through the Hog1 MAPK system. Furthermore, each sensor kinase mediates unique cellular functions for virulence and morphological differentiation. We also identified and characterized the Ssk2 MAPKKK upstream of the MAPKK Pbs2 and the MAPK Hog1 in C. neoformans. The SSK2 gene was identified as a potential component responsible for differential Hog1 regulation between the serotype D sibling f1 strains B3501 and B3502 through comparative analysis of their meiotic map with the meiotic segregation of Hog1-dependent sensitivity to the fungicide fludioxonil. Ssk2 is the only polymorphic component in the Hog1 MAPK module, including two coding sequence changes between the SSK2 alleles in B3501 and B3502 strains. To further support this finding, the SSK2 allele exchange completely swapped Hog1-related phenotypes between B3501 and B3502 strains. In the serotype A strain H99, disruption of the SSK2 gene dramatically enhanced capsule biosynthesis and mating efficiency, similar to pbs2 and hog1 mutations. Furthermore, ssk2, pbs2, and hog1 mutants are all hypersensitive to a variety of stresses and completely resistant to fludioxonil. Taken together, these findings indicate that Ssk2 is the critical interface protein connecting the two-component system and the Pbs2-Hog1 pathway in C. neoformans.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.10
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• pp.1590-1599
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• 2021

Objective: This study investigates the expression patterns of toll-like receptors (TLRs) and intracellular mediators in horse muscle cells after exercise, and the relationship between TLRS expression in stressed horse muscle cells and immune cell migration toward them. Methods: The expression patterns of the TLRs (TLR2, TLR4, and TLR8) and downstream signaling pathway-related genes (myeloid differentiation primary response 88 [MYD88]; activating transcription factor 3 [ATF3]) are examined in horse tissues, and horse peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) and muscles in response to exercise, using the quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Expressions of chemokine receptor genes, i.e., C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2) and C-C motif chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5), are studied in PBMCs and PMNs. A horse muscle cell line is developed by transfecting SV-T antigen into fetal muscle cells, followed by examination of muscle-specific genes. Horse muscle cells are treated with stressors, i.e., cortisol, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), and heat, to mimic stress conditions in vitro, and the expression of TLR4 and TLR8 are examined in stressed muscle cells, in addition to migration activity of PBMCs toward stressed muscle cells. Results: The qPCR revealed that TLR4 message was expressed in cerebrum, cerebellum, thymus, lung, liver, kidney, and muscle, whereas TLR8 expressed in thymus, lung, and kidney, while TLR2 expressed in thymus, lung, and kidney. Expressions of TLRs, i.e., TLR4 and TLR8, and mediators, i.e., MYD88 and ATF3, were upregulated in muscle, PBMCs and PMNs in response to exercise. Expressions of CXCR2 and CCR5 were also upregulated in PBMCs and PMNs after exercise. In the muscle cell line, TLR4 and TLR8 expressions were upregulated when cells were treated with stressors such as cortisol, H₂O₂, and heat. Migration of PBMCs toward stressed muscle cells was increased by exercise and oxidative stresses, and combinations of these. Treatment with methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), an antioxidant on stressed muscle cells, reduced migration of PBMCs toward stressed muscle cells. Conclusion: In this study, we have successfully cultured horse skeletal muscle cells, isolated horse PBMCs, and established an in vitro system for studying stress-related gene expressions and function. Expression of TLR4, TLR8, CXCR2, and CCR5 in horse muscle cells was higher in response to stressors such as cortisol, H₂O₂, and heat, or combinations of these. In addition, migration of PBMCs toward muscle cells was increased when muscle cells were under stress, but inhibition of reactive oxygen species by MSM modulated migratory activity of PBMCs to stressed muscle cells. Further study is necessary to investigate the biological function(s) of the TLR gene family in horse muscle cells.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.115-125
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• 2021

Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are known to be involved in regulating plant responses to abiotic stresses such as salinity, cold temperature and dehydration,. Although CDPKs constitute a large multigene family consisting of 31 genes in rice, only a few rice CDPKs' functions have been identified. Therefore, in order to elucidate the functions of OsCPK11 in rice, this study was intended to focus on the expression pattern analysis of OsCPK11 in wild type and ND0001 oscpk11 mutant plants under these abiotic stresses. For the salt, cold and drought stress treatment, seedlings were exposed to 200 mM NaCl, 4℃ and 20% PEG 6,000, respectively. RT-PCR and quantitative real-time PCR were performed to determine the expression patterns of OsCPK11 in wild type and ND0001 mutant plants. RT-PCR results showed that OsCPK11 transcripts in the wild type and heterozygous mutant were detected, but not in the homozygous mutant. Real-time PCR results showed that relative expression of OsCPK11 of wild type plants was increased and reached to the highest level at 24 hr, at 6 hr and at 24 hr under salt, cold and drought stress conditions, respectively. Relative expression of OsCPK11 of ND0001 homozygous plant was significantly reduced compared to that of wild type. These results suggested that oscpk11 homozygous mutant knocks out OsCPK11 and OsCPK11 might be involved in salt, cold and drought stress signaling by regulating its gene expression.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2002

Diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) phosphorylates the second messenger diacylglycerol (DAG) to phosphatidic acid and it may play a role in signal transduction in Escherichia coli as well as in eukaryotic cells. In addition, DGK is important for microorganisms to adapt to several physiological stimuli. In Bacillus subtilis, the effect of stress on dgk transcription was examined by northern hybridization. The high level of dgk transcription was induced against high osmolarity, low pH value and low temperature. Transcriptional analysis revealed that the dgk gene and dgk upstream locus (ORF2, ORF3 and ORF4) were transcribed as a polycistronic mRNA to form an approximately 2.5 kb transcript.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.347-358
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• 2016

Brassinosteroid (BR), a plant steroid hormone, plays key roles in numerous growth and developmental processes as well as tolerance to both abiotic and biotic stress. To understand the biological networks involved in BR-mediated signaling pathways and stress tolerance, we performed comparative genome-wide transcriptome analysis of a constitutively activated BR bes1-D mutant with an Agilent Arabidopsis $4{\times}44K$ oligo chip. As a result, we newly identified 1,091 (562 up-regulated and 529 down-regulated) significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The combination of GO enrichment and protein network analysis revealed that stress-related processes, such as metabolism, development, abiotic/biotic stress, immunity, and defense, were critically linked to BR signaling pathways. Among the identified gene sets, we confirmed more than a 6-fold up-regulation of NB-ARC and FLS2 in bes1-D plants. However, some genes, including TIR1, TSA1 and OCP3, were down-regulated. Consistently, BR-activated plants showed higher tolerance to drought stress and pathogen infection compared to wild-type controls. In this study, we newly developed a useful, comprehensive method for large-scale identification of critical network and gene sets with global transcriptome analysis using a microarray. This study also showed that gain of function in the bes1-D gene can regulate the adaptive response of plants to various stressful conditions.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.213-229
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• 2023

This study aimed to investigate the effects of beak trimming and crossbreeding-combinations on the productive performance and stress response levels of Korean native chickens. The study divided 248 individuals from six crossbreeding-combinations into two groups: one underwent beak trimming, and the other did not. The survival rate, body weight, egg production rate, egg quality, feather damage score, HSP-70 gene expression level, H/L ratio, and intracellular DNA damage rate were measured and analyzed. The results showed that the beak-trimmed group had significantly higher survival rates and hen-housed egg production compared to the non-beak-trimmed group (P<0.05). Feather damage and DNA damage rates were significantly lower in the beak-trimmed group (P<0.05). On the other hand, there were no significant differences between the two groups in adult body weight, hen-day egg production, egg quality, HSP-70 gene expression level, and H/L ratio. Among the crossbreeding-combinations, there were significant differences in survival rate, body weight, feather damage score, egg quality, and DNA damage rate (P<0.05), while egg production rate, HSP-70 gene expression level, and H/L ratio showed no significant differences. There was an interaction between beak trimming and crossbreeding-combinations in some traits. In conclusion, beak trimming in Korean native chickens has a positive impact on productive performance, and in terms of stress response, beak trimming may not act as a stress factor or may even reduce stress after the growing period. Furthermore, there were differences in productive performance and stress response levels among crossbreeding-combinations, but the effects of beak trimming were similar across these combinations.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.4405-4409
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• 2014

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), highly reactive molecules, are produced by living organisms as a result of normal cellular metabolism and environmental factors, and can damage nucleic acids and proteins, thereby altering their functions. The human body has several mechanisms to counteract oxidative stress by producing antioxidants. A shift in the balance between oxidants and antioxidants in favor of oxidants is termed as "oxidative stress". Paradoxically, there is a large body of research demonstrating the general effect of oxidative stress on signaling pathways, less is known about the initial and direct regulation of signaling molecules by ROS, or what we term the "oxidative interface." This review focuses on the molecular mechanisms through which ROS directly interact with critical signaling molecules to initiate signaling in a broad variety of cellular processes, such as proliferation and survival (MAP kinases and PI3 kinase), ROS homeostasis, and antioxidant gene regulation (Ref-1 and Nrf-2). This review also deals with classification as well as mechanisms of formation of free radicals, examining their beneficial and deleterious effects on cellular activities and focusing on the potential role of antioxidants in preventing and repairing damage caused by oxidative stress. A discussion of the role of phytochemical antioxidants in oxidative stress, disease and the epigenome is included.