• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제9권3호
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• pp.255-259
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• 1999

A 6.9-kb DNA fragment including the minimal Bacillus pasteurii urease gene cluster was subcloned into a high-copy-number plasmid vector, pUC19, and the recombinant B. pasteurii urease was overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant urease was purified 25.9-fold by using combinations of anion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography followed by Mono-Q chromatography on a FPLC. N-terminal peptide sequencing analyses revealed that two distinct smaller peptide bands resolved on a 10-18％ gradient SDS-PAGE corresponded to UreA and UreB peptides, respectively. It was also shown that the ureB gene was translated from a GUG codon and the first methionine residue was post-translationally cleaved off. The native molecular weight of the recombinant urease was 176,000 and 2 nickel atoms were present per catalytic unit. pH stability studies of the purified enzyme showed that the recombinant Bacillus pasteurii urease is stable in alkaline pH range, which is similar to the enzyme of the evolutionarily related bacterium, Sporosarcina ureae.

• Journal of Life Science
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• 제9권1호
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• pp.5-8
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• 1999

Helicobacter pylori is the etiologic agent of human gastritis and peptic ulceration and produces urease as the major protein component on its surface. H. pylori urease is known to serve as a major virulence factor and a potent immunogen. Deletion mutageneses were performed in the H. pylori urease accessory genes by using combinations of restriction enzymes and other DNA modifying enzymes in order to assess the function of these accessory gene products in the expression of the active urease. Selective disruptions in the accessory gene regions resulted in complete abolishment of the urease activity, which is consistent with other bacterial ureases. Interestingly, deletions in ureE-containing regions caused reduced expression of the structural enzyme subunits.

• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.122-129
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• 1998

최근 생물방제균으로 주목받고 있는 Enterobacter cloacae의 방제기작이 이 균에 의해 토양내에서 생산된 휘발성 ammonia이며 ammonia의 생산에는urease가 관계한다는 보고를 근거로 하여, 항생물질 생산성 균주로 선발된 우수한 길항균주에 암모니아 생성능, 즉 urease 유전자를 유전적으로 부가함으로써 항진균성 길항물질 생산과 암모니아 생산이 동시에 이루어 질 수 있는 새로운 다기능의 생물방제균을 유전적으로 육종하고자 하였다. 저병해 인삼경작지로부터 식물근부균 Fusarium solani의 생육을 강하게 억제하는 길항세균 한 균주 SH14균주를 분리, 선발하였으며, 분리된 균주를 동정한 결과 Bacillus subtilis이거나 그 근연종으로 추정되었다. 억제기작 실험을 통해 길항균주 B. subtilis SH14에 의해 생산되는 항진균성 길항물질은 외막가수분해효소와 같은 고분자 물질이 아니라 열에 안정한 저분자의 항생물질임을 알 수 있었다. 한편 ammonia 생산을 위한 urease의 유전자는 urease 생산력이 강력한 호알칼리성 Bacillus pasteurii의 urease 생산유전자를 E. coli-Bacillus shuttle vector인 pEB203에 subcloning하였고, 이어서 pGU 366으로 명명된 이 recombinant plasmid를 선발된 항진균성 길항균주 B. subtilis SH14에 PEG-induced protoplast transformation 방법으로 도입, 발현시켰으며, 최적조건을 조사하여 90분간의 lysozyme 처리과정 후 1.5 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$의 DNA와 40% PEG4000의 첨가로 약 6.5$\times$$10^{-4}$의 형질전환율을 얻을 수 있었다. 아울러 암모니아 생성능이 부가된 생물방제균 B. subtilis SH14(pGU366)에 의해 식물근부균 F. solani에 대한 생육억제력이 증가되는지 여부를 억제거리 측정법과 균체중량법을 통해 확인한 결과 urease 유전자가 도입된 형질전환체 B. subtilis SH14(pGU366)의 근부균 생육억제능이 각각 36.7%, 44.0%정도로 숙주균주인 B. subtilis SH14에 비해 근부균 생육억제능을 보다 강하게 나타내었음을 알 수 있었다. 따라서 항진균성 항생물질 생산성 생물방제균 B. subtilis SH14에 외부의 urease유전자를 도입하여 ammonia 생성능을 부가함으로써 생물방제력의 상승효과를 거둘 수 있었다.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.535-545
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• 1999

Crease of Streptococcus salivarius is believed to play a critical role in bacterial ecology and pH homeostasis in the mouth, and consequently affect the pathogenesis of dental caries and periodontal diseases. Expression of the urease gene is greatly enhanced by low p. f. excess of Carbohydrate, and faster growth. It was observed that urease activity of the strains of S. salivarius that exhibited no of low urease activity was not increased even in low pH condition. In this study, it was hypothesized that the urease gene of the strains is absent, defected, or greatly changed by genetic combination. In order to prove this hypothesis, chromosomes were obtained from 28 S. salivarius strains which had been isolated from normal teeth and carious lesions, subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers encoding highly conserved sequence from ureC, and then the obtained PCR products were compared. The results were as follows: 1. After PCR the strains generated either one of 0.54- and 1.3-kbp PCR products, or none. 2. All 16 strains having a higher urease activity(<50${\mu}mol/min/mg$) produced 0.54-kbp PCR products. 3. Twelve strains without urease activity and with a lower urease activity(<50${\mu}mol/min/mg$) yield either one of 0.54 and 1.3-kbp PCR products, or none. 4. The DNA sequence of the 0.54-kbp PCR product (pCAP-0.54) exhibited 95% identity to the ureC of S. salivarus 57.I; 30bp were found to be different, which led to difference of only 2 amino acids in the sequence. 5. The DNA sequence of the 1.3-kbp PCR product(pCAP-1.3) was found to be highly homologous to the aminopeptidase C gene of Streptococcus thermophilus. Overall results indicate that there are considerable variations of the urease genes from S. salivarus strains and the variations may affect the uncolytic activity of the bacteria directly of indirectly.

• BMB Reports
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• 제31권3호
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• pp.240-244
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• 1998

Helicobacter pylori is the etiologic agent of human gastritis and peptic ulceration and produces urease as the major protein component on its surface. H. pylori urease is known to serve as a major virulence factor and in a potent immunogen. In order to express the recombinant urease at a higher level, a DNA fragment containing the minimal H. pylori urease gene cluster was subcloned into a high copy-number vector. The recombinant H. pylori urease expressed in an E. coli strain that was grown in a rich medium supplemented with added nickel was purified to near homogeneity by using DEAE-Sepharose, Superdex HR200, and Mono-Q (FPLC) columns and the purified enzyme possessed the specific activity of 1255 U/mg. Polyclonal antibodies raised against the purified recombinant H. pylori urease were shown to be very specific when subjected to Western blot analysis, in which crude extracts from the H. pylori ATCC strain and the recombinant E. coli strains expressing various bacterial ureases were exnmined for cross-reactivity.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국생물공학회 2003년도 생물공학의 동향(XIII)
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• pp.186-189
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• 2003

Helicobacter pylori is the etiologic agent of human gastritis and peptic ulceration and produces urease as the major protein component on its surface. H. pylori urease is known to serve as a potent immunogen as well as major virulence factor. In order to express the recombinant urease in tobacco plants, a DNA fragment containing the minimal H. pylori urease gene cluster was subcloned into a plant expression vector. The recombinant vector was transformed to tobacco plants. The integration of the recombinant plasmids into tobacco chromosomal genome was verified by genomic PCR. Expression to mRNA was confirmed by Northern blot analysis, and expression to recombinant urease protein was observed by Western blot analysis. These results showed that the recombinant urease can be produced in tobacco plants and will be tested for immune response to use as an edible vaccine.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.274-278
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• 1999

Expression of the active urease of the enterobacterium, Klebsiella aerogens, requires the presence of the accessory genes (ureD, ureE, ureF, and ureG) in addition to the three structural genes (ureA, ureB, and ureC). These accessory genes are involved in functional assembly of the nickel-metallocenter for the enzyme. Characterization of ureF gene has been hindered, however, since the UreF protein is produced in only minute amount compared to other urease gene products. In order to overexpress the ureF gene, a recombinant pMAL-UreF plasmid was constructed from which the UreF was produced as a fusion with maltose-binding protein. The MBP-UreF fusion protein was purified by using an amylose-affinity column chromatography followed by an anion exchange column chromatography. Polyclonal antibodies raised against the fusion protein were purified and shown to specifically recognize both MBP and UreF peptides. The UreF protein was shown to be unstable when separated from MBP by digestion with factor Xa.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제6권1호
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• pp.26-29
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• 1996

The genes coding for the urease of alkalophilic Bacillus pasteurii have been previously cloned and recently sequenced. (You, J. H., B. H. Song, J. H. Kim, M. H. Lee, and S. D. Kim (1995) Molecules and Cells 5, 359-369.) The recombinant Bacillus pasteurii urease expressed in an E. coli HB101 strain was purified 31.2 fold by using combinations of anion-exchange and hydrophobic chromatography followed by Mono-Q chromatography on a FPLC. In spite of the presence of three discrete structural peptide genes in the Bacillus pasteurii urease gene cluster, only one or two enzyme subunits have been observed to date. Here we report for the first time that the recombinant Bacillus pasteurii urease expressed in a E. coli strain consists of three distinct subunits. One large subunit was estimated to be of $M_r$=65, 200 and the two small-subunit peptides are of $M_r$=14, 500 and $M_r$=13, 700, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제19권11호
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• pp.1456-1463
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• 2009

Vibrio parahaemolyticus possessing urease-positive property is relatively rare, but such strains consistently exhibit the TDH-related hemolysin (TRH) gene. In this study, we examined the effects of incubation temperature on urease activity expression, using the TH3996 and AQ4673 strains where the enzyme activity is known to be temperature-dependent and -independent, respectively. In the TH3996 strain, $\beta$-galactosidase activity was 4.4-fold lower after $30^{\circ}C$ cultivation than after $37^{\circ}C$ in a ureR-lacZ fusion strain, but temperature dependency was not found in ureD- or nikA-lacZ fusion strains. However, ureR-, ureD-, and nikA-lacZ fusions of the AQ4673 strain was not influenced by incubation temperature. We compared the promoter sequences of ureR between the above two strains. Intriguingly, we detected mismatches of two nucleotides between the two strains located at positions -66 and -108 upstream of the methionine initiation codon for UreR. Additionally, urease activity was not affected by culture temperature at either $30^{\circ}C$ or $37^{\circ}C$ by allelic introduction of the AQ4673 ureR gene into the TH3996 ureR deletion mutant. Taken together, our study demonstrates that the transcriptional factor UreR is involved in the temperature dependency of urease activity, and two nucleotides within the ureR promoter region are of particular importance for the urease activity dependency of V. parahaemolyticus.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제20권3호
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• pp.371-377
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• 2005

The roles that accessory gene products play in activating the Helicobacter pylori urease apoprotein were examined. The activity of the urease apoprotein increased in the following order when it was expressed with the accessory genes: ureG < ureGH < ureFGH < ureEFGH < ureIEFGH. Moreover, stepwise additions of ureE and ureI to ureFGH significantly increased urease activity. Urease apoproteins coexpressed with ureFGH, ureEFGH, and ureIEFGH had similar low chymotrypsin susceptibilities. In vivo and in vitro activation studies showed that the cooperative effect of the accessory proteins involved processes in which the UreFGH complex, UreE, and UreI were implicated. Thus, the UreFGH complex may serve to alter the conformation of the apoprotein into one that is more competent to assemble a stable metallocenter, and that facilitates cooperative effects.