• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.8
• /
• pp.1386-1392
• /
• 2008

A gene (sll0158) putatively encoding a glycogen branching enzyme (GBE, E.C. 2.4.1.18) was cloned from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, and the recombinant protein expressed and characterized. The PCR-amplified putative GBE gene was ligated into a pET-21a plasmid vector harboring a T7 promoter, and the recombinant DNA transformed into a host cell, E. coli BL21(DE3). The IPTG-induced enzymes were then extracted and purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. The putative GBE gene was found to be composed of 2,310 nucleotides and encoded 770 amino acids, corresponding to approx. 90.7 kDa, as confirmed by SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF-MS analyses. The optimal conditions for GBE activity were investigated by measuring the absorbance change in iodine affinity, and shown to be pH 8.0 and $30^{\circ}C$ in a 50 mM glycine-NaOH buffer. The action pattern of the GBE on amylose, an $\alpha$-(1,4)-linked linear glucan, was analyzed using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) after isoamylolysis. As a result, the GBE displayed $\alpha$-glucosyl transferring activity by cleaving the $\alpha$-(1,4)-linkages and transferring the cleaved maltoglycosyl moiety to form new $\alpha$-(1,6)-branch linkages. A time-course study of the GBE reaction was carried out with biosynthetic amylose (BSAM; $M_p{\cong}$8,000), and the changes in the branch-chain length distribution were evaluated. When increasing the reaction time up to 48 h, the weight- and number-average DP ($DP_w$ and $DP_n$) decreased from 19.6 to 8.7 and from 17.6 to 7.8, respectively. The molecular size ($M_p$, peak $M_w{\cong}2.45-2.75{\times}10^5$) of the GBE-reacted product from BSAM reached the size of amylose (AM) in botanical starch, yet the product was highly soluble and stable in water, unlike AM molecules. Thus, GBE-generated products can provide new food and non-food applications, owing to their unique physical properties.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.49-54
• /
• 2008

The gene encoding human pancreatic pro-carboxypeptidase B (CPB) was cloned and fused to Saccharomyces cerevisiae mating factor alpha-1 secretion signal $(MF{\alpha}1)$, in which the transcription of $MF{\alpha}1$-pro-CPB was under the control of GAL10 promoter. The constructed plasmid $pY{\alpha}$-hproCPB(7.72 kb) was transformed into S. cerevisiae 2805. The recombinant human pro-CPB (hproCPB) was successfully expressed in S. cerevisiae after induction of galactose, and could be secreted into the culture medium. By analyses of SDS-PAGE and western blotting, the molecular weight of the purified hproCPB was estimated to be a 45.9kDa. The activity of extracellular hCPB after removal of pro-region by trypsin treatment reached about 10.16 unit/ml at batch culture of S. cerevisiae $2805/pY{\alpha}$-hproCPB for 60 h. Also, the Km value of partially purified recombinant hCPB is about 0.43 mM.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.54 no.2
• /
• pp.94-100
• /
• 2011

A gene encoding a putative phospholipase D was isolated from Bacillus licheniformis and cloned into pGEM-T easy vector. The gene was expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) using a pET-21(a) vector containing His6 tag. Affinity purification of the recombinant phospholipase D with nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA) resin resulted major one-band by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis. The purified enzyme showed a molecular weight of 44 kDa. The optimum activity of enzyme was around pH 7.0 and the enzyme was also the most stable around this condition. The optimum temperature was about $40-45^{\circ}C$ and the enzyme still showed considerable activities at wide range of temperature. Among various detergents, Triton X-100 significantly increased the enzyme activity, resulting in 181% activity of control at 0.6 mM of the detergent. Calcium ion did not significantly affect the enzyme activity, suggesting that the enzyme might be classified into $Ca^{2+}$-independent PLD.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.195-201
• /
• 2011

The flavonoid quercetin is a low molecular weight compound generally found in apple, gingko, tomato, onion and other red-colored fruits and vegetables. Like other flavonoids, quercetin has diverse pharmacological actions. However, relatively little is known about the influence of quercetin effects in the regulation of ligand-gated ion channels. Previously, we reported that quercetin regulates subsets of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors such as ${\alpha}3{\beta}4$, ${\alpha}7$ and ${\alpha}9{\alpha}10$. Presently, we investigated the effects of quercetin on muscle-type of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor channel activity expressed in Xenopus oocytes after injection of cRNA encoding human fetal or adult muscle-type of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits. Acetylcholine treatment elicited an inward peak current ($I_{ACh}$) in oocytes expressing both muscle-type of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and co-treatment of quercetin with acetylcholine inhibited $I_{ACh}$. Pre-treatment of quercetin further inhibited $I_{ACh}$ in oocytes expressing adult and fetal muscle-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. The inhibition of $I_{ACh}$ by quercetin was reversible and concentration-dependent. The $IC_{50}$ of quercetin was $18.9{\pm}1.2{\mu}M$ in oocytes expressing adult muscle-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. The inhibition of $I_{ACh}$ by quercetin was voltage-independent and non-competitive. These results indicate that quercetin might regulate human muscle-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor channel activity and that quercetin-mediated regulation of muscle-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor might be coupled to regulation of neuromuscular junction activity.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.300-306
• /
• 1993

The CryIIA gene encoding the insecticidal crystal protein of Bacillus thuringiens!s subsp. kurstalri HD-l has been cloned in Escherichia col!, and its nucleotide sequences were determined completely. 5kb Hindlli fragment harboring CryIIA gene was screened in the large ca. 225kb plasmid DNA by southern blot. HindlIT digested 5kb fragment was ligated into pUC19 and transformed in E. coli. The 4kb BamHI-HindlIT fragment containing the CryIIA gene was subcloned and named pSKIIA. DNA sequence analysis demonstrates that pSKIIA is the gene of an operon which is comprised of Lhree open reading frames (designated orn, orf2 and or£3). The CrylIA gene is composed of 3,952bp-long BamHI-Hindill DNA restriction fragment. The orf3 code for a polypeptide of 633 amino acid residues. The protoxin protein has a predicted molecular weight of 70,780. The E. coli derived protoxin gene product is biologICally active against three species of Lepidopteran (Plu.lelia maculipennis, He/iolhis assulta, Spodoptera litura) and a species of Dip Leran( Culex pipines) larvae in bioassay.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.63-70
• /
• 2018

Brazzein is the smallest sweet protein and was isolated from the fruit pulp of Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baillon, native to tropical Africa. From ancient times, the indigenous people used this fruit in their diet to add sweetness to their daily food. Brazzein is 500 to 2000 times sweeter than sucrose on a weight basis and 9500 times sweeter on a molar basis. This unique property has led to increasing interest in this protein. However, it is expensive and difficult to produce brazzein other than in its native growing conditions which limits its availability for use as a food additive. In this study, we report high production yields of, brazzein protein in transgenic rice plants. An ORF region encoding brazzein and driven by the $2{\times}CaMV\;35S$ promoter was introduced into rice genome (Oryza sativa Japonica) via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. After transformation, 17 regenerated plant lines were obtained and these transgene-containing plants were confirmed by PCR analysis. In addition, the selected plant lines were analyzed by Taqman PCR and results showed that 9 T0 lines were found to have a single copy out of 17 transgenic plants. Moreover, high and genetically stable expression of brazzein was confirmed by western blot analysis. These results demonstrate that recombinant brazzein was efficiently expressed in transgenic rice plants, and that we have developed a new rice variety with a natural sweetener.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.104-111
• /
• 2002

The peptidyl prolyl sis-trans isomerase (PPIase, EC 5.2.1.8) from bacillus stearothermophilus was extracted from the cells treated with by lysozyme. PPIase was purified from the cell extracts by heat treatment, ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion exchange chromatography and finally gel filtration, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE). The molecular weight of the purified PPIase was estimated as 18kDa by SDS-PAGE. The 39 amino acid residues from the N-terminus were determined by the protein sequencer. The enzyme showed the optimum pH at 8.0 and was stable at the range of pH 7.0∼8.0. The enzyme was considerably stable after heat treatment at 60$\^{C}$ for 30minutes, and the enzyme was quite stable up to 65$\^{C}$. The presence of the PPIase in the refolding solution accelerated the isomerization rate of the assay peptide. PPIase gene of Bacillus stearothermophilus was screened from a genomic library by plaque hybridization using the A-l primer as a probe. A PPIase positive plaque contained a 3.0kb insert of the chromosomal DNA. A 3.0kb fragment was subcloned into pUC18, resulting pPI-40. A DNA fragment encoding the N-terminal portion of the PPIase in pPI-40 was amplified by polymerase chain reaction(PCR) method using the A-1 and B-2 primers. The amplified fragment was cloned into the Sma I site of pUC18 and recombinant plasmid was designated as pSN-18. The nucleotide sequence of 167bp fragment was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence of PPIase was completely matched with the determined N-terminal amino acid sequence of PPIase B. stearothermophilus.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.30 no.10
• /
• pp.1478-1485
• /
• 2017

Objective: The effects of vaccinating 18-day-old chicken embryos with the combination of recombinant Eimeria profilin plus Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) NetB proteins mixed in the Montanide IMS adjuvant on the chicken immune response to necrotic enteritis (NE) were investigated using an Eimeria maxima (E. maxima)/C. perfringens co-infection NE disease model that we previously developed. Methods: Eighteen-day-old broiler embryos were injected with $100{\mu}L$ of phosphate-buffered saline, profilin, profilin plus necrotic enteritis B-like (NetB), profilin plus NetB/Montanide adjuvant (IMS 106), and profilin plus Net-B/Montanide adjuvant (IMS 101). After post-hatch birds were challenged with our NE experimental disease model, body weights, intestinal lesions, serum antibody levels to NetB, and proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine mRNA levels in intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes were measured. Results: Chickens in ovo vaccinated with recombinant profilin plus NetB proteins/IMS106 and recombinant profilin plus NetB proteins/IMS101 showed significantly increased body weight gains and reduced gut damages compared with the profilin-only group, respectively. Greater antibody response to NetB toxin were observed in the profilin plus NetB/IMS 106, and profilin plus NetB/IMS 101 groups compared with the other three vaccine/adjuvant groups. Finally, diminished levels of transcripts encoding for proinflammatory cytokines such as lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$ factor, tumor necrosis factor superfamily 15, and interleukin-8 were observed in the intestinal lymphocytes of chickens in ovo injected with profilin plus NetB toxin in combination with IMS 106, and profilin plus NetB toxin in combination with IMS 101 compared with profilin protein alone bird. Conclusion: These results suggest that the Montanide IMS adjuvants potentiate host immunity to experimentally-induced avian NE when administered in ovo in conjunction with the profilin and NetB proteins, and may reduce disease pathology by attenuating the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines implicated in disease pathogenesis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.9
• /
• pp.5011-5016
• /
• 2013

Background: Several epidemiological studies have shown associations between colorectal cancer (CRC) risk and type 2 diabetes and obesity. Any effects would be expected to be mediated through the insulin pathway. Therefore it is possible that variants of genes encoding components of the insulin pathway play roles in CRC susceptibility. In this study, we hypothesized that polymorphisms in the genes involving the insulin pathway are associated with risk of CRC. Materials and Methods: The associations of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IGF-I (rs6214), IGFBP-3 (rs3110697), INSR (rs1052371), and IRS2 (rs2289046) genes with the risk of CRC were evaluated using a case-control design with 167 CRC cases and 277 controls by the PCR-RFLP method. Results: Overall, we observed no significant difference in genotype and allele frequencies between the cases and controls for the IGF-I, IGFBP-3, INSR, IRS2 gene variants and CRC before or after adjusting for confounders (age, BMI, sex, and smoking status). However, we observed that the IRS2 (rs2289046) GG genotype compared with AA+AG genotypes has a protective effect for CRC in normal weight subjects (p=0.035, OR=0.259, 95%CI= 0.074-0.907). Conclusions: These findings do not support plausible associations between polymorphic variations in IGF-I, IGFBP-3, INSR, IRS2 genes and risk of CRC. However, the evidence for a link between the IRS2 (rs2289046) variant and risk of CRC dependent on the BMI of the subjects, requires confirmation in subsequent studies with greater sample size.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.293-297
• /
• 2012

Of the 169 strains of microorganisms stored in Polar and Alpine Microbial Collection of Korea Polar Research Institute, 27 strains were selected for their chitinase activity on ZoBell plates supplemented with 0.4% colloidal chitin. Among them, PAMC 21693 strain have shown the highest chitinolytic enzyme activity toward pNP-$(GlcNAc)_1$ at low temperature and the highest growth rate at $4^{\circ}C$. We cloned a full-length chitinase gene of 2,857 bp which contains an open reading frame of 2,169 bp encoding 872-amino acid polypeptide. Recombinant chitinase protein was expressed in E. coli and its molecular weight was confirmed 96 kDa. In this paper, we suggest the potential use of cold-active chitinase from polar microorganisms in the field of biotechnology.