Genome Sequence of the Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Strain NCCP15657

Kim, B. K.,Song, G. C.,Hong, G. H.,Seong, W.-K.,Kim, S.-Y.,Jeong, H.,Kang, S. G.,Kwon, S.-K.,Lee, C. H.,Song, J. Y.,Yu, D. S.,Park, M.-S.,Cho, S.-H.,Kim, J. F. American Society for Microbiology 2012 Journal of Bacteriology Vol.194 No.14

Novel chromenedione derivatives displaying inhibition of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) from Flemingia philippinensis

Wang, Y.,Yuk, H.J.,Kim, J.Y.,Kim, D.W.,Song, Y.H.,Tan, X.F.,Curtis-Long, M.J.,Park, K.H. Pergamon Press 2016 Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters Vol.26 No.2

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) is an important target to treat obesity and diabetes due to its key roles in insulin and leptin signaling. The MeOH extracts of the root bark of Flemingia philippinensis yielded eight inhibitory molecules (1-8) capable of targeting PTP1B. Three of them were identified to be novel compounds, philippin A (1), philippin B (2), and philippin C (3) which have a rare 3-phenylpropanoyl chromenedione skeleton. The other compounds (4-8) were known prenylated isoflavones. All compounds (1-8) inhibited PTP1B in a dose dependent manner with IC<SUB>50</SUB>s ranging between 2.4 and 29.4μM. The most potent compound emerged to be prenylated isoflavone 5 (IC<SUB>50</SUB>=2.4μM). In kinetic studies, chromenedione derivatives (1-3) emerged to be reversible, competitive inhibitors, whereas prenylated isoflavones (5-8) were noncompetitive inhibitors.

Isostructural metal-insulator transition in VO₂

Lee, D.,Chung, B.,Shi, Y.,Kim, G.-Y.,Campbell, N.,Xue, F.,Song, K.,Choi, S.-Y.,Podkaminer, J. P.,Kim, T. H.,Ryan, P. J.,Kim, J.-W.,Paudel, T. R.,Kang, J.-H.,Spinuzzi, J. W.,Tenne, D. A.,Tsymbal, E. Y. American Association for the Advancement of Scienc 2018 Science Vol.362 No.6418

<P><B>Separating structure and electrons in VO<SUB>2</SUB></B></P><P>Above 341 kelvin—not far from room temperature—bulk vanadium dioxide (VO<SUB>2</SUB>) is a metal. But as soon as the material is cooled below 341 kelvin, VO<SUB>2</SUB> turns into an insulator and, at the same time, changes its crystal structure from rutile to monoclinic. Lee <I>et al.</I> studied the peculiar behavior of a heterostructure consisting of a layer of VO<SUB>2</SUB> placed underneath a layer of the same material that has a bit less oxygen. In the VO<SUB>2</SUB> layer, the structural transition occurred at a higher temperature than the metal-insulator transition. In between those two temperatures, VO<SUB>2</SUB> was a metal with a monoclinic structure—a combination that does not occur in the absence of the adjoining oxygen-poor layer.</P><P><I>Science</I>, this issue p. 1037</P><P>The metal-insulator transition in correlated materials is usually coupled to a symmetry-lowering structural phase transition. This coupling not only complicates the understanding of the basic mechanism of this phenomenon but also limits the speed and endurance of prospective electronic devices. We demonstrate an isostructural, purely electronically driven metal-insulator transition in epitaxial heterostructures of an archetypal correlated material, vanadium dioxide. A combination of thin-film synthesis, structural and electrical characterizations, and theoretical modeling reveals that an interface interaction suppresses the electronic correlations without changing the crystal structure in this otherwise correlated insulator. This interaction stabilizes a nonequilibrium metallic phase and leads to an isostructural metal-insulator transition. This discovery will provide insights into phase transitions of correlated materials and may aid the design of device functionalities.</P>

Effects of Alfalfa Meal on Growth Performance and Gastrointestinal Tract Development of Growing Ducks

Jiang, J.F.,Song, X.M.,Huang, X.,Zhou, W.D.,Wu, J.L.,Zhu, Z.G.,Zheng, H.C.,Jiang, Y.Q. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2012 Animal Bioscience Vol.25 No.10

A study was conducted to evaluate effects of alfalfa meal on growth performance and gastrointestinal tract development of growing layer ducks to provide evidence for application of alfalfa meal in the duck industry. Two hundred and fifty-six healthy Shaoxing 7-wk old growing layer ducks were selected and randomly allocated to 1 of 4 dietary treatments based on corn and soybean meal and containing 0, 3, 6, and 9% of alfalfa meal for 8 wks. Each treatment consisted of 4 replicates of 16 ducks each. Briefly, birds were raised in separate compartments, and each compartment consisted of three parts: indoor floor house, adjacent open area and a connecting water area. The results showed: i) Growing ducks fed alfalfa meal diet were not significantly different in average daily gain, feed intake and gain-to-feed ratio from those fed no alfalfa diet (p>0.05). ii) Alfalfa meal increased the ratio crop, gizzard to live weight, caecum to live weight, the caecum index of growing ducks (p<0.05). iii) Villus height in duodenum and jejunum of growing ducks increased significantly with the increase of alfalfa meal levels (p<0.05). Crypt depth in duodenum and jejunum of growing ducks decreased significantly with the increase of alfalfa meal levels (p<0.05). This experiment showed that feeding of alfalfa meal to growing layer ducks could improve gastrointestinal tract growth and small intestinal morphology without effect on performance. This experiment provides evidence that alfalfa meal is a very valuable feedstuff for growing layer ducks.

Genome Sequence of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli NCCP15658

Song, J. Y.,Yoo, R. H.,Jang, S. Y.,Seong, W.-K.,Kim, S.-Y.,Jeong, H.,Kang, S. G.,Kim, B. K.,Kwon, S.-K.,Lee, C. H.,Yu, D. S.,Park, M.-S.,Cho, S.-H.,Kim, J. F. American Society for Microbiology 2012 Journal of Bacteriology Vol.194 No.14

Effect of Supplementing 2-Hydroxy-4-(Methylthio) Butanoic Acid and DL-methionine in Corn-soybean-cottonseed Meal Diets on Growth Performance and Carcass Quality of Broilers

Liu, Y.L.,Song, G.L.,Yi, G.F.,Hou, Y.Q.,Huang, J.W.,Vazquez-Anon, M.,Knight, C.D. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2006 Animal Bioscience Vol.19 No.8

This experiment was conducted to compare the effects of feeding DL-2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid (HMTBA) and DL-methionine (DLM) supplemented corn-soybean-cottonseed meal diets on growth performance, carcass composition, and muscle color of broilers. The trial was designed as a $2{\times}3{\times}2$ factorial experiment, including two methionine (Met) sources (HMTBA and DLM), three equimolar graded levels of Met supplementation (i.e., 0.08, 0.16, and 0.24% in the starter diet and 0.07, 0.14, and 0.21% in the grower and finisher diets, respectively), and two sexes (male and female). Additionally, one basal diet for each sex was formulated to be limiting in Met to test the dosage response of increasing supplemental Met levels. Four hundred and twenty 10-d-old broilers were randomly allotted to 14 treatments (seven each for males and females), with five replicate pens per treatment and six chicks per pen. There was no difference (p>0.05) between the two Met sources in growth performance and muscle deposition of broilers throughout the whole experimental period (d 10 to 49). With the increasing Met supplementation levels, average daily gain was increased (quadratic; p<0.01) during the starter, grower, and overall phases, average daily feed intake was increased (quadratic; p<0.01) during the starter phase, and feed:gain ratio was decreased (quadratic; p<0.05) during the grower and overall phases. At the end of finisher phase, Met supplementation increased breast muscle content (quadratic; p<0.01) and thigh muscle content (linear; p<0.05), and decreased abdominal fat content (quadratic; p<0.02). Compared to the broiler fed DLM, broilers fed HMTBA had superior breast and thigh muscle coloration (p<0.01). Male broilers had higher weight gain and feed intake and better feed conversion than female broilers (p<0.01). The fat content of thigh muscle in female broilers was higher than that of male broilers (p<0.03). The best fit comparison of HMTBA vs. DLM was determined by Schwarz Bayesian Criteria index, which indicated that the average relative bioefficacy of HMTBA vs. DLM was 120% with 95% confidence limit 67 to 172%. These results indicated that Met supplementation improved growth performance and carcass quality of broilers fed corn-soybean-cottonseed meal diets irrespective of Met sources. Compared to DLM, HMTBA has the same molar bioefficacy on improving the growth performance and carcass quality of broilers; however, HMTBA fed birds had superior meat color to DLM fed birds.

Effects of Forage:Concentrate Ratio on Growth Performance, Ruminal Fermentation and Blood Metabolites in Housing-feeding Yaks

Chen, G.J.,Song, S.D.,Wang, B.X.,Zhang, Z.F.,Peng, Z.L.,Guo, C.H.,Zhong, J.C.,Wang, Y. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2015 Animal Bioscience Vol.28 No.12

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of forage: concentrate ratio (F:C) on growth performance, ruminal fermentation and blood metabolites of housing-feeding yaks. Thirty-two Maiwa male yaks (initial body weight = $207.99{\pm}3.31kg$) were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments (8 yaks per treatment). Experimental diets were: A, B, C, D which contained 70:30, 60:40, 50:50 and 40:60 F:C ratios, respectively. Dry matter intake and average daily gain in yaks fed the C and D diets were greater (p<0.05) than yaks fed the A and B diets. No differences were found in ruminal $NH_3-N$, total volatile fatty acids, acetate, butyrate, valerate, and isovalerate concentrations. The propionate concentration was increased (p<0.05) in the C and D groups compared with the A and B diets. In contrast, the acetate to propionate ratio was decreased and was lowest (p<0.05) in the C group relative to the A and B diets, but was similar with the D group. For blood metabolites, no differences were found in serum concentrations of urea-N, albumin, triglyceride, cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase (p>0.05) among treatments. Treatment C had a higher concentration of total protein and high density lipoprotein (p<0.05) than A and B groups. In addition, there was a trend that the globulin concentration of A group was lower than other treatments (p = 0.079). Results from this study suggest that increasing the level of concentrate from 30% to 50% exerted a positive effect on growth performance, rumen fermentation and blood metabolites in yaks.

Effects of Three Feeding Systems on Production Performance, Rumen Fermentation and Rumen Digesta Particle Structure of Beef Cattle

Liu, Y.F.,Sun, F.F.,Wan, F.C.,Zhao, H.B.,Liu, X.M.,You, W.,Cheng, H.J.,Liu, G.F.,Tan, X.W.,Song, E.L. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2016 Animal Bioscience Vol.29 No.5

The effects of three different feeding systems on beef cattle production performance, rumen fermentation, and rumen digesta particle structure were investigated by using 18 Limousin (steers) with a similar body weight ($575{\pm}10kg$) in a 80-d experiment. The animals were equally and randomly divided into three treatment groups, namely, total mixed ration group (cattle fed TMR), SI1 group (cattle fed concentrate firstly then roughage), and SI2 group (cattle fed roughage firstly then concentrate). The results showed that the average daily gain was significantly higher in cattle receiving TMR than in those receiving SI1 and SI2 (p<0.05). Consumption per kg weight gain of concentrate, silage, and combined net energy (NEmf) were significantly decreased when cattle received TMR, unlike when they received SI1 and SI2 (p<0.05), indicating that the feed efficiency of TMR was the highest. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) was significantly decreased when cattle received TMR compared with that in cattle receiving SI1 (p<0.05), whereas there was no difference compared with that in cattle receiving SI2. Ammonia nitrogen concentration was significantly lower in cattle receiving TMR than in those receiving SI1 and SI2 (p<0.05). The rumen area of cattle that received TMR was significantly larger than that of cattle receiving SI1 (p<0.05), but there was no difference compared with that of cattle receiving SI2. Although there was no significant difference among the three feeding systems in rumen digesta particle distribution, the TMR group trended to have fewer large- and medium-sized particles and more small-sized particles than those in the SI1 and SI2 groups. In conclusion, cattle with dietary TMR showed increased weight gain and ruminal development and decreased BUN. This indicated that TMR feeding was more conducive toward improving the production performance and rumen fermentation of beef cattle.

Recent SAXS Progress at NSRRC

Jeng U.,Hsu C.-H.,Sun Y.-S.,Lai Y.-H.,Chung W.-T.,Sheu H.-S.,Lee H.-Y.,Song Y.-F.,Liang K. S.,Lin T.-L. The Polymer Society of Korea 2005 Macromolecular Research Vol.13 No.6

We review the recent SAXS activity on the 1.5-GeV electron storage ring at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC). Typical measurements featuring in grazing incident SAXS for soft materials are illustrated. Complex measurements using simultaneous SAXS/DSC and SAXSIWAXS for the correlations between the crystallization and mesoscale ordering in a polymer blend and a polypeptide-block-polypseudorotaxane diblock copolymer are presented. We also introduce a dedicated SAXS beamline which is planned at NSRRC.

Mammalian Systems Biotechnology Reveals Global Cellular Adaptations in a Recombinant CHO Cell Line

Yusufi, F.N.K.,Lakshmanan, M.,Ho, Y.S.,Loo, B.L.W.,Ariyaratne, P.,Yang, Y.,Ng, S.K.,Tan, T.R.M.,Yeo, H.C.,Lim, H.L.,Ng, S.W.,Hiu, A.P.,Chow, C.P.,Wan, C.,Chen, S.,Teo, G.,Song, G.,Chin, J.X.,Ruan, X. Cell Press 2017 Cell systems Vol.4 No.5

Effective development of host cells for therapeutic protein production is hampered by the poor characterization of cellular transfection. Here, we employed a multi-omics-based systems biotechnology approach to elucidate the genotypic and phenotypic differences between a wild-type and recombinant antibody-producing Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line. At the genomic level, we observed extensive rearrangements in specific targeted loci linked to transgene integration sites. Transcriptional re-wiring of DNA damage repair and cellular metabolism in the antibody producer, via changes in gene copy numbers, was also detected. Subsequent integration of transcriptomic data with a genome-scale metabolic model showed a substantial increase in energy metabolism in the antibody producer. Metabolomics, lipidomics, and glycomics analyses revealed an elevation in long-chain lipid species, potentially associated with protein transport and secretion requirements, and a surprising stability of N-glycosylation profiles between both cell lines. Overall, the proposed knowledge-based systems biotechnology framework can further accelerate mammalian cell-line engineering in a targeted manner.