Behavioral modulation by genetic changes garners a special attention nowadays as an effective means of revealing genetic function on the one hand and broadening the scope of in situ monitoring on the other hand. The cGMP-dependent protein kinase was treated to the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis. Automatic recognition techniques and computational methods were utilized to investigate behavioral changes across photo- and scoto-phases. Movement behaviors are objectively expressed according to parameter extraction and data structure visualization in different light phases. By comapring with the individuals without treatment, activities of treated thrips were changed including decrease in circadian rhythm. Usefulness of automatic monitoring of insect movement in different genetic strains is further discussed for providing useful information on monitoring and diagnosing natural and unntatural genetic disturbances.

The baculovirus expression system (BES) utilize the p10 or polyhedrin promoter, a very late promoter that exhibits strong transcriptional activity primarily at the end of viral infection, to produce useful recombinant proteins. The burst sequence of the very late promoter is essential for strong transcription, and VLF-1 is a transcription factor that binds specifically to the burst sequence, and it has been reported that it can regulate the amount and timing of expression of protein by the very late promoter. Recently, a VLF-1 constitutively expressing cell line was constructed to increase the production of the target protein, but the effect was minimal. In this study, to find the optimal VLF-1 expression conditions to increase target protein production efficiency, we controlled the expression of VLF-1 through various promoters and evaluated the target protein expression efficiency by the p10 promoter accordingly.

The yellow mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), has long been used as a key study organism in many fundamental researches, including biochemistry, physiology, and behavior. Lifespan and reproduction are two of the most important components of fitness in all insects, but it remains largely unexplored how these two traits are influenced by macronutrient intake in this beetle. In this study, we used the nutritional geometry framework to analyze the complex and interactive effects of dietary protein and carbohydrate intake on lifespan and reproductive performance in T. molitor beetle. Lifespan and the number of eggs laid throughout the lifetime were quantified from more than 2,000 individual beetles provided with one of 35 chemically defined diets representing a full combination of seven protein-to-carbohydrate ratios (P:C= 0:1, 1:5, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1, 5:1, or 1:0) and five protein plus carbohydrate concentrations (P+C=25.2, 33.6, 42, 50.4, or 58.8 %, dry mass). All measures of lifespan and egg production were expressed highly at high caloric intake, but they differed in the optimal P:C ratio where traits peaked. While lifespan was the longest at a moderately carbohydrate-biased P:C ratio of 1:1.36, the rate of egg production was maximized at a protein-biased P:C ratio of 1.75:1, suggesting a possible nutrient-mediated trade-off between lifespan and daily reproductive efforts in T. molitor beetles. Lifetime egg production was maximized at a P:C ratio of 1.31:1, which was still protein-biased but lower than that maximized egg production rate. Reproductive lifespan was the longest at a P:C ratio of 1:1.06. When given a food choice, T. molitor beetles preferred a P:C ratio of 1:1, which is closest to the ratio that enables T. molitor beetles to stay reproductively active as long as possible.

단백질의 구조 예측은 생명 과학 및 의약학 분야의 핵심적인 연구 주제 중 하나로, 단백질의 기능 및 상호작용을 이해하기 위한 주요 정보를 제공할 수 있어 다양한 연구가 수행되고 있다. 이러한 연구의 일환으로 최근 Google DeepMind의 AlphaFold2가 등장하였으며, 단백질 구조 예측 성능을 대폭 향상시켜 CASP(Critical Assessment of Protein Structure Prediction)에서 뛰어난 평가점수를 받아 단백질 구조 예측 분야의 최신 기술을 크게 향상시켰다. 이러한 컴퓨터 기반의 단백질의 구조 예측 방법은, 고전적인 방법을 사용하여 직접 단백질 구조를 결정하는 방법 에 비해 매우 정확하고 빠르며 경제적인 비용으로 수행될 수 있어 단백질 구조 예측 및 생리학 연구를 수행하는 연구자들에게 유용한 방법론이 될 것으로 사료된다. 따라서 본 연구소에서는 곤충을 포함한 무척추 자생동물을 연구하는 연구자들을 위해 단백질 구조 예측을 수행할 수 있도록 64Core/128Threads의 CPU, 256GB의 RAM과 6장의 GeForce RTX 3090으로 이루어진 GPU(Graphical Processing Unit) 고성능 컴퓨터 시스템에 AlphaFold2 program을 구축하였다. 최근 인간을 대상으로 한 단백질 구조 예측 연구는 상당한 진전을 보이고 있지만, 곤충을 포함한 자연계의 동물을 대상으로 한 연구는 여전히 미비한 상황이다. 이러한 자생동물자원연구의 확대를 위해 본 연구소에서 구축한 GPU 시스템 및 생물정보학적 분석 방법이 많이 활용되어야 하며, 이를 위해서는 연구자들 의 협력과 참여가 필요하다.

본 연구는 국내에서 흔히 유통되는 박류 단미사료의 정확한 사료 유래 대사 단백질(metabolizable protein from feed, MPfeed) 함량을 제시하기 위해 수행되었다. MPfeed를 측정하기 위해 반추위 미분해 단백질(rumen undegradable protein, RUP) 함량과 RUP의 소장소화율을 평가하였다. 시료 각각의 RUP 함량을 측정하기 위해 홀스타인 거세우 2두를 이용하여 in situ 반추위 분해율 실험을 수행하였다(0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120 h). 각 시료의 소장소화율을 측정하기 위해 12 h in situ 배양을 마친 시료들은 인공 4위액과 인공 소장액에 순차적으로 배양된 후 잔량 측정되었다. RUP와 소장 분해율을 측정을 통해 측정된 MPfeed는 전지대두가 45.1%로 가장 높았으며, 국산 대두박(44.3%), 팜박(42.7%), 옥수수 주정박(dried distiller’s grains with solubles, DDGS, 40.7%), 수입산 대두박(40.2%), 호마박(39.7%), 야자박(39.3%), 채종박(28.4%), 옥 글루텐 밀(26.5%), 옥 배아박(20.5%), 해바라기박(15.3%), 옥 글루텐 피드(14.5%), 아몬드박(5.25%) 순으로 나타났다. 본 연구에서 사용된 시료들의 MPfeed는 미국사양표준에서 제시하고 있는 수치와 차이를 나타내었는데, 이는 MPfeed를 측정하기 위해 사용되는 RUP 함량과 RUP의 소장소화율에서 차이를 보임에 의한 것으로 추정된다.

본 연구의 목적은 알츠하이머질환(Alzheimer’s disease: AD) 동물 모델을 대상으로 트레드밀 운 동(Treadmill exercise: TE)과 환경강화(environmental enrichment: EE) 처치가 인지기능, 근 기능, 및 밀 착연접 단백질 발현에 미치는 영향을 확인하는데 있다. AD 동물 모델을 제작하기 위해 aluminum chloride(AlCl3)를 90일간(40mg/kg/하루) 투여 하였으며 동시에 TE(10-12m/min, 40-60min/day) 혹은 EE에 노출시켰다. 그 결과 AlCl3 투여에 의한 인지기능 저하와 근 기능 감소가 TE와 EE에 의해 완화된 것 으로 나타났다. 또한, TE와 EE는 AD 질환에서 나타나는 β-amyloid(Aβ), alpha-synuclein 및 tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) 단백질의 발현 증가를 감소시킨 것으로 나타났다. 게다가 TE와 EE는 AlCl3 투여에 의해 감소된 밀착연접 단백질(Occludin, Claudin-5 및 ZO-1)의 발현을 통계적으로 유의하게 증가시킨 것으로 나타났다. 마지막으로 Aβ 단백질과 밀착연접 단백질과의 상관분석을 실시한 결과 부적 상 관관계(Occludin: r=-0.853, p=0.001; Claudin-5 : r=-0.352, p=0.915; ZO-1 : r=-0.424, p=0.0390) 로 나타났다. 따라서 이를 종합해 보면 TE 혹은 EE 처치는 AD에 나타나는 병리학적 특징들을 일부 완화 시켜 인지기능과 근 기능을 일부 개선 시킬 수 있는 효과적인 운동 방법이라고 생각된다.

This study investigated the physicochemical properties of protein-fortified rice flour by mixing rice flour (RF) with untreated and fermented plant proteins. Fermented faba bean protein concentrate (FMFP) and chickpea flour (FMCF) were prepared by solid-state fermentation of faba bean protein concentrate (UTFP) and chickpea flour (UTCF) using Bacillus subtilis. FMFP and FMCF exhibited higher crude protein, reducing sugar and starch contents more than their counterparts. The increased rate of essential and branched-chain amino acids in FMFP and FMCF exceeded that of crude protein. Adding plant proteins to RF decreased swelling power (SP) and increased solubility in RF-UTFP and RF-FMFP mixtures, while SP and solubility increased in RF-UTCF and RF-FMCF mixtures. All RF-plant protein mixtures showed higher gelatinization temperature and lower gelatinization enthalpy than RF. Thermal gelation was found in all RF-plant protein mixtures, but the RF-FMCF mixture may form weak and unstable gel structures. The increase in pasting viscosity was minimal for the RF-UTFP and RF-FMFP mixtures but more pronounced for the RF-UTCF and RF-FMCF mixtures. Overall, FMFP may be a potential protein source to supplement the protein deficiency in RF with minimal changes in RF-based foods’ rheological and textural properties.

Previous studies have shown that proline mutations in the heptad repeat region stabilize the coronavirus spike (S) protein in a pre-fusion state. To understand the impact of proline substitutions on the fusogenicity of the S protein, we engineered the swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV) S protein with two proline substitutions (S-PP) and examined its fusogenicity using dual-split-protein based cell-cell fusion assay. Unlike the wild-type S (S-WT), S-PP rarely formed syncytia. Additionally, protein expression of S-PP was impaired compared to S-WT, as previously reported. Our results indicate that pre-fusion stabilized S protein is unable to induce membrane fusion and provide a better understanding of SADS-CoV S and vaccine antigen design.

UV and O3 are materials used in the water treatment process, and many studies have been reported to remove organic matters, contaminants, and microorganisms. In this study, we were investigated effects of Chirnomidae (Chironomus flaviplumus, Chironomus riparius), which are contamination indicator species to exposure UV and O3 for the survival rate, body color change and gene expression response. The survival rate of C. flaviplumus exposed to UV decreased to about 70% after 24 hours, and C. riparius about 50%. There was no change in the survival rate of C. flaviplumus exposed to O3, and C. riparius decreased to 95% after 10 minutes of exposure, but there was no change during the subsequent exposure time. In addition, UV and O3 exposure to the two species in body color faded in a time-dependent. In the HSP70 gene expression, C. riparius showed an increase in expression after UV exposure compared to the control group, and a significant difference was shown 12 hours after exposure (P<0.05). C. flaviplumus exposed to O3 showed a relatively low expression compared to the control group, and showed a significant difference at 10 minutes and 1 hour after exposure (P<0.05). These results reported the ecotoxicological effects on Chironomidae according to UV and O3 exposure. Therefore, the results of this study can be used as basic data to understand the effects of UV and O3, which are disinfectants used in water treatment plants, on Chirnomidae entering plants. Key words: Chironomus flaviplumus, Chironomus riparius, UV, O3, acute toxicity, survival

Protein is an essential nutrient for humans to sustain life, but it is predicted that it will be challenging to secure protein through the traditional livestock industry in the future. Microalgae has high future value as an alternative protein food source due to resource utilization and sustainability advantages. In order to increase productivity, the culture conditions of microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris, Dunaliella salina, and Scenedesmus obliquus were examined in this study. The optimal culture conditions of C. vulgaris were mixotrophic culture, 25oC culture temperature, 7.0 initial pH, 10% initial inoculation, stirring culture, 3000 Lux light intensity, and 24L:0D light/dark cycle period with red LED. For D. salina, the optimal culture conditions were mixotrophic culture, 20oC culture temperature, 8.0 initial pH, 10% initial inoculation, stirring culture, 6000 Lux light intensity, and 12L:12D light/dark cycle period with white LED. For S. obliquus, the optimal culture conditions were mixotrophic culture, 30oC culture temperature, 8.0 initial pH, 10% initial inoculation, stirring culture, 4500 Lux light intensity, and 14L:10D light/dark cycle period with fluorescent light. These findings can be used as important information for increasing the production of microalgae as an alternative protein material resource in the future.

This study focuses on heat-induced gelation of pea (Pisum sativum L.) proteins to assess the potential of pea protein aggregates (PPA) as novel plant-based meat alternatives. The microstructural (SEM, CLSM), mechanical (TPA analysis), and rheological properties (G', G'') of heat-induced gels at pH 2 were systematically investigated as a function of a different pea protein concentration (7.5, 10, 12.5%) and a varying heating time (1, 3, 6, 16 h). The result showed that PPA formation at higher protein concentration and heating time contributed to a homogenous and compact heat-induced gel formation. Such gel network strengthened mechanical properties in terms of high gel hardness (40 g) and elastic texture (2.7 mm springiness). For the rheological studies, the storage modulus (G') showed an increase during both the heating and cooling phases and then stabilized during the cooled-holding phase. This suggested that the formation of durable and stable gel was induced due to the decreased mobility of protein aggregates at low temperatures. Therefore, the PPA is indicated as a potential additive for enhancing the food texture quality in the plant-based meat food industry.