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Sheath blight of rice, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, is one of the most important rice diseases worldwide; however, no rice cultivar has been found to be completely resistant to this fungus. To facilitate detailed analysis of sheath blight resistance at genetic, molecular, biochemical, and functional genomic levels, new methods were developed for effective and uniform infection and accurate evaluation of the disease. The efficiency of R. solani infection was tested on two resistant (Tetep and Jasmine 85) and two susceptible (Chucheongbyeo, Junambyeo) cultivars using three different inoculum types (agar block, liquid cultured mycelia ball, and mycelia suspension). By covering the inoculated sheaths with aluminum foil to maintain humidity, 100% infection rate was achieved in this study. Liquid cultured mycelia balls caused significantly longer lesions (5.4 cm) than other types of inoculum, including agar block (2.4 cm) and mycelia suspension (1.6 cm). An improved method for evaluating sheath blight disease was selected by comparing two methods for evaluating disease severity among three partially resistant cultivars and five susceptible cultivars inoculated with liquid cultured mycelia balls. In addition, a new formula was developed to calculate the disease susceptibility index. Lesion length and the susceptibility index generally were correlated in each leaf, but there were discrepancies between the two evaluation methods due to differences in plant architecture among the cultivars. The susceptibility index calculated using the new formula was the most accurate method for evaluating sheath blight disease across all cultivars. The effect of heading date and panicle number also was evaluated in relation to sheath blight resistance. Cultivars with late heading dates generally were more resistant to sheath blight than those with early heading dates.

Drought caused by global climate change is one of serious problems for rice cultivation. However, it was little reported the impact of drought on rice cultivation in Korea. In here, to assess impact of drought on rice varieties in Korean climate condition, growth characteristics and yield components of rice were compared on irrigated and partially irrigated rice paddy field. First, we have chosen 11 rice varieties including `Saeilmi` and `Shindongjin` which are widely cultivated in Korea. For partially irrigated rice paddy treatment, we have withheld irrigation from 25 days after transplanting and water supply was totally dependent on rainfall for rice cultivation. When we examined early plant height and tiller number of these varieties on partially irrigated rice paddy were reduced 1.6% to 18.4% and 10.4% to 33.1%, respectively, and these reduction rate were highly correlated with yield loss in our experimental conditions. Among rice yield components, panicle number was decreased 10.5% to 30.1% according to rice varieties and reduced panicle number was highly correlated with yield loss. Grain number per panicle, grain filling rate and 1,000 seeds weight did not have correlation with yield loss of rice varieties. These result means that growth stage, especially the tillering stage, is seriously affected by drought on rice cultivation in Korea. And we suggest that `Saeilmi`, `Ilmi` and `Ilpum` are good for rice cultivation on drought prone rice field in Korea.

Production of high quality pigmented rice contained with high content of anthocyanin, and polyphenol was significantly influenced by cultivation environments like transplanting date and cultivation location. This study was carried out to establish an optimum transplanting date and cultivation region to produce maximum content of anthocyanin, polyphenol and antioxidant activity of pigmented rice varieties (black, red colored). Three transplanting times (May 20, June 5, June 20) and four different sites (Miryang, Uiseong, Sangju, Bonghwa) were evaluated with five pigmented rice cultivars. Anthocyanin and total polyphenol index to average temperature during 30 days after heading (DAH) of black, red pigmented rice varieties showed that anthocyanin and total polyphenol contents were decreased by 10% and 9%, respectively, with increasing average temperature of . The optimum ripening temperature of the 30 DAH for the production of high anthocyanin and total polyphenol was 22 to for early maturity black rice, 21 to for mid-late maturity of black and red rices, respectively. On the other hand, an estimated heading date of pigmented rices in return according to the optimum ripening temperature of the 30 DAH was ranged Aug. 11 to 17 for early maturity black rice, Aug. 25 for mid-late maturity black, red rice variety in Jecheon, Aug. 27 to Sep. 2 for early maturity type, Sep. 3 to 6 for mid-late type in Daegu. It seemed that Jecheon, Boeun, Mungyeong, and Yeongju were optimum regions for cultivation of pigmented rices. The estimated sowing date of pigmented rices for high anthocyanin and total polyphenol production based on the optimum heading date was May 18 to 26 for early maturity black rice variety, April 11 for mid-late black, red variety in Jecheon, May 23 to 28 for early type, April 9 to 26 for mid-late type in Boeun, respectively.

Research and Development Bureau, RDA, Jeonju 560-500, KoreaReceived October 17, 2014/Revised November 23, 2014/Accepted November 26, 2014Recently developed black waxy rice with a giant embryo (‘Nunkeunheukchal’, BGE) was selected and processed to produce high quality nutritional food. BGE contains high levels of several phytochem-icals with antioxidant activities, as well as other reported health beneficial properties. In addition, the giant embryo has high protein, lipid, and amino acids contents. Within the free amino acids, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a major inhibitory neurotransmitter, has long been used for treating the aftereffects of brain injuries and stroke. A method for manufacturing pop-rice and black rice tea by popping process in BGE is provided to increase a taste, nutrition and functionality. The produced ‘pop-rice’ showed increased protein (11.3%) and lipid (3.7%) contents compared with control variety, IB (‘Ilmibyeo’). In addition, melanoidin related products, polyphenol and functional amino acid con-tents were increased by the popping process. Pop-rice tea made of BGE showed the highest extraction of total sugar, glucose, raffinose and sucrose (4 times higher than brown rice) by hot water. Scavenging activity (SC

거대쌀눈의 특성과 검정쌀 그리고 찹쌀의 특성을 보유한 눈큰흑찰의 침종과 발아 그리고 기질로 글루탐산을 처리하였을 경우의 가바를 포함한 주요 성분의 분석 결과는 다음과 같다. 1. 싹 발아 길이를 기준으로 눈큰흑찰의 가바 함량은 싹 길이가 5~10 mm인 stage-3에 93.9 mg/100 g으로 최고를 보였고, 대량 제조 조건에서는 최고 126.9 mg의 가바를 함유하고 있음을 확인하였다. 2. 침종에 의한 성분 분석에서는 72시간 침종에서 폴리페놀, 플라보노이드, 아미노산 그리고 가바 함량이 가장 많이 축적됨을 확인하였다. 3. 글루탐산 탈탄산효소의 작용에 의한 가바 함량 증가는 현미와 쌀겨 모두에서 급격한 증가가 관찰되었고, 눈큰흑찰 현미와 쌀겨의 경우 가바 함량이 각각 354.6 mg/100 g과 726.4 mg으로 현미와 쌀겨에 비해 각각 14배와 3배 함량이 증가하였다. 따라서 본 연구에서 눈큰흑찰의 발아와 침종에 따른 품질특성을 분석한 결과, 뇌의 대사전달 물질의 조정 작용과 고혈압 그리고 스트레스 조정 기능이 있는 가바의 함량이 침종과 발아에 의해 일반 쌀에 비해 급격히 증가함을 확인하였다. 특히나 글루탐산탈탄산 효소의 작용에 의한 눈큰흑찰의 현미와 쌀겨의 가바 생성은 현재까지 보고된 그 어떤 쌀품종에서 분석된 가바 함량보다도 가장 우수함을 확인할 수 있어 향후 기능성 발아현미 가공을 위한 원료로 활용이 가능하며, 침종 조건은 가바 함량이 증진된 밥의 제조에 활용이 가능하고, 일본에서 시판되는 가바 건강식품의 용량과 맞먹는 함량을 지닌 눈큰흑찰을 이용한 가바쌀 생산과 가바의 효능에 의한 혈압강하, 체중조절, 알코올 관련 질환 등에 효능이 있는 건강기능성 식품 원료로 활용이 가능할 것으로 사료된다. 【We assessed the GABA accumulation and other components after the 'Nunkeunhukchal (BGE)', 'Josanghukchal (BR)', and 'Ilmibyeo (IB)' grain was soaked in water for 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 and 96 hr. The results showed a continuous accumulation of GABA in soaking treated brown rice of BGE and IB. Among the treated hours, 72 hours of soaking had the maximal accumulation of GABA (51.4 mg/100 g), amino acid, polyphenol and other components. The activities of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) in brown rice and rice-bran were the same in BGE rice. However, the formation of GABA treated with L-glutamate as substrate showed dramatic increase of 354.6 (fourteen times higher than normal extraction) and 726.4 mg/100 g in BGE rice and rice-bran, respectively. These results suggested that the soaking and extraction with L-glutamate buffer could be better methods for the harvest of increased GABA.】

Sorghum has been consumed as one of the important staple food in the semiarid tropics of Africa and Asia. Sorghum is rich in starch, protein, essential vitamins and minerals and grows relatively well in dry climate regions when it compared with other staple food crops. Sorghum has taken an increased interest due to several studies that report about the beneficial effects of sorghum on human health. In the present study, we investigated the antioxidative and activity of extract of milling by-products (hull and bran) of Korean sorghum cultivar, `Hwanggeaumchal` as well as its grain. Hull extract showed the highest total polyphenol contents () and major four pigments content (). From results of 2,2`-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate (ABTS) radical scavenging activity, hull extract (, ) was also showed the strongest antioxidative effects. Bran and grain showed similar polyphenol, pigments contents and antioxidative effects. We determined cell viability by MTT assay and evaluated the anti-inflammatory activity by measuring nitric oxide (NO) of hull, bran and grain methanol extract (0.5% HCl v/v) on RAW 264.7 cells. Hull extract treatment was significantly decreased NO production with dose-dependant manner. Apigeninidin as one of the major pigment of hull was showed inhibitory activity against NO production without cytotoxicitiy. Therefore, sorghum milling by-products can be used as a good source of antioxidative and anti-inflammatory agents.

Saponarin (SA), a natural flavonoid, is known for its antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities. SA is the predominant compound (1142.7 ± 0.9 mg per 100 g) in barley sprouts, constituting 72% of the total polyphenol content. We investigated, for the first time, the effects of SA from barley sprouts on cellular anti-inflammatory responses. In lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages, SA suppressed the activation of NF-κB, as evidenced by the inhibition of NF-κB DNA binding, nuclear translocation, IκBα phosphorylation, and reporter gene expression, and it downregulated the expression of the pro-inflammatory mediator IL-6. Furthermore, SA reduced the transcription of NF-κB target molecules COX2 and FLIP inhibited the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases ERK and p38. These results suggest that SA isolated from barley sprouts exerts anti-inflammatory effects in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages via inhibition of NF-κB, ERK and p38 signaling. Thus, SA may be a promising natural anti-inflammatory agent.

Red yeast rice (RYR) is the product of fermented yeast by Monascus strains on rice, and has recently become a popular dietary supplement as a traditional food in Asia. RYR contains monacolin K substances known to inhibit cholesterol synthesis as efficiently as statin drugs. To determine the optimal rice cultivar for manufacturing RYR, 7 rice cultivars (Goami, Goami2, Sangjuchalbyeo, Seolgaeng, Saegyejinmi, Yeonghojinmi and Chilbo) were fermented using two Monascus strains ( M. ruber KCTC6122 and KCCM60141 of M. ruber ) in this study. The monacolin K content of Sangjuchalbyeo were 47.24 ppm on KCTC6122 cultures and 117.03 ppm on KCCM60141 cultures, respectively. Other cultivars, especially Goami and Goami2, which had less content of monacolin K could not seem to ferment normally because those didn’t show red color. These results imply that Sangjuchalbyeo can be optimal rice cultivar as a commercial RYR which is well fermented rice and has high content of monacolin K. Keywords

Rice flour is used in many food products. However, dough made from rice lacks extensibility and elasticity, making it less suitable than wheat for many food products such as bread and noodles. The high-molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) of wheat play a crucial role in determining the processing properties of the wheat grain. This paper describes the development of marker-free transgenic rice plants expressing a wheat Glu-Dy10 gene encoding the HMG-GS from the Korean wheat cultivar ‘Jokyeong’ using Agrobacterium-mediated co-transformation. Two expression cassettes, consisting of separate DNA fragments containing Glu-1Dy10 and hygromycin phosphotransferase II (HPTII) resistance genes, were introduced separately into Agrobacterium tumefaciens EHA105 for co-infection. Each EHA105 strain harboring Glu-1Dy10 or HPTII was infected into rice calli at a 3: 1 ratio of Glu-1Bx7 and HPTII. Among 290 hygromycin-resistant T0 plants, we obtained 29 transgenic lines with both the Glu-1Dy10 and HPTII genes inserted into the rice genome. We reconfirmed the integration of the Glu-1Dy10 gene into the rice genome by Southern blot analysis. Transcripts and proteins of the Glu-1Dy10 in transgenic rice seeds were examined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. The marker-free plants containing only the Glu-1Dy10 gene were successfully screened in the T1 generation.

To examine the anti-obese activity of miscellaneous cereal grains, 80% ethanol extracts from eight selected miscellaneous cereal grains were compared for their cytotoxic effects on 3T3-L1 murine preadipocytes. The ethanol extract of proso millet exhibited the highest cytotoxicity. Further fractionation of the ethanol extract with methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol showed that the cytotoxicity of the ethanol extract was mainly partitioned into the butanol fraction. As compared with differentiated mature adipocytes, 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were more susceptible to the cyctotoxicity of the butanol fraction. When each organic solvent fraction (25 μg/ml) was added during the differentiation period for 6 days, the cell viability was not affected significantly except for the butanol fraction, but the intracellular lipid accumulation declined to a level of 81.5%~50.3% of the control. The Oil Red O staining data also demonstrated that the ethanol extract as well as the butanol fraction could inhibit the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes into mature adipocytes. The presence of the butanol extract during the induced adipocytic differentiation also resulted in a significant reduction in the expression levels of critical adipogenesis mediators (C/EBPα, PPARγ, aP2, and LPL) to a barely detectable or undetectable level and the cells retained the fibroblast-like morphology of 3T3-L1. In 3T3-L1 cells, the cytotoxicity of the butanol fraction (50-100 μg/ml) was accompanied by mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) loss, caspase-3 activation, and PARP degradation. Taken together, these results indicate that proso millet grains possess pro-apoptotic and anti-adipocytic activities toward adipocytes, which can be applicable to prevention of obesity.

Bakanae disease is an important fungal disease in the world. No rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties have been found to be completely resistant to this disease. To facilitate accurate, uniform and simultaneous screening of many rice accessions, we developed an inoculation method for microconidia of Fusarium fujikuroi using a tissue embedding cassette and seedling tray. Standards for evaluating the inoculated rice seedlings as healthy or unhealthy were also established. The method was fast and reproducible for accurately evaluating resistance to bakanae disease in rice.

To examine the antioxidant activities of 11n selected miscellaneous cereal grains (proso millet, yellow glutinous proso millet, hwanggeumchal sorghum, glutinous sorghum, white glutinous sorghum, yellow glutinous foxtail millet, nonglutinous foxtail millet, green glutinous foxtail millet, golden foxtail millet, barnyard millet, and adlay), the free radical-scavenging activities of 80% ethanol extracts of the individual grains were investigated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazl (DPPH) and 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) methods. The ethanol extracts of hwanggeumchal sorghum, glutinous sorghum, and barnyard millet grains exhibited more potent free radical-scavenging activities as compared to the other grains. When these three ethanol extracts were sequentially fractionated with n-hexane, methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol, the majority of the antioxidant activities were detected in the ethyl acetate and butanol fractions in which phenolic ingredients were abundant. The ethyl acetate and butanol fractions of hwanggeumchal sorghum and the ethyl acetate fraction of glutinous sorghum showed higher antioxidant activity than that of α-tocopherol. Both ferric thiocyanate (FTC) and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) methods demonstrated that these organic solvent fractions could inhibit lipid peroxidation. The ethyl acetate fractions from hwanggeumchal sorghum, glutinous sorghum, and barnyard millet grains could suppress tertiary-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP)-induced apoptotic events, including sub-G1 peaks, Δψm loss, activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3, and cleavage of PARP and lamin B, in human HL-60 cells. These results show that the grains of hwanggeumchal sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench cv. Hwanggeumchalsusu), glutinous sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench cv. Chalsusu), and barnyard millet (Echinochloa esculenta) possess efficient antioxidant activity, which could protect cells from oxidative stress-mediated cytotoxicity.

To examine whether miscellaneous cereal grains have an antithrombotic effect, we investigated the anticoagulant activity of 80% ethanol extracts from eleven selected miscellaneous cereal grains. The 80% ethanol extract of hwanggeumchal sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) showed the highest anticoagulant activity, followed by that of green foxtail millet grains, in terms of thrombin time (TT). When the ethanol extract of hwanggeumchal sorghum was sequentially fractionated with n-hexane, methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol, the majority of the TT-inhibitory activity was detected in the hexane and methylene chloride fractions. Whereas aspirin (final conc. 480 μg/ml) prolonged TT by 2-fold, the ethanol extract, hexane fraction, and methylene chloride fraction in the same dose prolonged TT by 2.2-fold, 2.9-fold, and 2.5-fold, respectively. The ethanol extract of hwanggeumchal sorghum could delay activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) as well as prothrombin time (PT). Although the APTT-inhibitory activity of the ethanol extract was mainly partitioned into the hexane and methylene chloride fractions, the PT-inhibitory activity of the ethanol extract was solely partitioned into the hexane fraction. The APTT- and PT-inhibitory activities of these organic solvent fractions were more potent than those of the control warfarin (final conc. 3.13 mg/ml). The TT-inhibitory activity of the ethanol extract was heat-stable and acid-stable. The ethanol extract, hexane fraction, and methylene chloride fraction of hwanggeumchal sorghum appeared to possess a direct fibrinolytic activity toward fibrin clotting. These results show that hwanggeumchal sorghum can exert anticoagulant and fibrinolytic effects and, thus, have the potential to be applicable as antithrombotic dietary sources.

High-molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) have been shown to play a crucial role in determining the processing properties of the wheat grain. We have produced marker-free transgenic rice plants containing a wheat Glu-1Bx7 gene encoding the HMG-GS from the Korean wheat cultivar ‘Jokyeong’ using the Agrobacterium-mediated co-transformation method. The Glu-1Bx7-own promoter was inserted into a binary vector for seed-specific expression of the Glu-1Bx7 gene. Two expression cassettes comprised of separate DNA fragments containing only Glu-1Bx7 and hygromycin phosphotransferase II (HPTII) resistance genes were introduced separately to the Agrobacterium tumefaciens EHA105 strain for co-infection. Each EHA105 strain harboring Glu-1Bx7 or HPTII was infected to rice calli at a 3:1 ratio of Glu-1Bx7 and HPTII, respectively. Then, among 216 hygromycin-resistant T0 plants, we obtained 24 transgenic lines with both Glu-1Bx7 and HPTII genes inserted into the rice genome. We reconfirmed integration of the Glu-1Bx7 gene into the rice genome by Southern blot analysis. Transcripts and proteins of the wheat Glu-1Bx7 were stably expressed in the rice T₁ seeds. Finally, the marker-free plants harboring only the Glu-1Bx7 gene were successfully screened at the T₁ generation.

We obtained interesting results for genetic analysis and molecular mapping of the du12(t) gene. Control of the amylose content in rice is the major strategy for breeding rice with improved quality. In this study, we conducted genetic analysis and molecular mapping to identify the dull gene in the dull rice, Milyang262. A single recessive gene, tentatively designated as du12(t), was identified as the dull gene that leads to the low amylose character of Milyang262. To investigate the inheritance of du12(t), genetic analysis on an F2 population derived from a cross between the gene carrier, Milyang262, and a moderate amylose content variety, Junam, was conducted. A segregation ratio of 3:1 (χ 2 = 1.71, p = 0.19) was observed, suggesting that du12(t) is a single recessive factor that controls the dull character in Milyang262. Allelism tests confirmed that du12(t) is not allelic to other low amylose controlling genes, wx or du1. Recessive class analysis was performed to localize the du12(t) locus. Mapping of du12(t) was conducted on F2 and F3 populations of Baegokchal/Milyang262 cross. Linkage analysis of 120 F2 plants revealed that RM6926 and RM3509 flank du12(t) at a 2.38-Mb region. To refine the du12(t) locus position, 986 F2 and 289 F3 additional normal plants were screened by the flanking markers. Twenty-six recombinant plants were identified and later genotyped with four additional adjacent markers located between RM6926 and RM3509. Finally, du12(t) was mapped to an 840-kb region on the distal region of the long arm of chromosome 6, delimited by SSR markers RM20662 and RM412, and co-segregated by RM3765 and RM176.

Green rice leafhopper (GRH, Nephotettix cincticeps Uhler) is one of the insect pests that damage cultivated rice in East Asia. GRH also transmits viruses such as rice dwarf virus. The mortality of GRH nymphs is high in rice cultivar Shingwang, indicating that Shingwang is resistant to GRH. Genetic analyses were performed to map GRH resistance in Shingwang using F2 and F3 populations derived from a cross between a GRH-resistant near-isogenic line (NIL-IS60) from Shingwang and recurrent parent Ilpum. Resistance to GRH in Shingwang was found to be controlled by a single dominant gene (Grh1) mapped within an approximately 670-kb region between 8.10 and 8.77 Mb on the short arm of chromosome 5. Genotypes with three simple sequence repeat markers (RM18166, RM516, and RM18171) and one indel marker (Indel 15040) co-segregated with GRH resistance controlled by the Grh1 locus. A detailed map of the Grh1 locus will facilitate marker-assisted selection of resistance to GRH in rice breeding.

The main objectives of this study were to investigate physicochemicals and antioxidant activities of new red rice (Oryza sativa cv. Gunganghongmi (GH)) by comparing normal brown (Nampyeongbyeo, NB) and reported red rice (Jukjinjubyeo, JB) in Korea. The nutritional constituents, including protein, oil, sugar, fatty acid, GABA, and γ-oryzanol were not significantly different between normal brown and colored rice. However, the ethanol extract of GH showed the highest phenolic content (24.7 ± 1.3 mg g−1). The ethanol extracts of GH showed higher scavenging activities against DPPH (0.2 mg mL−1 = 62.1 ± 2.5%) and ABTS (0.2 mg mL−1 = 63.2 ± 3.5%) radicals. Moreover, GH more inhibited LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) production (13.2 ± 1.4 μM) than JB (18.3 ± 2.3 μM) and NB (22.1 ± 1.4 μM) at the same concentration (0.2 mg mL−1) without cytotoxicity. These results suggest that new red rice (GH) would be considered to be new functional rice due to its anti-oxidative effect and high nutrition.

The concentration of nutrients in brown rice is mainly associated with embryo size. Various beneficial components have been purified from rice bran. Recently developed black waxy rice with a giant embryo (‘Milyang 263’, BGE), which is the ge t mutant of the GE gene, was selected and analyzed to produce high quality nutritional components. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) content in BGE rice bran, one of the most important nutritional compounds in rice, showed a 10.6-fold increase (2.66±0.48 mg/g) compared to that of BGE brown rice (0.25±0.01 mg/g). In addition, brown rice and BGE rice bran showed enriched amylopectin (94.5±0.5 and 97.0±0.0%) and bioactive anthocyanin [Cy-3-G: 75.15±4.18 (brown rice), 82.97±0.81 (rice bran) and Pn-3-G: 1.52±0.50 (brown rice), 4.33±0.20 (rice bran); mg/100 g] contents. These results suggest that BGE rice bran can be used as an excellent raw material to efficiently produce high quality essential amino acids, cyanidin-3 glycoside-enriched anthocyanins, and GABA.

Understanding salt tolerance mechanisms is important for the increase of crop yields, and so, several screening approaches were developed to identify plant genes which are involved in salt tolerance of plants. Here, we transformed the Arabidopsis cDNA library into a salt-sensitive calcineurin (CaN)-deficient (cnbΔ) yeast mutant and isolated the colonies which can suppress salt-sensitive phenotype of cnbΔ mutant. Through this functional complementation screen, a total of 34 colonies functionally suppressed the salt-sensitive phenotype of cnbΔ yeast cells, and sequencing analysis revealed that these are 9 genes, including CaS, AtSUMO1and AtHB-12. Among these genes, the ectopic expression of CaSgene increased salt tolerance in yeast, and CaStranscript was up-regulated under high salinity conditions. CaS-antisense transgenic plants showed reduced root elongation under 100 mM NaCl treatment compared to the wild type plant, which survived under 150 mM NaCl treatment, whereas CaS-antisense transgenic plant leaves turned yellow under 150 mM NaCl treatment. These results indicate that the expression of CaS gene is important for stress tolerance in yeast and plants.

Adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an intracellular sensor that can regulate glucose levels within the cell. For this reason, it is well-known to be a target for drugs against diabetes and obesity. AMPK was activated significantly by the hexane extract of barley sprouts. This AMPK activation emerges across the growth stages of the sprout, becoming most significant (3 times above the initial stages) 10 days after sprouting. After this time, the activation decreased between 13 and 20 days post-sprouting. Analysis of the hexane extracts by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry showed that the amounts of policosanols (PCs, which are linear, primary aliphatic alcohols with 20-30 carbons) in the plant dramatically increased between 5 days (109.7 mg/100 g) and 10 days (343.7 mg/100 g) post-sprouting and then levels fell back down, reaching 76.4 mg/100 g at 20 days post-sprouting. This trend is consistent with PCs being the active ingredient in the barley plants. We validate this by showing that hexacosanol is an activator of AMPK. The richest cultivar for PCs was found to be the Daejin cultivar. Cultivars had a significant effect on the total PC content (113.2-183.5 mg/100 g) within the plant up to 5 days post-sprouting. However this dependence upon the cultivar was not so apparent at peak stages of PC production (10 days post-sprouting). The most abundant PC in barley sprout, hexacosanol, contributed 62-80% of the total PC content at every stage. These results are valuable to determine the optimal times of harvest to obtain the highest yield of PCs.

Bacterial blight (BB) of rice (Oryza sativa L.) caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is a destructive disease in rice worldwide. Xa3, a gene conferring resistance to BB at the booting stage of the rice plant, has been characterized previously using map-based cloning. We cloned and sequenced the Xa3/xa3 gene in the Korean cultivars Hwayeong, Ilmi, and Goun and conferred resistance or susceptibility to BB. We detected polymorphisms, and polymerase chain reaction-based functional markers were developed based on the single nucleotide polymorphism from the Xa3 and xa3 nucleotide sequence. Susceptible or resistant individuals from an F2 population developed from a cross between Milyang 244 and Ilmi, near-isogenic lines carrying BB resistance genes, were screened with functional markers. The BB3-RF and BB3-RR primers consistently amplified a resistance-specific fragment of 255 bp only in resistant plants, whereas the BB3-SF and BB3-SR primers were specific to susceptible plants. Genotyping results were co-segregated with phenotype by conducting the BB resistance test with the K3 race. These markers could be effective for marker-assisted selection of the Xa3 gene in rice breeding programs.

Treatment of human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells with apigeninidin could induce cytotoxicity (IC 50 = ∼80 μM), along with apoptotic sub-G 1 cells, TUNEL-positive apoptotic DNA fragmentation, activation of the multidomain pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins (Bak and Bax), mitochondrial membrane potential (Δ ψ m ) loss, release of mitochondrial cytochrome c and AIF into the cytoplasm, activation of caspase-9, -3, -8, and -7, and cleavage of PARP and lamin B. These induced apoptotic events were accompanied by decrease of Bcl-2 level and increase of Bak and Bax levels. Apigeninidin-induced sub-G 1 cells and activation of Bak and Bax were also detected in human acute leukemia Jurkat T cells, but not in Jurkat T cells overexpressing Bcl-2. Pretreatment of HL-60 cells with the pan-caspase inhibitor z-VAD-fmk reduced significantly apigeninidin-induced sub-G 1 cells and caspase cascade activation, whereas it failed to suppress Bak and Bax activations, Δ ψ m loss, and release of mitochondrial cytochrome c and AIF. None of FADD and caspase-8 deficiencies affected the sensitivity of Jurkat T cells to apigeninidin-induced cytotoxicity. These results demonstrated that apigeninidin-induced apoptosis was mediated by activation of Bak and Bax, mitochondrial damage and resultant release of not only cytochrome c , causing caspase cascade activation, but also caspase-independent death effector AIF in HL-60 cells.

Crop Protection Division, National Academy of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Suwon 441-707, Korea(Received on February 23, 2012; Revised on August 9, 2012; Accepted on August 10, 2012)In July, 2009, proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), which showing the bacterial brown stripes on leaf sheaths,was collected in Miryang in Korea. Symptoms were systemic brown necrotic stripe lesions on the leaf sheathsand stems, and these symptoms were found in the entire field. The causal agent isolated from symptomaticplants was identified as an Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae, based on its biochemical and physiologicalcharacteristics and also confirmed by the Biolog data and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Also it causedhypersensitive response (HR) when it was inoculated onto the tobacco and tomato. It caused similarsymptoms when inoculated onto proso millet. This is the first report of A. avenae subsp. avenae, the causalagent of bacterial brown stripe of the proso millet in Korea. Keywords : Acidovorax avenae, Bacterial stripe, Panicum miliaceum기장(Panicum miliaceum L.)은 아프리카, 아시아, 남미에서 널리 이용되는 식량작물로 이들 지역의 단백질 공급에 기여하고 있다(Park 등, 2009). 또한 비타민, 무기질및 식이섬유 등의 기능성 성분의 함량이 높고 다양한 생리활성 물질이 많이 함유되어 있어 건강을 유지시키는 보조식량으로서의 역할이 중요시되고 있다(Ko 등, 2011). Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae는 1909년 미국 오하이오 지역에서 귀리의 잎마름을 일으키는 식물병원세균으로 Manns(1909)에 의해 처음 보고된 후 벼 세균성줄무늬병(Goto, 1964; Kadota, 1996; Shakya 등, 1985), 옥수수의 세균성 줄기부패병(Rosen, 1926; Summer와 Schaad,1977), 조의 갈색줄무늬병(Rosen, 1926), 사탕수수와 기장의 붉은줄무늬병(Martin과 Wismer, 1989)을 일으키는 것으로 보고되었다. 국내에서는 벼 세균성줄무늬병(Shakya,1980)과 옥수수 줄기썩음병(Lee, 1991)이 보고되어 있으나, 기장에서는 아직 보고된 바 없다.본 연구는 국내에서 기장에 새롭게 발생한 세균성줄무늬병의 병징 및 병원세균의 균학적 특성을 보고하고자 한다.

Development of transgenic plant increasing crop yield or disease resistance is good way to solve the world food shortage. However, the persistence of marker genes in crops leads to serious public concerns about the safety of transgenic crops. In the present paper, we developed marker-free transgenic rice inserted high molecular-weight glutenin subunit (HMW-GS) gene (Dx5) from the Korean wheat cultivar ‘Jokyeong’ using Agrobacterium-mediated co-transformation method. Two expression cassettes comprised of separate DNA fragments containing only the Dx5 and hygromycin resistance (HPTII) genes were introduced separately into Agrobacterium tumefaciens EHA105 strain for co-infection. Each EHA105 strain harboring Dx5 or HPTII was infected into rice calli at a 3: 1 ratio of EHA105 with Dx5 gene and EHA105 with HPTII gene expressing cassette. Then, among 66 hygromycin-resistant transformants, we obtained two transgenic lines inserted with both the Dx5 and HPTII genes into the rice genome. We reconfirmed integration of the Dx5 and HPTII genes into the rice genome by Southern blot analysis. Wheat Dx5 transcripts in T1 rice seeds were examined with semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Finally, the marker-free plants containing only the Dx5 gene were successfully screened at the T1 generation. These results show that a co-infection system with two expression cassettes could be an efficient strategy to generate marker-free transgenic rice plants.

Investigation of the melanogenesis inhibitory effect of barnyard millet grain extracts (BME) led to isolation of compounds against mushroom tyrosinase and B16 melanoma cells. Chromatography yielded five phenolic compounds, among which n-p-coumaroyl serotonin (1, CS) exhibited potent non-competitive inhibition (IC50 =8.8 μM) compared with that of kojic acid (IC50=14.6 μM) against mushroom tyrosinase. More importantly, CS decreased melanin content to eight times lower (IC50 =11.6 μM) in B16 melanocytes than that of feruloyl serotonin (2, FS, IC50 =86.5 μM) without cytotoxicity. CS significantly inhibited the protein expression of tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), TRP-2, and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor using immunoblotting. Furthermore, molecular docking simulations were also carried out to investigate the structure related to the inhibitory activities. Therefore, BME can be used as a natural source of depigmentation to prevent melanogenesis.

Effects of cultivated conditions on antioxidant compounds and antioxidant activities of sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) were determined. The cultivated variety was Shinyulmi, and they were cultivated in a conventional culture, successful cropped hairy vetch culture, successful cropped barley cultivation, successful cropped rye cultivation, successful cropped mix-seeding of hairy vetch and barley, successful cropped mix-seeding of hairy vetch and rye, and not fertilizer. The brix degree, moisture, protein, and ash content of the sweet potatoes did not significantly change with the cultivated conditions. However amylose, total dietary fiber, and mineral content had significant changes. The total polyphenol, flavonoid, and tannin content of the methanolic extracts of the sweet potato`s pericarp showed significant differences from cultivated conditions, however, the sweet potato`s sarcocarp did not significantly change. The highest DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities of the methanolic extracts of the sweet potatoes were 958.81 and 663.53 mg TE/100 g in the sweet potato`s pericarp on the successful cropped hairy vetch culture. Generally, there was a difference in antioxidant compound content and radical scavenging activity on the methanolic extract of sweet potato with cultivated conditions.

In this study, we conducted to identify predictive parameters affecting the head rice ratio for developing high quality rice cultivar adaptable to the early-transplanting cultivation. The recombinant inbred lines (RILs) population from a cross between the parents of Pungmi and Koshihikari was used for test materials. Variations were observed in most of the measurements, eg culm length (ranging from 51.0 cm to 97.0 cm), amylose content (14.0~20.1%), protein content (5.2~7.4%), pasting properties (peak viscosity, 227.2~309.8 RVU) and head rice ratio (67.7~96.7%). Significant correlations between head rice ratio versus culm length (0.443) and head rice ratio versus protein content (-0.458) were detected in RIL population. However, culm length was negatively related to lodging tolerance. In order to develop a commercially suitable cultivar, selection for short culm and high head rice ratio of rice grains with physiochemical properties such as protein content, amylase content and taste value should be considered. This results can be used to increase the efficiency of breeding program for developing a new early-maturing rice variety adaptable to early transplanting cultivation in Korea.

This study was carried out for some survey about soil compaction in the multi-cropping system of paddy field. Investigated sites were 90 farmer's fields in south-eastern part of Korea. The tillage practices season was different according to cropping system of paddy; in spring for mono rice cultivation and in autumn for the multi-cropping field. The average tillage depth in investigated sites was about 25 cm, however, it is different between the farmer's tillage practices and soil characteristics. It is high correlation to tillage deep and minimum resistance of penetration. The reaching soil deep to maximum resistance of penetration was about 27 cm, and average penetration resistance of the deep is 1.8~2.0 MPa for moderately fine-textured soils and more than 3.0 MPa for moderately coarse-textured soils. The difference of penetration resistance between cultivating and compacted layer was in order to sandy loam > clayey loam > clayey, and the difference was lesser in poorly drained soils than somewhat poorly ones. In the rice mono cropping field, the maximum resistance in no-tillage for 15 years was 1.18~1.25 Mpa at 20~25 cm in soil deep, however, the resistance of field with every year tillage practices was 2.03~2.21 Mpa. In the extremely compacted sandy loam textured soils, the penetration resistance at 30 cm in soil depth was drastically reduced by the subsoil from 5.2 Mpa to 3.2 Mpa, and the watermelon root in plastic film house was deep elongated.

To evaluate the effects of abiotic factors of paddy fields on greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions from rice paddy fields, CH4 emission amounts were investigated from rice paddy fields by different soil organic matter contents, paddy types, and agricultural climatic zone in Yeongnam area during 3 years. CH4 emission amounts according to soil organic matter contents in paddy field were conducted at having different contents of 5 soil organic matters fields (23.6, 28.7, 31.0, 34.5, and 38.0 g kg -1 ), The highest CH4 emission amount was recorded in the highest soil organic matters plot of 38.0 g kg -1 . High correlation coefficient (r=0.963 ** ) was obtained between CH4 emissions from paddy fields and their soil organic matter contents. According to paddy field types, CH4 emission amounts were investigated at 4 different paddy fields as wet paddy, sandy paddy, immature paddy, and mature paddy. The highest CH4 emissions was recorded in wet paddy (100%) and followed as immature paddy 64.0%, mature paddy 46.8%, and sandy paddy 23.8%, respectively. For the effects of temperature on CH4 emissions from paddy fields, 4 agricultural climatic zones were investigated, which were Yeongnam inland zone (YIZ), eastern coast of central zone (ECZ), plain area of Yeongnam inland mountainous zone (PMZ), and mountainous area of Yeongnam inland mountainous zone (MMZ). The order of CH4 emission amounts from paddy fields by agricultural climatic zone were YIZ (100%) > ECZ (94.6%) > PMZ (91.6%) > MMZ (78.9%). The regression equation between CH4 emission amounts from paddy fields and average air temperature of Jul. to Sep. of agricultural climatic zone was y = 389.7x–4,287 (x means average temperature of Jul. to Sep. of agricultural climatic zone, R 2 =0.906 * )

Weed control is of fundamental importance when planting horticultural crops, particularly during the establishment phase. Weeds compete for nutrients, water and light, and can severely threaten the survival and early growth of newly planted crops. Failure to control weeds represents one of the single most important factors leading to crop loss. Knowledge on the existence of the diversity of weed species in greenhouses is of our main concern in this study in order to develop a most efficient and effective weed control strategies. Sixty-two greenhouses were surveyed in 3 cities and counties of Gyeongnam area in March to October 2009 to investigate the feature of weed occurrence in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) after harvesting of the main crops. Forty-one weed species were identified and classified to 18 families which were composed of 14 annual weeds, 18 summer annual weeds and 9 perennial weeds. On the other hand, broadleaf, grasses and sedges recorded with 30, 7 and 4 weed species, respectively. Asteraceae was the most dominant weed species (9 species) noted followed by Poaceae (7 species), Cyperaceae (4 species), Caryophyllaceae and Brassicaceae (3 species respectively) and other families have 1~2 species. The dominant weed species occurred in the greenhouse based on the summed dominance ratio. These weeds were Digitaria sanguinalis, Cyperus iria, Portulaca oleracea, Rorippa islandica, Mazus japonicas, Cardamine flexousa, and Eclipta prostrata and others. Weed occurrence in the greenhouse after horticultural crops consisted of summer annuals (4 species), winter annuals (3 species), and perennial annuals (1 specie). The dominant species occurred in tilled soil based on summed dominance ratio of weeds were Cardamine flexousa (88.1%), Eclipta prostrate (57.4%) and Portulaca oleracea (55.2%). Comparison of weed occurrence was thoroughly surveyed also in which field without PVC, weed species were Portulaca oleracea (55.2), Eclipta prostrata (57.9%) and Trigonotis peduncularis (25.1%) and field with PVC, the identified weeds were Portulaca oleracea (98.75), Trigonotis peduncularis (49.1%), and Eclipta prostrata (36.8%).

We evaluated the antioxidant compounds and activity of the methanolic extracts of foxtail millet (FM), proso millet (PM), and sorghum (SG) using different pulverizing methods (pin mill and ultra fine). The particle size of the FM, PM, and SG were 102.12, 89.52, and , respectively, using the pin mill pulverizer. The sizes were 9.43, 9.52, and , respectively, using the ultra fine pulverizer. There was no difference in moisture, crude fat, ash, or protein content between the two different pulverizing methods. The total -oryzanol content of the FM using the pin mill and ultra fine pulverizers was 116.07 and /g, respectively. The total polyphenol content of the SG using the pin mill and ultra fine pulverizers was 14.58 and 15.03 mg/g extract residue, respectively. There was no difference in total flavonoid or tannin content of the methanol extracts between the two different pulverizing methods. The major phenolic compounds in FM were pyrogallol, gallic acid, (+)-catechin, salicylic acid, ferulic acid, and rutin; in PM, they were pyrogallol, rutin, gallic acid, kaempfrol, and salicylic acid; in SG, they were (+)-catechin, salicylic acid, pyrogallol, myricetin, hesperidin and chlorogenic acid. SG had a higher radical scavenging activity than FM or PM extracts. The DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities of the SG extracts using the ultra fine pulverizer were 178.10 and 251.56 mg TE/g extract residue, respectively. We noted a significant correlation between free radical scavenging activity and polyphenolic compound.

This survey of weed population by different soil moisture with paddy-upland rotation was conducted to investigate information on weed flora and its ecology between two years. Weed species were assessed in April : 2009, 2010. Soil samples were taken from each study plot to assess the impact soil moisture on the occurrence and abundance of dominance weed species. Soil water of poorly drained field ranged from 10.2~18.2% more than 11.8~14.3% of somewhat poorly drained field. Weeds of fields composed of 19 species belonging to 12 families. Among 12 families, 6 weed species belonged to Compositae (31.6%) were the biggest family, Cruciferae were 2 species (10.5%), and Rubiaceae were 2 species (10.5%), respectively. Youngia japonica had the highest summed dominance ratio(SDR) (97.0%) and followed by Conyza canadensis (92.1%), Galium spurium (35.3%) and Hemistepta lyrata (28.4%) of somewhat poorly drainage in 2009. Artemisia princeps the highest SDR (100%) and followed by Stellaria alsine(55.2%), Y. japonica (38.3%) and Nasturtium officinale (28.5%) of poorly drainage in 2009. And, Stellaria alsine had the highest SDR (86.8%) and followed by Alopecurus aequalis (77.7%), Astragalus sinicus (68.7%) and Y. japonica (46.3%) of somewhat poorly drainage in 2010. S. alsine the highest SDR (93.7%) and followed by A. aequalis (78.6%), Nasturtium officinale (31.3%) and Y. japonica (30.4%) of poorly drainage in 2010. Simpson`s index was calculated to 0.12~0.23, which showed that weed occurrence with different soil moisture in paddy-upland rotation and between years was various. Similarity coefficient between years was 43.0% (2009) and 74.2% (2010), which indicate a low diversity because of the moisture in the agro-ecosystem.

Krill byproduct was hydrolyzed with Alcalase 2.4L to produce functional ingredients for high antioxidative activities against 1,1-dimethyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical and Fe. The objective of this study was to investigate the optimum condition for degree of hydrolysis and antioxidative activity of enzymatic hydrolysate produced with the commercial Alcalase using response surface methodology (RSM) with a central composite rotatable design (CCRD). The ranges of independent variables were pH 7.6～10.4 for initial pH and 50.9～79.1℃ for hydrolysis temperature and their dependent variables were degree of hydrolysis, Brix, amount of phenolic compounds, DPPHscavenging activity and Fe-chelating activity. RSM with CCRD was well designed to investigate the optimum condition for functional ingredients with high antioxidative activities using Alcalase 2.4L because of their high R² values of the range of 0.93～0.99 except the R² value of 0.50 for the amount of total phenolic compounds. The optimum hydrolysis conditions were pH 9.5 and 62℃ for degree of hydrolysis (DH) and pH 9.1 and 64℃ for DPPH-scavenging activity by response surface methodology. The yield of DH and DPPH-scavenging activity were 14.1±0.5% and 10.5±0.2%, respectively. It is advantageous to determine the optimum hydrolysis conditions of krill and its by-products for the creation of different kinds of food products, as well as to increase the usage of marine protein sources.

A grilled-type shrimp flavor was developed through the Maillard reaction to reduce or mask fish odor or off-flavor in seafood. Model systems were created by using enzymatic hydrolysate of shrimp and adding precursors to increase flavor quality and stability. Amino acid precursors such as cysteine and methionine, sugar precursors such as glucose, xylose, ribose, and sucrose, and one particular compound of glucosamine were tried and their flavor qualities were tested by sensory evaluation. Also, the optimum reaction condition was investigated using the pH values of pH 5, 6, 7, and 8 with reaction times of 1 hr, 2 hr and 3 hr after the best precursors were determined. The best condition of the precursors for grilled-type shrimp flavor was the mixtures of methionine, threonine, xylose, and glucosamine. The optimum reaction condition was at pH 8.0 and 2 hr reaction time.

The species of land snails (Stylommatophora) that feed on perilla plants were observed under leaf perilla greenhouses cultivated in the Milyang and Busan areas. Four species of land snails were recorded. Among them, three species were slugs, Meghimatium bilineatum in Phlomycidae, Deroceras reticula tum, and Limax marginatus in Limacidae, and one species was the snail Acusta despecta sieboldiana in Bradybaenidae. D. reticulatum occurred most frequently followed by A. despecta sieboldiana, L. marginatus and M bilineatum. Annually, land snails showed two peaks in the middle of April and in late November for D. reticulatum, early May to middle November for A. despecta sieboldiana, and middle April and early November for L. marginatus. M bilineatum, however, did not show any clear peak because of its low population occurrence.