• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.65 no.1
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• pp.1-21
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• 2020

Association mapping is widely used in rice and other crops to identify genes underlying important agronomic traits. Most association mapping studies use diversity panels comprising accessions with various geographical origins to exploit their wide genetic variation. While locally adapted breeding lines are rarely used in association mapping owing to limited genetic diversity, genes/alleles identified from elite germplasm are practically valuable as they can be directly utilized in breeding programs. In this study, we analyzed genetic diversity of 179 rice varieties (161 japonica and 18 Tongil-type) released in Korea from 1970 to 2006 using 192 microsatellite markers evenly distributed across the genome. The 161 japonica rice varieties were genetically very close to each other with limited diversity as they were developed mainly through elite-by-elite crosses to meet the specific local demands for high quality japonica rice in Korea. Despite the narrow genetic background, abundant phenotypic variation was observed in heading time, culm length, and amylose and protein content in the 161 japonica rice varieties. Using these varieties in association mapping, we identified six, seven, ten, and four loci significantly associated with heading time, culm length, and amylose and protein content, respectively. The sums of allelic effects of these loci showed highly significant positive correlation with the observed phenotypic values for each trait, indicating that the allelic variation at these loci can be useful when designing cross combinations and predicting progeny performance in local breeding programs.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.785-795
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• 2022

Traditional germplasms are unsuitable for mechanized production, limiting adzuki bean production. The creation of cultivars that can be harvested by mechanized means is an urgent task for breeders. The bottom pod height (BPH), lodging resistance, and synchronous maturing of adzuki beans are critical factors for the reduction of losses due to mechanized harvesting. In this study, 14 traits of 806 adzuki bean accessions were analyzed. All growth stages and the yield, lodging score, and synchronous maturing correlated negatively with the BPH. These negative correlations reflect the increased difficulty of breeding to simultaneously satisfy the needs for no lodging, high synchronous maturing rates, BPHs > 10 cm, and high yield. We screened three germplasms with no lodging, high synchronous maturing rates, and BPHs > 10 cm that were used as mechanization-adapted breeding material for crossing with high-yield cultivars. Agronomic trait diversity in adzuki beans was also examined in this study. Principal component and cluster analyses were conducted for 806 germplasms resulting in three clusters with the yield and three growth stage traits serving as the main discriminating factors. Cluster 1 included high-yield germplasms with the number of pods per plant and the number of seeds per pod being the major discriminant factors. Cluster 2 included germplasms with long growth periods and large 100-seed weights while cluster 3 contained germplasms with high BPHs. In general, the characteristics that make mechanical harvesting feasible and those assessed in this study could be utilized to choose and enhance adzuki beans production.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.120-129
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• 2021

Securing a range of wheat resources is of particular importance with respect to wheat breeding, as it provides a broad genetic foundation. Although wheat breeders have used different wheat germplasms as material resources in current breeding systems, the traits of most germplasms collected from foreign countries differ from the unique traits that have evolved in the Korean environment. In this study, conducted over a 2-year period (2018 and 2019), we therefore evaluated the agricultural traits 1,967 wheat germplasms collected not only in Korea but also worldwide. During the period from sowing to February, the average temperature in 2019 was greater than 1℃, whereas from March to June, the average temperature was approximately 0.9℃ higher in 2018. Compared with the growth recorded in 2018, the stem length in 2019 increased by approximately 20 cm in 2019, and there were notable differences heading date and maturation between 2018 and 2019. In 2019, the heading dates of 973 and 713 wheat resources were earlier and later than those in 2018, respectively. Moreover, stem length was found to be highly correlated with the heading date and maturation. In Korea, where the rainy season and tine of rice transplantation overlap with the time of wheat harvest, early flowering time with high grain yield has been the most important selection target with respect to wheat breeding. We anticipate that the findings of this study will provide would use a foundation for the selection of elite materials and the development of resource core-sets for Korean wheat breeding programs.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.325-332
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• 2015

Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is now the second largest oilseed crop after soybean. Cold temperature tolerance is an important agronomic trait in winter rapeseed that determines the plant's ability to control below freezing temperatures. To improve cold tolerance of rapeseed plants, an expression vector containing an Barley Ice recrystallization inhibition protein (HvIRIP) cDNA driven by a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter was transferred into rapeseed plants. Transgenic expression of HvIRIP was proved by southern- and northern-blot analyses. The level of freezing tolerance of transgenic $T_3$ plants was found to be significantly greater than that of wild-type rapeseed plants by freezing assay. Proline accumulation during cold stress was also highly induced in the transgenic rapeseed plants. The transgenic plants exhibited considerable tolerance against oxidative damage induced by cold stress. Our results indicated that heterologous HvIRIP expression in transgenic rapeseed plants may induce several oxidative-stress responsive genes to protect from cold stress.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.42 no.12
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• pp.858-868
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• 2019

Shoot branching is an essential agronomic trait that impacts on plant architecture and yield. Shoot branching is determined by two independent steps: axillary meristem formation and axillary bud outgrowth. Although several genes and regulatory mechanism have been studied with respect to shoot branching, the roles of chromatin-remodeling factors in the developmental process have not been reported in rice. We previously identified a chromatin-remodeling factor OsVIL2 that controls the trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) at target genes. In this study, we report that loss-of-function mutants in OsVIL2 showed a phenotype of reduced tiller number in rice. The reduction was due to a defect in axillary bud (tiller) outgrowth rather than axillary meristem initiation. Analysis of the expression patterns of the tiller-related genes revealed that expression of OsTB1, which is a negative regulator of bud outgrowth, was increased in osvil2 mutants. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that OsVIL2 binds to the promoter region of OsTB1 chromatin in wild-type rice, but the binding was not observed in osvil2 mutants. Tiller number of double mutant osvil2 ostb1 was similar to that of ostb1, suggesting that osvil2 is epistatic to ostb1. These observations indicate that OsVIL2 suppresses OsTB1 expression by chromatin modification, thereby inducing bud outgrowth.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2019

A quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis of traits related to heading and yield was performed develop rice cultivars that are both early maturing and panicle weight type varieties. Our analysis included 120 strains of the Cheongcheong Nagdong doubled haploid (CNDH) variety. An observational growth experiment was conducted to identify genetic agronomic traits of CNDH. Heading date, ten plant weight, moisture, thousand grain weight, and yield had a normal distribution based on the frequency distribution table of the observational growth data. The QTL analysis found one heading-related and nine yield-related QTLs. The LOD of 2.85 was the largest in QTLs for heading date (QHD), 5.39 in QTLs for ten plant weight (QTPW), 3.92 in QTLs for moisture (QM), 4.80 in QTLs for thousand grain weight (QTGW), and 3.7 in QTLs for yield (QY). Genomic analysis detected 58 candidate genes on chromosome 2, 3, 7, 8, and 10. Among those, we found Rcd1 protein and OsERF3 gene in QM, MtN3 and zinc finger protein genes in QTGW, and OsNAC3 protein gene in QY. If further analysis reveals the presence of genes related to water content, thousand grain weight or yield in the CNDH stains, we can develop a selection of varieties that will be capable of coping with climate change and will contribute to global food problems.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.339-345
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• 2021

'Gondalbi' (Ligularia stenocephala (Maxim.) Matsum. & Koidz.) is the most cultivated Gomchwi species because of higher yield and low in aromatic flavor and bitter taste, But 'Gondalbi' is susceptible to powdery mildew disease and leaf shriveling after harvest in Summer. To improve powdery mildew disease resistance and post-harvest leaf shriveling problem in 'Gondalbi', 'Handeari-gomchwi' resistant to powdery mildew disease and having higher yield potential used as a paternal trait donor. Powdery mildew disease resistance and post-harvest leaf shriveling as well as agronomic performance of a new variety, 'Greenbear' were tested under field and green house conditions in Pyungchang, Korea from 2007 to 2016. Expression of both maternal and paternal characteristics in 'Greenbear' including purple colored petiole ears, glossy leaf and paternal, petiole trichome, absent at the back of a leaf were confirmed. Plant size and flowering time of 'Greenbear' were similar to check line, 'Gommany', while leaf number per plant and yield were higher in 'Greenbear'. 'Greenbear' has thinner leaves (0.66mm) compared to 'Gommany (0.69 mm)', and hardness appeared slightly higher in 'Greenbear(25.1 kg/cm²)'. The resistance to powdery mildew disease of the 'Greenbear' variety was slightly lower than that of the 'Gommany' variety, but somewhat showed high resistance.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.67 no.4
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• pp.265-273
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• 2022

Waxy corn (Zea mays L.), which contains homozygous mutant alleles for the waxy1 (wx1) gene, is widely consumed as a snack food in Asia. This study evaluated sixteen agronomic characteristics of inbred Korean waxy corn lines to aid development of high-quality waxy corn cultivars. The plant materials studied were 177 inbred waxy corn lines developed by the National Institute of Crop Science, Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea. For the tested lines, days to tasseling and silking averaged 77.69±2.22 days (with a range of 56-97 days), and 81.12±7.56 days (66-99 days), respectively. Plant length ranged from 88 to 237 cm (averaged 164.88±22.67 cm), ear length averaged 11.75±2.52 cm (5.0-18.5 cm), and ear width averaged 2.94±0.68 cm (1.4-4.5 cm). The number of rows on each ear of corn averaged 12.22±2.22 (7-32 rows) and the kernel number averaged 24.30±4.22 (9-37 kernels) per row. The crude protein content was 12.05±1.53% (8.90-21.80%) and total starch content was 69.27±5.74% (49.5-83.9%). Principal component analysis revealed that ear width, grain length, ear length, days to tasseling, days to silking, percentage of ear setting height, and total starch are features that allow distinction between the 177 waxy inbred corn lines. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified twelve waxy inbred lines that produce tall plants and have a short silking period. These lines may improve yield among quickly growing corn varieties.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.85-92
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• 2008

An RIL population from a Shinpaldalkong2/GC83006 cross was employed to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with agronomic traits in soybean. The genetic map consisted of 127 loci which covered about 3,000cM and were assigned into 20 linkage groups. Phenotypic data were collected for the following traits; plant height, leaf area, flowering time, pubescence color, seed coat color and hilum color in 2005. Seed weight was evaluated using seeds collected in 2003 to 2005 at Suwon and in 2005 at Pyeongchang and Miryang sites. Three QTLs were associated with 100-seed weight in the combined analysis across three years. Among the three QTLs related to seed weight, all GC83006 alleles on LG O ($R^2\;=\;12.5$), LG A1 ($R^2\;=\;10.1$) and LG C2 ($R^2\;=\;11.5$) increased the seed weight. A QTL conditioning plant height was linked to markers including Satt134 (LG C2, $R^2\;=\;25.4$), and the GC83006 allele increased plant height at this QTL locus. For two QTLs related to leaf area, 1aM on LG M ($R^2\;=\;10.0$) and laL on LG L ($R^2\;=\;8.6$), the Shinpaldalkong2 alleles had positive effect to increase the leaf area. Satt134 on LG C2 ($R^2\;=\;41.0$) was associated with QTL for days to flowering. Satt134 (LG C2) showed a linkage to a gene for pubescence color. Satt363 (LG C2) and Satt354 (LG I) were linked to the hilum color gene, and Sat077 (LG D1a) was linked to the seed coat color. The QTL conditioning plant height was in the similar genomic location as the QTLs for days to flowering in this population, indicating pleiotropic effect of one gene or the tight linkage of several genes. These linked markers would be useful in marker assisted selection for these traits in a soybean breeding program.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.65 no.3
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• pp.161-171
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• 2020

Direct seeding is one of the rice seedling establishment methods that is increasingly being practiced by farmers to save labor and reduce costs. However, this method often causes poor germination under flooding conditions after sowing. In this study, we developed japonica elite lines with quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with anaerobic germination (AG) tolerance to overcome poor germination and seedling establishment in wet direct seeding. The QTL introgression lines were developed from a cross between weedy photoblastic rice as the AG donor and the Nampyeong variety via phenotypic and genotypic selection. Compared to Nampyeong, the survival rates of the selected lines were improved by approximately 50% and 240% under field and greenhouse conditions, respectively. To improve selection efficiency by marker assisted selection, the QTL markers associated with AG tolerance were converted to cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence markers designed based on next-generation sequence analysis. These lines retained similar agronomic traits and yield potential to the parent, Nampyeong. Among these lines, we selected the most promising line, which exhibited high survival rate and good agricultural traits under flooding conditions and named the line as Jeonju643. This line will contribute to breeding programs aiming to develop rice cultivars adapted to wet direct seeding. This study demonstrates the successful application of marker-assisted selection to targeted introgression of anaerobic genes into a premium quality japonica rice variety.