• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.399-403
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• 2003

In order to understand the protection effects of antioxidant enzymes against oxidative stress caused by various environmental stresses, transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv, Xanthi) plants expressing both copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in chloroplasts (referred to as CA plants) were subjected to highlight (1,100$\mu$mol m$^{-2}$ sec$^{-1}$) and chilling at 4$^{\circ}C$. The protection effects of CA plants using leaf discs were compared with those of transgenic plants expressing either CuZnSOD or APX in chloroplasts (SOD plants or APX plants, respectively) and non-transgenic (NT) plants. CA plants showed about 15％ protection in the photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) of photosystem II relative to NT plants 1 hr after treatment of both highlight and chilling, whereas they showed about 23％ protection in the redox state of P700 in photosystem I at 3 hr after treatment. SOD plants or APX plants showed an intermediate protection effect between CA plants and NT plants. These results demonstrated that the coexpression of CuZnSOD and APX in chloroplasts importantly involves in the protection effects against oxidative stress caused by various environmental stresses.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.486-494
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• 2021

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai) is sensitive to low temperature and shows retarded growth under 10℃. Although early transplanting guarantees higher returns, it requires cost and labor to maintain the appropriate temperature for plant growth. Therefore, cultivars tolerant to chilling stress is necessary to reduce the cost and labor requirements. The purpose of this study is to analyze data on plant growth and fruit enlargement under continuous chilling night temperature to develop new cultivars tolerant to chilling temperature. Two cultivars expected to have chilling tolerance and another cultivar sensitive to chilling temperature were grown in greenhouses with chilling and optimal night temperature conditions. In the early growth stage after transplanting, the cultivars expected to have chilling tolerance showed better vine length, fresh weight and dry weight. However, one of the tolerant cultivars showed significantly lower vine length, leaf length and width, and petiole length than the sensitive cultivar during pollination period and later growth stage, showing genotype specific responses. The fruit length, width, and weight were also significantly lower in the tolerant cultivar. The fruit set ratio was significantly higher in the chilling sensitive cultivar than the two tolerant cultivars. These results suggest that the present chilling tolerant cultivars in watermelon were selected based on their performance in the early growth stage, and further studies on chilling tolerance in different growth and development stages are required to develop cultivars adapted to various forcing cultivation systems.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.219-223
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• 2013

DNA markers can determine the genotype of many species. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection is difficult without sequencing but it becomes easier with sdCAPS method. Here an experiment was performed for developing molecular markers using two SNPs, CSatpB-SNP and CSycf1-SNP, of chloroplast in cucumber plants. Properly designed primers with nucleotide sequences for restriction enzymes proved success of PCR and efficacy of digestion by the restriction enzymes. Then these markers were used to study the genotyping of cucumber breeding lines and cultivars obtained from various sources in respect of their chilling stress response. We confirmed that a U.S. cucumber line, 'NC76' known to possess a nuclear factor for the chilling tolerance showed the chloroplast genotypes related to chilling tolerance. However all Korean cucumber cultivars tested in this study showed the chloroplast genotypes related to chilling susceptibility. In conclusion, to develop chilling tolerant cucumber, both maternal and a nuclear factors related to chilling tolerance should be transferred from 'NC76' when 'NC76' is used as a female source and other elite lines as recurrent parents.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.13-17
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• 2001

Cucumber leaves subjected to light chilling stress exhibit a preferential inactivation of photosystem(PS) I relative to PSII, resulting in the photoinhibition of photosynthesis. In light chilled cucumber leaves, Cu/Zn-Superoxide dismutase(SOD) is regarded as a primary target of the light chilling stress and its inactivation is closely related to the increased production of reactive oxygen species. In the present study, we further explored that inactivation of PSI in cucumber leaves is not a light chilling specific, but general to various oxidative stresses. Oxidative stress in cucumber leaves was induced by treatment of methylviologen(MV), a producer of reactive oxygen species in chloroplasts. MV treatment decreased the maximal photosynthetic O$_2$ evolution, resulting in the photoinhibition of photosynthesis. The photoinhibition of photosynthesis was attributable to the decline in PSI functionality determined in vivo by monitoring absorption changes around 820 nm. In addition, MV treatment inactivated both antioxidant enzymes Cu-Zn-superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase known sensitive to reactive oxygen species. From these results, we suggest that chloroplast antioxidant enzymes are the primary targets of photooxidative stress, followed by subsequent inactivation of PSI.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.133-140
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• 1993

The photosynthetic activities in relation to oxygen evolution rates, quantum yield, CO2 uptake rates and room temperature chlorophyll fluorescence were investigated in cotyledons of cucumber seedlings exposed to low temperature (at 4$^{\circ}C$) for 24 h. Light-chilling caused more inhibition on light-saturated maximum oxygen evolution rates, quantum yield, and CO2 uptake rates than dark-chilling did in the cucumber plant. Light-chilling induced more marked increase in Fo and decrease in (Fv)m/Fm than dark-chilling did in the room temperature chlorophyll induction kinetics. The above results affected by chilling in the light are considered to be associated with the partial damage of the reaction center of PS II and the decreased photosynthetic activities. There occurred a large decrease in qQ with little change in qNP in the light-chilling plant. When light- and dark-chilled plants were recovered at room temperature for 24 h and their chlorophyll fluorescences were induced with light doubling technique, light-chilled plants showed more smaller magnitude and rate of fluorescence relaxation than dark-chilled plants. These suggest that light-chilling might cause some alterations in transthylakoid pH formation, and that photosynthetic apparatus of cucumber cotyledons is more susceptible to light-chilling. In the fast fluorescence induction kinetics, FR was decreased by 60% in the light-chilled plants with reference to $25^{\circ}C$ light-grown plants, while the dark-chilled plants showed a decreased rate of only 20% with reference to $25^{\circ}C$ dark-treated plants for 24 h, indicating that cucumber seedling is very sensitive to chilling stress. So, it is certain that chilling injury to the photosynthetic apparatus is strongly dependent on the presence of light in cucumber seedlings.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.227-234
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• 2014

The responses to chilling temperature of 12 Korean cucumber varieties was compared to those of two U.S.A. (previously determined cold tolerant NC76 and 'Chipper'), and Chinese and Japanese germplasms. Seedlings of each entry were exposed to $4^{\circ}C$ (Experiment 1) and $1^{\circ}C$ (Experiments 2 and 3) at the first-true leaf stage for eight and nine hours, respectively, under 80% relative humidity (RH) and $149{\mu}moles{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ photosynthetic photon flux (PPF). The chilling response [damage rating (DR)] of each accession was based on visual ratings (1 to 5) after treatment, where 1 = no damage, 2 = slight, 3 = moderate, 4 = advanced, and 5 = severe damage. Predictably the cumulative average DR of chilling tolerant line NC76 and 'Chipper' after chilling w as 1 and 1.1, respectively. Korean 'Nacdongchungjang' was most sensitive to chilling temperatures [DR = 2.3] when compared to the other entries examined. The sensitivity to chilling of 'Nacdongchungjang' was followed by Chinese 'Dongguan' [DR = 1.7]. In contrast, 'Saeronchungjang' (DR = 1) and 'Janghyungnachap' (DR = 1) were the most chilling tolerant of the Korean accessions examined and equivalent to the response of line NC76 and 'Chipper'. Nevertheless, chloroplast type genotyping of these accessions with known chilling-linked sdCAPS genomic markers revealed genotypic differences between chilling tolerant lines (NC76 and 'Chipper') and all Korean lines examined.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.93-98
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• 2001

A chilling-tolerant japonica-type and a chilling-susceptible indica-type of rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants were compared with respect to various physiological parameters during chilling and subsequent recovery. The japonica-type and the indica-type of rice cultivars used were Ilpumbyeo and Taebaekbyeo, respectively. The two rice cultivars exhibited little or no differences in the changes of leaf fresh weight and chlorophyll content during chilling at $5^{\circ}C$ for 3 days. During subsequent recovery at $25^{\circ}C$, however, Ilpumbyeo restored its growth more rapidly than Taebaekbyeo. Since the changes of relative water content, malondialdehyde production, an estimate of lipid peroxidation, and chlorophyll fluorescence were significantly different in the two rice cultivars during the chilling and subsequent recovery, they were found to be more sensitive physiological parameters than fresh weight and chlorophyll content. However, the differences in relation to water content, malondialdehyde production, and chlorophyll fluorescence between the two rice cultivars were smaller during chilling than those during subsequent recovery. These results suggest that relative water content, malondialdehyde production, and chlorophyll fluorescence could widely be used as important physiological parameters for screening chilling-tolerant plants.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.450-460
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• 2020

The occurrence of exotic weeds and their influx into farmlands due to climate change poses many problems. Therefore, it is necessary to generate a prediction model for the occurrence pattern of these exotic weeds based on scientific evidence and devise prevention measures. The photosynthetic apparatus is known as the most temperature-sensitive component of a plant cell and its initial response to temperature stress is to inhibit the activation of photosystem II. This study investigated the potential of OJIP transients in assessing temperature stress in exotic weeds. The four exotic weeds currently flowing into Korean farmlands include Amaranthus spinosus, Conyza bonariensis, Crassocephalum crepidioides, and Amaranthus viridis. These weeds were treated at 5℃, 10℃, 15℃, 20℃, 25℃, 30℃, 35℃, and 40℃ and the OJIP curves and JIP parameters were measured and analyzed. The results showed that heat and chilling stress affected the photosystem II(PSII) electron transport of A. spinosus, whereas C. crepidioides and A. viridis were more affected by high-temperature stress than by low-temperature stress. Lastly, C. bonariensis showed resistance to both high and low-temperature stress. The results of this study suggest that OJIP transients and JIP parameters can be used to analyze damage to the photosynthetic apparatus by temperature stress and that they can serve as sensitive indicators for the occurrence pattern of exotic weeds.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.71-80
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• 2005

Effects of low temperature ($8^{\circ}C$) on the hydraulic conductivity of young roots of a chilling-sensitive (cucumber; Cucumis sativus L.) and a chilling-resistant (figleaf gourd; Cucurbita ficifolia Bouche) crop have been measured at the levels of whole root systems (root hydraulic conductivity, $Lp_r$) and of individual cortical cells (cell hydraulic conductivity, Lp). In figleaf gourd, there was a reduction only in hydrostatic $Lp_r$ but not in osmotic $Lp_r$ suggesting that the activity of water channels was not much affected by low root temperature (LRT)treatment in this species. Changes in cell Lp in response to chilling and recovery were similar asroot level, although they were more intense at the root level. Roots of figleaf gourd recovered better from LRT treatment than those of cucumber. In figleaf gourd, recovery (both at the root and cell level) often resulted in Lp and $Lp_r$ values which were even bigger than the original, i.e. there was an overshoot in hydraulic conductivity. These effects were larger forosmotic (representing the cell-to-cell passage of water) than for hydrostatic $Lp_r$. After a short term (1 d) exposure to $8\;^{\circ}C$ followed by 1 d at $20\;^{\circ}C$, hydrostatic $Lp_r$ of cucumber nearly recovered and that of figleaf gourd still remained higher due to the overshoot. On the contrary, osmotic $Lp_r$ and cell Lp in both species remained high by a factor of 3 as compared to the control, possibly due to an increased activity of water channels. After pre-conditioning of roots at LRT, increased hydraulic conductivitywas completely inhibited by $HgCl_2$ at both the root and cell levels. Different from figleaf gourd, recovery from chilling was not complete in cucumber after longer exposure to LRT. It is concluded that at LRT, both changes in the activity of aquaporins and alterations of root anatomy determine the water uptake in both species. To better understand the aquaporin function in plants under various stress conditions, we examined the transgenic Arabidopsisand tobacco plants that constitutively overexpress ArabidopsisPIP1;4 or PIP2;5 under various abiotic stress conditions. No significant differences in growth rates were found between the transgenic and wild-type plants under favorable growth conditions. By contrast, overexpression of PIP1;4 or PIP2;5 had a negative effect on seed germination and seedling growth under drought stress, whereas it had a positive effect under cold stress and no effect under salt stress. Measurement of water transport by cell pressure probe revealed that these observed phenotypes under different stress conditions were closely correlated with the ability of water transport by each aquaporin in the transgenic plants. Together, our results demonstrate that PIP-type aquaporins play roles in seed germination, seedling growth, and stress response of Arabidopsis and tobacco plants under various stress conditions, and emphasize the importance of a single aquaporin-mediated water transport in these cellular processes.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1173-1180
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• 2010

We investigated changes in photosynthesis and activity of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) that scavenges ROS as responses to oxidative stress induced by salinity in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Photosynthetic efficiency of rice leaves, monitored in terms of Fv/Fm, declined with the increase of salt concentration (100-300 mM NaCl). Salinity caused an increase of $H_2O_2$ in leaves of rice, with an increase of APX activity. Among total APX isoforms, an isoform of stromal-APX 1 in leaves of rice was completely inactivated by 300 mM NaCl, but was not affected by chilling or drought. The results suggest that salt stress acts in quite a different mechanism in relation to the activity of stromal-APX from that of other stresses such chilling and drought. We carried out RT-PCR for analysis of genes expression of APX isoforms as affected by salt stress. The expression of cytosolic APX/thylakoid-bound APX genes in leaves of rice exposed to salt stress was increased, while stromal APX gene expression rapidly declined.