• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.603-621
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• 2017

The current review focuses on characterization and conservation efforts vital for the development of breeding programmes for indigenous beef cattle genetic resources in Southern Africa. Indigenous African cattle breeds were identified and characterized using information from refereed journals, conference papers and research reports. Results of this current review reviewed that smallholder beef cattle production in Southern Africa is extensive and dominated by indigenous beef cattle strains adaptable to the local environment. The breeds include Nguni, Mashona, Tuli, Malawi Zebu, Bovino de Tete, Angoni, Landim, Barotse, Twsana and Ankole. These breeds have important functions ranging from provision of food and income to socio-economic, cultural and ecological roles. They also have adaptive traits ranging from drought tolerant, resistance to ticks and tick borne diseases, heat tolerance and resistance to trypanosomosis. Stakeholders in the conservation of beef cattle were also identified and they included farmers, national government, research institutes and universities as well as breeding companies and societies in Southern Africa. Research efforts made to evaluate threats and opportunities of indigenous beef cattle production systems, assess the contribution of indigenous cattle to household food security and income, genetically and phenotypically characterize and conserve indigenous breeds, and develop breeding programs for smallholder beef production are highlighted. Although smallholder beef cattle production in the smallholder farming systems contributes substantially to household food security and income, their productivity is hindered by several constraints that include high prevalence of diseases and parasites, limited feed availability and poor marketing. The majority of the African cattle populations remain largely uncharacterized although most of the indigenous cattle breeds have been identified.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.330-341
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• 2014

Andropogon gayanus is an important grass due to its high biomass production, drought tolerance and favorable growth on low fertility acidic soils. Currently, there is little research on the impact of growth stage on the nutritional quality or the degree of $CH_4$ production that may arise from this forage during ruminal fermentation. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of regrowth stage of A. gayanus on its chemical composition, in vitro production of gas and CH4, as well as in vitro dry matter (DM) digestibility when grown under tropical Brazilian conditions and conserved as hay or as silage. The nutritional value of A. gayanus grass declined with increasing maturity; however digestible DM yield linearly increased. After 112 d of regrowth, A. gayanus produced higher quality silage (higher lactate and lower pH and butyrate content) and higher DM yield. However, the low levels of crude protein at this time would make protein supplementation a necessity for proper rumen fermentation. No differences in $CH_4$ kinetic parameters were found with advancing maturity or preservation method (hay or silage).

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.549-558
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• 2014

Occurrence frequency of flood and drought tends to increase in last a few decades, leading to social and economic damage since the abnormality of climate changes is one of the causes for hydrologic facilities by exceedance its designed tolerance. Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used in the study to estimate temporal variance of groundwater recharge and baseflow. It was limited to consider recession curve coefficients in SWAT model calibration process, thus the recession curve coefficient was estimated by the Baseflow Filter Program (BFLOW) before SWAT model calibration. Precipitation data were estimated for 2014 to 2100 using three models which are GFDL-ESM2G, IPSL-CM5A-LR, and MIROC-ESM with Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) scenario. SWAT model was calibrated for the Soyang watershed with NSE of 0.83, and $R^2$ of 0.89. The percentage to precipitation of groundwater recharge and baseflow were 27.6% and 17.1% respectively in 2009. Streamflow, groundwater recharge, and baseflow were estimated to be increased with the estimated precipitation data. GFDL-ESM2g model provided the most large precipitation data in the 2025s, and IPSL-CM5A-LR provided the most large precipitation data in the 2055s and 2085s. Overall, groundwater recharge and baseflow displayed similar trend to the estimated precipitation data.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.220-237
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• 2001

Over the 20th century global temperature increase has been 0.6$^{\circ}C$. The globally averaged surface temperature is projected to increase by 1.4 to 5.8$^{\circ}C$ over the period 1990 to 2100. Nearly all land areas will have higher maximum temperature and minimum temperature, and fewer cold days and frost days. More intense precipitation events will take plate over many areas. Over most mid-latitude continental interiors will have increased summer continental drying and associated risk of drought. By 2100, if the annual surface temperature increase is 3.5$^{\circ}C$, we will have 15.9$^{\circ}C$ from 12.4$^{\circ}C$ at present. Also the annual precipitation will range 1,118-2,447 mm from 972-1,841 mm at present in Korea. Consequently the average crop periods for summer crops will be 250 days that prolonged 32 days than at present. In the case of gradual increase of global warming, an annual crop can be adapted to the changing climate through the selection of filial generations in breeding process. The perennial crops such as an apple should be shifted the chief producing place to northern or high latitude areas where below 13.5$^{\circ}C$ of the annual surface temperature. If global warming happens suddenly over the threshold atmospheric greenhouse gases, then all ecosystems will have tremendous disturbance. Agricultural land-use plan, which state that farmers decide what to plant, based on their climate-based advantages. Therefore, farmers will mitigate possible negative imparts associated with the climate change. The farmers will have application to use agricultural meteorological information system, and agricultural long-range weather forecast system for their agroecosystems management. The ideal types of crops under $CO_2$ increase and climate change conditions are considered that ecological characteristics need indispensable to accomplish the sustainable agriculture as the diversification of genetic resources from yield-oriented to biomass-oriented characteristics with higher potential of $CO_2$ absorption and primary production. In addition, a heat-and-cold tolerance, a pest resistance, an environmental adaptability, and production stability should be also incorporated collectively into integrated agroecosystem.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.47
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• pp.107-123
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• 2002

This paper is intented to present a information of various aspects of quality related characteristics and standards for grades in maize. Maize is world's one of the three most popular cereal crops and a primary energy supplement and can contribute up to 30, 60, and 98% of the dairy diet's protein, net energy, and starch, respectively. Maize is also processed into industrial goods by wet or dry milling. Sweet corn is a leader among vegetable crops and its production for fresh or processing markets is a major industry in many countries. Over the years, the combined efforts of breeders and geneticists, biochemists, food scientists, and others have helped bring us to the point where we understand issues related to sweet corn quality. Traditional criteria for selecting corn hybrids have been based primarily on agronomic factors, including grain production, disease resistance, drought tolerance, and storage characteristics. Little emphasis has been placed on the quality and nutritional values of corn. Although there is widespread interest for value-enhanced corns have increased tremendously in the last five years, there is limited information available on the production and comparing the quality attributes of specialty grains with those of normal yellow dent corn. Most countries have developed national maize standards, aiming to provide a framework for trade, both internal and external. Where trading involves direct choice and price negotiation in front of the commodity, grading standards are rarely employed; quality is assessed visually and is influenced by end-use, and the price is determined more by local rather than national factors. The use of an agreed standard will provide an unambiguous description of the quality of the consignment and assist in the formation of a legally-binding contract. Standards can also be seen to protect consumers rights through setting limits to the amount of unsuitable or noxious material.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.248-257
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• 2018

Overexpression of AtCYP78A7, a gene encoding a cytochrome P450 protein, has been reported to improve tolerance to drought stress in genetically modified (GM) rice (Oryza sativa L.). The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential allergenicity and acute oral toxicity of the AtCYP78A7 protein expressed in GM rice. Bioinformatics analysis of the amino acid sequence of AtCYP78A7 did not identify any similarities with any known allergens or toxins. It showed that no known allergen had more than a 35% amino acid sequence homology with the AtCYP78A7 protein over an 80 amino acid window or more than 8 consecutive identical amino acids. The gene encoding the AtCYP78A7 protein was cloned in the pGEX-4T-1 vector and expressed in E. coli. Then, the AtCYP78A7 protein was purified and analyzed for acute oral toxicity. The AtCYP78A7 protein was fed at a dose of 2,000 mg/kg body weight in mice, and the changes in mortalities, clinical findings, and body weight were monitored for 14 days after the dosing. Necropsy was carried out on day 14. The protein did not cause any adverse effects when it was orally administered to mice at 2000 mg/kg body weight. These results indicate that the AtCYP78A7 protein expressed in GM rice would not be a potential allergen or toxin.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.287-297
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• 2017

Little millet (Panicum sumatrense) is well known for its salt and drought stress tolerance and high nutritional value, but very limited knowledge of genetic variation and genomic information is available. In this study, a total of 779 primer pairs were designed from the 22,961 EST sequences of switchgrass (Pancium virgatum), of which 48 EST-SSR markers were developed based on the trials of transferability of these primers in little millet. The EST-SSR amplicons showed reproducible single band polymorphism and produced a total of 160 alleles with an average of 3.3 alleles per locus in 37 accessions of little millet. The average values of expected and observed heterozygosities were 0.266 and 0.123, respectively. The polymorphic information content (PIC) values were observed in range of 0.026 to 0.549 with an average of 0.240. The genetic relatedness among the little millet accessions was evaluated by neighbor-joining dendrogram, which grouped all accessions into two distinct groups. The validation thus demonstrated the utility of the switchgrass EST-SSR markers in assessing genomic relationships in little millet. The findings from this study could be useful for designing strategies for the identification of diverse germplasm for conservation and future molecular breeding programs for little millet.

• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.11
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• pp.653-658
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• 2019

MYB-type transcription factors (TFs) play important roles in plant growth and development, and in the rapid responses to unfavorable environmental conditions. We recently reported the isolation and characterization of a rice (Oryza sativa) MYB TF, OsMYB102, which is involved in the regulation of leaf senescence by downregulating abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis and the downstream signaling response. Based on the similarities of their sequences and expression patterns, OsMYB102 appears to be a homolog of the Arabidopsis thaliana AtMYB44 TF. Since AtMYB44 is a key regulator of leaf senescence and abiotic stress responses, it is important to examine whether AtMYB44 homologs in other plants also act similarly. Here, we generated transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing OsMYB102 (OsMYB102-OX). The OsMYB102-OX plants showed a delayed senescence phenotype during dark incubation and were more susceptible to salt and drought stresses, considerably similar to Arabidopsis plants overexpressing AtMYB44. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) revealed that, in addition to known senescence-associated genes, genes encoding the ABA catabolic enzymes AtCYP707A3 and AtCYP707A4 were also significantly upregulated in OsMYB102-OX, leading to a significant decrease in ABA accumulation. Furthermore, protoplast transient expression and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that OsMYB102 directly activated AtCYP707A3 expression. Based on our findings, it is probable that the regulatory functions of AtMYB44 homologs in plants are highly conserved and they have vital roles in leaf senescence and the abiotic stress responses.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.246-254
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• 2021

Environmental stresses are estimated to have reduced global crop yields of wheat by 5.5%. However, traditional approaches for the transfer of resistance to these stresses in wheat plants have yielded limited results. In this regard, genetic transformation has undoubtedly opened up new avenues to overcome crop losses due to various abiotic stresses. Particle bombardment has been successfully employed for obtaining transgenic wheat. However, most of these procedures employ immature embryos, which are not available throughout the year. Therefore, the present investigation utilized mature seeds as the starting material and used the calli raised from three Moroccan durum wheat varieties as the target tissue for genetic transformation by the biolistic approach. The pANIC-5E plasmid containing the SINA gene for drought and salinity tolerance was used for genetic transformation. To enhance the regeneration capacity and transformation efficiency of the tested genotypes, the study compared the effect of copper supplementation in the induction medium (up to 5 μM) with the standard MS medium. The results show that the genotypes displayed different sensitivities to CuSO₄, indicating that the transformation efficiency was highly genotype-dependent. The integration of transgenes in the T₀ transformants was demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of the obtained resistant plantlets with primers specific to the SINA gene. Among the three genotypes studied, 'Isly' showed the highest efficiency of 9.75%, followed by 'Amria' with 1.25% and 'Chaoui' with 1%.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.240-249
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• 2022

Measuring chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) is a useful tool for assessing a plant's ability to tolerate abiotic stresses such as drought, waterlogging and high temperature. Korean ginseng is highly sensitive to water stress in paddy fields. To evaluate the possibility of non-destructively diagnosing waterlogging stress using chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) imaging techniques, we screened 57 ginseng accessions for waterlogging tolerance. To evaluate waterlogging tolerance among the 2-year-old Korean ginseng accessions, we treated ginseng plants with water stress for 25 days. The physiological disorder rate was characterized through visual assessment (an assigned score of 0-5). The physiological disorder rates of Geumjin, Geumsun and GS00-58 were lower than that of other accessions. In contrast, lines GS97-62, GS97-69 and GS98-1-5 were deemed susceptible. Root traits, chlorophyll content and the reduction rates decreased in most ginseng accessions. Further, these metrics were significantly lower in susceptible genotypes compared to resistant ones. All CF parameters showed a positive or negative response to waterlogging stress, and this response continuously increased over the treatment time among the genotypes. The CF parameter Fv/Fm was used to screen the 57 accessions, and the results showed clear differences in Fv/Fm between the susceptible and resistant genotypes. Susceptible genotypes had an especially low Fv/Fm value of less than 0.8, reflecting damage to the reaction center of photosystem II. It is concluded that Fv/Fm can be used as a CF parameter index for screening waterlogging stress tolerance in ginseng genotypes.