• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.52-57
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• 2007

Growth promotion of wild plants by some plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) was examined in the microcosms composed of soils collected separately from a grass-covered site and a nongrass-covered site in a lakeside barren area at Lake Paro, Korea. After sowing the seeds of eight kinds of wild plants and inoculation of several strains of PGPR, the total bacterial number and microbial activity were measured during 5 months of study period, and the plant biomasses grown were compared at the end of the study. Acridine orange direct counts in the inoculated microcosms, $1.3-9.8{\times}10^9\;cells{\cdot}g\;soil^{-1}$ in the soil from the grass-covered area and $0.9-7.2{\times}10^9\;cells{\cdot}g\;soil^{-1}$ in the soil from the nongrass-covered site, were almost twice higher than those in the uninoculated microcosms. The number of Pseudomonas sp., well-known bacteria as PGPR, and the soil dehydrogenase activity were also higher in the inoculated soils than the uninoculated soils. The first germination of sowed seeds in the inoculated microcosm was 5 days earlier than the uninoculated microcosm. Average lengths of all plants grown during the study period were 26% and 29% longer in the inoculated microcosms starting with the grass-covered soil and the nongrass-covered soil, respectively, compared with those in the uninoculated microcosms. Dry weights of whole plants grown were 67-82% higher in the inoculated microcosms than the uninoculated microcosms. Microbial population and activity and growth promoting effect by PGPR were all higher in the soils collected from the grass-covered area than in the nongrass-covered area. The growth enhancement of wild plants seemed to occur by the activities of inoculated microorganisms, and this capability of PGPR may be utilized for rapid revegetation of some barren lands.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.275-282
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• 1996

This experiment was canied out to investigate the effect of pasture types(mixture and mono tall fescue pasture) and endophyte infection on the dry matter yield, forage quality and animal performance of pasture plants at the Experimental Field of Grassland and Forage Crops Division, National Livestock Research Institute, Suweon, in 1994. The results obtained are surmmarized as follows : DM yield of tall fescue monoculture was significantly higher(p<0.05) than that of mixture pasture, while DM yield of endophyte-infected pasture was significantly higher(p<0.05) than that of endophyte-free for two pasture types. Crude protein yield(CPY) of tall fescue monoculture was significantly higher(p<0.05) than that of mixture, and the higher CPY with endophyte-infect tall fescue for both pasture types resulted from higher DM yield of the pastures. NDF and ADF contents of pasture plants were not influenced by pasture types, and there was no difference for NDF and ADF contents between endophyte-infect and -free pasture mixture, however, those of pasture plants were increased with endophyte-infect tall fescue in monoculture. IVDMD of pasture plants was increased with mixture and endophyte-free tall fescue for both pasture types. IVDMD of pasture plants was greatly influenced by pasture types and endophyte infection. There were no significant differences in average daily gain of Korean native cattle between pasture types, but those of the cattle were significantly increased with endophyte-free tall fescue for both pasture types(p<0.05). Based on the results of this experiment, it is suggested that a slightly more forage yield could be obtained , from monoculture and endophyte-infected tall fescue. However, liveweight gain was increased by mixture and endophyte-free tall fescue with good quality.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.35-42
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• 1998

We compared absorption and adsorption rates of air pollutants by plants to eveluate the difference of absorption capacity of plant species and kinds of air pollutants, when foilage plants were exposed to $O_3$ and $SO_2$ singly and combiningly. Absorption and adsorption rates of three foliage plants exposed to $O_3$ and $SO_2$ singly and in combination varied a little according to plant species and kinds of air pollutants. But total absorption rate of Spathiphyllum patinii and Ficus benjamina was higher, and it was lower in Pachira aquatica. When exposed to $O_3$ and $SO_2$ at the same concentration, Pachira aquatica absorbed more $O_3$ than $SO_2$, in contrast to Ficus benjamina absorbing more $SO_2$. On the other hand, Spathiphyllum patinii absorbed as much $O_3$ as $SO_2$. Physiological activities were measured since absorption rates were affected by physiological characteristics of plants. Spathiphyllum patinii and Ficus benjamina showed higher photosynthetic and transpiration rates, and Pachira aquatica showed lower values. And diffusive and stomatal resistences of Pachira aquatica were higher than those of two other species. These results showed that absorption capacity was affected by the differences of physiological characteristics. Absorption capacity of air pollutants increased in plants, such as Spathiphyllum patinii and Ficus benjamina, which had high $SO_2$ absorption rate. We found that plants showing high $CO_2$ absorption rates absorb a lot of air pollutnats.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.167-173
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• 2004

The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant effect of medicinal plants used by diabetic patients. Fourteen medicinal plants were selected and antioxidant activity such as 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, inhibition effect of linoleic acid autoxidation and low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation, thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value were measured. The Cornus officinalis had DPPH radical scavenging activity of 84.79%, which was higher than the 78.79% for $\alpha$-tocopherol. Rosa rugosa Thunberg, Pueraria thundergiana Bentham, Artemisia princeps var. orientalis and Sasamorpha purpurascens Nakai also had high values. Extracts with higher DPPH radical scavenging activities had higher total phenol concentrations, and positive correlations between these parameters were found. Inhibitory activities of linoleic acid autoxidation, LDL oxidation and TBA value, used as indices of oxidative stress, were observed in most of the selected medicinal plants. The highest inhibitory activity for TBA value was observed in the extract of Pueraria thundergiana Bentham. Rosa rugosa Thunberg (75.50 %), Sasamorpha purpurascens Nakai (74.00 %), and Cornus officinalis (73.00 %) all had high antioxidant activity against linoleic acid autoxidation, similar to that of $\alpha$-tocopherol. The same 3 plants also had high in inhibitory activity against LDL oxidation. Therefore, we demonstrated that medicinal plants used as folk remedy by diabetic patients had antioxidant activity. Especially, Rosa rugosa Thunberg, Cornus officinalis, Pueraria thundergiana Bentham, Arlemisia princeps var. orientalis, and Sasamorpha purpurascens Nakai had high phenol concentrations which resulted in high values for DPPH radical scavenging. These same plants exhibited high values for inhibitory activities for TBA value, linoleic acid autoxidation and LDL oxidation, indices associated with lipid peroxidation.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.319-331
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• 2013

Recent climate change, which is mostly ascribed to anthropogenic activities, is believed to be a major factor leading to biodiversity decreases and ecosystem service deteriorations. I have reviewed recent studies on climate change effects for many ecological processes involved with plants, in order to improve our understanding of the nature of ecological complexity. Plants in general have better growth and productivity under high levels of $CO_2$, although the long term effects of such $CO_2$ fertilizers are still controversial. Over the last 30 years, the Earth has been greening, particularly at higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, perhaps due to a relaxation of climatic constraints. Human appropriation of net primary productivity (NPP), which corresponds up to 1/3 of global NPP, is ultimately responsible for climate change and biodiversity decreases. Climate change causes phenological variations in plants, especially in regards to spring flowering and fall leaf coloring. Many plants migrate polewards and towards higher altitudes to seek more appropriate climates. On the other hand, tree mortality and population declines have recently been reported in many continents. Landscape disturbance not only hinders the plant migration, but also makes it difficult to predict the plants' potential habitats. Plant and animal population declines, as well as local extinctions, are largely due to the disruption of species interactions through temporal mismatching. Temperature and $CO_2$ increase rates in Korea are higher than global means. The degree of landscape disturbances is also relatively high. Furthermore, long-term data on individual species responses and species interactions are lacking or quite limited in Korea. This review emphasizes the complex nature of species responses to climate change at both global and local scales. In order to keep pace with the direction and speed of climate change, it is urgently necessary to observe and analyze the patterns of phenology, migration, and trophic interactions of plants and animals in Korea's landscape.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.80-85
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• 2012

We examined the incidence of powdery mildew in strawberry cv. Seolhyang plants, and performed a comparative analysis on the temperature, photosynthesis rate, and nutrient content of healthy and powdery mildew-infected plants. Powdery mildew first infected the fruit of the strawberries in mid-January, and the disease severity increased in both fruits and leaves during the late harvest season. The rate of photosynthesis and leaf temperatures of healthy plants were higher than those of powdery mildew-infected leaves and significantly decreased with an increase in the disease severity. The healthy and powdery mildew-infected plants in the soil analysis were not significantly different in chemical compositions. The leaves of the healthy plants contained lower potassium and higher manganese and chlorophyll concentrations than the powdery mildew-infected plants. In particular, manganese was significantly higher in healthy leaves than in infected leaves. Therefore, the concentrations of potassium, manganese and chlorophyll in strawberry leaves may be an important factor for disease suppression.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.15-25
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• 1969

To investigate the radiation effect of P-32 on the soybean plants, the seeds treated with various levels of P-32 solution were sown and cultured in the pots. The growth of the plants and the contents of the macroelements were observed and the following results were obtained. 1) The linear growth of the plants at the early stage seemed to have been promoted by the low-level P-32 treatemnt. At the later growing stage, however, this difference among treatments were less conspicuous. 2) The plants of high level P-32 application showed some growth damaging symptom at the early growing stage. Later this damage was recorded as the time went on and these plants showed even better growth than the control. As a result at the late growing stage, they ensued highest growth. 3) The plants showed in general more growth at the low activity level than at the high-level at the early growing stage. At the late stage, however, the high-level activity promoted more growth than the low-level. 4) At the early growing stage P-32 treatment produced in general significantly more lower than control. At the later stage, however, this difference was not clearly seen. 5) The P-32 treatment seemed to have stimulated earlier florescence and this tendency was more clearly observable eapecially at the high activity level. 6) The weight of the air-dried seeds tended to be increased through P-32 treatment by 10-45%. This tendency was clearly observed especially at the low-level activity. 7) As for the contents of the various macroelements in the leaves, the nitrogen showed significantly larger contents at the middle level(S1) P-32 treatments. The phosphorous contents showed also highest at the middle levels activity and lower both at the high and low-activity levels. The potassium contents was proved, on the contrary, higher at the low-level activity and lower at the high-level. 8) The nitrogen contents in the stems was found significantly higher than control, except at the low-activity level. The phosphorous showed higher contents at the low-activity level and no significant difference at the high-activity level. As for the contents of potassium, calcium and magnesium, three seemed no significant difference among treatments. However, the magnesium showed somewhat higher content at the low-activity level, whereas the calcium was proved high than control. 9) The inorganic contents in the root showed that N and P in the P-32 treated plant were significantly higher than the control and the K-contents was, on the contrary, significantly higher at the control than the rest of the treatments. As for the calcium and magnesium there showed no difference among all treatments.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 1990

Effects of mycorrhizal infection on the growth of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) and corn (Zea mays) seedlings have been studied by comparing plants grown in sterilized soil/sand mixtures to plants grown in sterilized soil/sand mixtures with topping the original non-sterile field soil. The original nonsterile field soil, which were taken from the bell pepper field, contained a high level of endmycorrhizal spores. After seven weeks, the shoot height of inoculated plants was increased by 110% in bell pepper, and 90% in corn compared with the control plants. The average above-ground biomass of inoculated plant was increased by 88% in bell pepper and 71% in corn compared with the control plants. The shoot-root ratios in bell pepper and corn were 2.7 and 1.8 for the control plants, and 4.3 and 2.7 for the treatment plants, respectively. Phosphorus level in inoculated plant was higher than that of the control plant. However, nitrogen contents were similar between the control and the treatment plants. The control plants didi not form vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae during the experimental period.

• BMB Reports
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 1999

In order to understand the biological role of calmodulin in plants, transgenic tobacco plants expressing a calmodulin mutant (VU-4 calmodulin, lys to ile-115) gene have been analyzed. SDS-PAGE and Western-blot analyses showed that the foreign calmodulin mutant is stably and highly expressed in the transgenic tobacco plants. The levels of $H_2O_2$were elevated approximately 2-fold in the transgenic plants. Furthermore, the transgenic tobacco plants have more than 6-fold higher levels of NADPH compared to control tobacco plants. The present findings, combined with previous data showing differences in the susceptibility of the transgenic tobacco seeds and normal tobacco seeds to fungal contamination (Oh and Yang, 1996), suggest that the expression of the calmodulin derivative gene in tobacco plants could increase resistance to infection by fungal pathogens.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.25-35
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• 2015

Pennisetum aloperculoides is a key revegetation species mixed with other plants species and used for revegetating cut-slopes. The purpose of this research is to identify the effects of mixed seeding of revegetation plants on cut-slope revegetation with respect to the quantity of Pennisetum aloperculoides seeds. The coverage ratio and appearance frequency of Pennisetum aloperculoides, and other revegetation species were measured to assess the cut-slope revegetation. We divided Pennisetum treatments into four groups with different Pennisetum seed quantities of $0g/m^2$, $5g/m^2$, $10g/m^2$, and $15g/m^2$. For each treatment group, we mixed identical quantities of seeds from herbaceous flowers (bird's-boot trefoil, aster, chrysanthemums, golden coreopsis and china pink), cool-season turfgrasses, and woody plants (korean lespedeza, indigo and silk tree). The increase in the quantity of the Pennisetum seeds resulted in the higher coverage ratio for Pennisetum, but in the lower coverage ratio for herbaceous flowers, cool-season turfgrasses, and woody plants. We observed a short-term succession process in which the dominant species shifted in the following order: the initial species Pennisetum, herbaceous flowers, and then lastly woody plants. In case of the appearance frequency, we also observed the higher appearance frequency for Pennisetum and the lower appearance frequency for the other plants due to the increase in the quantity of Pennisetum seeds. Pennisetum, bird's-foot trefoil and china pink showed the tendency to decrease the appearance frequency from one month after seeding while cool-season turfgrasses became extinct due to summer drought. In the woody plants, the appearance frequencies of korean lespedeza and indigo were high due to the decrease in quantity of Pennisetum seeds. The silk trees were damaged from winter frost and none emerged at all in 2013 (the following year after the seeding). Korean lespedeza and indigo appeared to have the short-term rapid dominance over other treated revegetation plants.