• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.1306-1311
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• 2011

Recombinant Rhodopseudomonas palustris, harboring the carotenoid-metabolizing gene crtI (CrtIBS), and whose color changes from greenish yellow to red in response to inorganic As(III), was cultured in transparent microplate wells illuminated with a light emitting diode (LED) array. The cells were seen to grow better under near-infrared light, when compared with cells illuminated with blue or green LEDs. The absorbance ratio of 525 to 425 nm after cultivation for 24 h, which reflects red carotenoid accumulation, increased with an increase in As(III) concentrations. The detection limit of cultures illuminated with near-infrared LED was 5 ${\mu}g$/l, which was equivalent to that of cultures in test tubes illuminated with an incandescent lamp. A near-infrared LED array, in combination with a microplate, enabled the simultaneous handling of multiple cultures, including CrtIBS and a control strain, for normalization by the illumination of those with equal photon flux densities. Thus, the introduction of a near-infrared LED array to the assay is advantageous for the monitoring of arsenic in natural water samples that may contain a number of unknown factors and, therefore, need normalization of the reporter event.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.395-403
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• 2013

Plant factory has drawn attention in many countries in the world due to capability of environmental control not only for better yield and quality, but also for increase in functional and medicinal components of the products. In this paper, an experimental plant factory was constructed for various tests under different environmental conditions, and the operations were evaluated. A production room was constructed with adiabatic materials with dimensions of $6,900{\times}3,000{\times}2,500$ mm ($L{\times}W{\times}H$). Four sets of $2,890{\times}600{\times}2,320$ mm ($L{\times}W{\times}H$) production frame unit, each with 9 light-installed beds and an aeroponic fertigation system, resulting in 36 beds, were prepared. Accuracy and response were evaluated for each environmental control component with and without crops. Air temperature, humidity, $CO_2$ concentration, light intensity, frequency, and duty ratio, fertigation rate and scheduling were controllable from a main control computer through wireless communication devices. When the plant factory was operated without crop condition, the response times were 8 minutes for change in temperature from 20 to $15^{\circ}C$ and 20 minutes from 15 to $20^{\circ}C$; 7 minutes for change in humidity from 40 to 65%; and 4 minutes for change in $CO_2$ concentration from 450 to 1000 ppm. When operated for 24 hours with crop cultivation; average, maximum, and minimum values of temperatures were 20.06, 20.8, and $18.8^{\circ}C$; humidity were 66.72, 69.37, and 63.73%; $CO_2$ concentrations were 1017, 1168, and 911 ppm, respectively. Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density was increased as the distance from the light source decreased, but variability was greater at shorter distances. Results of the study would provide useful information for efficient application of the plant factory and to investigate the optimum environment for crop growth through various experiments.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.584-589
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• 2014

Jeffersonia dubia is a spring-flowering perennial found in rich forests in Korea and Northern China and has potential as an ornamental or medicinal plant. However, illegal picking and land use change have decreased the number of populations and overall population size of this plant in its natural habitat. Although J. dubia has been reported to be a shade-preferring plant, no study has determined the optimum light intensity for its growth. The objectives of this work were to observe the effects of various shading levels on the physiological responses of J. dubia and to determine the proper shading level for cultivation. Treatments consisted of four shading levels (0%, 50%, 75%, and 95% shade) imposed using black mesh cloth. The number of leaves and dry weight increased with decreased shading. The shoot-to-root ratio increased with increased shading, mainly due to decreased root dry weight under shading. Plants showed low net $CO_2$ assimilation rates and $F_v/F_m$ values combined with low dry matter levels when grown under 0% shade (full sunlight). These results indicate that J. dubia plants experience excessive irradiance without shading, resulting in damage to the photosynthetic apparatus. By contrast, the net photosynthesis rate increased as the shading level increased. $F_v/F_m$, the potential efficiency of PSII, was 0.8 under 95% shade, indicating that J. dubia is well-adapted under heavy shading. However, the low dry matter of plants in the 95% shade treatment indicated that the low light intensity under 95% shade led to a decline in plant growth. Thus, moderate light (50% shading) is recommended for cultivating J. dubia without physiological defects.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2019.04a
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• pp.110-110
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• 2019

Beet (Beta vulgaris) is a crop similar to sugar beet, chard and leaf beets, and its origin is the Mediterranean coast of southern Europe and Central Asia. Among the components contained in beet, betalain, the main component of the root, has been reported to prevent lipid peroxidation induced by active oxygen and free radicals due to its high radical scavenging ability. Among these, the betalain, betanin (Betanidin 5-O-${\beta}$-glucoside) contains both phenolic and cyclic amine groups, all of which are highly electron-donating and act as antioxidants and has tyrosinase inhibitory activity. Betanin accounts for about 75-95% of the total pigment found in the beet. EM stands for effective microorganisms and is a collection of beneficial microorganisms. EM includes yeast, lactic acid bacteria, mycelia, photosynthetic bacteria, actinomycetes, etc. Human patch test according to CTFA guidelines was observed to be a safe source of no stimulation when 5% (v/v) of the EM fermentation liquid was applied to the human body. In addition, beneficial microorganisms are synergistic in the process of co-existence and cultivation and it has the effect of increasing antioxidant capacity and inhibiting corruption. This study confirms the difference in tyrosinase inhibitory activity and betanin content of beetroot extracts and EM fermented beetroot extracts. Hence, these results confirm that EM fermented beetroot extracts are highly beneficial for the human body.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.572-579
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• 2019

Background: Panax ginseng has been used in traditional medicine to strengthen the body and mental well-being of humans for thousands of years. Many elite ginseng cultivars have been developed, and ginseng cultivation has become well established during the last century. However, heat stress poses an important threat to the growth and sustainable production of ginseng. Efforts have been made to study the effects of high temperature on ginseng physiology, but knowledge of the molecular responses to heat stress is still limited. Methods: We sequenced the transcriptomes (RNA-Seq) of two ginseng cultivars, Chunpoong (CP) and Yunpoong (YP), which are sensitive and resistant to heat stress, respectively, after 1- and 3-week heat treatments. Differential gene expression and gene ontology enrichment along with profiled chlorophyll contents were performed. Results: CP is more sensitive to heat stress than YP and exhibited a lower chlorophyll content than YP. Moreover, heat stress reduced the chlorophyll content more rapidly in CP than in YP. A total of 329 heat-responsive genes were identified. Intriguingly, genes encoding chlorophyll a/b-binding proteins, WRKY transcription factors, and fatty acid desaturase were predominantly responsive during heat stress and appeared to regulate photosynthesis. In addition, a genome-wide scan of photosynthetic and sugar metabolic genes revealed reduced transcription levels for ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase under heat stress, especially in CP, possibly attributable to elevated levels of soluble sugars. Conclusion: Our comprehensive genomic analysis reveals candidate loci/gene targets for breeding and functional studies related to developing high temperature-tolerant ginseng varieties.

• ALGAE
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.17-30
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• 2024

Red macroalga Pyropia yezoensis is a high valuable cultivated marine crop. Its acclimation to cold stress is especially important for long cultivation period across winter in coasts of warm temperate zone in East Asia. In this study, the response of P. yezoensis thalli to low temperature was analyzed on physiology and transcriptome level, to explore its acclimation mechanism to cold stress. The results showed that the practical photosynthesis activity (indicated by Φ_PSII and qP) was depressed and pigment allophycocyanin content was decreased during the cold stress of 48 h. However, the F_v/F_m and non-photochemical quenching increased significantly after 24 h, and the average growth rate of thalli also rebounded from 24 to 48 h, indicating a certain extent of acclimation to cold stress. On transcriptionally, the low temperature promoted the expression of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to carbohydrate metabolism and energy metabolism, while genes related to photosynthetic system were depressed. The increased expression of DEGs involved in ribosomal biogenesis and lipid metabolism which could accelerate protein synthesis and enhance the degree of fatty acid unsaturation, might help P. yezoensis thallus cells to cope with cold stress. Further co-expression network analysis revealed differential expression trends along with stress time, and corresponding hub genes play important roles in the systemic acquired acclimation to cold stress. This study provides basic mechanisms of P. yezoensis acclimation to cold temperature and may aid in exploration of functional genes for genetic breeding of economic macroalgae.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.177-183
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• 2004

The discharge of waste nutrient solution from greenhouse to natural ecosystem leads to the accumulation of excess nutrients that results in contamination or eutrophication. There is a need to recycle the waste nutrient solution in order to prevent the environmental hazards. The amount and kind of nutrients in waste nutrient solution might be enough to grow photosynthetic microorganisms. Hence in the present study, we examined the growth and mass cultivation of cyanobacteria in the waste nutrient solution with an objective of removing N and P and concomitantly, its mass cultivation. Four photosynthetic filamentous cyanobacteria (Anabaena HA101, HA701 and Nostoc HN601, HN701) isolated from composts and soils of the Chungnam province were used as culture strains. Among the isolates, Nostoc HN601 performed faster growth rate and higher N and P uptake in the BG-II ($NO_3{^-}$) medium when compared to those of other cyanobacterial strains. Finally, the selected isolate was tested under optimum conditions (airflow at the rate of $1L\;min^{-1}$. in 15 L reactor, initial pH 8) in waste nutrient solution from tomato hydroponic in green house condition. Results showed to remove 100% phosphate from the waste nutrient solution in the tomato hydroponics recorded over a period of 7 days. The growth rate of Nostoc HN601 was $16mg\;Chl-a\;L^{-1}$ in the waste nutrient solution from tomato hydroponics with optimum condition, whereas growth rate of Nostoc HN601 was only $9.8mg\;Chl-a\;L^{-1}$ in BG-11 media. Nitrogen fixing capacity of Nostoc HN601 was $20.9nmol\;C_2H_4\;mg^{-1}\;Chl-a\;h^{-1}$ in N-free BG-11. The total nitrogen and total phosphate concentration of Nostoc HN601 were 63.3 mg N gram dry weight $(GDW)^{-1}$ and $19.1mg\;P\;GDW^{-1}$ respectively. Collectively, cyanobacterial mass production using waste nutrient solution under green house condition might be suitable for recycling and cleaning of waste nutrient solution from hydroponic culture system. Biomass of cyanobacteria, cultivated in waste nutrient solution, could be used as biofertilizer.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.171-181
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• 2021

The purposes of this study were to determine how changes in temperature affect germination rates and growth of hulled and dehulled barley, malting barley, and naked oat plants, and to measure chlorophyll content, photosynthetic efficiency, and secondary compounds (total phenol, total flavonoid, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity) in plants grown at 13℃ or 25℃). Various types of barley seeds were collected from areas with ideal conditions for barley cultivation, hereinafter referred to as IA, and also from areas where barley cultivation is more difficult due to lower temperatures, hereinafter referred to as LTA. Seeds were tested for seed vigor. While there were significant differences in the electrical conductivity values between seeds collected from certain specific areas, no significant differences were evident between IA and LTA seeds, regardless of the type of barley seed. When plants were grown at 25℃, there were no significant differences in germination rates, plant height, root length and shoot fresh weight between plants originating from IA and LTA. However, there were differences in the measured parameters of some specific seeds. Similarly, under the low temperature condition of 13℃, no differences in the emergence rate, plant height, and shoot fresh weight were evident between plants originating from IA or LTA, regardless of the type of barley. However, there were differences between some specific seeds. One parameter that did vary significantly was the emergence date. Hulled barley and malting barley emerged 5 days after sowing, whereas naked oats emerged 7 days after sowing. There were no differences in the chlorophyll content and photosynthetic efficacy, regardless of the type of barley. There were no significant differences in total phenol, total flavonoid content, and DPPH radical scavenging activity between plants originating from IA and LTA, regardless of the type of barley. However, there were differences between some specific seeds. In particular, for malting barley the total flavonoid content differed in the order of Gangjin > Changwon > Haenam = Jeonju > Naju. The results indicate that crop growth, yield and content of secondary compounds in various types of barley may be affected by climate change.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.388-398
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• 2020

Watermelon yield mainly depends on soil water content controlled by irrigation in a plastic greenhouse. In this study, we investigated the effect of different soil moisture contents affected by irrigation starting point on growth, yield, and physiological responses of small-sized watermelons. Irrigation was initiated at 5 different levels of soil water content as a starting point with soil moisture detecting sensor after 14 days of transplanting, and stopped at 7 ~ 10 days before harvest. These treatments were compared with the conventional periodic irrigation as control. When soil had the lowest moisture content (-50 kPa), the overall shoot growth was retarded, but the root length and root dry weight increased. The photosynthetic parameters (photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate) of watermelon leaves decreased significantly in the lowest soil moisture content (-50 kPa). On the other hand, the photosynthetic rates of watermelon leaves grown with irrigation starting point between -20 and -40 kPa were observed to be higher than those of other treatments. Fruit set rate and marketable fruit yield increased significantly at -30 kPa and -40 kPa. Proline, abscisic acid (ABA), total phenol and citrulline, which are known to contribute to stress tolerance under drought condition, increased as soil water content decreased, particularly, the largest increases were recorded at -50 kPa. From these results, it was found that an appropriate water supply adjusted with an irrigation starting point between -30 and -40 kPa could help to keep favorable soil water content during the cultivation of small-sized watermelons, promoting the marketable fruit production as well as inducing the vigorous plant growth and reproductive development.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.392-399
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• 2013

This study aimed to investigate responses of photosynthesis, plant growth, and phytochemical contents to different artificial light sources for 'Seneca RZ' and 'Gaugin RZ' two butterhead lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). In this study, fluorescent lamps (FL), three colors LEDs (red, blue and white, 5 : 4 : 1; RBW) and metalhalide lamps (MH) were used as artificial lighting sources. Photoperiod, air temperature, relative humidity, EC, and pH in a cultivation system were maintained at 16/8 h, $25/15^{\circ}C$, 60~70%, $1.4{\pm}0.2dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$, and $6.0{\pm}0.5$, respectively. The photosynthetic rate of both two butterhead lettuce were the highest under RBW in middle growth stage. However, in late growth stage, the photosynthetic rate of both two butterhead lettuce were higher under RBW and MH than FL. The light sources showed significant results for plant growth but those effects were different to variety. Fresh and dry weight of 'Gaugin RZ' butterhead lettuce under MH were heavier than other lights in all growth stages. Growth of 'Seneca RZ' butterhead lettuce was maximized highest under MH in middle growth stage and FL in late growth stage. In the leaf tissue of 'Seneca RZ' butterhead lettuce, tipburn symptom occurred under all light sources and in the leaf tissue of 'Gaugin RZ' butterhead lettuce, it occurred under two light sources except for fluorescent lamps in late growth stage. kinds of lamp affect plant growth more than plant quality. Relative growth rate of both two butterhead lettuce was faster in middle growth stage than late stage. Growth of 'Gaugin RZ' was shown by kinds of lamp in middle growth stage and but it was not significantly affected by light sources and variety in late stage. Most of the phytochemical contents of two butterhead lettuce were significantly affected by different light sources. Contents of all vitamins showed higher than other light sources on RBW for both two lettuce, especially ${\beta}$-Carotene content of 'Gaugin RZ' was the highest. Plant growth, photosynthesis, and phytochemical contents were observed significant effects by different light sources for two butterhead lettuce but those effects were highly different between variety and kinds of phytochemicals. Therefore, the selection of optimum light source should be considered by variety and kinds of phytochemicals in the plant factory.