• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.289-296
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• 2001

The main objective of this topic is to establish strategies and to plan biotechnology researches which are related to the agricultural improvements especially focusing on the crop breeding in Korea. From 1960's to 1980's government policy had been emphasized to develope high yielding cultivars for the self sufficient supply of the staple food crops. As a result, considerable increase of rice production has been made with accumulating technology and man's powers. Recently genetically modified crops harboring useful characteristics have been developed using biotechnology and released in the developed countries. National research institutes and private companies have been developed biotechnology researches to establish competitive capabilities, however they have not been successfully used in commercialization. Therefore it is necessary to promote the practical. application by connecting molecular technology with conventional breeding. Proposed research projects are; (1) basic researches including plant genome studies, (2) developing new cultivars through gene transformation, (3) screening and producing antioxidants, secondary metabolite substances and edible vaccines. To set a government policy, both domestic and international research trends were reviewed and possibility of success based on the economic view point were discussed. The intellectual property and preservation of environment play a key role to decide the research priority. It is also necessary for us to make one step system for the distribution of research resources such as microorganisms, genes cloned, plant seeds and research informations for promoting research activities.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.1408-1414
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• 2015

In this study, to retain a stable bacterial inoculant, Bacillus strains showing antifungal activity were screened. The improved production, antifungal mechanism, and stability of the antifungal metabolite by a selected strain, AF4, a potent antagonist against phytopathogenic Botrytis cinerea, were also investigated. The AF4 strain was isolated from rhizospheric soil of hot pepper and identified as Bacillus subtilis by phenotypic characters and 16S rRNA gene analysis. Strain AF4 did not produce antifungal activity in the absence of a nitrogen source and produced antifungal activity at a broad range of temperatures (25-40℃) and pH (7-10). Optimal carbon and nitrogen sources for the production of antifungal activity were glycerol and casein, respectively. Under improved conditions, the maximum antifungal activity was 140±3 AU/ml, which was higher than in the basal medium. Photomicrographs of strain AF4-treated B. cinerea showed morphological abnormalities of fungal mycelia, demonstrating the role of the antifungal metabolite. The B. subtilis AF4 culture exhibited broad antifungal activity against several phytopathogenic fungi. The antifungal activity was heat-, pH-, solvent-, and protease-stable, indicating its nonproteinous nature. These results suggest that B. subtilis AF4 is a potential candidate for the control of phytopathogenic fungi-derived plant diseases.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.243-251
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• 2007

It has been recently demonstrated the presence of not only $C_{28}-BRs$ biosysnthesis, but also $C_{27}-$ and $C_{29}-BRs$ biosynthesis in plants, suggesting that BRs biosynthesis are complicatedly connected to produce biologically active BR (s). This prompted us to investigation of metabolism of a $C_{29}-BR$, 28-homoCS in seedlings of rice from which $C_{29}-BRs$ such as 28-homoTE and 28-homoTY have been identified. In vitro enzyme conversion study using a crude enzyme solution prepared from rice seedlings revealed that 28-homoCS is converted into both CS and 26-nor-28-homoCS, but their reversed reaction did not occur. This indicated that 28-homoCS is biosynthetically converted into more biologically active $C_{28}-BR$, CS by C-28 demethylation and biodegraded into 26-nor-28-homoCS by C-26 demethylation. Next, bio-conversion of 28-homoCS to 28-homoBL was examined by the same enzyme solution. No 28-homoBL as a metabolite of 28-homoCS was detected, meaning that biosynthetic reaction for 28-homoCS to 28-homoBL is not contained, and main connection of $C_{28}-BRs$ and $C_{29}-BRs$ biosynthesis is between CS and 28-homoCS in the rice seedling. This study is the first demonstrated that $C_{29}-BRs$ and $C_{28}-BRs$ bionsynthetic pathways are connected, and that $C_{29}-BRs$ biosynthetic pathway is an alternative biosynthetic pathway to produce more biologically active $C_{28}-BR$, CS in plant.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.216-222
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• 2016

BACKGROUND: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are one of the most common environmental contaminants. Because of their recalcitrant properties and long-term toxicity, numerous studies have been performed. The toxicological concerns are focused on endocrinological effects of animal. Several different metabolites have been reported, including hydroxy PCBs, PCB quinones, and methylsulfonyl PCBs from animal tissues. However, details in plants have never been studied. It is well-known that plants can produce phytoalexin in response to chemical, physical, or pathological stress.METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, the several PCBs and hydroxy derivatives were prepared by chemical syntheses. Their effects on secondary metabolite biosynthesis were determined in carrot roots. The levels of 6-methoxymellein were determined in several different treatments, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In general, the concentration of 6-methoxymellein reached a maximum at 2 days and gradually decreased to trace level at 5 days in control experiments. However, the effects of PCBs or hydroxy derivatives were highly dependent on compounds. For example, the maximum concentrations of 6-methoxymellein were observed at 3 days for 2-hydroxy/4-hydroxybiphenyl, while 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl and 3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxybiphenyl showed a rapid accumulation within 1 day, followed by rapid dissipation to undetectable levels.CONCLUSION: Biphenyl derivatives were effective elicitor of 6-methoxymellein accumulation. In general, hydroxybiphenyls (phenols) more efficiently induced phytoalexin biosynthesis than those without hydroxy groups. It can be concluded that PCBs or their possible metabolites could change the plant secondary metabolism.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1123-1128
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• 2005

NIB(methylisoborneol) is an earthy/musty odor compound produced as a second metabolite by cyanobacteria and actinomycetes. MIB is not removed by conventional water treatment(coagulation, sedimentation, filtration) and its presence in tap water, even at low ng/L levels, can result in consumer complaints. PAC(powdered activated carbon) can effectively remove MIB when the correct dose is applied. But, since most operators in water treatment plants apply a PAC dose and then adjust that dose depending on direct observation (odor detection) after treatment, the result is often under-dose or eve,-dose. In this study, kinetic and isotherm tests using $^{14}C$-radiolabeled MIB were performed to determine coefficients for the HSDM(homogeneous surface diffusion model), including liquid film mass transfer coefficient($K_f$) and surface diffusion coefficient ($D_s$). The HSDM gave a reasonable fit and allowed prediction with the experimental data. Base on the HSDM, the authors developed an optimum PAC dose prediction program using the Excel spreadsheet. When the developed program was applied at two water treatment plants, the PAC dose based on the experience of operators in the water treatment plant was significantly different from that recommended by the newly developed program. If operators are willing to use the optimum PAC dose prediction program, it should solve dosing problems.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.185-189
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• 2009

A monoterpenoid compound, benzylideneacetone (BZA), is a metabolite of an entomopathogenic bacterium, Xenorhabdus nematophila. Its primary biological activity is an inhibitor of phospholipase $A_2$, which catalyzes the committed step of biosynthesis of various eicosanoids that are critically important to mediate insect immune responses. When BZA was applied to two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, it exhibited a dose-dependent mortality in leaf-disc assay. Subsequently BZA was tested against T. urticae infesting apples in a field orchard, in which it showed a significant control efficacy, which was not statistically different with that of a commercial acaricide. BZA also had significant antibacterial activities against three species of plant pathogenic bacteria when it was added to the bacterial cultures, in which it showed the highest inhibitory activity against a bacterial wilt-causing pathogen, Ralstonia solanacearum. The bacterial pathogen caused significant disease symptom to young potato plants. However, BZA significantly suppressed the disease occurrence. This study suggests that BZA can be used to develop a novel crop protectant to control mite and bacterial pathogen.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.104-104
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• 2017

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.) is one of the most important crops for human and animal nutrition. Nonetheless, sorghum has a cyanogenic glucoside compound which can be degraded into hydrogen cyanide, toxic to humans and animals even with tiny amount. In consequence, breeding materials with a low cyanide level has been a top priority in sorghum breeding programs. To fulfill our long-term goal, we are screening sorghum accessions with low cyanide level, which would be an important breeding material for food safety. We collected seeds of various sorghum accessions and analyzed relevant metabolites to find useful breeding materials of sorghum accessions containing low cyanide. Fourteen wild relatives were obtained from the University of Georgia in US, a reference accession BTx623, and three local varieties from National Agrobiodiversity Center of Rural Development Administration in Korea, and one wild species from the Wild Plant Resources Seed Bank of Korea University in Korea. Sorghum plants were grown in plastic greenhouse under natural conditions. After growing, leaf samples were harvested at different developmental stages: seedling phase, vegetative phase (right before flowering), and reproductive phase (ripening). Using collected samples, quantification analysis were performed by an HPLC system for three metabolites (dhurrin, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, and 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid) in sorghum plants. Prior to metabolome analysis, specific experimental condition for HPLC system was set to be able to separate three metabolites simultaneously. Under this condition, these metabolites were quantified in each accession by HPLC system. We observed that the metabolite contents were changed differently by developmental stages and accessions. We clustered these results into five groups as patterns of their contents by developmental stages. Most of accessions showed that 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde content was very high at seedling stage and decreased rapidly at vegetative phase. Interestingly, the patterns of dhurrin content were very different among clusters. However, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid content was maintained at low levels by developmental stages in most accessions. The results would demonstrate how dhurrin and alternative degradation pathways are differentiated in each accession.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.689-699
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• 2020

Brevibacillus brevis GZDF3 is a gram-positive, plant growth-promoting rhizosphere bacterium (PGPR) isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Pinellia ternata (an important herb in traditional Chinese medicine). The GZDF3 strain produces certain active compounds, such as siderophores, which are the final metabolite products of non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) and independent non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NIS) activity. With the present study, we attempted to investigate the siderophore production characteristics and conditions of Bacillus sp. GZDF3. The antibacterial activity of the siderophores on pathogenic fungi was also investigated. Optimal conditions for the synthesis of siderophores were determined by single factor method, using sucrose 15 g/l, asparagine 2 g/l, 32℃, and 48 h. The optimized sucrose asparagine medium significantly increased the production of siderophores, from 27.09% to 54.99%. Moreover, the effects of different kinds of metal ions on siderophore production were explored here. We found that Fe³⁺ and Cu²⁺ significantly inhibited the synthesis of siderophores. The preliminary separation and purification of siderophores by immobilized-metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) provides strong antibacterial activity against Candida albicans. The synergistic effect of siderophores and amphotericin B was also demonstrated. Our results have shown that the GZDF3 strain could produce a large amount of siderophores with strong antagonistic activity, which is helpful in the development of new biological control agents.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1364-1370
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• 2014

Ascorbic acid (AA) is a multifunctional metabolite in plants that is essential for plant development and growth. We examined the effect of AA, an antioxidant, on the gravitropic response of primary roots in maize. The application of $10^{-3}$ M AA to the elongation zone did not affect the gravitropic response and slightly inhibited the root growth. However, treatment with both $10^{-5}$ M and $10^{-3}$ M AA at the root tip increased the gravitropic response and inhibited root growth. Differences in indole-3- acetic acid (IAA) activity between the upper and lower hemispheres of the root resulted in differential elongation along the horizontal root. Roots are extremely sensitive to IAA, and increasing the amount of IAA in the lower hemisphere of the root inhibited elongation. Therefore, we examined the effect of IAA in the presence of AA. The inhibitory effect of AA on the gravitropic response was greater in combination with IAA. To understand the role of AA in the regulation of root growth and the gravitropic response, we measured ethylene production in the presence of AA in the primary roots of maize. AA stimulated ethylene production via the activation of the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) oxidase gene, which regulates the conversion of ACC to ethylene. These results suggest that AA alters the gravitropic response of maize roots through modification of the action of ethylene.

• Weed & Turfgrass Science
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.212-221
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• 2017

An actinomycetes isolate G-0299 obtained from a forest soil showed strong phytotoxic activity to Digitaria ciliaris. For the foliar application study, the culture filtrate of the isolate G-0299 showed strong herbicidal activity only to D. ciliaris among the 12 monocot and 5 dicot weed species. And herbicidal activity at a concentration of 500, 250, 125 and $62.5{\mu}gmL^{-1}$ of culture filtrate was 100%, 98%, 70% and 40%, respectively. Phytotoxic symptoms of the culture filtrate by foliar application were desiccation and burn-down or bleaching of leaves and finally plant death. And then the herbicidal activity was exhibited only under the light condition. Also, chlorophyll loss of D. ciliaris leaf tissues in the light condition was much higher than in the dark condition and then chlorophyll content decreased 82%, 5%, respectively. In conclusion, our results suggest that soil bacteria, isolate G-0299 could be a good candidate for new bio-herbicide and provide a new lead molecule for a more unique herbicide.