• Molecules and Cells
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.58-64
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• 2006

WRKY family proteins are a class of plant-specific transcription factors involved in stress response signaling pathways. In this study a gene encoding a putative WRKY protein was isolated from a pepper EST database (http://genepool.kribb.re.kr). The cDNA, named Capsicum annuum WRKY2 (CaWRKY2), encodes a putative polypeptide of 548 amino acids, containing two WRKY domains with zinc finger motifs and two potential nuclear localization signals. Northern blot analyses showed that CaWRKY2 mRNA was preferentially induced during incompatible interactions of pepper plants with PMMoV, Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae 61, and Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria race 3. Furthermore, CaWRKY2 transcripts were strongly induced by wounding and ethephon treatment, whereas only moderate expression was detected following treatment with salicylic acid and jasmonic acid. CaWRKY2 was translocated to the nucleus when a CaWRKY2-smGFP fusion construct was expressed in onion epidermal cells. CaWRKY2 also had transcriptional activation activity in yeast. Taken together our data suggest that CaWRKY2 is a pathogen-inducible transcription factor that may have a role in early defense responses to biotic and abiotic stresses.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.73-83
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• 2005

Disease resistance in plants is often controlled by gene-for-gene mechanism in which avirulence (avr) gene products encoding by pathogens are specifically recognized, either directly or indirectly by plant disease resistance (R) gene products and sequential signal transduction pathways activating defense responses are rapidly triggered. As a results, not only exhibit a resistance against invading pathogens but also plants maintain the systemic acquired resistance (SAR) to various other pathogens. This molecular interaction between pathogen and plant is commonly compared to innate immune system of animal. Recent studies arising from molecular characterization of a number of R genes from various plant species that confer resistance to different pathogens and corresponding avr genes from various pathogens resulted in the accumulation of a wealth of knowledge on molecular mechanism of gene-for-gene interaction. Furthermore, new technologies of genomics and proteomics make it possible to monitor the genome-wide gene regulation and protein modification during activation of disease resistance, expanding our ability to understand the plant immune response and develop new crops resistant to biotic stress.

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 2020

In this study, the genetic diversity and the population structure of 77 wild strains and 23 cultivars of Lentinula edodes from Korea were analyzed using 20 genomic SSRs, and their genetic relationship was investigated. The tested strains of L. edodes were divided into three sub-groups consisting of only wild strains, mainly wild strains and several cultivars, and mainly cultivars and several wild strains by distance-based analysis. Using model-based analysis, L. edodes strains were divided into two subpopulations; the first one consisting of only wild strains and the second one with mainly cultivars and several wild strains. Moreover, AMOVA analysis revealed that the genetic variation in the cultivars was higher than that in the wild strains. The expected and observed heterozygosity and values indicating the polymorphic information content of L. edodes cultivars from Korea were also higher than that of the wild strains. Based on these results, we presume that the cultivars in Korea have developed by using numerous strains from other countries. In conclusion, the usage of wild strains for the development of new cultivars could improve the adaptability of L. edodes to biotic and abiotic stress.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.372-382
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• 2022

Soybean is an important source of protein and for a wide range of agricultural, food, and industrial applications. Soybean is being affected by Xanthomonas citri pv. glycines, a causal pathogen of bacterial pustule disease, result in a reduction in yield and quality. Diverse microbial communities of plants are involved in various plant stresses is known. Therefore, we designed to investigate the microbial community differentiation depending on the infection of X. citri pv. glycines. The microbial community's abundance, diversity, and similarity showed a difference between infected and non-infected soybean. Microbiota community analysis, excluding X. citri pv. glycines, revealed that Pseudomonas spp. would increase the population of the infected soybean. Results of DESeq analyses suggested that energy metabolism, secondary metabolite, and TCA cycle metabolism were actively diverse in the non-infected soybeans. Additionally, Streptomyces bacillaris S8, an endophyte microbiota member, was nominated as a key microbe in the healthy soybeans. Genome analysis of S. bacillaris S8 presented that salinomycin may be the critical antibacterial metabolite. Our findings on the composition of soybean microbiota communities and the key strain information will contribute to developing biological control strategies against X. citri pv. glycines.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.582-592
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• 2012

Microorganisms present in the rhizosphere soil plays a vital role in improving the plant growth and soil fertility. Many kinds of fertilizers including chemical and organic has been approached to improve the productivity. Though some of them showed significant improvement in yield, they failed to maintain the soil properties. Rather they negatively affected soil eventually, the land became unsuitable for agricultural. To overcome these problems, microorganisms have been used as effective alternative. For past few decades, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been used as effective inoculants to enhance the plant growth and productivity. PGPR improves the plant growth and helps the plant to withstand biotic and abiotic stresses. AM fungi are known to colonize roots of plants and they increase the plant nutrient uptake. Spore associated bacteria (SAB) are attached to spore wall or hyphae and known to increase the AMF germination and root colonization but their mechanism of interaction is poorly known. Better understanding the interactions among AMF, SAB and PGPR are necessary to enhance the quality of inoculants as a biofertilizers. In this paper, current knowledge about the interactions between fungi and bacteria are reviewed and discussed about AMF spore associated bacteria.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.471-473
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• 2018

Variovorax sp. PMC12 is a rhizobacterium isolated from tomato rhizosphere and enhanced the plant resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Here we present the complete genome sequence of strain PMC12. The genome is comprised of two circular chromosomes harboring 5,873,297 bp and 1,141,940 bp, respectively. A total of 6,436 protein-coding genes, 9 rRNAs, 64 tRNAs, 3 ncRNAs, and 80 pseudogenes were identified. We found genes involved in 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, antioxidant activity, phosphate solubilization, and biosynthesis of proline and siderophore. Those genes may be related to capability of improving plant resistance to various stresses including salinity, cold temperature, and phytopathogen.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.566-579
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• 2021

Ralstonia syzygii subsp. indonesiensis (Rsi, former name: Ralstonia solanacearum phylotype IV) PW1001, a causal agent of potato wilt disease, induces hypersensitive response (HR) on its non-host eggplant (Solanum melongena cv. Senryo-nigou). The disaccharide trehalose is involved in abiotic and biotic stress tolerance in many organisms. We found that trehalose is required for eliciting HR on eggplant by plant pathogen Rsi PW1001. In R. solanacearum, it is known that the OtsA/OtsB pathway is the dominant trehalose synthesis pathway, and otsA and otsB encode trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) synthase and T6P phosphatase, respectively. We generated otsA and otsB mutant strains and found that these mutant strains reduced the bacterial trehalose concentration and HR induction on eggplant leaves compared to wild-type. Trehalose functions intracellularly in Rsi PW1001 because addition of exogenous trehalose did not affect the HR level and ion leakage. Requirement of trehalose in HR induction is not common in R. solanacearum species complex because mutation of otsA in Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum (former name: Ralstonia solanacearum phylotype I) RS1002 did not affect HR on the leaves of its non-host tobacco and wild eggplant Solanum torvum. Further, we also found that each otsA and otsB mutant had reduced ability to grow in a medium containing NaCl and sucrose, indicating that trehalose also has an important role in osmotic stress tolerance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.159-159
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• 2022

Nitric oxide (NO) is a versatile signaling molecule, which is not only involved in plant growth and development but also regulates biological processes in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Exogenous application of NO regulates the endogenous level of nitric oxide in response to stress conditions and therefore, NO donors are frequently used for stress alleviation. However, NO has very short half-life along with high reactivity. Therefore, conventional NO donors are often disadvantageous due to the relative instability of NO. On the contrary, development of NO releasing nanoparticles is a potential technique for enhancing the availability of NO in plants. Therefore, our aim was to synthesize such potential NO releasing nanoparticles which may be useful for application in agriculture. We have prepared Chitosan encapsulated S-nitrosoglutathione nanoparticles (GSNONP) and tried it with different concentrations for basic research in Arabidopsis thaliana. Our results suggest that lower concentration of this nanoparticle is highly effective for better growth of plants whereas higher concentration produces toxicity that leads to plant death. We observed better growth of Arabidopsis thaliana at 1µM concentration of the GSNONP compared to free GSNO.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.232-232
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• 2022

We reported in our recent studies that the combined treatment of Paenibacillus yonginensis DCY84^T (DCY84^T) and Silicon (Si) promotes initial plant growth and increases resistance to biotic and abiotic stress. To understand the molecular background of these phenotypes, Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis was performed, and it was confirmed that unsaturated fatty acid metabolites such as oleic acid and linoleic acid decreased in response to the combined treatment of DCY84^T and Si. The stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase (SACPD) introduces the cis double bond into the acyl-ACPs at C9, resulting in the production of unsaturated fatty acid. We identified OsSSI2 encoding SACPD in rice and found that the expression of OsSSI2 was reduced under DCY84^T and Si treatment. Furthermore, qRT-PCR analysis revealed that the expression of OsWRKY45, which is downstream of OsSSI2, was upregulated in response to DCY84^T and Si treatment. These results enable the speculation that activation of the salicylic acid (SA)-responsive gene, OsWRKY45, may contribute to enhancing biological stress resistance. Based on this, we propose a probable model for the rice defense pathway following DCY84^T and Si treatment. This model retains a WRKY45-dependent but NH1(NPR1)-independent SA signaling pathway.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.144-158
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• 2020

Quantitative reverse transcription PCR is used for gene expression analysis as the accurate and sensitive method. To analyze quantification of gene expression changes in apple plants, 10 housekeeping genes (ACT, CKL, EF-1α, GAPDH, MDH, PDI, THFs, UBC, UBC10, and WD40) were evaluated for their stability of expression during infection by Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV) or in cold-stress apple plant buds. Five reference-gene validation programs were used to establish the order of the most stable genes for ASGV as CKL>THFs>GAPDH>ACT, and the least stable genes WD40CKL>UBC10, and the least stable genes were ACT