• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.220-228
• /
• 2024

Background: Panax ginseng, one of the valuable perennial medicinal plants, stores numerous pharmacological substrates in its storage roots. Given its perennial growth habit, organ regeneration occurs each year, and cambium stem cell activity is necessary for secondary growth and storage root formation. Cytokinin (CK) is a phytohormone involved in the maintenance of meristematic cells for the development of storage organs; however, its physiological role in storage-root secondary growth remains unknown. Methods: Exogenous CK was repeatedly applied to P. ginseng, and morphological and histological changes were observed. RNA-seq analysis was used to elucidate the transcriptional network of CK that regulates P. ginseng growth and development. The HISTIDINE KINASE 3 (PgHK3) and RESPONSE REGULATOR 2 (PgRR2) genes were cloned in P. ginseng and functionally analyzed in Arabidopsis as a two-component system involved in CK signaling. Results: Phenotypic and histological analyses showed that CK increased cambium activity and dormant axillary bud formation in P. ginseng, thus promoting storage-root secondary growth and bud formation. The evolutionarily conserved two-component signaling pathways in P. ginseng were sufficient to restore CK signaling in the Arabidopsis ahk2/3 double mutant and rescue its growth defects. Finally, RNA-seq analysis of CK-treated P. ginseng roots revealed that plant-type cell wall biogenesis-related genes are tightly connected with mitotic cell division, cytokinesis, and auxin signaling to regulate CK-mediated P. ginseng development. Conclusion: Overall, we identified the CK signaling-related two-component systems and their physiological role in P. ginseng. This scientific information has the potential to significantly improve the field-cultivation and biotechnology-based breeding of ginseng.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.284-293
• /
• 2016

Background: Developing new ginseng cultivars is a significant time-consuming process owing to the three years of growth required for ginseng to flower. To shorten the ginseng breeding process, it is necessary to establish rapid progression through each generation. In this study, we examined it was possible to rapidly break ginseng seed dormancy using gibberellic acid ($GA_3$) treatment and alternating temperature. Methods and Results: Seeds were obtained from local variety. Seeds were treated with either $GA_3$ at a concentration of $100mg/{\ell} $, constant temperature ($-2^{\circ}C$ and $2^{\circ}C$), alternating temperature ($2^{\circ}C$ followed by $-2^{\circ}C$, followed by $2^{\circ}C$) or a combination $GA_3$ and temperature treatment. Following experimental treatment, seeds were sown into trays and placed in a greenhouse. Low germination rates were observed in seeds that did not receive $GA_3$ treatment, which were similar following $2^{\circ}C$ and $-2^{\circ}C$ constant temperature treatment. Germination rates increased in proportion to $GA_3$ and more so when combined with alternating temperature treatment. In additon, stem and leaf lengths of the resulting ginseng plants were increased following $GA_3$ treatment, although no synergistic effect was observed with alternating temperature treatment. Conclusions: These results suggest that a combination $GA_3$ and alternating temperature treatment enhances ginseng seed germination, which can contribute to shortening the time required to progress through a single ginseng generation for breeding.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.84-87
• /
• 2008

Kokang is a high-quality, disease resistant and high-yielding Rehmannia glutinosa cultivar developed by the medicinal crop breeding team of National Institute of Crop Science, RDA, during the period from 1997 to 2005. The reproduction of Rehmania glutinosa has been accomplished mainly by vegetative propagation with its seedlings have many variants. The cultivar was selected from seedling of Jihwang 1. The plant type of Kokang is some rising from ground. It has higher disease resistance, catalpol content and extract content compared with Jihwang 1. Regional yield trials conducted at three site from 2003 to 2005. The root yield of Kokang was 11.8ton per hectare, which was increased 13% compared with a check variety, Jihwang 1. This cultivar is adaptable to the whole of Korea except for mountain areas.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.171-177
• /
• 2022

The precise homeostatic regulation of local auxin accumulation in xylem precursors of cambium stem cell tissues is one of the most important mechanisms for plant vascular patterning and radial secondary growth. Walls are thin (WAT1), a novel intracellular auxin transporter, contributes directly to the auxin accumulation maxima in xylem precursors. According to recent research, the auxin signaling activated pathway-related gene network was significantly enriched during the secondary growth of Panax ginseng storage roots. These imply that during P. ginseng root secondary growth, specific signaling mechanisms for local auxin maxima in the vascular cambial cells are probably triggered. This study identified four WAT1-like genes, PgWAT1-1/-2 and PgWAT2-1/-2, in the P. ginseng genome. Their expression levels were greatly increased in nitratetreated storage roots stimulated for secondary root growth. PgWAT1-1 and PgWAT2-1 were similar to WAT1 from Arabidopsis and tomato plants in terms of their subcellular localization at a tonoplast and predicted transmembrane topology. We discovered that overexpression of PgWAT1-1 and PgWAT2-1 was sufficient to compensate for the secondary growth defects observed in slwat1-copi loss of function tomato mutants. This critical information from the PgWAT1-1 and PgWAT2-1 genes can potentially be used in future P. ginseng genetic engineering and breeding for increased crop yield.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.82-88
• /
• 1999

The present study was conducted to compare the relative efficiency of two different haploid breeding methods in tobacco varietal development. A single FI hybrid plant from cross of two flue-cured cultivars of Nicotiana tabacum L., Bright Yellow4(BY4) and NC95, was used to develop the 30 anther derived dihaploid (ADH) lines and maternally-derived dihaploid (MDH) lines utilizing Nicotiana africana, respectively. As compared with mid-parent, mean of ADH lines showed increase in number of leaves, delay in days to flower and narrow in width of leaf. However, no significant differences in the other investigated characters were recognized. MDH lines also showed narrow width of leaf, while no significant differences in the other characters were observed. The variations of the investigated characters were generally greater in ADH than MDH lines. MDH lines had higher height of plant and shorter days to flower than ADH lines, while the other characters did not show remarkable differences. The degree of heritability for each of the characters observed between ADH and MDH was almost the same. The characters showing high heritability value were height of plant, number of leaves, days to flower, and yield, while those showing relatively low value were length of leaf, width of leaf, and total alkaloid content. Predicted gains from selection for increased yield were calculated for both populations(ADH, MDH) and correlated responses associated with selection for yield were estimated. Height of plant, width of leaf, days to flower, and concentration of reduceing sugar would be expected to improve with selection for yield much faster in the MDH population than in the ADH.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.44 no.2
• /
• pp.312-320
• /
• 2020

Background: Ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) is an essential source of pharmaceuticals and functional foods. Ginseng productivity has been compromised by high light (HL) stress, which is one of the major abiotic stresses during the ginseng cultivation period. The genetic improvement for HL tolerance in ginseng could be facilitated by analyzing its genetic and molecular characteristics associated with HL stress. Methods: Genome-wide analysis of gene expression was performed under HL and recovery conditions in 1-year-old Korean ginseng (P. ginseng cv. Chunpoong) using the Illumina HiSeq platform. After de novo assembly of transcripts, we performed expression profiling and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Furthermore, putative functions of identified DEGs were explored using Gene Ontology terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome pathway enrichment analysis. Results: A total of 438 highly expressed DEGs in response to HL stress were identified and selected from 29,184 representative transcripts. Among the DEGs, 326 and 114 transcripts were upregulated and downregulated, respectively. Based on the functional analysis, most upregulated and a significant number of downregulated transcripts were related to stress responses and cellular metabolic processes, respectively. Conclusion: Transcriptome profiling could be a strategy to comprehensively elucidate the genetic and molecular mechanisms of HL tolerance and susceptibility. This study would provide a foundation for developing breeding and metabolic engineering strategies to improve the environmental stress tolerance of ginseng.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.482-487
• /
• 2019

Background: The mixed-cultivation of different Panax ginseng cultivars can cause adverse effects on stability of yield and quality. K-1 is a superior cultivar with good root shape and stronger disease resistance. DNA markers mined from functional genes are clearly desirable for K-1, as they may associate with major traits and can be used for marker-assisted selection to maintain the high quality of Korean ginseng. Methods: Five genes encoding pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins of P. ginseng were amplified and compared for polymorphism mining. Primary, secondary, and tertiary structures of PR5 protein were analyzed by ExPASy-ProtParam, PSSpred, and I-TASSER methods, respectively. A coding single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based specific primer was designed for K-1 by introducing a destabilizing mismatch within the 3' end. Allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time allele-specific PCR assays were conducted for molecular discrimination of K-1 from other cultivars and landraces. Results: A coding SNP leading to the modification of amino acid residue from aspartic acid to asparagine was exploited in PR5 gene of K-1 cultivar. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the modification of amino acid residue changed the secondary and tertiary structures of the PR5 protein. Primer KSR was designed for specific discrimination of K-1 from other ginseng cultivars and landraces. The developed real-time allele-specific PCR assay enabled easier automation and accurate genotyping of K-1 from a large number of ginseng samples. Conclusion: The SNP marker and the developed real-time allele-specific PCR assay will be useful not only for marker-assisted selection of K-1 cultivar but also for quality control in breeding and seed programs of P. ginseng.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.52-58
• /
• 2014

To determine whether Fourier transform (FT)-IR spectral analysis combined with multivariate analysis of whole-cell extracts from ginseng leaves can be applied as a high-throughput discrimination system of cultivation ages and cultivars, a total of total 480 leaf samples belonging to 12 categories corresponding to four different cultivars (Yunpung, Kumpung, Chunpung, and an open-pollinated variety) and three different cultivation ages (1 yr, 2 yr, and 3 yr) were subjected to FT-IR. The spectral data were analyzed by principal component analysis and partial least squares-discriminant analysis. A dendrogram based on hierarchical clustering analysis of the FT-IR spectral data on ginseng leaves showed that leaf samples were initially segregated into three groups in a cultivation age-dependent manner. Then, within the same cultivation age group, leaf samples were clustered into four subgroups in a cultivar-dependent manner. The overall prediction accuracy for discrimination of cultivars and cultivation ages was 94.8% in a cross-validation test. These results clearly show that the FT-IR spectra combined with multivariate analysis from ginseng leaves can be applied as an alternative tool for discriminating of ginseng cultivars and cultivation ages. Therefore, we suggest that this result could be used as a rapid and reliable F1 hybrid seed-screening tool for accelerating the conventional breeding of ginseng.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.463-468
• /
• 2017

Background: Both Panax ginseng Meyer and Panax quinquefolius are obligate shade-loving plants whose natural habitats are broadleaved forests of Eastern Asia and North America. Panax species are easily damaged by photoinhibition when they are exposed to high temperatures or insufficient shade. In this study, a cytohistological study of the leaf structures of two of the most well-known Panax species was performed to better understand the physiological processes that limit photosynthesis. Methods: Leaves of ginseng plants grown in soil and hydroponic culture were sectioned for analysis. Leaf structures of both Panax species were observed using a light microscope, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope. Results: The mesostructure of both P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius frequently had one layer of non-cylindrical palisade cells and three or four layers of spongy parenchymal cells. P. quinquefolius contained a similar number of stomata in the abaxial leaf surface but more tightly appressed enlarged grana stacks than P. ginseng contained. The adaxial surface of the epidermis in P. quinquefolius showed cuticle ridges with a pattern similar to that of P. ginseng. Conclusion: The anatomical leaf structure of both P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius shows that they are typical shade-loving sciophytes. Slight differences in chloroplast structure suggests that the two different species can be authenticated using transmission electron microscopy images, and light-resistant cultivar breeding can be performed via controlling photosynthesis efficiency.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.306-314
• /
• 2018

Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) has long been cultivated as an important economic medicinal plant. Owing to the seasonal and long-term agricultural cultivation methods of Korean ginseng, they are always vulnerable to various environmental stress conditions. ABSCISIC ACID (ABA) is an essential plant hormone associated with seed development and diverse abiotic stress responses including drought, cold and salinity stress. By modulating ABA responses, plants can regulate their immune responses and growth patterns to increase their ability to tolerate stress. With recent advances in genome sequencing technology, we first reported the functional features of genes related to canonical ABA signaling pathway in P. ginseng genome. Based on the protein sequences and functional genomic analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana, the ABA related genes were successfully identified. Our functional genomic characterizations clearly showed that the ABA signaling related genes consisting the ABA receptor proteins (PgPYLs), kinase family (PgSnRKs) and transcription factors (PgABFs, PgABI3s and PgABI5s) were evolutionary conserved in the P. ginseng genome. We confirmed that overexpressing ABA related genes of P. ginseng completely restored the ABA responses and stress tolerance in ABA defective Arabidopsis mutants. Finally, tissue and age specific spatio-temporal expression patterns of the identified ABA-related genes in P. ginseng tissues were also classified using various available RNA sequencing data. This study provides ABA signal transduction related genes and their functional genomic information related to the growth and development of Korean ginseng. Additionally, the results of this study could be useful in the breeding or artificial selection of ginseng which is resistant to various stresses.