• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.390-395
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• 2015

Degradation of chlorophyll (Chl) by Chl catabolic enzymes (CCEs) causes the loss of green color that typically occurs during senescence of leaves. In addition to CCEs, STAYGREEN1 (SGR1) functions as a key regulator of Chl degradation. Although sgr1 mutants in many plant species exhibit a staygreen phenotype, the biochemical function of the SGR1 protein remains elusive. Many recent studies have examined the physiological and molecular roles of SGR1 and its homologs (SGR2 and SGR-LIKE) in Chl metabolism, finding that these proteins have different roles in different species. In this review, we summarize the recent studies on SGR and discuss the most likely functions of SGR homologs.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.89-103
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• 2011

Two rice varieties, viz. Nonabokra and Pokkali, have been evaluated for their responses to salinity in terms of some physiological and biochemical attributes. During the exposure to salinity (200 mM concentration of sodium chloride for 24, 48, and 72 h), a significant increase in sodium was recorded which was also concomitant with the changes of other metabolic profiles like proline, phenol, polyamine, etc. The protein oxidation was significantly increased and also varied between the two cultivars. The changes in activities of anti-oxidative enzymes under stress were significantly different to the control. The detrimental effects of salinity were also evident in terms of lipid peroxidation, chlorophyll content, protein profiles, and generation of free radicals; and these were more pronounced in Pokkali than in Nonabokra. The assessment and analysis of these physiological characters under salinity could unravel the mechanism of salt responses revealed in this present study and thus might be useful for selection of tolerant plant types under the above conditions of salinity.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.19-19
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• 2014

Pleurotus ostreatus, P. eryngii, and Flammulina velutipes are major edible mushrooms that account for over 89% of total mushroom production in Korea. Recently, Agrocybe cylindracea, Hypsizygus marmoreus, and Hericium erinaceu are increasingly being cultivated in mushroom farms. In Korea, the production of edible mushrooms was estimated to be 614,224 ton in 2013. Generally, about 5 kg of mushroom substrate is needed to produce 1 kg of mushroom, and consequently about 25 million tons of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) is produced each year in Korea. Because this massive amount of SMC is unsuitable for reuse in mushroom production, it is either used as garden fertilizer or deposited in landfills, which pollutes the environment. It is reasonably assumed that SMS includes different secondary metabolites and extracellular enzymes produced from mycelia on substrate. Three major groups of enzymes such as cellulases, xylanases, and lignin degrading enzymes are involved in breaking down mushroom substrates. Cellulase and xylanase have been used as the industrial enzymes involving the saccharification of biomass to produce biofuel. In addition, lignin degrading enzymes such as laccases have been used to decolorize the industrial synthetic dyes and remove environmental pollutions such as phenolic compounds. Basidiomycetes produce a large number of biologically active compounds that show antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, cytotoxic or hallucinogenic activities. However, most previous researches have focused on therapeutics and less on the control of plant diseases. SMS can be considered as an easily available source of active compounds to protect plants from fungal and bacterial infections, helping alleviate the waste disposal problem in the mushroom industry and creating an environmentally friendly method to reduce plant pathogens. We describe extraction of lignocellulytic enzymes and antimicrobial substance from SMSs of different edible mushrooms and their potential applications.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.269-282
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• 2000

Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids are a diverse group of natural products that include many pharmacologically active compounds produced in a limited number of plant families. Despite their complexity, intensive biochemical research has extended our knowledge of the chemistry and enzymology of many important benzylisoquinoline alkaloid pathways, such as those leading to the analgesic drugs morphine and codeine, and the antibiotics sanguinarine and berberine. The use of cultured plant cells as an experimental system has facilitated the identification and characterization of more than 30 benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic enzymes, and the molecular cloning of the genes that encode at least 8 of these enzymes. The recent expansion of biochemical and molecular technologies has creat-ed unique opportunities to dissect the mechanisms involved in the regulation of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis in plants. Research has suggested that product accumulation is controlled by the developmental and inducible regulation of several benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes, and by the subcellular compartmentation of biosynthetic enzymes and the intracellular localization and trafficking of pathway intermediates. In this paper, we review our current understanding of the biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular regulation of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis in plants. We also summarize our own research activities, especially those related to the establishment of protocols for the genetic transformation of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid-producing species, and the development of metabolic engineering strategies in these plants.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Potoscience Conference
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.27-27
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• 2006

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.208-208
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• 2004

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.15-22
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• 1969

By spectrophotometric assay method, the following enzymes could be detected in Dunaliella tertiolecta and Chlorella pyrenoidosa cell-free extracts: Hexokinase; Glucose-6-phosphate, 6-Phosphogluconate and Triosephosphate dehydrogenase; Transketolase; Phosphogluco and Ribosephosphate isomerase; Phosphoglucomutase; Phosphofructokinase; Fructosediphosphate aldorase and Ribulosephosphate 3-epimerase. Such enzymes are in accordance with the proposed pathway of glucose catabolism by D. tertiolecta as well as C. pyrenoidosa. Also, it could be estimated, under the presence of NADP, that pentose phosphate pathway were more active than glycolytic pathway in D. tertiolecta cell-free systems.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.243-249
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• 2010

Molecular farming is production of pharmaceutically and industrially important proteins in plants. Plants and plant cell culture systems have been used as bio-factory to produce recombinant proteins such as monoclonal antibodies, enzymes, vaccines, hormones, interleukins, commercial enzymes and etc. The terms molecular farming, biofarming, molecular pharming, phytomanufacturing, recombinant or plant-made industrials, planta-pharma, plant bioreactors, plant biofactory, and pharmaceutical gardening are used interchangeably. Molecular farming can provide safe and inexpensive pharmaceutical proteins as well as commercial ones. In spite of several advantages of molecular farming such as safety and inexpensive cost, there are also a couple of drawbacks in the existing technology. One of them is low expression level of target gene in plants, which has been improved by optimizing gene-based codon usage, screening of strong promoters, expression of transcription factors, subcellular targeting of target proteins, chloroplast transformation, and transient expression using viral expression system (magnifection). Some plant-based commercial proteins have already been in markets and more than twenty plant-based pharmaceuticals have been in clinical trials, from that we can expect that several plant-based pharmaceutical proteins will be seen in the markets in the near future.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.406-416
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• 2019

Strawberry, an important fruit crop, is susceptible to a large number of pathogens that reduce fruit quality and productivity. In this study, the effect of a biostimulant prepared from Ascophyllum nodosum extract (ANE) (0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3%) was evaluated on powdery mildew progression under greenhouse and field conditions. In the greenhouse, application of 0.2% ANE showed maximum reduction in powdery mildew progression as compared to the control. Forty-eight hour post-inoculation, foliar spray of 0.2% ANE reduced spore germination by 75%. Strawberry leaves sprayed with ANE showed higher total phenolic and flavonoid content in response to powdery mildew infection. Furthermore, application of ANE elicited defense response in strawberry plants by induction of defense-related enzymes, such as phenylalanine ammonia lyase, polyphenol oxidase, and peroxidase activity. In field conditions, foliar spray of 0.2% ANE showed a reduction of 37.2% of natural incidence of powdery mildew infection as compared to the control. ANE sprayed plant also reduces the severity of powdery mildew infection under natural conditions. These results indicate that application of ANE induces the strawberry plant's active defense against powdery mildew infection by induction of secondary metabolism and regulating the activities of defense-related enzymes.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.341-351
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• 2002

In order to examine the mechanistic basis for differential sensitivities to chilling and subsequent recovery between two rice (Oryza sativa L.) cutivars, a chilling-tolerant japonica type (Ilpumbyeo) and a chilling-susceptible indica type (Taebaekbyeo), changes of physiological responses and antioxidant enzymes were investigated. Both cultivars at 3 leaf stage were exposed at a low temperature of $5^{\circ}C$ for 3 days and subsequently recovered in a growth chamber at a $25^{\circ}C$ for 5 days with 250 mmol $m^{-2}$ $s^{-1}$. Physiological parameters such as leaf fresh weight, relative water content, cellular leakage, lipid peroxidation, and chlorophyll a fluorescence showed that the chilling tolerant cultivar had a high tolerance during chilling. However, the chilling-susceptible cultivar revealed severe chilling damages. The chilling-tolerant cultivar was also faster in recovery than the chilling-susceptible cultivar in all parameters examined. We analyzed the activity and isozyme profiles of four antioxidant enzymes which are: superoxide dismutase (SOD), caltalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutation reductase (GR). We observed that chilling-tolerance was due to a result of the induced or higher antioxidant enzyme system, CAT and APX in leaves and SOD, CAT, APX, and GR in roots. Especially, we observed the most significant differences between the chilling-tolerant cultivar and -susceptible cultivar in CAT and APX activity. Also in isozyme profiles, CAT and APX band intensity in the chilling-tolerant cultivar was distinctively higher than in the chilling-susceptible cultivars during chilling and recovery. Thus, the cold stability of CAT and APX are expected to contribute to a tolerance mechanism of chilling in rice plants. In addition, the antioxidative enzymes activity in roots may be more important than in that of leaves to protect chilling damage on rice plants.