• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.184-187
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• 2003

Verticillium wilt was first observed in 2001 on potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) cv. Superior at Daegwallyong area, one of the major seed potato producing areas in Korea. The wilted potato plants showed typical symptoms including gradual yellowing and interveinal necrosis. There was discoloration in the vascular tissues of the infected stems which turned light brown. Fungal isolates from discolored vascular tissues were whitish to creamy with folding on potato dextrose agar medium, where they used to produce resting dark mycelia but no micro-sclerotia. Conidiophores were septate with side branches, swelled at the base, and arranged in a whorl. Conidia were 2.5-11.2$\times$2.0-4.5 $\mu\textrm{m}$ um in size and were borne in small clusters at the tips of phialides. Optimal temperature range for mycelial growth was $25-30^{\circ}C$. Based on these cultural and morphological characteristics, the fungus was identified as Verticillium albo-atrum Reink & Berth. Pathogenicity tests by root dipping method revealed that the fungus caused the same symptoms as observed in naturally infected potato plants. This is the first report of Verticillium wilt on potato caused by Verticillium albo-atrum in Korea.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.390-400
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• 2012

Eight potato-producing provinces of Iran were surveyed during the growing seasons of 2004-2006 to detect the presence of Tomato yellow fruit ring virus (TYFRV), a tentative species in the genus Tospovirus. A total of 1,957 potato leaf samples were collected from plants with tospovirus-like symptoms of chlorotic or necrotic spots, chlorosis and necrosis. The samples were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using TYFRV-specific antibodies. Among those tested, 498 samples (25.4%) were found to be infected with the virus. The virus was detected in 72.4% of the potato fields in all provinces surveyed. Thirteen potato isolates of TYFRV were selected for further biological and molecular studies. Based on their reactions on Nicotiana tabacum plants, the isolates were separated into two groups, namely L (local infection) and N (systemic infection). The nucleotide sequences of the nucleoprotein (N) genes of the isolates were determined and compared with the homologous sequences in Genbank. No recombination evidence was found in the isolates using different recombination-detecting programs. In the phylogenetic tree, the potato isolates fell into two major groups: IRN-1 and IRN-2 corresponding to the two biologically separated groups. This study shows for the first time the biological and phylogenetic relationships of geographically distant TYFRV isolates from potatoes in the mid-Eurasian country of Iran.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.241-248
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• 2017

Yield of potato is largely influenced by drought stress. This study was conducted in Gangneung and Cheongju during the spring cropping of potato. Potatoes in the Gangneung area were affected by drought but there was no damage due to drought in Cheongju. During the early-growth stage, the contents of inorganic components like available phosphate and growth characteristics of the potato leaf in Cheongju were significantly higher than those in Gangneung but there was no difference after the flowering stage. It was considered that the potato plants cultivated in Cheongju could vigorously grow than that of Gangneung under drought stress. In addition, the content of calcium (Ca), which is a secondary messenger related to aging, was found to be higher in potato plants grown in Cheongju than in Gangneung and accumulated more quickly in potato plants of Cheongju. Because magnesium (Mg) was also found to be higher in potato plants from Gangneung by a wide margin, this phenomenon was thought be related with drought stress. The amounts of all inorganic components absorbed from soil were higher in Cheongju than in Gangneung, showing a relatively higher plant biomass in Cheongju. Correlations of development indexes related to leaf showed less or no relation in Gangneung. According to yield characteristics of the harvest stage, although yield was greatly reduced under drought stress condition, the rate of commercial yield was not significantly affected under the drought stress condition. Consequently, it was considered that these responses to drought stress could be utilized to stabilize potato production under the stressful conditions associated with abnormal climate.

• Plant Disease and Agriculture
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.64-66
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• 1999

Black leg occurred in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) grown in Pyungchang, Kangwon-Do, Korea. The symptoms began as small water-soaked lesions on stem, and the affected stems discolored black to brown. It became yellow under dry condition. When lower parts of potato were affected in the field, wilting of leaves and desiccation of the stem were developed. The causal organism was isolated from lesions and identified as Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica based on the morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics. E. carotovora subsp. atroseptica is the first described bacterium which causes black leg in potato in Korea.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2010.10a
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• pp.14-14
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• 2010

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an essential component for collagen biosynthesis and also for the proper functioning of the cardiovascular system in humans. Unlike most of the animals, humans lack the ability to synthesize ascorbic acid on their own due to a mutation in the gene encoding the last enzyme of ascorbate biosynthesis. As a result, vitamin C must be obtained from dietary sources like plants. In this study, we have developed two different kinds of transgenic potato plants (Solanumtuberosum L. cv. Taedong Valley) overexpressing strawberry GalUR and mouse GLoase gene under the control of CaMV 35S promoter with increased ascorbic acid levels. Integration of the these genes in the plant genome was confirmed by PCR and Southern blotting. Ascorbic acid(AsA) levels in transgenic tubers were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). The over-expression of these genes resulted in 2-4 folds increase in AsA intransgenic potato and the levels of AsA were positively correlated with increased geneactivity. The transgenic lines with enhanced vitamin C content showed enhanced tolerance to abiotic stresses induced by methyl viologen(MV), NaCl or mannitol as compared to untransformed control plants. The leaf disc senescence assay showed better tolerance in transgenic lines by retaining higher chlorophyll as compared to the untransformed control plants. Present study demonstrated that the over-expression of these gene enhanced the level of AsA in potato tubers and these transgenics performed better under different abiotic stresses as compared to untransformed control. We have also investigated the mechanism of the abiotic stress tolerance upon enhancing the level of the ascorbate in transgenic potato. The transgenic potato plants overexpressing GalUR gene with enhanced accumulation of ascorbate were investigated to analyze the antioxidants activity of enzymes involved in the ascorbate-glutathione cycle and their tolerance mechanism against different abiotic stresses under invitro conditions. Transformed potato tubers subjected to various abiotic stresses induced by methyl viologen, sodium chloride and zinc chloride showed significant increase in the activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD, EC 1.15.1.1), catalase, enzymes of ascorbate-glutathione cycle enzymes such as ascorbate peroxidase(APX, EC 1.11.1.11), dehydroascorbate reductase(DHAR, EC 1.8.5.1), and glutathione reductase(GR, EC 1.8.1.7) as well as the levels of ascorbate, GSH and proline when compared to the untransformed tubers. The increased enzyme activities correlated with their mRNA transcript accumulation in the stressed transgenic tubers. Pronounced differences in redox status were also observed in stressed transgenic potato tubers that showed more tolerance to abiotic stresses when compared to untransformed tubers. From the present study, it is evident that improved to lerance against abiotic stresses in transgenic tubers is due to the increased activity of enzymes involved in the antioxidant system together with enhanced ascorbate accumulated in transformed tubers when compared to untransformed tubers. At moment we also investigating the role of enhanced reduced glutathione level for the maintenance of the methylglyoxal level as it is evident that methylglyoxal is a potent cytotoxic compound produced under the abiotic stress and the maintenance of the methylglyoxal level is important to survive the plant under stress conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2011

Major diseases of tobacco plants were surveyed throughout the Korea in 2011. Mosaic, bacterial wilt and hallow stalk were most severe during the harvest season on not only flue-cured tobacco plants but also burley tobacco plants. On flue-cured tobacco plants, mosaic caused by potato virus Y were more severe than those by tobacco mosaic virus or cucumber mosaic virus. The mosaic caused by potato virus Y was severe at Yeongwol and Chungju. On burley tobacco plants, mosaic were more severe at Jeongeup and Gochang than those at Chungnam and Jeonnam. A negative correlation between the mosaic incidence and the precipitation was recognized. On the other hand, there was a positive correlation between the incidence of hallow stalk incidence of flue-cured tobacco plants in harvesting stage and the precipitation during June was recognized significantly.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.224-229
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• 2009

Human lactoferrin is an iron-binding glycoprotein with many biological activities, including the protection against microbial and virus infection and stimulation of the immune system. We introduced a human lactoferrin (hLf) cDNA under the control of 35S promoter into sweet potato by particle bombardment. Transgenic plants were regenerated via somatic embryogenesis. Transgenic plants were produced typical tuberous roots in soil. PCR, Southern and northern analyses confirmed that the hLf cDNA was incorporated into the plant genome and was properly expressed in plants. Western blot analysis showed that the 80 kDa full length hLf protein was produced in transgenic tuberous roots. Overall results indicated that sweet potato would be an excellent host to produce human therapeutic proteins.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.160-170
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• 2016

The increasing spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens has raised the interest in alternative antimicrobial treatments. In our study, the functionally active gram-negative bacterium bacteriophage CP933 endolysin was produced in Nicotiana benthamiana plants by a combination of transient expression and vacuole targeting strategies, and its antimicrobial activity was investigated. Expression of the cp933 gene in E. coli led to growth inhibition and lysis of the host cells or production of trace amounts of CP933. Cytoplasmic expression of the cp933 gene in plants using Potato virus X-based transient expression vectors (pP2C2S and pGR107) resulted in death of the apical portion of experimental plants. To protect plants against the toxic effects of the CP933 protein, the cp933 coding region was fused at its Nterminus to an N-terminal signal peptide from the potato proteinase inhibitor I to direct CP933 to the delta-type vacuoles. Plants producing the CP933 fusion protein did not exhibit the severe toxic effects seen with the unfused protein and the level of expression was 0.16 mg/g of plant tissue. Antimicrobial assays revealed that, in contrast to gram-negative bacterium E. coli (BL21(DE3)), the gram-positive plant pathogenic bacterium Clavibacter michiganensis was more susceptible to the plant-produced CP933, showing 18% growth inhibition. The results of our experiments demonstrate that the combination of transient expression and protein targeting to the delta vacuoles is a promising approach to produce functionally active proteins that exhibit toxicity when expressed in plant cells.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.215-219
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• 2003

Optimal shoot regeneration and transformation conditions of root type chicory (Cichorium intybus L. var. sativus cv Cesare) were studied. Leaf explants were co-cultured with Agrobacterium tumefaciens, which contained NPTII as a selectable marker and a rice homeotic gene, OsMADS1, that encodes a MADS-domain-containing transcription factor. After one day of co-cultivation, explants were transferred to selection media consisting of MS basal medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L BAP, 0.1 mg/L IAA, 70 mg/L kanamycin, and 250 mg/L cefotaxime. PCR and Southern blot analyses revealed stable integration of the OsMADS1 gene in the chicory genome. Four-teen original transgenic plants ($T_o$ plants) were acclimatized in the greenhouse and examined for their morphological characters. Most of the transgenic plants showed altered morphologies, such as short, bushy, and early-flowering phenotypes with reduced apical dominance. Additionally, half of the transgenic plants exhibited altered leaf shapes, and 4 out of 14 plants were sterile. These phenotypes were inherited by the next generation. Northern blot analysis confirmed expression of the OsMADS1 gene in both floral and vegetative organs.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.223-230
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• 2016

Ascorbic acid (AsA) is a strong antioxidant/reducing agent that can be converted to dehydroascorbate (DHA) by oxidation in plants. DHA, a very short-lived chemical, is recycled to AsA by dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR). Previously, DHAR cDNA was isolated from the hairy roots of the sesame plant, and DHAR-overexpressing transgenic potato plants were generated under the control of the CaMV35S promoter (CaMV35S::DHAR). An increase in transgene expression and ascorbate levels were observed in the transgenic plants. In the present study, proteomic analysis revealed that transgenic plants not only accumulated DHAR in their cells, but also induced several other antioxidant enzyme-related proteins during plant growth. These results suggest that DHAR is important for stress tolerance via induction of antioxidant proteins, and could improve stress tolerance in transgenic potato plants.