• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.389-394
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• 2008

The ecophysiological changes occurring upon cold stress were studied using cold tolerant transgenic and wild-type tobacco plants. In a previous study, cold tolerance in tobacco was induced by the introduction of a gene encoding the zinc finger transcription factor, PIF1. Gas-exchange measurements including net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance were performed prior to, in the middle of, and after a cold-stress treatment of $1{\pm}2^{\circ}C$ for 96 h in each of the four seasons. In both transgenic and wild-type plants, gas-exchange parameters were severely decreased in the middle of the cold treatment, but had recovered after 2-3 h of adaptation in a greenhouse. Most t-test comparisons on gas-exchange measurements between the two plant types did not show statistical significance. Wild-type plants had slightly more water-soaked damage on the leaves than the transgenic plants. A light-response curve did not show any differences between the two plant types. However, the curve for assimilation-internal $CO_2$ in wild-type plants showed a much higher slope than that of the PIF1 transgenic plants. This means that the wild-type plant is more capable of regenerating Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) and has greater electron transport capacity. In conclusion, cold-resistant transgenic tobacco plants demonstrated a better recovery of net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance after cold-stress treatment compared to wild-type plants, but the ecophysiological recoveries of the transgenic plants were not statistically significant.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.25-28
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• 2000

The anthocyanin gene encoding flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase(F3,5H) was normally expressed in Nicotiana tobacco (Xanthi) plants cocultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404 carrying egg plant flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase cDNA. Northern blot analysis showed the normal expression of F3', 5'H gene from transgenic plants. Here we found the phenotypic differences between transgenic plants and wild-type plants. The petal shape of transgenic plants showed more round shape and around petal tube area was compared to that of wild-type tobacco plants. And the petal color of transgenic plants was much lighter than that of wild-type tobacco plants.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.75-83
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• 2010

Glycine betaine has been reported as an osmoprotectant compound conferring tolerance to salinity and osmotic stresses in plants. We previously found that the expression of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 gene (OsBADH1), encoding a key enzyme for glycine betaine biosynthesis pathway, showed close correlation with salt tolerance of rice. In this study, the expression of the OsBADH1 gene in transgenic tobacco was investigated in response to salt stress using a transgenic approach. Transgenic tobacco plants expressing the OsBADH1 gene were generated under the control of a promoter from the maize ubiquitin gene. Three homozygous lines of $T_2$ progenies with single transgene insert were chosen for gene expression analysis. RT-PCR and western blot analysis results indicated that the OsBADH1 gene was effectively expressed in transgenic tobacco leading to the accumulation of glycine betaine. Transgenic lines demonstrated normal seed germination and morphology, and normal growth rates of seedlings under salt stress conditions. These results suggest that the OsBADH1 gene could be an excellent candidate for producing plants with osmotic stress tolerance.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.141-146
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• 2006

We previously showed that NtCDPK1, a tobacco calcium-dependent protein kinase, interacts with and phosphorylates the Rpn3 regulatory subunit of the 26S proteasome, and that both NtCDPK1 and Rpn3 are mainly expressed in rapidly proliferating tissues, including shoot and root meristem. In this study, we examined NtCDPK1 expression in roots using GUS expression in transgenic Arabidopsis plants, and investigated its function in root development by generating transgenic tobacco plants carrying a sense NtCDPK1 transgene. GUS activity was first detected in roots two days after sowing. In later stages, strong GUS expression was detected in the root meristem and elongation zone, as well as the initiation sites and branch points of lateral roots. Transgenic tobacco plants in which NtCDPK1 expression was suppressed were smaller, and their root development was abnormal, with reduced lateral root formation and less elongation. These results suggest that NtCDPK1 plays a role in a signaling pathway regulating root development in tobacco.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.25-31
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• 1996

Transgenic tobacco plants expressing calmodulin derivative($lys{\rightarrow}ile$ 115 calmodulin) and hygromycin resistance genes or hygromycin resistance gene alone(control) were generated by Agrobacterium-mediated DNA transfer. Seeds obtained from the transgenic plants($F_o$) were tested for resistance to hygromycin and the expected 3 : 1 ratio was observed. The expression of calmodulin derivative in the tobacco plants was identified by a combined method of Western blot and Chemiluminescence. The effects of surface sterilizers on the germiation of seeds from transgenic tobacco plants were tested in Murashige and Skoog agar medium. Seeds obtained from transgenic tobacoo plants expressing the calmodulin derivative showed no fungi contamination with normal germination by treating with sterilized water alone or sodium hypochlorite(2% effective chlorine). In contrast, seeds from the control transgenic tobacco plants showed severe contamination with fungi by treating with sterilized water alone and showed no contamination with normal germination by treating with sodium hypochlorite(2% chlorine). The effects of calcium concentration on the germination of seeds from transgenic tobacco plants were tested in Murashige and Skoog agar medium. Seeds obtained from transgenic tobacco plants expressing the calmodulin derivative showed better germination frequency than that of the control transgenic tobacco seeds in the medium containing 30 mM $CaCl_2$. The data raise the possibility that the expression of calmodulin derivative gene in tobacco plants could increase adaptability of the seeds to environmental stresses.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.77-81
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• 1999

Tobacco plants(Nicotiana tabacum cv. NC82) transformed with TMV CP cDNA were self-fertilized until 8th generation (R$_{8}$), and the transgenic plants from 6th to 8th generation were analized for their resistance to tobacco mosaic virus(TMV) and stability of the gene expression. The 6th generation of the plants(R$_{6}$) showed high resistance(81-91 %) to TMV at eight weeks after artificial inoculation with the virus. The transgenic cell line 601 was the most prominant in the expression of resistance. 98 % of the plants showed no symptom without any agronomic phynotepe variation when they were inoculated with the virus in a experimental field. However, 2% of the plants were revealed as delay type of symptom with mild mosaic on a few leaves. The viral resistance in greenhouse tests of the 7th generation (R$_{7}$) was 54-64%, and the number of delay type plants were increased than that of 6th generation plants. In the 8th generation, 81 % of the plants was complete resistant to the virus. The TMV CP cDNA of the transgenic plants of each generation was also confirmed by genomic PCR, and there was no systemic viral multiplication in the resistant plants. It suggests that the viral resistance and gene expression of the transgenic plants might be stable through the generations.ons.s.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.143-150
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• 2002

A strong oxidative stress-inducible peroxidase promoter (referred to as SWPA2 promoter) was cloned from tell cultures of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) and characterized in transgenic tobacco cultured cells in terms of biotechnological applications. Employing a transient expression assay in tobacco protoplasts, with five different 5'-deletion mutants of the SWPA2 promoter fused to the $\beta$-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene, the 1314 bp deletion mutant showed approximately 30 times higher GUS expression than the CaMV 35S promoter. The expression of GUS activity in suspension cultures of transgenic cells derived from transgenic tobacco leaves containing the -1314 bp SWPA2 promoter-GUS fusion was strongly expressed following 15 days of subculture compared to other deletion mutants, suggesting that the 1314 bp SWPA2 promoter will be biotechnologically useful for the development of transgenic cell lines engineered to produce key pharmaceutical proteins. In this respect, we developed transgenic cell lines such as tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. BY-2), ginseng (Panax ginseng) and Siberian ginseng (Acanthopanax senticosus) using a SWPA2 promoter to produce a human lactoferrin (hLf) and characterized the hLf production in cultured cells. The hLf production monitored by ELISA analysis in transgenic BY-2 cells was directly increased proportional to cell growth and reached a maximal level (up to 4.3% of total soluble protein) at the stationary phase in suspension cultures. The SWPA2 promoter should result in higher productivity and increased applications of plant cultured cells for the production of high-value recombinant proteins.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.316-321
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• 2001

Dehydroascorbate (DHA) reductase (DHAR, EC 1.8.5.1) catalyzes the reduction of DHA to reduced ascorbate (AsA) using glutathione (GSH) as the electron donor in order to maintain an appropriate level of ascorbate in plant cells. To analyze the physiological role of DHAR in environmental stress adaptation, we developed transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi) plants that express a human DHAR gene isolated from the human fetal liver cDNA library in the chloroplasts. We also investigated the DHAR activity, levels of ascorbate, and GSH. Two transgenic plants were successfully developed by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and were confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analysis. DHAR activity and AsA content in mature leaves of transgenic plants were approximately 1.41 and 1.95 times higher than in the non-transgenic (NT) plants, respectively In addition, the content of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) in transgenic plants was approximately 2.95 times higher than in the NT plants. The ratios of AsA to DHA and GSSG to GSH were changed by overexpression of DHAR, as expected, even though the total content of ascorbate and glutathione was not significantly changed. When tobacco leaf discs were subjected to methyl viologen at $5\;{\mu}M$, $T_0$ transgenic plants showed about a 50% reduction in membrane damage compared to the NT plants.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.323-329
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• 2011

MuSI, a gene that corresponds to a domain that contains the rubber elongation factor (REF), is highly homologous to many stress-related proteins in plants. Since MuSI is up-regulated in the roots of plants treated with cadmium or copper, the involvement of MuSI in cadmium tolerance was investigated in this study. Escherichia coli cells overexpressing MuSI were more resistant to Cd than wild-type cells transfected with vector alone. MuSI transgenic plants were also more resistant to Cd. MuSI transgenic tobacco plants absorbed less Cd than wild-type plants. Cd translocation from roots to shoots was reduced in the transgenic plants, thereby avoiding Cd toxicity. The number of short trichomes in the leaves of wild-type tobacco plants was increased by Cd treatment, while this was unchanged in MuSI transgenic tobacco. These results suggest that MuSI transgenic tobacco plants have enhanced tolerance to Cd via reduced Cd uptake and/or increased Cd immobilization in the roots, resulting in less Cd translocation to the shoots.

• Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Korea Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.23-23
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• 2001