Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) is one of the most widely grown winter forage crops in Korea, but its yields are known to be greatly affected by drought that occur frequently in spring. This study aimed to compare the growth and tolerance response characteristics to drought stress in several Italian ryegrass varieties cultivated in Korea. Twenty-day-old Italian ryegrass was subjected to drought treatment for 4 days, and then the growth and physiological responses of the plants were compared. Drought stress reduced leaf length, fresh weight, and dry weight in all Italian ryegrass varieties compared to the control. In addition, chlorophyll content was significantly decreased in all varieties treated with drought stress, but Fv/Fm was significantly decreased only in Winter hawk. For H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, Winter hawk showed the highest increase and New dawn showed the least increase. In terms of relative water content (RWC), New dawn showed the least decrease and Winter hawk showed the greatest decrease. These results indicate that New dawn is relatively drought-tolerant and Winter hawk is a drought-sensitive variety, indicating that each variety of Italian ryegrass has different drought tolerance mechanisms, which may provide basic insight for the development of tolerant varieties in the future.

Drought stress is one of the major factors that reduce plant growth and productivity. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of exogenous acetic acid pretreatment on drought stress tolerance response in plants. Fourteen-day-old alfalfa plants were pretreated with 15 mM acetic acid, and then subsequently subjected to drought stress for 6 days. The fresh weight and relative water content in the leaves of acetic acid pretreated alfalfa plants were increased compared to the control group. The chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were slightly decreased in the acetic acid treatment. The H2O2 and proline contents were also significantly decreased in the acetic acid treatment. These results suggest that the scavenging mechanism of reactive oxygen species in alfalfa activated by acetic acid pretreatment is involved in conferring tolerance to drought stress.

The present study was conducted to analyze agronomic characteristics of 8 ecotypes of Arundinella hirta (A. hirta) and the correlation among them. Changes in phenotypic characteristics of 8 ecotypes were measured at equal intervals of time from May to September. Among ecotypes, Jangsoo-1 has the highest plant height (172.33 cm), number of leaves (9.00) and leaf length (55 cm) while the ecotype Youngduk has the highest leaf width (1.57 cm), fresh mass (26.63 g), dry mass (7.06 g), number of spikelets per spike (53.33), amount of seeds per spike (0.74 g) and amount of seeds per 10 spikes (7.23 g). The ecotype Jinju-1 has the shortest plant height (119 cm) and leaf number (6.33), while Okgye-2 has shortest leaf length (30.67 cm), leaf width (0.93 cm), fresh mass (12.60 g), dry mass (3.30 g), spike length (30.33 cm), spikelet per spike (39.67), amount of seeds per spike (0.61 g) and amount of seeds per 10 spikes (6.00 g). Correlation coefficients were estimated among the studied agronomic characteristics which showed positive and significant association with each other. In the present study, the agronomic data collected would be useful to understand the potential of A. hirta as a forage resource and helpful in selecting the high-yielding genetic resource for future forage improvement.

To understand antioxidant enzyme response of two contrasting Arundinella hirta ecotypes to drought stress, drought-tolerant Youngduk and drought-sensitive Jinju-1, were comparatively analyzed changes in the enzymatic activities of peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione reductase (GR). Two ecotypes, drought-tolerant Youngduk and drought-sensitive Jinju-1 were subjected to drought stress by withholding water for 12 days. ROS accumulation level and electrolytic leakage were significantly increased in both A. hirta ecotypes by drought stress treatment but less in Youngduk than Jinju-1. The RWC significantly decreased in both the drought stress-treated ecotypes as compared to control, but less in Youngduk than Jinju-1. Soluble sugar and protein content were increased more in drought stress-treated Youngduk as compared to Jinju-1. The activities of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, CAT, POD, APX, and GR increased significantly in both the drought stress-treated ecotypes Youngduk and Jinju-1 as compared to control. The increase in antioxidant enzyme activity level was more prominent in drought stress-treated Youngduk as compared to Jinju-1. Taken together, these results suggest that Youngduk was more tolerant to drought stress than Jinju-1, and seem to indicate that tolerance of A. hirta to drought stress is associated with increased activity of antioxidant enzymes.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of waterlogging stress on the physiological response and growth characteristics of the five Italian ryegrass varieties. For all varieties, the germination rate of seed decreased by 10-15% as the waterlogging period increased, but the waterlogging stress treatment after the early seedling stage increased the growth of shoot and root length. Photosynthetic activity (Fv/Fm) according to waterlogging stress treatment decreased in all vareity, and Florida 80 showed the least decrease with 1.5%. Waterlogging stress treatment was found to reduce the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (malondialdehyde, MDA) and the activities of antioxidant enzymes. These results suggest that other mechanisms may be involved in the defense mechanism of Italian ryegrass against waterlogging stress, such as promoting root growth to escape from waterlogging stress, in addition to the antioxidant enzyme system.

Aluminum (Al) is one of the major factors adversely affects crop growth and productivity in acidic soils. In this study, the effect of Al on plants in soil was investigated by comparing the protein expression profiles of alfalfa roots exposed to Al stress treatment. Two-week-old alfalfa seedlings were exposed to Al stress treatment at pH 4.0. Total protein was extracted from alfalfa root tissue and analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis combined with MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry. A total of 45 proteins differentially expressed in Al stress-treated alfalfa root tissues were identified, of which 28 were up-regulated and 17 were down-regulated. Of the differentially expressed proteins, 7 representative proteins were further confirmed for transcript accumulation by RT-PCR analysis. The identified proteins were involved in several functional categories including disease/defense (24%), energy (22%), protein destination (9%), metabolism (7%), transcription (5%), secondary metabolism (4%), and ambiguous classification (29%). The identification of key candidate genes induced by Al in alfalfa roots will be useful to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of Al stress tolerance in alfalfa plants.

본 연구는 남부지역에서 사료용 옥수수(Zea mays L.)의 수량과 기후요인 간의 상관관계를 비교하기 위하여 수행하였다. 실험에 사용한 사료용 옥수수 품종은 광평옥이었으며, 2017년에서 2019년까지 3년간 경상남도(진주)와 전라남도(나주, 장흥)의 시험포장에서 각각 수행하였다. 사료용 옥수수의 평균 간장은 경상남도에서 250.1±52.9 cm로 전라남도의 215.2±25.2 cm 보다 유의적으로 더 높게 나타났다. 암이삭 평균 착수고의 경우에도 경상남도가 119.8±31.4 cm로 전라남도의 89.5±18.3 cm 보다 더 높게 나타났다. 옥수수의 평균 총 건물수량은 유의적 차이는 없었으나, 경상남도에서 16045±5012 kg·ha-1로 더 많았다. 이러한 차이는 옥수수 유식물 정착기인 5월 중의 유효적산온도와 강수량, 그리고 전 생육기간 중의 일조시간 등이 경상남도 지역이 더 많았기 때문으로 판단된다. 암이삭의 평균 건물수량은 경상남도가 6363±2728 kg·ha-1로 전라남도의 3998±2750 kg·ha-1 보다 더 많았는데, 이는 개화결실기 때의 평균 최고기온에 노출정도의 차이에 의한 것으로 추측된다. 사료용 옥수수의 기후요인과 건물수량과의 상관관계를 분석한 결과, 5월 강수량(0.54)과 6월 강수량(0.52), 그리고 8월 평균기온(0.60)과 8월 평균 최고기온(0.60)이 가장 높은 양의 상관관계를 나타내었으며, 경엽부 건물수량도 유사한 경향을 나타내었는데, 이는 초기 유식물 생육기의 강수량이 건물수량에 미치는 영향이 중요하며, 여름철 고온기인 8월의 기온이 C4작물인 옥수수의 생장에 중요한 요인으로 영향을 미친 것으로 판단된다. 또한 암이삭 건물수량은 웅수와 암이삭이 직접 대기에 노출되는 시기인 7월의 평균기온(-0.85)과 평균 최고기온(-0.79)과 음의 상관관계를 나타내어, 개화 수정기 때의 고온이 결실률에 영향을 미치는 중요한 요인임을 추측할 수 있었다. 향후 기후요소가 옥수수의 생육 및 생산성에 미치는 영향을 더욱 정확하게 분석하기 위한 데이터 축적을 위해서는 추가적인 후속 연구가 수행되어야 할 것으로 판단된다.

The increase in temperature due to climate warming is predicted to affect crop yields in the future. Until now, various types of OTC (open top chamber) that simulate the future climate condition have been developed and used to study the effect of temperature increase due to global warming on maize growth. However, in most OTCs, high equipment and maintenance costs were required to artificially increase the temperature. This study was carried to develop a cost-effective and simple OTC suitable for climate warming experiments for forage maize. Three octagonal OTCs with a height of 3.5 m × a diameter of 4.08 m and a partially covered top were constructed. The lower part of OTC covered film was opened at a height of 26 cm (OTC-26), 12 cm (OTC-12) from the ground surface, or not opened (0 cm, OTC-0). Mean air temperatures during the daytime on a sunny day in OTC-0, OTC-12 and OTC-26 increased to 3.23℃, 1.33℃, and 0.89℃, respectively, compared to the ambient control plot. For a pilot test, forage maize, ‘Gwangpyeongok’ was grown at OTCs and ambient control plots. As a result, in the late maize vegetative growth phase (July 30), the plant height was increased more than 45% higher than the ambient control plot in all OTC plots, and the stem diameter also increased in all OTC plots. These results indicate that it is possible to set the temperature inside the OTC by adjusting the opening height of the lower end of the OTC, and it can be applied to study the response of forage maize to elevated temperature. An OTC, with its advantages of energy free, low maintenance cost, and simple temperature setting, will be helpful in studying maize growth responsiveness to climate warming in the future.

Aluminum (Al) stress in acidic pH is known to decrease the growth and productivity of alfalfa. However, not much is known about how the application of silicon (Si) affects the Al stress response in alfalfa. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of exogenous application of Si on the growth of alfalfa seedlings exposed to Al stress in pots. Alfalfa seedlings grown in pots for 2 weeks were treated either Al stress (pH 4.0, 0.2 mM Al) or Al stress + Si (1 mM) for 5 days, lengths and biomass of shoot and root, and chlorophyll and carotenoid contents in leaf tissues were analyzed respectively. Al stress treatment inhibited shoot and root growth, and decreased fresh and dry weights, and chlorophyll content in leaves, but increased carotenoid content. In contrast, when alfalfa seedlings treated with Al stress combined with Si, delayed growth caused by Al stress of shoot and root of alfalfa seedlings was restored, dry weight was increased and chlorophyll content of leaf tissue was increased, but carotenoid content was decreased. These results suggest that Si has a function of alleviating Al toxicity in alfalfa, of which it exhibits a mitigating effect by a function that overlaps with some of the intracellular functions of carotenoids.

To understand the role of small heat shock protein (sHSPs) in rice plant response to various stresses such as the heat and oxidative stresses, a cDNA encoding a 24.1 kDa mitochondrial small HSP (Oshsp24.1) was isolated from rice by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) PCR. The deduced amino acid sequence shows very high similarity with other plant small HSPs. DNA gel blot analysis suggests that the rice genome contains more than one copy of Oshsp24.1. High level of expression of Oshsp24.1 transcript was observed in rice seedlings in response to heat, methyl viologen, hydrogen peroxide, ozone, salt and heavy metal stresses. Recombinant OsHSP24.1 protein was produced in E. coli cells for biochemical assay. The protein formed oligomeric complex when incubated with Sulfo-EGS (ethylene glycol bis (succinimidyl succinate)). Our results shows that Oshsp24.1 has an important role in abiotic stress response and have potential for developing stress-tolerant plants.

본 연구는 이탈리안 라이그라스 원형베일 사일리지 조제에 있어서 원료작물의 수분함량과 베일러 챔버의 압력에 따른 사일리지의 사료가치와 발효품질의 변화를 구명하기 위하여 수행되었다. 수확 후 1일(고수분), 2일(중수분) 및 4일간(저수분) 각각 예건하여 서로 다른 수분함량의 이탈리안 라이그라스를 베일러 챔버 압력이 115, 130 및 145 bar로 설정된 베일러로 원형베일 사일리지를 조제하여 60일간 저장하였다. 베일 사일리지의 무게는 고수분 처리구에서 높게 나타났고, 건물중은 저수분 처리구가 유의적으로 높게 나타났다. 베일러 압력에 따른 사일리지의 무게는 유의적인 차이는 없었으나, 압력이 증가할수록 건물중은 증가하였다. 수분함량과 베일러 압력에 따른 사일리지의 NDF, ADF, CP 및 CF는 처리 간에 유의적인 차이가 없었으며, RFV (relative feed value)는 고수분 저압력 처리구에서 가장 높게 나타났다. Lactic acid는 고수분-고압력 처리구가 가장 높았으며, 저수분-중압력 처리구에서 가장 낮게 나타내었다. Butyric acid는 베일러 압력에 따른 유의적인 차이는 없었으나, 예건기간이 길어질수록 감소하였다. 사일리지 pH는 고수분 처리구가 중수분과 저수분 처리구에 비해 낮게 나타났으나, 베일러 압력에 따른 차이는 없었다. 이러한 결과는 이탈리안 라이그라스 원형베일 사일리지 조제 시 조사료의 수분함량과 베일러 챔버의 압력이 사일리지의 발효품질에 영향을 미치는 중요한 요인임을 나타내는 것이다.

Acidic soil significantly reduces crop productivity mainly due to aluminum (Al) toxicity. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) roots were exposed to aluminum stress (Al3 +) in calcium chloride (CaCl2) solution (pH4.5) and root growth, physiological and antioxidant enzyme responses were investigated. The root growth (length) was significantly inhibited after 48 h of aluminum stress imposition. Histochemical staining with hematoxylin indicated significant accumulation of aluminum in Al stress-treated root tissues. Histochemical assay were also performed to detect superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxidation, which were found to be more in root tissues treated with higher aluminum concentrations. The enzymatic activity of CAT, POD and GR in root tissues was slightly increased after Al stress treatment. The result suggests that Al stress alters root growth in alfalfa and induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and demonstrates that antioxidant enzymes involved in detoxification of Al-mediated oxidative stress.

Drought is one of the key limiting factors that adversely affects the growth and productivity of crop plants. For the enhancement of drought tolerance in crop plants, the identification of basic mechanisms of a plant to drought stress is necessary. In this study, we compared physiological and biochemical responses of five local Arundenilla hirta ecotypes to drought stress. These ecotypes were previously collected from various parts of Korean peninsula, including Youngduk, Gunsan, Jangsoo, Jinju-1 and Yecheon. A. hirta plants were exposed to drought stress for 14 and 17 days respectively, followed by re-watering for 3 days. The results showed that the lipid peroxidation (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity, and proline level were significantly increased while the chlorophyll content was decreased by drought stress in A. hirta leaves. The highest proline content and DPPH scavenging activity were shown in Ecotype of Youngduk with least MDA and H2O2 levels while the highest MDA and H2O2 contents, and least proline and DPPH levels were shown in Gunsan, respectvely. These results indicate that the Youngduk is the most tolerant and Gunsan is the most sensitive ecotype among the five different collections. Together, these results provide a new insight of overall physiological responses of A. hirta to drought stress.

Environmental stresses caused by climate change, such as high temperature, drought and salinity severely impact plant growth and productivity. Among these factors, high temperature stress will become more severe during summer. In this study, we examined physiological and molecular responses of maize plants to high temperature stress during summer. Highest level of H2O2 was observed in maize leaves collected July 26 compared with June 25 and July 12. Results indicated that high temperature stress triggers production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in maize leaves. In addition, photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) sharply decreased in leaves with increasing air temperatures during the day in the field. RT-PCR analysis of maize plants exposed to high temperatures of during the day in field revealed increased accumulation of mitochondrial and chloroplastic small heat shock protein (HSP) transcripts. Results demonstrate that Fv/Fm values and organelle-localized small HSP gene could be used as physiological and molecular indicators of plants impacted by environmental stresses.

Arabidopsis nucleoside diphosphate kinase 2 (AtNDPK2) is an upstream signaling molecule that has been shown to induce stress tolerance in plants. In this study, the AtNDPK2 gene, under the control of a stress-inducible SWPA2 promoter, was introduced into the genome of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) plants. The induction of the transgene expression mediated by methyl viologen (MV) and NaCl treatments were confirmed by RT-PCR and northern blot analysis, respectively. Under salt stress treatment, the transgenic tall fescue plants (SN) exhibited lower level of H2O2 and lipid peroxidation accumulations than the non-transgenic (NT) plants. The transgenic tall fescue plants also showed higher level of NDPK enzyme activity compared to NT plants. The SN plants were survived at 300 mM NaCl treatment, whereas the NT plants were severely affected. These results indicate that stress-inducible overexpression of AtNDPK2 might efficiently confer the salt stress tolerance in tall fescue plants.

잔디에 있어서 낮은 형질전환 효율의 직접적인 원인 중 에 하나인 낮은 캘러스 유도율과 식물체 재분화율을 개선 시키기 위하여 잔디 완숙종자의 전처리의 효과를 비교해 보았다. 살균한 잔디종자에 swelling 처리를 10분간 실시한 후, sea sand를 이용 하여 sea sand와 종자의 비율을 1:1로 한 다음, shaking 처리는 vortex speed 6 (1,000 rpm)에서 처 리시간은 10분간 전처리를 실시하였을 때 무처리구에 비해 2배 이상의 배양 효율을 나타내었다. 또한 sea sand로 전처 리한 잔디종자로부터 형성된 캘러스를 식물체 재분화 유도 배지에 치상했을 그 효율이 훨씬 더 증가하는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 이러한 결과는 연중 아무 때나 이용할 수 있는 장점을 지닌 잔디 완숙종자로부터 유도시킨 캘러스 세포를 이용하여 Agrobacterium으로 형질전환하는데 있어서 그 효 율을 향상 시키는데 큰 기여를 할 것으로 추측된다.