The chloroplast (cp) is an organelle with its own genome that encodes a number of cp-specific components. Resequencing technology via next-generation sequencing has recently been successfully applied to cp genome characterization. The field of cp characterization is rapidly growing due to its wide versatility and two complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequences of Capsicum species have been reported. We herein report the complete chloroplast genome sequence of Capsicum baccatum var. baccatum, a wild Capsicum species. The total length of the chloroplast genome is 157,145 bp with 37.7% overall GC content. One pair of inverted repeats, 25,910 bp in length, was separated by a small single-copy region (17,974 bp) and large single-copy region (87,351 bp). This region contains 86 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. Eleven genes contain one or two introns. Pair-wise alignments of cp genome were performed for genome-wide comparison. Analysis revealed a total of 134 simple sequence repeat (SSR) motif and 282 insertions or deletions variants in the C. baccatum var. baccatum cp genome.

Among the diverse crops, rice (Oryza sativa L.) has been domesticated as a staple carbohydrate sources mainly in Asia region, and RDA Genebank at the National Agrobiodiversity Center (NAAS) has conserved about 37 thousand rice accessions accordingly. Seed dormancy, one of domesticated traits, prevents pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) which causes degradation of grain quality in cereal crop. In previous study, we surveyed the variation of seed germinability of diverse 200 rice germplasm and detected the three distinguished groups besides admixed types; the first group (G-1) revealed high germinability at harvesting time, and the second group (G-2) and third group (G-3) acquired high germnability subsequent to after-ripening and dormancy breaking process, respectively. To reduce environmental effects on detected variation of germinability, we selected representative 14 accessions which have similar heading date of each group and measured the degree of PHS using freshly harvested panicles. Variation of PHS showed similar tendency of germinability group; generally, high PHS for G-1, low PHS for G-2 and no PHS for G-3. To resolve genetic and physiological factors concerning on PHS and seed dormancy, we checked the change and variation of ABA known for critical regulator for seed dormancy, and high PHS accessions interestingly revealed high ABA content in 10 DAF. Based on these study, we plan to analyze genetic factors affecting the degree of seed germinability and PHS.

Flavonoids and total polyphenols are important secondary plant metabolites, as they play a role in reducing the oxidative stress caused by ROS In this study, we investigated for flavonoid contents, total polyphenol contents, and antioxidant activities in 27 accessions from 10 Vicia species. Among 27 vicia accessions, NAC17 (V. monantha) and NAC14 (V. hyrcanica) had the highest total flavonoid (1.42 ± 0.09 mg/g) and total polyphenol (124.2 ± 0.5 μg/GAE mg) contents, respectively. In four flavonoids, naringenin showed the highest concentrations in Vicia species. The DPPH and ABTS were the range from 0.2 (NAC24, V. sativa subsp. nigra) to 18.5 (NAC13, V. faba) μg/ASC mg and 19.1 (NAC7, V. cracca) to 253.4 (NAC13, V. faba) μg/Trolox mg, respectively. Among the 10 Vicia species, V. monantha and V. hyrcanica had the highest flavonoid (1.31 ± 0.09 mg/g) and total polyphenol (116.5 ± 2.0 μg/GAE mg) contents, respectively. The highest antioxidant activity was detected in V. faba. These results will expand the flavonoid database and provide information on Vicia species valuable for development of functional foods or feed-additives resources.

DNA barcoding is the use of short DNA sequences of the genome for large scale species identification. The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) plant-working group recommended the 2-locus combination as the standard plant barcode. The evolutions of the chloroplast regions combine with nuclear gens are sufficiently rapid to allow discrimination between closely related species. We evaluated the efficacy of the proposed plant barcoding loci matK along with ITS2 for barcoding Vigna species. To assess the discrimination ability of barcoding loci to resolve Vigna species, we sampled 52 of the taxonomically best known groups in the genus. Topologies of the phylogenetic trees based on ITS2 and matK analyses were similar but a few accessions were placed into distant phylogenetic groups. Neither ITS2 nor matK analyses were able to discriminate some closely related Vigna species alone. Thus, we used concatenated data to increase the resolving power of ITS2 and used matK as an additional tool for phylogenetic analysis in Vigna because characterization of the nucleotide sequences of matK region was easier to recover and more cost-effective than those of the ITS region.

Soybean (Glycine max L.) is crucial legume crop as source of high quality vegetable protein and oil, and Korea is regarded as a part of center of soybean origin. To expand the information of conserved genetic diversity, we analyzed the genetic variability of soybean collection mainly introduced Korean accessions using 75 microsatellite markers. A total of 1,503 alleles with an average value of 20.0 alleles were detected among 644 accessions. Korean collection revealed average allele number of 13.4 while Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asian accessions showed 9.0, 5.4 and 6.5 mean alleles, respectively. Especially, Korean accessions showed more number of private allele per locus as 3.4 contrary to other geographical groups. The mean expected heterozygosity and polymorphic information content was 0.654 and 0.616, respectively, and expected heterozygosity values were not significantly distinguished according to the geographical groups. The phylogenetic dendrogram and deduced population structure based on DNA profiles of 75 SSR loci showed Korean accessions formed distinct gene pool against Chinese accessions, and could be divided into five subpopulations. Korean soybean accessions have specific genetic diversity and might be serve the valuable alleles for bio-industry as a part of the center of soybean origin.

Flavonols as a major kind of plant secondary metabolites are known for health-promoting compounds in onions (Allium cepa L.). The objectives of this study are to determine profiles of flavonol glycosides in different 75 onion accessions. A total of five flavonols (quercetin 3,4'- diglucoside, Q34'diG; quercetin 3-glucoside, Q3G; quercetin 4'-glucoside, Q4'G; isorhamnetin 4'-glucoside, I4'G; quercetin, Q) were identified from onion accessions. In positive ion mode using LC-ESI-MS, individual flavonols were confirmed from one and two glycosylation binding with aglycone such as quercetin and isorhamnetin. Total flavonol contents were distributed in white onion (range of 0.18-6.47 mg/g DW) and purple onion accessions (range of 2.39-6.47 mg/g), respectively. The mean of flavonol contents in purple onion (4.41 mg/g) showed 1.4-fold higher than white onion (3.23 mg/g). The Q34'diG and Q4'G were considered as the major compounds of flavonol glycosides in onion accessions.

The purpose of this study was to develop the cost-effective and efficiency seed longevity prediction method of rice (Oryza sativa L.) germplasm for viability monitoring. To find an optimum predicting method for rice seed longevity at genebank, an accelerated ageing (AA) test, a controlled deterioration (CD) test and a dry-heat treatment (DHT) were conducted to the four groups of rice germplasm based on ecotype, such as Indica, Japonica, Javanica and Tongil type. Among the three artificial aging treatments, the dry-heat treatment of 36 hours at 90°C is suggested as a routine predictive test method of rice germplasm longevity at a genebank. The distribution of germination rate on 3,066 accessions which conserved 26.5 years at 4°C showed similar trend with the result of distribution by dry-heat treatment at 90°C on 36 hours using 106 accessions of rice selected samples which composed four ecotype groups. The results show that the dry-heat treatment affect not only predicting the rice seed longevity but also determining effective interval for monitoring germination of rice germplasm in genebanks.

Onion(Allium cepa L.) is one of the most important crops to the fresh vegetable spices and the food processing industry in Korea. To evaluate genetic variation in onion, major agricultural characteristics and biochemical characteristics such as flowering day, harvest day, brix and so on. Phenolic compound compositions were analyzed for 44 accessions. Accessions in white color was about 92% which is the largest one followed by standard criteria. The sweetness of juice ranged from 6.1 to 19.3(in brix), and Brix range of 117 accessions was from 10.1 to 14.0. High performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) was used to identify the phenolic profile and quantify phenolic content in bulbs: quercetin, quercetin 7, 4’-diglucoside, quercetin 3-glucoside and quercetin 4’-glucoside were detected as major components. The total Quercetin and Quercetin glycoside content ranged between 123.59 and 1155.84 mg/100mg bulb freeze dried weight. The quercetin contents was up to 16.7mg/100g, and 7.41mg/100g in average. It is expected that the result of this study can be used for breeding more competitive species with respect to contents in functional chemicals.

Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is an excellent source of vitamin A and C as well as flavonoid compounds, which are important antioxidant components that may reduce the risk of diseases. In this study, we investigated ABTS, DPPH activity and flavonoid contents in eggplant leaves and fruits to identify genetic resources with high antioxidant capacity for use in food or as feed additives. A total of 102 eggplant accessions were classified into four groups by latitude of their origins: 0°~15° N (8 accessions), 15°~30° N (19 accessions), 30°~45° N (34 accessions), and 45°~60° N (41 accessions). The accessions originated from 45°~60°N showed the highest flavonoid contents (AVG. = 15.4 μg mg-1) followed by accessions originated from 30°~45° N (AVG. = 13.0 μg mg-1), 15°~30°N (AVG. = 11.0 μg mg-1) and 0°~15°N (AVG. = 9.5 μg mg-1). Same pattern was also found in ABTS and DPPH antioxidant activities. High ABTS, DPPH activity and flavonoid contents were found in the early-flowering accessions. All flavonoids of the greenish violet leaves were significantly higher than those in green leaves. The flavonoid concentration in eggplant leaves with an average of 15.6 μg mg-1 increased from 10- to 20-fold as compared with their fruit (AVG.=0.9 μg mg-1). In conclusion, eggplant leaves represent a potential source of natural antioxidants due to their very high flavonoid contents.

농촌진흥청 농업유전자원센터에 보존되고 있는 우리나라 재래종 벼 유전자원 중 선발된 394품종의 미질과 관련된 특 성을 분석하고 상호관계에 대한 결과는 다음과 같다. 1. 단백질 함량은 5.2~9.9%까지 다양한 분포를 보였고, Mg함량은 12.7 mg에서 37.7 mg까지의 넓은 범위의 분포를 보였으며, K함량 또한 60.0 mg에서 125.9 mg 까지의 넓은 범위의 분포를 나타냈고, 차진정도의 지 표로 사용되는 Mg/K 비율은 일품벼보다 높게 분포하 였다. 2. 쌀의 차진정도를 결정하는 주된 인자이며 미질을 나타 내는 척도의 하나인 아밀로스 함량은 현재 우리나라 밥쌀용 수도 장려품종들이 대체로 18～20% 수준에 있는데 비하여 재래종 유전자원에서 메벼의 범위가 12.4～28.9%였고 18～20% 범위에 있는 품종은 144 품종이었다. 3. KOH에 의한 알카리붕괴도는 0.0~7.0까지 분포하였는 데 일품벼의 6.4와 유사한 품종이 95품종이었다. 4. Toyo 식미계를 이용한 식미 검정에서 현재 양식미 품 종으로 평가받고 있는 일품벼와 유사한 품종이 16품 종이고, 우리나라 사람들이 양식미로 선호하는 호화온 도가 낮고 Toyo 식미치가 높은 품종은 IT 173444번, 008530번, IT 006554번이 대표적 이었다.

The objective of this study was to analyze the genetic diversity using SSR marker and investigate the fatty acid composition of perilla (P. frutescens var. frutescens) germplasm. Genetic diversity among 95 accessions, which consisted of 29 weedy types and 66 landrace accessions, was evaluated based on 12 SSR markers carrying 91 alleles. The mean values of observed (HO) and expected heterozygosities (HE) were 0.574 and 0.640, respectively, indicating a considerable amount of polymorphism within this collection. A genetic distance-based phylogeny grouped into two distinct groups, which were the landrace, moderate and weedy type, genetic distance (GD) value was 0.609. The physicochemical traits about crude oil contents and fatty acid compositions were analyzed using GC. Among tested germplasm, the total average oil contents (%) showed a range from 28.57 to 49.67 %. Five fatty acids and their contents in the crude oils are as follows: α-linolenic acid (41.12%-51.81%), linoleic acid (15.38%-16.43%), oleic acid (18.93%-27.28%), stearic acid (2.56%-4.01%), and palmitic acid (7.38%-10.77%). The average oil content of wild types was lower than landrace, and the oil content of middle genotype accessions was higher than other germplasm, but no significant variation between landrace and wild types was shown. Nevertheless, IT117174, landrace of Korea, was highest in crude oil content (47.11%) and linolenic acid composition (64.58%) among the used germplasm. These traits of the selected accessions will be helped for new functional plant breeding in perilla crop.

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench), one of the minor crops grown in Korea belonging to the Polygonaceae family, is an annual crop widely cultivated in Asia, Europe, and America and has a character of outcrossing and self-incompatibility. The objective of this study was to analyze the genetic variability, phylogenetic relationships and population structure of buckwheat landraces of Korea using SSR markers. Ten microsatellite markers have been detected from a total of 79 alleles among the 179 buckwheat accessions were collected from Korea. The number of allele per marker locus (NA) ranged from 2 (GB-FE-001, GB-FE-043 and GB-FE-055) to 31 (GB-FE-035) with an average of 7.9 alleles. GB-FE-035 was the most polymorphic with the highest PIC value 0.93. Major allele frequencies (MAF) for the 10 polymorphic loci varied from 0.12 to 0.97 with a mean allele frequency of 0.57. The expected heterozygosity (HE) values ranged from 0.05 to 0.94 with an average of 0.53. The observed heterozygosity (HO) ranged from 0.06 to 0.92 with an average of 0.42. The overall polymorphic information contents (PIC) values ranged from 0.05 to 0.93 with an average of 0.48. The landrace accessions of buckwheat used in the present study were not distinctly grouped according to geographic distribution. The study concludes that the results revealed genetic differentiation was low according to the geographic region because of outcrossing and self-incompatibility. We reported that our analyses on the genetic diversity of common buckwheat cultivars of Korea were performed by using of microsatellite markers.

Iris nertschinsk has been used generally as a decorative plant. However, it has been almost used as a medicine for therapy on various human diseases. In this study, we demonstrate the anti-tumor effect of Iris nertschinsk on human breast cancer cells. Firstly, we found that Iris nertschinsk dose-dependently induced cell death in human breast cancer cell lines, MCF7 and MDA-MB231. Moreover, phosphorylation of p53 was induced after Iris nertschinsk treatment in MCF7 cells, which has a functional p53, but not in MDA-MB231 cells, which has a dysfunctional p53. We next examined whether Iris nertschinsk induces caspase-dependent cell death. Caspase-7 was cleaved after Iris nertschinsk treatment in MCF7 cells. Interestingly, either caspase-3 or caspase-7 was cleaved in MDA-MB231 cells that p53 had been phosphorylated by Iris nertschinsk treatment, indicating that Iris nertschinsk induces apoptosis through the cleavage of caspase-3, -7 in human breast cancer cell lines, MCF7 and MDA-MB231, but related to the status of p53. Therefore, these results suggest that Iris nertschinsk could be used as a treatment for human breast cancer. This research is supported by National Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology research grant.

To facilitate an active breeding strategy for rice quality improvement, mutation were induced by treating rice variety Sindongjin seeds with gamma ray(300 Gray) and its fertilized eggs with MNU(1mM). Endosperm and grain shape of mutants were classified and selected in M2 population. From M2 generation, 48(7.6%) endosperm mutants and 179(11.9%) grain shape mutants were selected. White belly and White core were the most frequent. Selected grain mutants were classified into 16 types according to their morphological phenotypes. The overall segregation ratio was 3 : 1, controlled by one gene. Specially, SM-17 and SM-20 displayed segregation ratio of 9 : 7 and 1 : 15 respectively. Grain mutants showed generally earlier heading dates, shorter culm length and ear length than the parent. Grain length, grain width, and 1,000 grain weight were also mostly shorter and lower than the parent. In SEM analysis, each mutant type showed unique starch particle size and starch accumulation pattern. The density of polygonal cells and small inner corpuscles depending on amylose content decreased as following order - Waxy>Dull>Parent >White core. In SDS-PAGE analysis, SM-22 of Opaque group and SM-34 of Giant embryo group showed high glutelin polypeptide concentration. SM-23 of Floury group, SM-26 of Shrunken group, and SM-31 of Sugary group showed low concentration of total protein with variations in bands over 55kDa.

The present study was carried out to assess the genetic diversity, population structure and linkage disequilibrium in Korea. In model-based population, Korean rice germplasm were classified into four subpopulaton designated as indica cultivated, japonica cultivated, indica weedy, and japonica weedy were identified. Pair-wise estimates of FST indicated a different degree of differentiation between the four model-based populations with values ranging from 0.073 (between japonica cultivated and japonica weedy) and 0.474 (between japonica weedy and indica weedy). The indica weedy population appeared to be highly differentiated as compared to other populations. The indica cultivated have the highest gene diversity (0.58), followed by japonica cultivated (0.50), japonica weedy (0.42) and indica weedy (0.35). The total number of specific alleles in indica weedy and japonica weedy populations was 39 alleles (23 markers) and 55 alleles (22 markers), respectively. An average of LD (r2) value of indica weedy and japonica weedy type was higher than two other populations, both in inter- and intra-chromosome, indicating the possible reproductive and geographical isolations of sub-populations in cultivated rice fields.

Sesamin and sesamolin, antioxidant lipidsoluble lignan compounds, are abundant in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) seed oil and provide oxidative stability of oil related to sesame quality. The sesamin and sesamolin contents of 403 sesame land races of Korea were determined by HPLC analysis of methanol extract (HPLC value), and their total lignan content was compared with those by using UV-Vis spectrophotometric analysis (UV method) of methanol (UV-MeOH value) and hexane (UV-Hexane value) extracts. HPLC values of total lignan content were strongly associated with UV-Hexane (r=0.705**) and UV-MeOH (r=0.811**) values. The UV values from both the extracts were 3.8-4.7 times higher than those of HPLC values. Lignan content was overestimated by UV method because total compounds in the mixture solution were quantified by absorbing at the same ultraviolet wavelength as in HPLC method. UV method could more rapidly analyze small amount of sample with higher sensitivity of detection than HPLC method. Average contents of lignans in sesame germplasm evaluated in this study were 2.09~pm1.02mg/g of sesamin, and 1.65~pm0.61mg/g of sesamolin, respectively, showing significant variation for lignan components. The results showed that UV method for the determination of sesamin and sesamolin could be practically used as a faster and easier method than HPLC by using the regression equations developed in this study