Brassinosteroids (BRs) control virtually every aspect of plant growth and development. BRs act alone or with other exogenous and endogenous signals including auxin and light. To screen for the novel player involved in BR signaling in Arabidopsis, we employed cDNA overexpression strategy. We created a cDNA library to be expressed under the 35S overexpression promoter, and introduced into a weak brassinosteroid insensitive 1 (bri1) mutant. The mutant dubbed bri1-5 with long petiole (blp) was identified to display bigger stature especially in hypocotyl and petiole length relative to bri1-5. Sequence analysis of the rescued transgene revealed that blp consisted of a chimeric DNA consisting of a 3’ half of PHYB, 2 bp insertion, and a part of a chloroplast ribosomal RNA. Re-introduction of chimeric DNA into bri1-5 recapitulated blp phenotype. The blp phenotypes being similar to phyB mutants led us to examine both the PHYB transcript and protein levels in the blp 35Spro:PHYB doubly homozygous line. Lower levels of both transcripts and proteins of PHYB suggested that introduction of the chimeric gene interfered with the stability of PHYB transcripts. Our results highlight that overexpression mutagenesis facilitates functional genomics to decipher a function of Arabidopsis genome.

The vascular system of plants consists of two conducting tissues, xylem and phloem, which differentiate from procambium cells. Xylem serves as a transporting system for water and signaling molecules and is formed by sequential developmental processes, including cell division/expansion, secondary cell wall deposition, vacuole collapse, and programmed cell death (PCD). PCD during xylem differentiation is accomplished by degradation of cytoplasmic constituents, and it is required for the formation of hollow vessels, known as tracheary elements (TEs). Our recent study revealed that the small GTPase RabG3b acts as a regulator of TE differentiation through its autophagic activation. By using an Arabidopsis in vitro cell culture system, we showed that autophagy is activated during TE differentiation. Overexpression of a constitutively active RabG3b (RabG3bCA) significantly enhances both autophagy and TE differentiation, which are consistently suppressed in transgenic plants overexpressing a dominant negative form (RabG3bDN) or RabG3bRNAi (RabG3bRNAi), a brassinosteroidinsensitive mutant bri1-301, and an autophagy mutant atg5-1. Wood (called secondary xylem) is the most abundant biomass produced by land plants including Populus and Eucalyptus, and therefore is considered to be one of the most cost-effective and renewable bioenergy resources. In an attempt to enhance xylem differentiation and thus to improve biomass traits in poplars, we generated transgenic poplars overexpressing the RabG3bCA form. As notable phenotypes, both stem height and diameter were increased and xylem area in vascular bundles was significantly expanded in RabG3bCA transgenic poplars compared to control plants. Taken together, these results demonstrate that RabG3b regulates xylem differentiation in both Arabidopsis and Populus. This study enhances our understanding of biological mechanisms underlying wood formation and serve as a framework to engineer the quality and quantity of wood as useful biomass.

Hormones play a crucial role in controlling physiological processes, and thus plants grow and develop in response to environmental cues through the interlocked actions of the hormones. Brassinosteroids (BRs) were found as growth-promoting steroid hormones. Rice, as a monocotyledonous model plants and the major staple crop, has been used to study BR action mechanisms. However, many components of BR pathways and the mechanisms of their molecular interactions have yet to be fully understood. Because the use of the BR biosynthetic inhibitor, Brassinazole (Brz), allowed us to identify important components of BR signaling such as the transcription factor BZR1, we decided to employ a similar strategy to identify novel signaling factors using propiconazole (Pcz), a new potent BR inhibitor. We screened a rice T-DNA mutant population which belongs to Dongjin variety and were developed by the Gene An’s group using pGA2715 T-DNA vector. Using Pcz treatments we searched for resistant plants, which were reflected on their lengths of roots and/or leaves. We isolated a total of 17 mutant lines, which are being analyzed phenotypically and at molecular level. So far, we have been able to found various lines presenting high or low yield compared to their wild type counterparts. We have found differences in panicle organization of these mutants. Our current experiments include the confirmation of Pcz resistance of these lines and molecular studies involving BR marker genes to understand the relation among yield and BR action in rice.

An Arabidopsis small GTPase, RabG3b, was previously characterized as a component of autophagy and as a positive regulator for xylem development in Arabidopsis. In this work, we assessed whether RabG3b modulates xylem-associated traits in poplar in a similar way as in Arabidopsis. We generated transgenic poplars (Populus alba x P. tremula var. glandulosa) overexpressing a constitutively active form of RabG3b (RabG3bCA) and performed arrange of morphological, histochemical, and molecular analyses to examine xylogenesis. RabG3bCA transgenic poplars showed increased stem growth due to enhanced xylem development. Autophagic structures were observed in differentiating xyelm cells undergoing programmed cell death (PCD) in wild type poplar, and were more abundant in RabG3bCA transgenic poplar plants and cultured cells. Xylogenic activation was also accompanied by the expression of secondary wall-, PCD-, and autophagy-related genes. Collectively, our results suggest that Arabidopsis RabG3b functions to regulate xylem growth through the activation of autophagy during wood formation in Populus, as does the same in Arabidopsis.

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) cultivars show a gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI) system, like other fruit species of Rosaceae family. Thus, it is necessary to determine their S-genotypes in order for stable fruit set in commercial cultivation. S-genotypes of apricots were determined by PCR and test crosses. Three sets of consensus primers designed from Prunus S-RNases were used to amplify fragments containing the first and second S-RNase intron, respectively. Through the results obtained from the 3 PCRs, we could identify SI genotypes of 33apricot cultivars. Several cultivars such as 'Heiwa', 'Yamagata No.3' and 'Shinsuoomi' had the self-compatible (Sc) allele. Self-pollination tests revealed that cultivars with Sc allele were self-compatible. Cross-pollination tests confirmed that there was cross-incompatibility between the cultivars with the same S-genotypes. These results might be very useful for growers for effective pollination and for breeders using these in cross breeding programs.

홍소는 국립원예특작과학원에서 1989년 "양광"에 "홍로"를 인공교배 하여 얻은 실생 중 유망한 계통을 2002년 1차 선발하여 2003년부터 2006년까지 4년간 '원교 가-30호'로 군위, 춘천 등 5개 지역에서 적응시험을 거쳐 2006년에 최종 선발하였다. 과실의 적숙기는 9월 상순으로 "홍로"와 비슷하다. 과형은 원원추형, 과피색은 선홍색, 바탕색은 녹황색, 과육색은 백색이다. 과실크기는 295 g으로 중 대과종이며 가용성고형물 함량은 14

사과 대목 M.26은 준왜성대목으로 뿌리의 토양 지지력이 약해 지주 재배를 해야 하는 단점이 있다. 발근력이 향상된 M.26 왜성 대목 형질전환체를 육성하기 위하여 rolC 유전자 전환을 실시하였다. 항생제가 첨가된 재분화 선발 배지에서 재분화된 M.26 신초 1개체의 genomic DNA를 추출하여 PCR과 Southern 분석을 실시한 결과 유전자의 도입을 확인할 수 있었다. 유전자 도입이 확인된 형질전환체의 기내 발근 상태에서의 식물체 특성을 조사

Mihyangbyeo, a new japonica aromatic rice (Oryza sativa L.) was developed by National Honam Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES), RDA in 1998. It was derived from the three-way cross among Seomjinbyeo of the disease resistance and high yielding lines,

“Sobibyeo” is a new japonica rice cultivar developed from a cross betw een Hwayeongbyeo and YR13604Acp22 line by the rice breeding team of National Honam Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES), RDA, in 1999. This cultivar has a large grain and about 119

An efficient system of rice microspore culture could contribute to the production of genetically modified rice. The microspores were isolated by mechanical or shed methods. The number of microspores per 100 anthers isolated at uninucleate stage was higher than (or similar to) those at binucleate stage in isolation method with pestle or spatular, but microspore divisions were not easily observed on both stages. On the other hand, pollen division in shed pollen culture was observed more frequently at uninuclear than at binuclear stage. Cold pretreatment at 10~circC for 10 days resulted in the best multicellular division to produce microcalli at 12.5% efficiency in shed microspores. Heat shock at 33~circC for one hour before or after pollen shedding enhanced cell division and callus formation. Out of twelve green regenerants, two were haploids and ten were diploids based on the chromosome analysis of root tips. The size of stoma was 12m m in haploids and 15 ~mu~textrmm in diploids determined by scanning electron microscope (SEM).