Insects have gained increasing attention as an alternative protein and nutrient rich food source for humans. This study was conducted to investigate the physicochemical characteristics and harmful components of edible crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) in the 6 districts of Yeonggwang (YG), Jeongseon (JS), Wonju (WJ), Hwaseong (HS), Geochang (GC), and Chungju (CJ). The average crude protein and crude lipid contents on a dry basis were 64.34% and 16.60%, respectively. The crude protein content of CJ was the highest (67.40%), whereas YG (59.42%) had the lowest content. On the other hand, the crude fat content of YG was the highest (20.61%), whereas CJ (14.04%) had the lowest content. The unsaturated fatty acid contents were 57.97-63.93 g/100 g of the total fatty acid content in the crickets of the 6 districts. The major fatty acids of the crickets in the 6 districts were palmitic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid. Among the essential amino acids, valine, leucine, and lysine were the most abundant. GC had the highest total amino acids (57.93 g/100 g), whereas YG (48.65 g/100 g) had the lowest. Major mineral contents included potassium (K, 0.92~1.01 mg/100 mg) and phosphorus (P, 0.74~0.88 mg/100 mg). The mineral composition was fairly similar among the crickets. Crickets in the 6 districts were verified to have safe levels of residual heavy metals according to the Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA) advisory levels.

Grain weight is the most important target not only as a major component of grain yield, but also of the cooking qualities in rice breeding program. In a previous study, a high-resolution physical map targeting a cluster of yield-related QTLs for grain weight, spikelets per panicle has been constructed using series of BC3F4 nearly isogenic lines (NILs) derived from a cross between the Korean japonica cultivar Hwaseong and O. rufipogon. The QTLs including grain weight trait have been mapped in a 25.5kb region containing three genes. Based on GenBank database, these genes include male sterility 5 (OsMs5, LOC_Os09g36740), similar ascorbate peroxidase (OsApx, LOC_Os09g36750) and glutelin family protein (OsGlu, LOC_Os09g36760). Their endogenous expression patterns were analyzed in various rice tissues (2-week seedling, flag leaf, root and panicle) from the parental lines, Hwaseong and NIL-gw9. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR and qRT-PCR were performed using gene specific primer sets. The cDNAs of the similar OsApx gene of Hwaweong and NIL-gw9 were cloned. Over-expression and RNAi knock-down transgenic plants using three genes are under construction for the functional characterization of the genes. The results will be discussed.

96 BC3F5 introgression lines derived from a cross between Hwaseong and O. rufipogon were genotyped with 131 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to identify and characterize quantitative traits loci (QTLs) associated with grain quality traits in rice. 96 BC3F5 lines displayed a wide range of variation for days to heading and agronomic traits. Results indicated that one major QTL (qDTH6) on chromosome 6 was associated with significant variation for days to heading. 83 lines without the O. rufipogon segment at qDTH6 were selected and analyzed for grain quality traits. QTL analysis was conducted for two groups, 96 and 83 introgression lines, and a total of 25 QTLs were detected for rice quality traits. 16 QTLs were detected in a group of 93 lines, 11 QTLs detected in a group of 83 lines, and 2 QTLs were commonly identified in both groups. Most of the QTLs detected in this study were located on the same or adjacent regions as those reported by the previous studies, and the wild alleles negatively affected quality traits. In contrast, the wild allele at qGCR9 for the glossiness of cooked rice on chromosome 9 contributed to an increase in glossiness which is positively correlated with rice eating quality. Three ILs with the wild allele at qGCR9 displayed better eating quality than the recurrent parent, Hwaseong. To confirm the effect of qGCR9, high density mapping of the qGCR9 with a series of NILs will be conducted.

Drought stress is one of the major stresses affecting growth and productivity in rice. Drought tolerance is a complex trait governed by quantitative trait loci(QTLs) making it difficult to understand mechanisms underlying it. We generated a set of 55 introgression lines via backcrosses using Milyang23, the Korean Tongil-type rice variety as the recurrent parent and Oryza glaberrima (IRGC Acc. No. 103544) as a donor parent. 139 SSR markers were used to genotype 55 introgression lines. The 55 introgression lines with Milyang23 were evaluated for physiological traits such as fresh shoot weight (FSW), fresh root weight (FRW) and dry shoot weight (DSW) under the control and 30% PEG-treated condition. Three lines (IL9, IL12, and IL55) showing significant difference with Milyang23 were selected for further analysis. Genotyping revealed that three lines had four, four and two O. glaberrima homozygous segments, respectively. IL9 performed better than Milyang23 in all traits measured in the 30% PEG-treated condition. IL9 possessed four O. glaberrima introgressions on chromosomes 1, 2, 6 and 7. IL12 performed better than Milyang23 in FSW and FRW and contains four O. glaberrima introgressions on chromosomes 3 and 6. IL55 contains two O. glaberrima introgressions on chromosomes 2 and 6. Three lines shared the O. glaberrima segment delimited by markers RM133-RM225 at chromosomes 6. This region corresponds to the QTL region for drought tolerance reported by other previous studies. Although IL9 and IL12 showed improved drought tolerance at the seedling and vegetative stage, they performed poor under the drought stress at the reproductive stage implying that the level of drought tolerance differs according to the growth stage in rice. IL55 was not significantly different from Milyang 23 in SPP and FER and had significantly higher no. of the total grain than Milyang 23. This result seems to indicate that IL55 will be a good resource for drought tolerance breeding. The population would be useful not only in developing drought tolerant lines in the breeding program but also in fine-mapping the genes/QTLs for drought tolerance.

Plants strictly regulate the uptake and distribution of Zinc (Zn), which is essential for growth and development. Arabidopsis thaliana plant cadmium resistance 2 (AtPCR2), a protein containing a placenta-specific 8 domain (PLAC8), is specifically expressed in the vascular tissue and epidermis of roots and is thought to act as a Zn efflux transporter (Song et al. 2010). Proteins containing PLAC8 domain function as major organ size regulators in Solanum lycopersicum and Zea may, and putative metal ion transporters in Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa and Brassica juncea. But, there are no reports which showed that the protein containing PALC8 have the function both of seed size regulation and metal homeostasis. In our study, we found that plant cadmium resistance 1 (PCR1) influences on both Zn accumulation and grain weight in rice. The expression of OsPCR1 is elevated in developing seeds of introgression line for GW2, which encodes a protein known to regulate grain weight. Grain weight of OsPCR1 knockout and knockdown lines decreased than the wild type, while OsPCR1 overexpression lines produced heavier grains. Furthermore, the grains of OsPCR1 knockdown lines exhibited substantially higher Zn and lower Cd concentrations than the control. We identified some variation in the OsPCR1 amino acid sequence between the japonica and indica rice types using 15 different rice varieties. Japonica-type PCR1 had a shorter N-terminus than did PCR1 in the other rice types. Furthermore, japonica-type grains accumulated less Zn than did indica-type grains. Our study suggests that rice PCR1 maintains metal ion homeostasis and grain weight and might have been selected for during domestication.

This study aimed to completely remove adhered mortar from recycled aggregate (RA) using microwave irradiation (700 W) and mixed solution of hydrochloric acid (HCl) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The optimum condition was first to soak RA in tap water for 30 min and then RA was soaked in mixed solution of 30% HCl and 15% H2O2 (HCl : H2O2 = 1 : 2) for 70-90 min after 15-min microwave irradiation. Therefore, the mortar of RA in the condition was completely removed within 2.3 hrs. Reaction rate (k) with the condition was –0.6408 hr-1, which was about 190 times faster than that with HCl only (k = -0.0032 hr-1).

I investigated a method for drawing the star chart in the planisphere Cheonsang-yeolcha-bunyajido. The outline of the star chart can be constructed by considering the astronomical information given in the planisphere alone and the drawing method described in Xin-Tangshu; further the chart can be completed by using additional information on the shape and linking method of asterisms out of an inherited star chart. The circles of perpetual visibility, the equator, and the circle of perpetual invisibility are concentric, and their common center locates the Tianshu-xing, which was defined to be a pole star in the Han dynasty. The radius of the circle of perpetual visibility was modified in accordance with the latitude of Seoul, whereas the other circles were drawn for the latitude of 35°, which had been the reference latitude in ancient Chinese astronomy. The ecliptic was drawn as an exact circle by parallel transference of the equator circle to fix the location of the equinoxes at the positions recorded in the epitaph of the planisphere. The positions of equinoxes originated from the Han dynasty. The 365 ticks around the boundary of the circle of perpetual invisibility were possibly drawn by segmenting the circumference with an arc length instead of a chord length with the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter as accurate as 3.14 presumed. The 12 equatorial sectors were drawn on the boundary of the star-chart in accordance with the beginning and ending lodge angles given in the epitaph that originated from the Han dynasty. The determinative lines for the 28 lunar lodges were drawn to intersect their determinative stars, but seven determinative stars are deviated. According to the treatises of the Tang dynasty, these anomalies were inherited from charts of the period earlier than the Tang dynasty. Thus, the star chart in Cheonsang-yeolcha-bunyajido preserves the old tradition that had existed before the present Chinese tradition reformed in approximately 700 CE. In conclusion, the star chart in Cheonsang-yeolcha-bunyajido shows the sky of the former Han dynasty with the equator modified to the latitude of Seoul.

In this paper, we report the analysis of Korean historical records on the periodic Halley’s comet according to the period (i.e., the Three Kingdoms, Goryeo Dynasty, and Joseon Dynasty) using various sources such as the Samguksagi (The History of the Three Kingdoms), Goryeosa (The History of the Goryeo Dynasty), and Joseonwangjosillok (The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty). With regards to the apparition time of the comet for each return, we referred to the works of Kronk. For the Three Kingdoms period, we could not find any record relevant to Halley’s comet from the Samguksagi. Furthermore, we examined the suggestion that the phenomenon of “two Suns” which appeared on April 1, 760 (in a luni-solar calendar), as recorded in the Samgukyusa (The Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms), indicates an instance of the the daytime appearance of Halley’s comet. In contrast with the Three Kingdoms period, we found that all returns of Halley’s comet are recorded during the Goryeo Dynasty, although others have questioned some accounts. We also found that the appearance of Halley’s comet in 1145 is mentioned in a spirit-path stele made in 1178. For the Joseon Dynasty period, we found that all apparitions of the comet are recorded, as with the Goryeo Dynasty, except for the return of 1910, at which time the former dynasty had fallen. In conclusion, we think that this study will be helpful for understanding Korean historical accounts on Halley’s comet.

Rice mesocotyl is the region between the coleoptile node and point of union of the culm with the root. The mesocotyl is one of the important factor contributing to rice seedling emergence from soil in direct seedling. Several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for mesocotyl elongation of rice had been reported in few studies. However, association mapping of mesocotyl elongation QTL was not conducted. For that reason, we detected QTLs for mesocotyl elongation in agar and soil conditions and confirmed the potentials of QTLs using chromosome substitution lines (CSSLs). Backcross inbred line (BILs) and chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) derived from a cross between Kasalath and Nipponbare were employed to detect QTLs for mesocotyl elongation in rice. A total of 12 QTLs for mesocotyl elongation were detected on chromosome 1, 3, 6, 7, 9 and 12 using 98 BILs in agar and soil conditions. Two QTLs, qMel-1 and qMel-3 were consistently detected in both conditions. For substitution mapping of qMel-1 and qMel-3, across was made between 2 CSSLs, CSSL-6 and CSSL-15. Our results showed that the qMel-1 was located between two markers RM5448 and RM5310 on chromosome1 and the qMel-3 was located between RM15859-RM15974 on chromosome3. To understand factors controlling mesocotyl elongation, cell expansion and division of rice mesocotyl were investigated. Moreover, microarray analysis was conducted to select candidate genes using near-isogenic lines for two QTLs. 194 genes were up- and down regulated in rice mesocotyl.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important staple foods that feed more than 50% of the world’s population. With the improving of people’s living standard, eating quality of rice become the most important aims in current breeding programs. Amylose content (AC) and gelatinization temperature (GT) are the two main measures to estimate the rice grain quality. In rice, a total of 27 genes directly involved the rice starch biosynthesis effecting on the rice eating quality. It clearly identified chromosome 6 to be rich in the genes related to AC and GT properties (GBSS I, SSIIa and SBE I) along with other genomic regions scattered in rice genome. Rice blast, caused by the fungal pathogen M. oryzae, is the most devastating disease of rice and severely affects crop stability and sustainability worldwide. Many fungal genes involved in pathogenicity and rice genes involved in effector recognition and defense responses have been identified over the past decade. A total of 99 and 22 blast resistance genes have been identified and cloned; in which 45% were found in japonica cultivars, 51% in indica cultivars, and the rest 4% in wild rice species. Among them, three major resistance gene clusters have been characeterized: the Pik locus on Chromosome 11, and the Pita locus on Chromosome 12, the Piz locus on Chromosome 6 closely to the starch synthesis-related genes. These results could be important clues for studying the relationship between resistance / susceptible materials and eating quality.

One of the biotic stresses in rice production is rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, which is one of the most destructive fungal diseases in rice. We outlined an approach towards genome wide association study for the blast disease resistance in rice. In total, 295 rice accessions including 137 Heuristic Set accessions (HS) and 158 Korean Bred varieties (KB) were screened for the rice blast disease resistance. Firstly, Magnaporthe oryzae were inoculated to the rice seedlings of two weeks after germinations. Then, evaluation of the disease symptoms and checking the crossing point (CP) value were conducted one week after inoculation. To quantify the CP value, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed in combination with the primer pair and Taqman probe specific to Magnaporthe oryzae HYDROPHOBIN class 1 (MHP1) which is an indispensable unigene encoding HYDROPHOBIN for normal virulence expression. Based on these CP values from the PCR reactions containing a series of increasing concentration of cloned amplicon or fungal genomic DNA, correlation among the template’s copy number or its amount and amplification pattern was calculated. Reliability of this equation was further confirmed using the DNA samples from the rice leaves infected with compatible or incompatible strains of M. oryzae. These steps are still being undertaken, and after the complete process of disease resistance phenotyping for the whole population containing 295 accessions, GWAS will be performed to examine the associated genes involving in blast resistance mechanism using the whole genome resequencing data of 295 accessions. This approach would be a useful technique for identifying genetic loci responsible for natural variation in rice blast disease resistance and ultimately, new R genes which can improve the blast resistance in rice.

Drought stress is one of the major stress affecting growth and productivity in rice. Drought tolerance is a complex trait governed by quantitative trait loci (QTLs) making it difficult to understand mechanisms underlying it. We generated a set of 55 introgression lines via a backcrossing using Milyang23, a Korean Tongil-type rice variety as the recurrent parent and O. glaberrima (IRGC Acc. No. 103544), an exotic collection from Mali, West Africa as donor parent. 141 SSR markers were used to genotype 55 introgression lines. The 55 introgression lines with the Milyang23 were evaluated for physiological traits such as Fresh shoot weight (FSW), Fresh root weight (FRW) and Dry shoot weight (DSW) under control and 20% PEG-treated condition. Three lines (IL9, 12, 55) showing significant difference with Milyang23 were selected. The genetic background of the three lines were similar to Milyang23 and it has four, four and two O. glaberrima homozygous segments, respectively. IL9 performed better than Milyang23 in all traits measured in the 20% PEG-treated condition. IL9 possessed four O. glaberrima introgressions on chromosomes 1, 2, 6 and 7. IL12 performed better than Milyang23 in FSW and FRW. IL12 contains four O. glaberrima introgressions on chromosomes 3 and 6. And IL55 contains two O. glaberrima introgressions on chromosomes 2 and 6. O. glaberrima segment delimited by markers OSR19-RM225 at chromosomes 6 was commonly present in these three lines. This region corresponds to the QTL region for drought tolerance reported by other previous studies. A set of introgression lines are being developed containing only few chromosomal segments from O. glaberrima in the Milyang23 background. These would be useful not only in developing drought tolerant lines in the breeding program but also in fine-mapping the genes/QTLs for drought resistance.

Using a series of BC8F4 nearly isogenic lines(IL-20) derived from a cross between Hwaseongbyeo, as the recurrent parent, and wild rice Oryza minuta (IRGC Acc. No. 101144) as the donor parent we constructed a high-resolution physical map for the days to heading (dth9)-QTL. dth9 QTL was mapped to the long arm of chromosome 9 across a 34.74-kb region containing 8 predicted genes. Heading date of Japonica rice variety Hwaseongbyeo was one week earlier than a near-isogenic line (NILs) IL-20 under natural field (NF) conditions and 3-4 days under short-day (SD) conditions implying that the dth9-QTL is involved in photoperiod sensitivity in rice. Of the 8 predicted genes three were protein-coding genes in dth9-QTL region. According to RiceXpro published data, micro-array analysis of different leaf developmental stages of Nipponbare showed a higher level of LOC_Os09g36700 mRNA expression during panicle initiation stage. This data further supported our prediction that dth9 locus is responsible for delayed heading in IL-20. Previous studies showed that RNase T2 family proteins are involved in photoperiod sensitivity. Based on these findings we sequenced two candidate genes, which encoded for RNase T2 family proteins. Interestingly, we found the existence of a missense mutation in LOC_Os09g36700 gene suggesting that dth9-QTL might control difference in days to heading between Hwaseongbyeo and IL-20. The QTL for days to heading had not been detected in previous QTL studies between Oryza cultivars, indicating the existence of potentially novel allele from O. mimuta.

While a wealth of genetic diversity can be found from traditional rice varieties, wild rice species and wild relatives of rice, transfer of useful genes to modern varieties are often hampered by linkage drag. In this study, the previously identified blast resistance locus Pi45(t) from a cross between ‘Ilpumbyeo’ and ‘Moroberekan’ was showed to be linked with the spreading-type panicle caused by the SPR3 locus. Using InDel4 and RM17579 linked to the Pi45(t) and the SPR3, respectively, the distance between the two loci was estimated to be 6.9cM. This suggests a tight, yet incomplete linkage and provides the opportunity to utilize Pi45(t) in breeding programs without including SPR3. Two groups based on the genotype at the SPR3 locus were assembled; the CLosed Panicle (CLP) and SPReading panicle (SPR) groups with lines, which were homozygous for the Ilpumbyeo and Moroberekan alleles, respectively. A comparison between the traits of CLP and SPR groups revealed a decrease in 1000-grain weight and length and an increase in spikelets per panicle and secondary branches in the SPR group. This complicates selection against SPR3 as it is not clear whether these quantitative trait loci are linked to either SPR3 or Pi45(t). Re-evaluation of these traits using lines recombinant at the two loci would be necessary to clarify this issue.

This study aims at classifying and interpreting on the vegetation structure and the vegetation transition over 25 years (between 1986 and 2010), and the correlation with the change of some conditions (the vegetation height and coverage on each layer and the climate factors as WI, CI, mean annual temperature, mean annual total precipitation etc.) in the Evergreen Broad-Leaved Forest,, Hong-Do island. The EBLF is classified into five units of vegetation (Hedera rhombea-Machilus thunbergii community (M-M comm.), Castanopsis sieboldii forest (Machilus japonica-Castanopsis sieboldii community; Raphiolepis indica var. umbellata-C. sieboldii community), community (Qa comm.), Carpinus turczaninovii community (Ct comm.), Camellia japonica stand (Cj stand)). The vegetation transition by CCA had high correlation with the height and coverage on each layer and the climate factors, and it did the succession (transition) that the M-M comm. (2010) from Mallotus japonicus community･Machilus thunbergii community･Carpinus coreana community (Cc comm.)･Aucuba japonica community (Aj comm.)･Trachelos permum asiaticum var. intermedium-Quercus acuta community (TQ comm.) (1986), the communities of C. sieboldii forest (2010) from Aj comm.･TQ comm.･Raphiolepis umbellata-Camellia japonica community (RC comm.) (1986), the Qa comm. (2010) from Ardisia japonica-Castanopsis sieboldii community (AC comm.) and TQ comm. (1986), the Ct comm. (2010) from Cc comm.･RC comm.･Aj comm.･Quercus serrata community and the Cj stand (2010) from AC comm. (1986). the height and coverage on each layer are also changed.

In this study, we estimate the interannual spatial and temporal distributions of fishing grounds at night in the East Sea based on satellite and in-situ data. We observe that the 15℃ thermal front moves in the north-south direction according to the movement of the warm water (above 18℃) in the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) area, forcing the cold water area (below 10℃) to either expand or shrink. The interannual variations of sea surface temperature (SST) in winter represented by the indicator SST of 6℃ are consistent with the east-west zonal areas in the central East Sea which represented over 1℃ standard deviation of SST in February during 1990-2000. Annual SST in the fishing grounds of common squid fishing vessels, observed both by fishing vessels and satellites range from 9-22℃, with the satellite-observed data having a larger range than the fishing vessel-based ones. The interannual distributions of the common squid fishing grounds in the East Sea are mostly concentrated in the TWC area in the southwestern part of the East Sea and in the coast of southern Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan. The interannual distributions of the nighttime fishing vessels are consistent with the catches investigated from the fishing vessel.