This study was conducted to provide basic data for high-throughput screening (HTS) system construction based on phenomics. Rice (Oryza sativa cv. Chucheongbyeo) seedlings in vegetative growth stage were grown in the glass house and treated with 0, 3.75, 7.5, 15, and 30% (w/v) of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to give osmotic stress. Three days after PEG treatment, hyper-spectral reflectance images were obtained and analyzed after removing background image in several steps. The reflectance of rice seedlings treated with 15 and 30% of PEG solutions were significantly different at 680 nm, where differences in the chlorophyll reflectance spectrum and visual symptoms were not observed. These results thus indicate that hyper-spectral reflectance observed at 680 nm can be used to screen drought tolerant rice lines. A HTS system equipped with this hyper-spectral reflectance system may play an important role of future rice breeding program.

This study was conducted to investigate plant body temperature response of soybean (Glycine max) to saline stress. Two-weeks-old seedlings of soybean in V1 growth stage were treated with 0, 10, 20, 40, 80 and 160 mM of NaCl for salt stress. Thermal images acquired using Flir T-420 (US) were obtained at 4 days after treatment. Soybean leaf temperature increased with increasing NaCl concentration, resulting in significant positive correlation between soybean leaf temperature and stress intensity (P < 0.01). Leaf temperature of soybean was significantly different at 160 mM of NaCl, where no visual symptom was observed. Therefore, soybean leaf temperature can be used for evaluating the response of soybean to salt stress as a non-destructive and phenomic parameter. Non-destructive diagnosis of soybean leaf temperature may be a key parameter in a high throughput screening (HTS) system in breeding program for salt stress tolerance soybean cultivars.

Citrus is one of the major fruits produced in Korea. There are about 20 species mainly grown in Jeju Island, Korea. Four representative species, which are quite different in the shape of leaf and the taste of fruit, were selected and were used to profile the transcriptomes. These species are ‘Miyagawa Wase’ (C. unshiu Marcov.) satsuma mandarin, ‘Kiyomi’ (C. unshiu Marcov. × C. sinensis) mandarin hybrid, ‘Dangyuja’ (C. grandis) and ‘Natsudaidai’ (C. natsudaidai). Classification of the up-regulated and down-regulated genes using the Cluster of Orthologous Groups of proteins (COG) database reveals that the number of genes included in each group differed significantly among the four species. Several genes that showed significant differences in expression on the microarray were selected and their expression patterns were examined by reverse transcription- ploymerase chain reaction. Metabolic genes such as tyrosine decarboxylase and β-glucosidase ligase were found to be highly expressed in Miyagawa Wase, relative to other species. On the other hand, the expression level of mannose phosphate isomerase was lower in Miyagawa Wase. An efflux pump gene was found to be up-regulated in Kiyomi, whereas cinnamyl-alcohol dehydrogenase was down-regulated. β-carotene 15,15’-dioxygenase, which is involved in the vitamin metabolism, was up-regulated in Natsudaidai. Interspecific differentiations of gene expression are analyzed in terms of the metabolic pathways and their possible roles in citrus species.

We investigated the effects of temperature changes on the oxygen consumption rhythm in Japanese eels, Anguilla japonica, using an automatic intermittent flow respirometer (AIFR). The endogenous rhythm of the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in the eels (n = 18; 44-74 cm, 145-690 g), freshly collected by bag net from estuaries, was nearly synchronous with the tidal pattern of the estuarine collection site. The magnitude of mean OCR (mOCR) of eels showed variable range of 82.2 - 116.5 ml O2 kg-1 ww h-1 under constant conditions. In case of increasing temperature from 25 to 38℃, the OCR of eels exhibited a gradually increasing trend with a rhythmic pattern until 36℃. Above 36℃, the rhythms of the OCR dampened and the OCR decreased rapidly at around 36 - 37℃. The OCR of the eels exhibited the maximum value at 38℃, and then it sharply decreased. The results suggested that the critical thermal maximum (CTM) regarding the endogenous rhythms of the eels was at around 36 - 37℃ when water temperature increased at 0.5℃/14 h following the acclimation at 25℃. In case of decreasing temperature (0.5℃/14 h) from 25 to 0℃, the OCR of the eels displayed a abrupt decrease up to 23℃, and between at 23 and 20℃, there was an agitation which showed a slight increase in the OCR with a duration of 1-2 days. Below 9℃, the OCR rhythm of the eels showed a constant state regardless of temperature decreasing. These results suggest that the Japanese eel has an upper incipient lethal temperature at 36℃, with a lower thermal limit at 9℃. The biochemical aspects of the eels influenced by water temperature need to be further studied.

"Chuyoung" as a new double cropping potato variety was bred in 2005 for table use through a cross between "Dejima" with short tuber dormancy and HRB-31 which is a tetraploid derived from an interspecific cross between "Russet Burbank" and Solanum phureja line. It was evaluated for short dormancy, growth and tuber characteristics every twice a year from 1997 to 2001. Regional yield trials were performed from 2002 to 2004 at three locations, Jeju, Namhae and Gangneung of Korea, respectively. Its tuber shape is oblong with yellow skin and flesh colors. Its dormant periods is 60~70days. It showed less incidence of physiological disorders such as cracking or knobs on tubers, and higher resistance to common scab by Streptomyces scabies compared to "Dejima". It has tall plant height and erect growth type with green-broad leaflets and white large inflorescence. Its average yields are 29.5 and 22.6 ton/ha at 90 days after planting in spring and autumn cropping, respectively. It also showed higher marketable yield due to the lower incidence of common scab and physiological disorders compared to "Dejima".

“Neulbora” is a new leaf vegetable perilla (Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton) variety developed from a cross between Ipdeulkkae1/YCPL173 and YCPL199 at the Yeongnam Agricultural Research Institute, NICS, RDA, in 2005. Wrinkled leaf shape and purple color o