Light is very important for plant growth and a major limiting factor in indoor plant cultivation, such as in balconies. This study was conducted to investigate the light intensity and lettuce (Latuca sativa L.) growth in an apartment balcony affected by the direction of balcony. Photosynthetic photon flux (PPF), air temperature, and relative humidity in the east-, south-, or west-facing balcony were measured for a year. The lettuce was grown in the east-, south-, or west-facing balcony. The time and amount of light entering into the balcony differed according to the direction of the balcony window. Whereas light entered into the east-facing balcony from sunrise to noon, it entered into the west-facing balcony afternoon before sunset. The temperature and humidity in the balcony also varied according to the direction of the balcony window. Daily Light Integral (DLI) in the south-facing balcony was 20~50% of outdoor and DLI in east- or west-facing balconies was 10~20%. Also, the environmental characteristics of the balconies were affected seasonally. In the spring (from March to May), the DLI was around 10 mol･m-2･day-1 and the average temperature was around 25°C. But the DLI was below 10 mol･m-2･day-1 and the average temperature and relative humidity were around 30°C and over 60%, respectively, in the summer (from June to August). In the balcony, the average temperature was maintained around 10°C even in winter, which is a condition of freezing outdoor. Growth of the lettuce in the south-facing balcony was better than that of the other directions. This is attributed to better environmental conditions of south-facing balcony. Therefore, considering the environmental characteristics of the balcony, selection and management of crops with relatively low light demand like leafy vegetables are required. It is also recommended to cultivate crops from autumn to spring.

To understand molecular mechanisms underlying adaptation of plant cells to saline stress and stress memory, we developed Arabidopsis callus suspension-cultured cells adapted to high salt. Adapted cells to high salt exhibited enhanced tolerance compared to control cells. Moreover, the salt tolerance of adapted cells was stably maintained even after the stress is relieved, indicating that the salt tolerance of adapted cells was memorized. Salt-adapted and stress memorized cells were densely aggregated and formed multi-layered cell lump. Cell morphology analysis using transmission electron microscopy indicated that cell wall thickness of salt-adapted cells was significantly induced compared to control cells. In order to characterize metabolic responses of plant cells during adaptation to high salt stress as well as stress memory, we compared metabolic profiles of salt-adapted and stress-memorized cells with control cells by using NMR spectroscopy. A principle component analysis showed clear metabolic discrimination among control, salt-adapted and stress-memorized cells. Compared with control cells, metabolites related to shikimate metabolism such as tyrosine, and flavonol glycosides, which are related to protective mechanism of plant against stresses were largely up-regulated in adapted cell lines. Moreover, coniferin, a precursor of lignin, was more abundant in salt-adapted cells than control cells. The results provide new insight into metabolic level mechanisms of plant adaptation to saline stress as well as stress memory.

To identify novel signaling components involved in regulation of plant responses to phosphate (Pi) starvation, we screened an Arabidopsis T-DNA activation tagging library for mutants with altered Pi-starvation responses. Here, we report the identification and characterization of novel activation-tagged mutant involved in Pi starvation signaling in Arabidopsis. The hpd (hypersensitive to Pi deficiency) mutant exhibits enhanced phosphate uptake and altered root architectural change under Pi starvation compared to wild type. Expression analysis of auxin-responsive DR5::GUS reporter gene in hpd mutant indicated that both auxin biosynthesis and auxin translocation under Pi starvation are suppressed in hpd mutant plants. Impaired auxin translocation in roots of hpd mutant was attributable to abnormal root architecture changes in Pi starvation conditions. Mis-regulation of auxin translocation in hpd mutant was further confirmed by analysis of expression patterns of auxin efflux carrier proteins, PIN-FORMED (PIN) 1, 2, and 3 fused with GFP. Not only expression levels but also expression domains of PIN proteins were altered in hpd mutant in response to Pi starvation. Molecular genetic analysis of hpd mutant revealed that the mutant phenotype is caused by the lesion in ENHANCED SILENCING PHENOTYPE4 (ESP4) gene whose function is proposed in mRNA 3’-end processing. The results propose that mRNA processing plays crucial roles in Pi homeostasis as well as developmental reprograming in response to Pi deprivation in Arabidopsis.

A case of three primary malignancies in one patient is rare. We report on a case of three primary malignancies including myxofibrosarcoma, renal cell cancer, and prostate cancer in one 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/ computed tomography (PET/CT) evaluation of a 75-year-old man. PET/CT showed different FDG meabolism in each tumor.

Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping is a highly effective approach for studying genetically complex forms of plant shattering. With QTLs mapping, the shattering loci can be described. SSR marker is based on the imformation of Simple Sequence Repeat and easy to analyze using PCR and has high reproducibility. For analyzing QTLs associated with shattering, we selected 219 SSR markers from 254 SSR markers and used them for implementing Mapmaker(Ver. 3.0) and Mapchart(Ver. 2.2). Mapmaker help to calculate distances between each markers and Mapchart is a program for drawing Genetic map. This Genetic map of rice (Oryza sativa L.) covering 2082.4 cM with 9.5 cM between makers in the Kosambi function has been constructed using 120 F1 DH plants from a single cross between the indica variety Chungchung and the japonica variety Nagdong.