The aim of this study was to isolate chicken feather-degrading bacteria with high keratinolytic activity and to investigate cultural conditions affecting keratinolytic enzyme production by a selected isolate. A chicken feather-degrading bacterial strain CH3 was isolated from poultry wastes. Isolate CH3 degraded whole chicken feather completely within 3 days. On the basis of phenotypical and 16S rDNA studies, isolate CH3 was identified as Bacillus thuringiensis CH3. This strain is the first B. thuringiensis described as a feather degrader. The bacterium grew with an optimum at pH 8.0 and 37℃, where maximum keratinolytic activity was also observed. The composition of optimal medium for keratinolytic enzyme production was feather 0.1%, sucrose 0.7%, casein 0.3%, K2HPO4 0.03%, KH2PO4 0.04%, MgCl2 0.01% and NaCl 0.05%, respectively. The keratinolytic enzyme had a pH and temperature optima 9.0 and 45℃, respectively. The keratinolytic activity was inhibited ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, and metal ions like Hg2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+. The enzyme activated by Fe2+, dithiothreitol and 2-mercaptoethanol.

This study was done to understand the G x E interaction of rice blast reaction for Japonica high quality rice varieties and to observe blast pattern for high quality varieties. Twenty one percent of the total sum of squares (SST) in blast reaction data of high quality Japonica varieties is attributed to genotype (G) by environment (E) interaction variation. This portion of blast response is higher than 8～12% of G x E effect in blast severity data obtained from various ecotypes of rice varieties. Blast response scores obtained from high quality Japonica varieties group were more severely affected by environment condition than mixed groups with Japonica and Indica varieties. Interaction Principal Component Analysis (IPCA) scores obtained from AMMI analysis for the leaf blast response implied variation of G x E interaction. Correlation analysis suggested that IPCA1 was associated with latitude, maximum mean temperature, precipitation and mean cloud amount. IPCA2 was associated with mean relative humidity, and IPCA3 was associated with precipitation and minimum relative humidity. Pattern analysis generated nine genotype clusters according to blast reaction over 11 regions. Collectively, the A, B, C, and D groups were susceptible to rice blast, where as the E, F, G, H, and I groups were relatively resistant to rice blast through multi-location blast nursery test. Relationship between the identified genes of high quality varieties and blast scores at each test site in the level of group could be analyzed based on the results from G x E Interaction analysis.

A new sprout-soybean cultivar, “Wonhwang” was developed at the Honam Agricultural Research Institute (HARI) in 2005. Wonhwang was selected from a cross between Camp and Myeongjunamulkong. The preliminary, advanced, and regional yield trials for evaluation and selection of Iksan45 were carried out from 2001 to 2005. This cultivar has a determinate growth habit with purple flower, grayish brown pubescence, grayish brow hilum, lanceolate leaflet shape and small seed size (10.0 grams per 100 seeds). The maturity date of Wonhwang is 7 days earlier than that of the check variety, Pungsan. It has good seed quality for soybean-sprout, and resistance to lodging. It has also been identified to have resistance to soybean mosaic virus (SMV) and necrotic symptom(SMV-N). The average yield of “Wonhwang” was 2.80MT/ha, which was higher by 4% than “Pungsannamulkong” at the regional yield trials.

A population ofrecombinant inbred lines derived from a cross between Ilpumbyeo, a blast-susceptibleyopowca cultivarofhigh eating-quality and high yield potential, and GL33, a blast-resistance/apowca weedy rice was used to identifv QTLs affect-ing importan

This experiment was conducted to investigate the variation of nitrogen(N) uptake efficiency and their relationships withciency and partitioning parameters as physiological N use efficiency [PNUE], agronomic N use efficiency [ANUE], apparentrecovery [AR],