Root knot nematode species, such as Meloidogyne hapla, M. incognita, M. arenaria and M. javanica are economically most notorious nematode pests, causing serious damage to the various crops throughout world. In this study, DNA sequence analyses of the D1-D3 expansion segments of the 28S gene in the ribosomal DNA were conducted to characterize genetic variation of the four Meloidogyne species obtained from Korea and United States. PCR-RFLP (Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism), SCAR (Sequence Characterized Amplified Region) marker and RAPD (Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA) also were used to develop the methods for exact and rapid species identification. In the sequence analysis of the D1-D3 expansion segments, only a few nucleotide sequence variation were detected among M. incognita, M. arenaria, and M. javanica, except for M. hapla. The PCR-RFLP analysis that involves amplification of the mitochondrial COII and lrRNA region yielded one distinct amplicon for M. hapla at 500 bp, enabling us to distinguish M. hapla from M. incognita, M. arenaria, M. javanica reproduced by obligate mitotic parthenogenesis. SCAR markers successfully identified the four root knot nematode species tested. We are under development of RAPD primers specific to the three root knot nematodes found in Korea.

Ascidian embryos have become an important model for embryological studies, offering a simple example for mechanisms of cytoplasmic components segregation. It is a well-known example that the asymmetric segregation of mitochondria into muscle lineage cells occurs during ascidian embryogenesis. However, it is still unclear which signaling pathway is involved in this process. To obtain molecular markers for studying mechanisms involved in the asymmetric distribution of mitochondria, we have produced monoclonal antibodies, Mito-1, Mito-2 and Mito-3, that specifically recognize mitochondriarich cytoplasm in cells of the ascidian Halocynthia roretzi embryos. These antibodies stained cytoplasm like reticular structure in epidermis cells, except for nuclei, at the early tailbud stage. Similar pattern was observed in vital staining of mitochondria with DiOC2, a fluorescent probe of mitochondria. Immunostaining with these antibodies showed that mitochondria are evenly distributed in the animal hemisphere blastomeres at cleavage stages, whereas not in the vegetal hemisphere blastomeres. Mitochondria were transferred to the presumptive muscle and nerve cord lineage cells of the marginal zone in the vegetal hemisphere more than to the presumptive mesenchyme, notochord and endoderm lineage of the central zone. Therefore, it is suggested that these antibodies will be useful markers for studying mechanisms involved in the polarized distribution of mitochondria during ascidian embryogenesis.

This study was conducted to analyze seasonal and annual variations in rice quality and factors affecting the quality, for quality evaluation of the brand rice varieties produced in Jeonnam region. Coefficient of variation (CV) values for the seasonal variation in the rice quality were 3.1% in Toyo value, 2.1% in whiteness, 1.6% in protein content, 1.0% in moisture content, and 0.4% in head rice ratio. Quality characteristics of the brand rice varieties generally showed a decreasing tendency after April, as the months progressed. CV values for the annual variation in the rice quality were relatively high at 5.6% in protein content and 5.2% in Toyo value whereas those for whiteness and head rice ratio were relatively low, at 2.7% and 1.8%, respectively. Palatability and protein content showed high correlations with minimum air temperature, sunshine hours, rainfall, and daily temperature range. Head rice ratio had a negative correlation with daily temperature range whereas chalky rice ratio had a positive correlation with rainfall. Based on these results, we formulated a multiple regression equation to estimate palatability of cooked rice using protein content, whiteness, head rice ratio, and moisture content as follows:y ＝－6.71a ＋ 2.27b ＋ 1.29c ＋ 0.51d － 15.34 (R2=0.51*)(y: palatability of cooked rice, a: protein content, b: moisture content, c: whiteness, d: head rice ratio).

In animal development, the mechanisms by which localized factors and organelles in egg cytoplasm were exactly distributed into each daughter cell are essential for formation of various cell types. During ascidian Halocynthia roretzi embryogenesis, ooplasmic mitochondria were mainly segregated into muscle and neural precursor cells. At the 32-cell stage, localized mitochondria in the B6.2 blastomeres were preferentially distributed into the B7.4 muscle precursors compared with the B7.3 mesenchyme/ notochord precursors. When the B6.2 blastomeres were isolated from the early 32-cell stage embryos and then allowed to divide 2 times of cell division, the resultant partial embryos showed symmetric distribution of mitochondria, and the partial embryos were composed of equal size cells. In normal development, cell fates of the B7.3 blastomere were correlated with the unequal cleavage of B6.2 lineage cells that normally occurs in the next two-cell division stages to produce a large B8.5 mesenchyme and a small B8.6 notochord cell. Mitochondria are distributed asymmetrically in both cells. When embryos were treated with FGF receptor inhibitor SU5402 and MEK inhibitor U0126 between the 32-cell and the early 64-cell stages, the resultant embryos showed equal cleavage pattern and symmetric distribution of mitochondria in daughter cells of the B6.2 blastomeres. However, blocking of Nodal and Notch signaling did not affect the cell division pattern and mitochondrial distribution in the B6.2 lineage blastomeres between the 32-cell and 110-cell stages. Therefore, it is likely that FGF/MEK signaling is involved in asymmetric distribution of mitochondria and unequal cleavage of the B6.2 lineage blastomeres in ascidian embryo.

Transgenic rice plants expressing a Bacillus subtilis protoporphyrinogen oxidase (Protox), the last shared enzyme of the porphyrin pathway in the expressed cytoplasm or the plastids, were compared with non-trangenic rice plants in their growth characteristics such as tiller number, plant height, biomass, and yield. Transgenic rice plants of ~textrmT3 generation had 8 to 15 % and 25 to 43% increases in tiller number compared to non-transgenic rice plants at 4 and 8 weeks after transplanting(WAT); similar values were observed for ~textrmT4 generation at 4 and 8 WAT. However, the plant height in both ~textrmT3 and ~textrmT4 generations was similar between transgenic rice plants and non-transgenic rice plants at 4 and 8 WAT. Transgenic rice plants had 13 to 32% increase in above-ground biomass and 9 to 28% increase in grain yield compared to non-transgenic rice plants, demonstrating that biomass and yield correlate with each other. The increased grain yield of the transgenic rice plants was closely associated with the increased panicle number per plant. The percent of filled grain, thousand grains and spikelet number per panicle were similar between transgenic and non-transgenic rice plants. Generally, the growth and yield of transgenic generations (~textrmT2 , ~textrmT3 , and ~textrmT4 ) and gene expressing sites (cytoplasm-expressed and plastid-targeted transgenic rice plants) were similar, although they slightly varied with generations as well as with gene expressing sites. The transgenic rice plants had promotive effects, indicating that regulation of the porphyrin pathway by expression of B. subtilis Protox in rice influences plant growth and yield.