스리랑카는 채소의 주년 생산에 적합한 기후를 갖고 있는 열대국가이다. 열대, 아열대 채소의 재배면적은 전체 농지(105,062 ha)의 약 3%이다. 지난 50년 동안 스리랑카에서 채소 육종에 관한 체계적인 연구가 이루어졌고 채소 부문은 지속적으로 증가하였다. 하지만 채소 육종, 재배 및 가공과 관련된 기술이 선진국에 비해 많이 뒤떨어져 있는 형편이다. 전통 육종법을 통해 개발된 다양한 농업적 형질을 가진 품종이 현재까지 스리랑카의 채소 생산에 이용되고 있지만 생명공학적 방법을 접목한 채소 품종 육종법의 중요성이 점차로 부각되고 있다. 본 논문은 스리랑카에서 중요한 채소 작물인 토마토, 고추류, 콩류, 가지 및 여주의 육종과 품종 현황을 소개하고 향후 스리랑카 육종 전망에 대해 논의하였다.

We have demonstrated the feasibility of using electrospinning method to fabricate long and continuous composite nanofiber sheets of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) incorporated with zinc oxide (ZnO). Such PAN/ZnO composite nanofiber sheets represent an important step toward utilizing carbon nanofibers (CNFs) as materials to achieve remarkably enhanced physico-chemical properties. In an attempt to derive these advantages, we have used a variety of techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) to obtain quantitative data on the materials. The CNFs produced are in the diameter range of 100 to 350 nm after carbonization at 1000℃. Electrical conductivity of the random CNFs was increased by increasing the concentration of ZnO. A dramatic improvement in porosity and specific surface area of the CNFs was a clear evidence of the novelty of the method used. This study indicated that the optimal ZnO concentration of 3 wt% is enough to produce CNFs having enhanced electrical and physico-chemical properties.

Mungbean (Vigna radiata) is a fast-growing, warm-season legume crop that is primarily cultivated in developing countries of Asia. We constructed a draft genome sequence of mungbean to facilitate genome research into the subgenus Ceratotropis and to enable a better understanding of the evolution of leguminous species. The draft genome sequence covers 80% of the estimated genome, of which 50.1% consists of repetitive sequences. In total, 22,427 high confidence protein-coding genes were predicted. Based on the de novo assembly of additional wild mungbean species, the divergence of what was eventually domesticated and the sampled wild mungbean species appears to have predated domestication. Moreover, the de novo assembly of a tetraploid Vigna species (Vigna reflexo-pilosa var. glabra) provided genomic evidence of a recent allopolyploid event. To further study speciation, we compared de novo RNA-seq assemblies of 22 accessions of 18 Vigna species and protein sets of Glycine max and Cajanus cajan. The species tree was constructed by a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo method using highly confident orthologs shared by all 24 accessions. The present assembly of V. radiata var. radiata will facilitate genome research and accelerate molecular breeding of the subgenus Ceratotropis.