This study was conducted to evaluate the feeding value of the spent mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) substrates (SMS) in laying hens (Hy-Line Brown). The fresh spent mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) substrates collected from the DOJUN farm were fermented with Bacillus subtilis EJ3 for 2 weeks. A total of twenty-four laying hens were fed corn-soy based experimental diets containing 0% (control), 5% (T1), 10% (T2) and 15%(T3) fermented SMS for 7 weeks. There were no significant differences among the treatments in egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed conversion and viability during the experimental period. Feed intake was significantly lowered in control (118.3 g) than T1 (121.9 g), T2 (120.3 g) and T3 (122.4 g). There were no significant differences among the treatments eggshell breaking strength, thickness and haugh unit, whereas the yolk color of T1, T2 and T3 were significantly heavy than T0. The palatability of boiled meat was significantly better in the T3 laying hens than in the T0 laying hens. In conclusion, fermented SMS can be used as resource of feed in laying hen feed at 5.0-15% level without effect on performance and egg qualify.

The mannanase, cellulase and xylanase-producing thermophilic bacteria, designated EJ3, was isolated from fresh spent mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) substrates taken from the DOJUN farm located in Keyongnam, Korea. The isolate EJ3 was facultatively anaerobic and grew at temperature ranging from 20℃ to 60℃ with an optimal temperature of 37℃. The DNA G+C content of the isolate EJ3 was 45 mlo%. The major fatty acids were anteiso-15:0 (38.9%), 17:0 (7.4%), and iso-15:0 (38.2%). The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between the isolate EJ3 and other Bacillus strains varied from 97% to 99%. In the phylogenetic analysis based on these sequences, the isolate EJ3 and Bacillus subtilis clustered within a group and separated from other species of Bacillus. Based on the physiological and molecular properties, the isolate EJ3 was classified within the genus Bacillus as Bacillus subtilis EJ3. The optimal growth condition of B. subtilis EJ3 were pH 6.0 and 55℃, respectively.

In an effort to gain a better understanding of the nature of the population genetic structure of the pest insect, Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), tobacco cutworms were collected from six Korean and five Chinese localities and their mitochondrial A+T-rich region and nuclear internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) regions were cloned and sequenced. A total of 106 A+T-rich region haplotypes and 92 ITS2 sequence types were obtained from 158 individuals. Compared to the preliminary mitochondrial COI gene sequence data that provided all identical sequence types in all samples, the A+T-rich region and nuclear ITS2 are highly variable. Overall, a low level of genetic fixation in the A+T-rich region (FST = 0 ~ 0.02965) and nuclear ITS2 (FST = 0 ~ 0.34491), and no discernable isolated population was noted to exist among most S. litura populations. The presence of a majority of within-population variations, rather than variations among populations or between China and Korea, indicates that the S. litura populations are composed of heterogeneous individuals. The fixation index at hierarchical level of among regions shows no significance, suggesting that the S. litura populations in both Korea and China are profoundly interrelated with one another. This finding is in accord with the current knowledge that S. litura has sufficient flight capacity for dispersal.

Antioxidants partially ameliorated the detrimental effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on sperm characteristics during in vitro storage. The objective of the present study was to investigate the single or synergetic antioxidative effect of curcumin and Vit. E on the characteristics of fresh boar sperm during in vitro storage. The sperm viability in curcumin, Vit. E supplementation and curcumin+Vit. E+H2O2 groups remained over 85.0% in 3 hr incubation period, but in 6 hr incubation period, curcumin+Vit. E+H2O2 groups was sharply dropped than those of curcumin and Vit. E group. The membrane intergrity in all evaluated groups except for H2O2 group did not significantly difference in 3 hr incubation period. The viability in curcumin or Vit. E supplementation were significantly increased than in curcumin+H2O2 and Vit. E+H2O2 group in 6 hr incubation period. The percentage of mitochondrial activity and acrosome intergrity obtained similar trends within same incubation periods irrespective of treatment. The lipid peroxidation of spermatozoal plasma membrane ranged from 11.6∼17.5 nM/l×106 and 14.0∼ 19.0 nM/l×106 in 3 hr and 6 hr incubation periods. In conclusion, curcumin or Vit. E rpplementation alone or cooperatively improved sperm viability index (motility, membrane intergrity, viability and survival rates) and fertility index (mitochondria activity, acrosome intergrity and lipid peroxidation) of fresh boar sperm, indicating that curcumin and Vit. E have a antioxidative properties through its scavenging activity against hydrogen peroxide.

Monochamus alternatus and M. saltuarius were reported as the vectors of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, pine wood nematode in Korea. According to Kwon et al. (2006), each of 2 species has occupied their own regional distribution : M. saltuarius in southern part including Jeju island and M. alternatus in mid-northern part of Korean peninsula. We measured the supercooling point (SCP) of 2 species (laboratory-reared populations) by each of developmental stages. The SCPs of 2nd, 3rd and 5th instar larvae of M. saltuarius were -7.68±0.19℃, -7.02±0.69℃, -4.93±1.34℃ each of stages. On the other hand, the SCPs of 3rd, 4th, 5th instar larvae and pupae of M. alternatus. were -4.46±1.12℃, -5.94±1.33℃, -7.83±1.44℃, -9.53±1.78℃ each of stages. The SCPs of M. saltuarius larvae generally was lower than that of M. alternatus. The pupae of M. alternatus and 2nd instar larvae of M. saltuarius had the lowest SCP among measured samples. On the other hand, the highest SCP were recorded in 2nd and 5th instar larvae, each. This result shows that regional distribution of 2 beetles may be associated with the adaptation capacity to low temperature represented by the SCP as well as the developmental temperature. However, beetles experimented were not collected from pine forest fields. In further study, we are planning experiments with field populations and all developmental stages.

Plant height of 'Composite 28' was 89㎝ and heading date was on 4 May with green leaf color and showed high yield among three composite lines. A visual score of winter field survival of 'Composite 28' was 1.0. 1st dry matter yield of 'Composite 28' in Cheonan was 8.64ton per ㏊ compared to introduced variety 'Amba'(7.20ton/㏊). Heading date of 'Composite 28' was 7 days earlier than check variety, 'Amba'.

To get good productivity and high feed value of forage, we develop to new Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) 'Kogreen'.variety. In Suwon, heading date of 'Kogreen' was on May 3 but in Yonchun was on 8 May that was 2 day later than that of 'Florida 80' and dry matter yield is 12.7ton/㏊, and had a good cold tolerance.

In the present study, genotypic variation of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Korean Italian ryegrass has been evaluated. Mature seed-derived calli of a total of seven cultivars were infected and co-cultured with Agrobacterium tumefaciens carrying the binary vector pCAMBIA1301, which contains a reporter gene (gus) and a plant selectable marker gene conferring resistance to hygromycin (hpt) in the T-DNA region. The effects of several factors such as callus type and callus age on transformation frequency and the expression of the GUS gene were investigated. The highest transformation frequency (6.7%) was obtained with the Hwasan 101 cultivar when 9-week-old calli (type-I) were inoculated with Agrobacterium. The overall transformation rates of the examined cultivars ranged from 0.4% to 6.7%. GUS histochemical assays, PCR, and southern analysis of transgenic plants demonstrated that transgenes were successfully integrated into the genome of Italian ryegrass. Thus, optimization of transformation frequency and selection of a suitable cultivar of Italian ryegrass may improve molecular breeding of this species.

In the present study, we have used an annealing-control-primer (ACP)-based differentially display RT-PCR method to identify salt-stress-induced differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in barley leaves. Using 120 ACPs, a total of 11 up-regulated genes were identified and sequenced. Temporal expression patterns of some up-regulated DEGs in response to salt stress were further analyzed by Northern blot analysis. The possible roles of these identified genes are discussed within the context of their putative role in response to salt stress. Thus, the identification of some novel genes-such as SnRK1-type protein kinase; 17 kDa, class I, small heat shock protein; and RNase S-like protein precursor genes-may offer a new avenue for better understanding the salt stress response in plants, knowledge which might be helpful for developing future strategies.

In this study, we conducted to select the promising crops for both uses in the bioethanol and forage production in Korea. The result indicated t㏊t Natsukaje (guinea grass), Gwangpyeongok (corn), Jumbo (sorghum×sudangrass hybrid), SS405 (sorghum×sorghum hybrid), Millex32 (pearl millet), Jeju barnyard grass), Alamo (switch grass) and Selection75 (klein grass) showed the production of biomass from the highest to the lowest in order. However, the order of the production of quality forage was, from the highest to the lowest, Natsukaje (guinea grass), Jumbo (sorghum×sudangrass hybrid), SS405 (sorghum×sorghum hybrid), Gwangpyeongok (corn), Millex32 (pearl millet), Selection75 (klein grass), Jeju (barnyard grass), and Alamo (switch grass). We concluded the Natsukaje (guinea grass) was the best bioethanol crop, and also the Natsukaje (guinea grass) was the best for forage production.