Momordica charantia L. is a valuable food and medicinal plant of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae) that is cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Physicochemical properties of M. charantia based on cultivars, parts and growing stage were investigated. Crude protein contents of leaf were 27.5%, 26.9%, and 23.6% in native leaf (NL), cv. Erabu leaf (EL), and cv. Dragon leaf (DL), respectively. In particular, the crude protein content was the highest in leaves. The crude fat content was in the order of developmental stage 1 of cv. Erabu fruit (EF1) and developmental stage 1 of native fruit (NF1) with values of 4.0%, and 3.9%, respectively. There was also high amount of crude fiber in stem of all three cultivars. The crude ash content was in the order of cv. Erabu leaf, cv. Dragon leaf, and developmental stage 3 of native fruit (NF3) with values of 23.2%, 17.4%, and 13.6%, respectively. The major minerals found in M. charantia were K, Ca, and Mg. The potassium contents of developmental stage 3 of native fruit (NF3), developmental stage 3 of cv. Dragon fruit (DF3), cv. Dragon stem (DS), and developmental stage 2 of native fruit (NF2) were 498.37, 339.21, 314.30, and 307.34 ㎎ /100g, respectively, while the calcium contents were decreased of EL, DL, and NL with values of 513.45, 371.69, and 209.43 ㎎/100g, respectively. The calcium content was higher in leaves and stems than fruits. On the otherhand, the highest magnesium content was measured in EL (69.92 ㎎/100g). The highest contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll were found in NL (442.9 ㎎/100g dw), EL (759.6 ㎎/100g dw), and EL (1164.9 ㎎/100g dw), respectively. The vitamin C contents from developmental stage 2 of cv. Erabu fruit (EF2), NF3, developmental stage 3 of cv. Erabu on fruit (EF3), and NF2 were found with values of 2849.9, 2330.5, 1985.1, and 1844.5 ㎎/㎏, respectively, and found to be higher in Korean cultivar and Erabu fruit than in Dragon. The charantin contents of leaf were higher than the fruit found to be 547.71, 506.04 and 395.62 ㎍/g dw in DL, EL and EF2, respectively. According to the results, mineral contents, total chlorophyll and charantin contents of M. charantia were higher in the leaves (EL and DL) than the fruits. And, vitamin C content was the highest in the fruit (EF2 and EF3). Therefore, much more research needs to be undertaken to use of the leaves as well as fruits. The data showed that M. charantia can be considered a good source of nutrient for application in food system.

The chloroplast (cp) is an organelle with its own genome encoding a number of cp-specific components. The membrane-bound organelles are mainly involved in the photosynthetic conversion of atmospheric CO2 into carbohydrates in which light energy is stored as chemical energy. Resequencing technology via next-generation sequencing has recently been successfully applied which results the field of cp genome characterization is growing fast. Here, we report the complete sequence of the chloroplast genome of Capsicum frutescens, a species of chili pepper. The total length of the genome is 156,817 bp, and the overall GC content is 37.7%. A pair of 51,584-bp inverted repeats (IRs) is separated by a small (17,853 bp) and a large (87,380 bp) single-copy region. The C. frutescens chloroplast genome encodes 103 unique genes, including 79 protein-coding genes, 20 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. Of these, 19 genes are duplicated in the IRs and 18 genes contain one or two introns. Comparative analysis with reference cp genome revealed 125 simple sequence repeat (SSR) motif and 34 variants, mostly located in the non-coding regions. These microsatellite markers will facilitate the studies of genetic diversity, population genetic structure, and sustainable conservation for C. frutescens.

Chloroplast (cp) genome sequences provide a valuable source for DNA barcoding. Molecular phylogenetic studies have concentrated on DNA sequencing of conserved gene loci. However, this approach is time consuming and more difficult to implement when gene organization differs among species. Here we report the complete re-sequencing of the cp genome of Capsicum pepper (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum) using the Illumina platform. The total length of the cp genome is 156,817 bp with a 37.7% overall GC content. A pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 50,284 bp were separated by a small single copy (SSC; 18,948 bp) and a large single copy (LSC; 87,446 bp). The number of cp genes in C. annuum var. glabriusculum is the same as that in other Capsicum species. Variations in the lengths of LSC, SSC and IR regions were the main contributors to the size variation in the cp genome of this species. A total of 125 simple sequence repeat (SSR) and 48 insertions or deletions variants were found by sequence alignment of Capsicum cp genome. These findings provide a foundation for further investigation of cp genome evolution in Capsicum and other higher plants.

Chloroplast DNA sequences are a versatile tool for species identification and phylogenetic reconstruction of land plants. Different chloroplast loci have been utilized for phylogenetic classification of plant species. However, there is no evidence for a short sequence that can distinguish all plant species from each other. Molecular markers derived from the complete chloroplast genome can provide effective tools for species identification and phylogenetic resolution. Thus, the complete chloroplast genome sequence of Korean landrace “Subicho” pepper (Capsicum annuum var. annuum) has been determined here. The total length of the chloroplast genome is 156,878 bp, with 37.7% overall GC content. A pair of IRs (inverted repeats) of 25,801 bp was separated by a small single copy (SSC) region of 17,929 bp and a large single copy (LSC) region of 87,347 bp. The chloroplast genome harbors 132 known genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, 8 ribosomal RNA genes, and 37 tRNA genes. A total of seven of these genes are duplicated in the inverted repeat regions, nine genes and six tRNA genes contain one intron, while two genes and a ycf have two introns. Analysis revealed 144 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci and 96 variants, mostly located in the non-coding regions. The types and abundances of repeat units in Capsicum species were relatively conserved and these loci will be useful for developing molecular markers.

The chloroplast (cp) is an organelle with its own genome that encodes a number of cp-specific components. Resequencing technology via next-generation sequencing has recently been successfully applied to cp genome characterization. The field of cp characterization is rapidly growing due to its wide versatility and two complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequences of Capsicum species have been reported. We herein report the complete chloroplast genome sequence of Capsicum baccatum var. baccatum, a wild Capsicum species. The total length of the chloroplast genome is 157,145 bp with 37.7% overall GC content. One pair of inverted repeats, 25,910 bp in length, was separated by a small single-copy region (17,974 bp) and large single-copy region (87,351 bp). This region contains 86 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. Eleven genes contain one or two introns. Pair-wise alignments of cp genome were performed for genome-wide comparison. Analysis revealed a total of 134 simple sequence repeat (SSR) motif and 282 insertions or deletions variants in the C. baccatum var. baccatum cp genome.

Among the diverse crops, rice (Oryza sativa L.) has been domesticated as a staple carbohydrate sources mainly in Asia region, and RDA Genebank at the National Agrobiodiversity Center (NAAS) has conserved about 37 thousand rice accessions accordingly. Seed dormancy, one of domesticated traits, prevents pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) which causes degradation of grain quality in cereal crop. In previous study, we surveyed the variation of seed germinability of diverse 200 rice germplasm and detected the three distinguished groups besides admixed types; the first group (G-1) revealed high germinability at harvesting time, and the second group (G-2) and third group (G-3) acquired high germnability subsequent to after-ripening and dormancy breaking process, respectively. To reduce environmental effects on detected variation of germinability, we selected representative 14 accessions which have similar heading date of each group and measured the degree of PHS using freshly harvested panicles. Variation of PHS showed similar tendency of germinability group; generally, high PHS for G-1, low PHS for G-2 and no PHS for G-3. To resolve genetic and physiological factors concerning on PHS and seed dormancy, we checked the change and variation of ABA known for critical regulator for seed dormancy, and high PHS accessions interestingly revealed high ABA content in 10 DAF. Based on these study, we plan to analyze genetic factors affecting the degree of seed germinability and PHS.

In order to assess the genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationships and population structure of Korean rice landraces, 76 accessions were estimated using agronomical traits and SSR markers. Among 11 agronomical traits, amylose content (AC) was the trait with the largest variance with values ranged from 4.9 to 28.39 %, while grain length (GL) was the lowest variance ranged from 4.4 to 5.9 cm. In the result of PCA, the first PC with Eigen value of 217.5 explained 60.3% of the total variance. Culm length (CL) was the variable with the largest positive loadings. Growth period (GP) was the positive variances, while AC was the negative variance. The second PC with Eigen value of 80.6 explained an additional 22.4% of the total variance. Growth period (GP) was variable with highest positive loading. Amylose content (AC) was variable with high positive, while CL was the negative variance. The 49 SSR markers produced a total of 473 alleles with an average of 9.6 alleles. The polymorphism information content (PIC) was in the range 0.11 to 0.93. The observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.12 to 0.39, with an average of 0.61. 76 rice accessions showed two subpoplations and three groups based on SSR markers. Group I and Gropu II appertained Pop-2 and Pop-1 subpopulation, respectively. They showed similar agronomical traits. Group III consisted 7 rice accessions predominantly appertained to Pop-1. These results provide insight into the characters of Korean rice landraces and help to improve our knowledge of rice breeding

Flavonoids and total polyphenols are important secondary plant metabolites, as they play a role in reducing the oxidative stress caused by ROS In this study, we investigated for flavonoid contents, total polyphenol contents, and antioxidant activities in 27 accessions from 10 Vicia species. Among 27 vicia accessions, NAC17 (V. monantha) and NAC14 (V. hyrcanica) had the highest total flavonoid (1.42 ± 0.09 mg/g) and total polyphenol (124.2 ± 0.5 μg/GAE mg) contents, respectively. In four flavonoids, naringenin showed the highest concentrations in Vicia species. The DPPH and ABTS were the range from 0.2 (NAC24, V. sativa subsp. nigra) to 18.5 (NAC13, V. faba) μg/ASC mg and 19.1 (NAC7, V. cracca) to 253.4 (NAC13, V. faba) μg/Trolox mg, respectively. Among the 10 Vicia species, V. monantha and V. hyrcanica had the highest flavonoid (1.31 ± 0.09 mg/g) and total polyphenol (116.5 ± 2.0 μg/GAE mg) contents, respectively. The highest antioxidant activity was detected in V. faba. These results will expand the flavonoid database and provide information on Vicia species valuable for development of functional foods or feed-additives resources.

Breeding and cultivation techniques are being treated very severely regarding ecological and physiological development in buckwheat. This study was conducted to focus on the diversity occurring in the cultivated and tartary buckwheat and provide an overview of the characteristics and genetic resources activities. Morphological results showed that the height of common buckwheat ranges from 82-90cm, common buckwheat induced by 200Gy ranges from 52-75cm, common buckwheat induced by 300Gy ranges from 43-56cm, common buckwheat induced by 400Gy ranges from 33-60cm whereas the tartary buckwheat hight ranges from 65-87cm, and while it exposed to various radiation (200Gy, 300Gy and 400Gy), the obtained height ranges from 73-92cm, 55-80cm and 60-75cm respectively. However, the stems from the both cultivar are hollow and that’s why, the plant is very prone to lodging. The leaf color of common buckwheat was green, 200Gray, 300Gy 400Gy common buckwheat light green and green, whereas the tartary buckwheat green and bottle-green, 200Gray 300Gy 400Gy tatary buckwheat bottle-green, common buckwheat (control, 200Gy, 300Gy, 400Gy) stem color is light green and pink, flower color is white, tartary buckwheat (control, 200Gy, 300Gy, 400Gy) flower color is light green. The stem color from tartary buckwheat showed (200Gy, 300Gy, 400Gy) light green and light red color. The results revealed that the two buckwheat cultivars showed diversified characteristics.

DNA barcoding is the use of short DNA sequences of the genome for large scale species identification. The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) plant-working group recommended the 2-locus combination as the standard plant barcode. The evolutions of the chloroplast regions combine with nuclear gens are sufficiently rapid to allow discrimination between closely related species. We evaluated the efficacy of the proposed plant barcoding loci matK along with ITS2 for barcoding Vigna species. To assess the discrimination ability of barcoding loci to resolve Vigna species, we sampled 52 of the taxonomically best known groups in the genus. Topologies of the phylogenetic trees based on ITS2 and matK analyses were similar but a few accessions were placed into distant phylogenetic groups. Neither ITS2 nor matK analyses were able to discriminate some closely related Vigna species alone. Thus, we used concatenated data to increase the resolving power of ITS2 and used matK as an additional tool for phylogenetic analysis in Vigna because characterization of the nucleotide sequences of matK region was easier to recover and more cost-effective than those of the ITS region.

Potato virus Y (PVY) and potato leafroll virus (PLRV) are among the most damaging potato viruses and prevalent in most potato growing areas. In this study, cryopreservation was used to eradicate PVY and PLRV using two cryogenic methods. Potato shoot tips proliferated in vitro were cryopreserved through droplet-vitrification and encapsulation-vitrification using plant vitrification solution 2 (PVS2; 30% glycerol + 15% dimethyl sulfoxide + 15.0% ethylene glycol + 13.7% sucrose) and modified PVS2. Both cryogenic procedures produced similar rates of survival and regrowth, which were lower than those from shoot tip culture alone. The health status of plantlets regenerated from shoot tip culture alone and cryopreservation was checked by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The frequency of virus-free plants regenerated directly from highly proliferating shoot tips reached 42.3% and 48.6% for PVY and PLRV, respectively. In comparison, the frequency of PVY and PLRV eradication after cryopreservation was 91.3~99.7% following shoot-tip culture. The highest cryopreserved shoot tip regeneration rate was observed when shoot tips were 1.0~1.5 mm in length, but virus eradication rates were very similar (96.4~99.7%), regardless of shoot tip size. This efficient cryotherapy protocol developed to eliminate viruses can also be used to prepare potato material for safe long-term preservation and the production of virus-free plants.