Alterations affecting the status of robustness and health can bring about physiological changes including hematological parameters in pigs. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with 8 hematological phenotypes (one leukocyte trait, six erythrocyte traits, and one platelet trait), we performed a genome-wide association study using the Porcine SNP 60K BeadChip in an intercross population between Landrace and Korean native pigs. A total of 36,740 SNPs from 816 F2 offspring were analysed for each blood related traits after filtering by quality control. Data were analysed genome-wide rapid association using the mixed model and regression (GRAMMAR) approach. A total of 257 significant SNPs (P<1.36x10-6) on SSC3, 6, 8, 13, and 17 were detected for blood related traits in this study. Interestingly, the genomic region between 17.9 and 130 Mb on SSC8 was found to be significantly associated with RBC, MCV, and MCH. Our results include 5 significant SNPs within five candidate genes (KIT, IL15, TXK, ARAP2, and ERG) for hematopoiesis. Further validation of these identified SNPs could give valuable information for understanding the variation of hematological traits in swine.

Previously, we reported a quantitative trait locus (QTL) that affect total teat number (TTN) on pig chromosome 7 (SSC7) in a large F2 intercross population between Landrace and Korean native pigs. The aim of this study was to refine the QTL associated with TTN and to identify positional candidate gene(s) within the refined genomic region. TTN was recorded in 1,105 F2 progeny. All experimental animals were genotyped using 998 informative single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers located on SSC7. A haplotype-based linkage and association analysis using the PHASEBOOK programme was applied to perform high-resolution QTL analysis. Additionally, linear mixed-effect models were used to assess the effect of a positional candidate gene on TTN and other economically important traits [i.e., thoracic vertebrae number (THO), carcass body length (CBL) and weight (CW), back fat thickness (BFT) and intramuscular fat content (IMF) in loin muscles]. Joint linkage and association analysis refined the critical region to a 1.07 Mb region that included a novel positional candidate gene, BRMS1L, that encodes the breast cancer metastasis-suppressor 1-like protein, which could possibly be implicated in normal mammary gland development. Significant association of an SNP marker (g.-1087 G>A) in the 5’-flanking region of BRMS1L with TTN (P=1.10x10-8), THO (P=5.80x10-4), and CBL (P=0.038) was observed. Based on these data, we propose BRMS1L as a positional candidate gene for TTN in pigs. After validation of the association in other independent populations and further functional studies, these results could be useful in optimizing breeding programmes that improve TTN and other economically important traits in swine

The aim of this study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) influencing teat number traits in an F2 intercross between Landrace and Korean native pigs (KNP). Three teat number traits (left, right, and total) were measured in 1105 F2 progeny. All experimental animals were genotyped with 173 informative microsatellite markers located throughout the pig genome. We detect that seven chromosomes harbored QTLs for teat number traits: genome regions on SSC1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 13. Six of fourteen identified QTL reached genome-wide significance. In SSC7, we identified a major QTL affecting total teat number that accounted for 5.6% of the phenotypic variance, which was the highest test statistic (F-ratio = 61.1 under the additive model, nominal P = 1.3×10-14) observed in this study. In this region, QTL for left and right teat number were also detected with genome-wide significance. With exception of the QTL in SSC10, the allele from KNP in all 6 identified QTLs was associated with decreased phenotypic values. In conclusion, our study identified both previously reported and novel QTL affecting teat number traits. These results can play an important role in determining the genetic structure underlying the variation of teat number in pigs.

국내 토종 자원으로 알려진 앉은뱅이 밀의 밀가루 특성 밀 과자 적성을 평가하기 위해서 경남 진주시에서 구입한 앉은뱅이 밀의 통밀가루 및 백밀가루와 중형제분기로 제분한 밀가루를 평가하였다. 앉은뱅이 밀 구입처에서 제분된 제분된 통밀가루와 백밀가루는 중형제분기에서 제분된 밀가루에 비하여 밀기울 혼입으로 인하여, 회분과 단백질 함량이 높고 밀가루 색깔이 어두웠고 침전가와 건부율 및 아밀로스 함량은 낮았다. 반죽 시간이나 안정도는 밀가루간에는 차이가 없었지만, 반죽 가수량은 밀기울을 포함한 통밀가루가 높았고, 쿠키 직경이 적게 나타났다. 중형제분기로 제분된 앉은뱅이 밀가루의 밀가루 입도와 손상 전분 함량이 각각 54.44μm와 2.46%로 연질밀 특성을 나타내었으며, 총아라비노자일란 함량과 수용성 아라비노자일란 함량이 각각 28.52%와 9.49% 로 국내 밀 품종보다 높았다. 쿠키 직경은 86.88mm로 수입산 박력분과 유사하였으며, 쿠키 표면의 균열도 쿠키 적성에 적합한 것으로 나타났다.

The oriental melon (C. melo var. makuwa), called ‘Chamoe’ in Korean, is a popular fruit crop cultivated mainly in Asia and a high–market value crop in Korea. To provide a genomic resource as a reference genome for the Cucurbitaceae crop improvement, we performed whole genome sequencing of Korean landrace, Gotgam chamoe. We used Illumina HiSeq2000 sequencing platform to generate 89 Gb (205X) of paired and mate pair sequence reads. The pre-processed reads were de novo assembled resulting in 4,764 scaffolds with a N50 scaffold length of 249kb. This assembly represented 379.8Mb which was 84.7% of the 448Mb of the whole genome. The assembled draft was predicted 26,634 genes of which 80% were predicted by known protein or C. melo unigene homology. Approximately 20% of predicted genes were hypothetical. A total of 1,885 non-coding RNA was detected including rRNA. The transposable elements were accounted for 21% (71.6Mb) of the total assembly. All the marker candidates including SSR, INDEL, SNP were mined and presented. The draft genome will provide a useful platform for genomic research and improvement for Cucurbitacea crops.

Although the overall structure of the chloroplast genome is generally conserved, a number of sequence variations have been identified, which are valuable for plant population and evolutionary studies. Here, we constructed a chloroplast variation map of 30 landrace rice strains of Korean origin, using the Oryza rufipogon chloroplast genome (Genbank: NC_017835) as a reference. Differential distribution of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and indels across the rice chloroplast genome is suggestive of a region-specific variation. Population structure clustering revealed the existence of two clear subgroups (indica and japonica) and an admixture group (aus). Phylogenetic analysis of the 30 landrace rice strains and six rice chloroplast references suggested and supported independent evolution of O. sativa indica and japonica. Interestingly, two “aus” type accessions, which were thought to be indica type, shared a closer relationship with the japonica type. One hypothesis is that “Korean aus” was intentionally introduced and may have obtained japonica chloroplasts during cultivation. We also calculated the nucleotide diversity of 30 accessions and compared to six rice chloroplast references, which shown a higher diversity in the indica and aus groups than in the japonica group in lower level substitution diversity.

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.

Barley landraces harbor significantly higher genetic diversity than modern cultivars. Diversity of agronomic and morphological traits was investigated for 386 accessions of Korean landrace barley which were back-introduced from Okayama University, Japan. Among the accessions, 279 were covered barley and 89 naked barley. Seeds were sowed in late October and major growth characteristics were investigated at maturity and after harvest. The traits evaluated exhibited higher variation with respect to the CV, ranging from 47 to 60. The trait exhibiting the greatest variation was flag leaf width (FLW, CV=60 with 2.8x difference between minimum 0.6 and maximum 1.7). Those traits exhibiting least variation were heading date (HD, CV=47.2 with 31 days difference between the earliest and the latest) and seed number per spike (SNS, CV= 48.9 with 2.8x difference between minimum 36 and maximum 72). The other eight traits [maturity date (MD, CV= 53.7), culm length (CL, CV= 55.4), flag leaf length (FLL, CV= 51.6), spike length (SL, CV= 54.3), awn length (AL, CV= 54.4), whole spike length (WSL, CV= 52.9), spike density (SD, CV= 52.7), seed rows of spike (SRS, CV= 50.1)] were intermediate in their level of variation with respect to the CV. The first, second and third principal components explained about 30.3%, 17.0% and 13.4% of the total variation of the traits, respectively. The traits which contributed more positively to PC1 were SL, SD, WSL and AL. The traits which contributed more positively to PC2 were SRS and SNS, and those contributed more positively to PC3 were FLL and FLW. The Korean landrace barley accessions contain significantly diverse variation to explore for the improvement of agronomic and morphological traits of current elite cultivars. This work was supported by a grant from Regional Subgenebank Support Program of Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.

Genetic diversity of Korean landrace rice accessions was assessed with microsatellite markers. The 214 alleles weregedfrom 3 for SSS locus to 37 for RM206 locus with an average number of 12.6 alleles per locus. Gene diversity values according tothe 17 mic

The Korean native rice collection consists of landrace and weedy strains. The weedy strains are represented by two dis-tinctive populations, Share and red rice. The 242 representative accessions of Korean native rice collection were selected basedon the p

The mode of inheritance and allelic relationship of resistance genes in a Korean landrace, Guju and a Korean weedy rice, Geumleungaengmi 33 were studied using Korean isolate (HB9101, race K1) of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. The analysis of F₁