Background: Angelica gigas, A. sinensis, and A. acutiloba are commercially important in the herbal medicine market, and among them, A. gigas has the highest economic value and price. However, their similar morphological traits are often used for fraud. Despite their importance in herbal medicine, recognition of the differences between Angelica species is currently inadequate. Methods and Results: A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was developed for direct detection and identification of A. gigas, A. sinensis, and A. acutiloba. The gene for the distinction of species was targeted at ITS in the nucleus and trnC-petN gene in chloroplasts. The optimized multiplex PCR in the present study utilized each Angelica species-specific primer pairs. Each primer pair yielded products of 229 base pairs (bp) for A. gigas, 53 bp for A. sinensis, 170 bp for A. acutiloba. Additionally non-specific PCR products were not detected in similar species by species-specific primers. Conclusions: In the present study, a multiplex-PCR assay, successfully assessed the authenticity of Angelica species (A. gigas, A. sinensis, and A. acutiloba). and whole genome amplification (WGA) was performed after DNA extraction to identify, the species in the product. The detection method of raw materials developed in the present study could be applied to herbal medicine and health functional food management.

In this study, we report that the development of a multiplex PCR method using species-specific primers for the simultaneous detection of Poaceae family members, including adlay, barley, maize, rice and wheat, based on the sequence polymorphism of the DNA-directed RNA polymerase beta'' chain (rpoC2) genes Species-specific primers were constructed with common forward primer and each reverse primers which have differences on the basis of sequences. Each primer pairs could amplify PCR products of 443 bp for rice, 346 bp for barley, 278 bp for adlay, 221 bp for wheat and 96 for maize, respectively, from the five chloroplast DNAs. The series of template DNA concentrations were identified by the sensitivity of multiplex PCR. The band of products were clearly amplified from the DNA concentration range of 0.01 to 10 ng/μL. In addition, the species-specific primers were examined for the detection of seven commercial flour mixed products. The combination of the sensitivity of a multiplex PCR with the specificity of the primers for the detection of species would allow to be applied in analyses of processed foods.

Receptor mediated signal carriers play a critical role in regulation of plant defense and development. Rapid Alkalization Factor (RALF) is an important signaling family which has a role in plant growth and development. However, only few RALF polypeptides have been identified till date, mainly because of enormous efforts required for their isolation or identify their gene through mutational analysis. In this study, an extensive database search yield 39, 43, 34 and 23 potential RALF genes in Arabidopsis, rice, corn and soybeans, respectively. RALF genes are highly conserved across the plant species. A comprehensive analysis including the chromosomal location, gene structure, subcellular location, conserved motif, protein structure and promoter analysis was performed. RALF genes from four plants under study were divided in 7 groups based on phylogenetic analysis. In silico expression analysis of these genes, using microarray and EST data, reveled that these genes exhibit a variety of expression pattern. Furthermore, RALF genes showed distinct expression pattern under nitricoxide (NO) stress in Arabidopsis. This suggests a role of RALF genes in plant defense regulation. Our comprehensive analysis of RALF genes is a valuable resource that further elucidates the roles of RALF family members in plant growth and development. In addition, comparative genomics analyses deepen our understanding of the evolution of RALF gene family and will contribute to further genetics and genomics studies of other monocot and dicot plant species.

This study describes the identification of Panax species using mitochondrial consensus primers. Initially, a total of thirty primers were tested in ten Korean ginseng cultivars and two foreign Panax species, P. quinquefolius and P. notoginseng. In the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification results, three primers (cox1, nad1/2-3 and nad2/1-2) generated co-dominant polymorphic banding patterns discriminating Korean ginseng cultivars from P. quinquefolius and P. notoginseng. However, these primers could not generated polymorphisms among the Korean ginseng cultivars, and simply represented species-specific polymorphisms for P. quinquefolius and P. notoginseng. Primers PQ91 and PN418 were designed from the consensus sequence of nad1/2-3 region. Two banding patterns (A or B) were detected in PQ91. Korean ginseng cultivars and P. notoginseng shared the same banding pattern (A type) and P. quinquefolius was identified another banding pattern (B type). In the case of PN418, two banding patterns (A or B) were detected in the Korean ginseng cultivars and two foreign Panax species. Korean ginseng cultivars and P. quinquefolius shared the same banding pattern (A type) and P. notoginseng was identified another banding pattern (B type). The combination banding patterns of three Panax species, Korean ginseng cultivars (Panax ginseng C. A. Mey.), P. quinquefolius and P. notoginseng, was identified as 'AA', 'BA' and 'AB', respectively. Consequently, PQ91 and PN418 primer sets can be used to distinguish among Panax species.

This study is to generate SCARs markers for identification of Perilla species. A SCAR is a genomic DNA fragment at a single genetically defined locus that is identified by PCR amplification using a pair of specific oligonucleotide primers. We derived SCARs by sequencing and cloning the both ends of the amplified products of RAPD markers. Sixteen sequence-specific primers were synthesized from eight RAPD markers, which were completely sequenced. We developed the species-specific SCAR markers which could be used successfully in detecting genetic variation in four Perilla species. These markers could be used to verify species-origins of various forms of Perilla germplasms.

참다래 육종을 위한 종 분류와 분자 표지인자로서 유용하게 이용될 수 있는 primer를 개발하기 위하여 참다래 genome 특이 반복 염기서열로부터 19∼20base 크기로 18개의 primer를 제작하여 kiwifruit target primer(KT primer)라 명명하였으며, 동아시아 지역에서 수집된 7종 22계통의 다래나무 속 식물을 이용하여 활용 가능성 을 조사하였다. 유연관계 분석을 위하여 7개의 primer가 선발되었으며, 이를 이용한 RAPD 결과 크게 2개의 군으로 나뉘어 졌다. 제 1 군(A. arguta, A. melanandra, A. kolumikta와 A. marcrosperma)은 주로 과실에 전혀 털이 없으며 잎에는 털이 전혀 없거나 어렸을 때 극소량의 연모가 있다가 없어지는 그룹으로서 Leiocarpae 절에 속하였다. 제 2 군(A. chinensis, A. deliciosa 및 A. eriantha)은 어린 과실에서는 털이 많았다가 성숙하면서 털이 없어지는 계통 및 잎과 줄기에 털이 아주 많거나 조밀한 솜털이 있는 그룹으로서 Stellatae절에 속하였다. 제 2 군은 Stellatae 절에서도 Pefectae 아절에 속하는 것으로 A. chinensis, A. deliciosa 및 A. eriantha가 포함되었으며, 다시 A. chinensis와 A. deliciosa를 포함하는 그룹과 A. eriantha 등 2개의 그룹으로 나뉘어졌다. 같은 부모로부터 유래된 것으로 알려진 A. chinensis와 A. deliciosa는 80％의 유사도에서 두 개의 그룹으로 나뉘어졌다. 또한 PCR 결과 A. deliciosa 종 및 헤이워드와 토무리 계통 특이 밴드가 KT12F와 KT6F에서 나타났으며, 유전양상 분석에서 KT7F와 KT12F가 유용하였다. 본 연구 결과 KT primer는 참다래의 유전양상 분석과 특이한 유전양상을 나타내는 개체선발 및 도태에 유용하게 이용될 수 있고, 또한 참다래 육종 효율향상에 많은 도움을 줄 수 있다고 판단되었다.