Byung-Kook Hwang

Functional Characterization of PR-1 Protein, β-1,3-Glucanase and Chitinase Genes During Defense Response to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses in Capsicum annuum

Spatial and temporal expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) gene and proteins has been recognized as inducible defense response in pepper plants. Gene expression and/or protein accumulation of PR-1, and chitinase was predominantly found in pepper plants during the inoculations by Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria, Phytophthora capsici and Colletotrichum coccodes. PR-1 and chitinase genes were also induced in pepper plants in response to environmental stresses, such as high salinity and drought. PR-1 and chitinase gene expressions by biotic and abiotic stresses were regulated by their own promoter regions containing several stress-related cis-acting elements. Overexpression of pepper PR-1 or chitinase genes in heterogeneous transgenic plants showed enhanced disease resistance as well as environmental stress tolerances. In this review, we focused on the putative function of pepper PR-1, and chitinase proteins and/or genes at the biochemical, molecular and cytological aspects.

Characterization of a Novel Necrotic Response of Glycine max Line 'PI96188' to Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines

Typical susceptible symptoms of the bacterial pustule disease caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines are pustule and chlorotic haloes that usually occur in leaves of Glycine max plants. The soybean genotype `PI96188` showed an atypical response to all tested races X. axonopodis pv. glycines, accompanied with necrosis without chlorotic haloes on the underside of the necrotic symptoms. X. axonopodis pv. glycines 8ra grew to levels from 10 to 100 fold lower on PI96188 than on susceptible cultivar Jinjoo1, but 10-fold higher than on the resistant cultivar CNS. The chlorophyll content in PI96188 leaves remained unchanged until 12 days after bacterial infection. Ultrastructural observation showed that the infected leaf cells of PI96188 had intact normal chloroplasts compared to those of the susceptible cultivar Jinjoo1. Chloroplast degradation or the absence of chloroplasts in cells of the infected tissues was observed in Jinjoo1. Senescence-related ACS7 gene was significantly induced in PI96188 compared to those in Jinjoo1 at 2 days after inoculation. While photosynthesis-related rbcS gene showed the dramatic change in Jinjoo1, this gene was constitutively expressed in PI96188. However, expression of the defense-related genes, such as peroxidase and isoflavone synthase in the infected PI96188 leaves was similar to that in Jinjoo1. Together, these results suggest that the novel necrotic symptom in PI96188 is a kind of resistant response different from a typical hypersensitive response in the resistant genotypes.

Isolation and Antifungal and Antioomycete Activity of Streptomyces scabiei Strain PK-A41, the Causal Agent of Common Scab Disease

The actinomycete strain PK-A41 was isolated from a soil sample from pepper fields in Ko-yang, Korea. The strain PK-A41 inhibited the mycelial growth of some plant pathogenic fungi and oomycete, Alternaria mali, Colletotrichum orbiculare, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici, Magnaporthe grisea, Rhizoctonia solani, and Phytophthora capsici. The presence of LL-diaminopi-melic acid in the cell wall extract and the nucleotide sequence of the 16S rDNA region of the strain PK-A41 was assigned to Streptomyces scabiei. Further morpho-logical, biochemical, and pathological analyses also confirmed the strain PK-A41 to be S. scabiei, which is pathogenic to potato tubers. The maximum antibiotic production of the strain PK-A41 was achieved when grown on the glycerol peptone broth (GPB) medium for 9 days.