Chang-Hyu Bae

Overexpression of a trehalose-6-phosphate synthase/phosphatase fusion gene enhances tolerance and photosynthesis during drought and salt stress without growth aberrations in tomato

Trehalose is a non-reducing disaccharide of glucose that confers tolerance against abiotic stresses in many diverse organisms, including higher plants. It was previously reported that overexpression of the yeast trehalose-6-phosphate synthase gene in tomato results in improved tolerance against abiotic stresses. However, these transgenic tomato plants had stunted growth and pleiotropic changes in appearance. In this study, transgenic tomato plants were generated by the introduction of a gene encoding a bifunctional fusion of trehalose-6-phosphate synthase and trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase genes from Escherichia coli under the control of the CaMV35S promoter. Transgenic plants accumulated higher levels of trehalose in their leaves and exhibited enhanced drought and salt tolerance and photosynthetic rates under salt stress conditions than wild-type plants. All of the transgenic plants had normal growth patterns and appearances. Therefore, the system described in this study can be used for practical application of the gene in crop improvement.

Characterization of a periclinal chimera variegated tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.)

Abstract A plant isolated from a population of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. BY-4) lines, which were generated with a heavy-ion beam, exhibited green and white variegation on its leaves, stems, and calyces. Fluorescence microscopic analysis of white and green sections of the leaves of the mutant showed an absence of developed chloroplasts in the epidermis and palisade layer. There were undeveloped chloroplasts in one or two layers of spongy parenchyma cells in the green sections of the mutant. In the F1 generation, the segregation ratio of green to white was 6:1163 and reciprocal crosses showed that the variegation was not maternally inherited. These results suggest that the mutant is a periclinal chimera with a White-White-Green histogenic composition. The mRNA levels of the photosynthetic genes rbcL and psbA in the green areas were normal, while they were significantly reduced in the white areas.

Adaptation of Restriction Landmark Genomic Scanning (RLGS) to plant genome analysis

Restriction Landmark Genomic Scanning (RLGS) profiles, which are based on the concept of using restriction enzyme sites as landmarks and are generated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, were applied to the analysis of plant genomes. This study identified landmark enzymes in RLGS profiles of rice, tobacco, and arabidopsis, because the success of RLGS analysis depends on finding useful landmarks and these are the most frequently studied higher plants. As the results demonstrate, in each plant RLGS analysis various landmark enzymes were identified as useful landmark enzymes. However, the number of spots in a single profile was smaller than in mouse RLGS profiles and differed remarkably in the various plants. In addition, we demonstrate the optimal electrophoresis conditions and a convenient spot-cloning method.

Genetic Diversity and Relationship Analysis of Taraxacum officinale Weber and Taraxacum coreanum Nakai Accessions Based on Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) Markers

The genetic diversity and the genetic relationship among 30 genetic resources of T. officinale and T. coreanum collected from 20 regions in Korea were evaluated by using ISSR markers. Out of 127 loci detected overall, 122 were identified to be polymorphic with a rate of 96.0% at the 30 individuals. The intraspecific polymorphism between T. officinale and T. coreanum was 92.6% and 88.2%, respectively. The genetic similarity matrix (GSM) revealed a wide range of variablility among the 30 accessions, spanning from 0.179 to 922. According to the clustering analysis, different species T. officinale and T. coreanum, were divided into independent groups and all of the accessions could be classified into 7 categories. Especially, all of the mountain collected accessions belonged to independent groups. The study findings indicate that T. officinale and T. coreanum accessions have a high genetic diversity and accordingly carry a germ-plasm qualifying as good genetic resources for breeding.

Effects of LED (Light-Emitting Diode) Treatment on Antioxidant Activities and Functional Components in Taraxacum officinale

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of light spectrum using red (660 nm), blue (460 nm), red and blue mixed (Red : Blue