Dae-Hwa Yang

Ginsenoside Production and Morphological Characterization of Wild Ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) Mutant Lines Induced by γ-irradiation ( 60 Co) of Adventitious Roots

With the purpose of improving ginsenoside content in adventitious root cultures of Korean wild ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer), the roots were treated with different dosages of γ-ray (5, 10, 25, 50, 75, 100, and 200 Gy). The growth of adventitious roots was inhibited at over 100 Gy. The irradiated adventitious roots showed significant variation in the morphological parameters and crude saponin content at 50 to100 Gy. Therefore, four mutant cell lines out of the propagation of 35 cell lines treated with 50 Gy and 100 Gy were selected on the basis of phenotypic morphology and crude saponin contents relative to the wild type control. The contents of 7 major ginsenosides (Rg1, Re, Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rf, and Rd) were determined for cell lines 1 and 3 from 100 Gy and lines 2 and 4 from 50 Gy treatments. Cell line 2 showed more secondary roots, longer length and superior growth rate than the root controls in flasks and bioreactors. Cell line 1 showed larger average diameter and the growth rate in the bioreactor was comparable with that of the control but greater in the flask cultured roots. Cell lines 1 and 2, especially the former, showed much more ginsenoside contents than the control in flasks and bioreactors. Therefore, we chose cell line 1 for further study of ginsenoside contents. The crude saponin content of line 1 in flask and bioreactor cultures increased by 1.4 and 1.8-fold, respectively, compared to the control. Total contents of 7 ginsenoside types (Rg1, Re, Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rf, and Rd) increased by 1.8 and 2.3-fold, respectively compared to the control. Crude saponin and ginsenoside contents in the bioreactor culture increased by about 1.4-fold compared to that the flask culture.

Molecular cloning and characterization of chitinase genes from zoysiagrass ( Zoysia Japonica Steud.)

Zoysiagrass (Zoysia Japonica Steud.) is used frequently in golf courses and athletic fields. However, Zoysiagrass suffers from large-patch disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG2-2 (IV), which results in physical and economic loss. In this study, two full-length chitinase genes encoding pathogen-related proteins were isolated from zoysiagrass. Structural and expression analyses of these genes were carried out. The two isolated chitinases were classified into class Ib (Zjchi1) and class II (Zjchi2). Zjchi1 and, Zjchi2 expression was high in root and stolen and was induced in seedlings by Rhizoctonia solnai AG2-2 (IV) infection. To assess their antifungal activity, the two chitinases were overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified using Ni2+ and glutathione affinity column chromatography. The purified recombinant chitinases showed broad-spectrum antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solnai AG2-2 (IV), Rhizoctonia solnai AG-1 (IA), Rhizoctonia cerealis, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium graminearum and Trichoderma reesei.

Resistance of transgenic zoysiagrass overexpressing the zoysiagrass class II chitinase gene Zjchi2 against Rhizoctonia solani AG2-2 (IV)

Zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud.) is an important turfgrass species used in golf courses and athletic fields. However, zoysiagrass is susceptible to large patch disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG2-2 (IV). Chitinases are pathogen-related (PR) proteins induced by viruses, bacteria, and fungi that hydrolyze chitin. Recently, we isolated a class II chitinase gene (Zjchi2) from zoysiagrass. The purified recombinant Zjchi2 showed broad-spectrum activity against various fungi, including R. solani AG2-2 (IV). In the current study, we generated transgenic zoysiagrass overexpressing Zjchi2 and then verified the resistance of transgenic plants to R. solani AG2-2 (IV). Polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot hybridization showed the integration of transgenes in zoysiagrass genomes and constitutive expression of Zjchi2, respectively. Antifungal activity was enhanced significantly in the transgenic zoysiagrass compared with wild-type plants. To our knowledge, this report is the first on the antifungal activity of a class II chitinase in transgenic zoysiagrass.

Molecular Identification of Zoysia japonica and Zoysia sinica (Zoysia Species) Based on ITS Sequence Analyses and CAPS

Zoysiagrasses are important turf plants used for school playgrounds, parks, golf courses, and sports fields. The two most popular zoysiagrass species are Zoysia japonica and Zoysia sinica. These are widely distributed across different growing zones and are morphologically distinguishable from each other; however, it is phenotypically difficult to differentiate those that grow along the coastal line from those in beach area habitats. A combination of morphological and molecular approaches is desirable to efficiently identify these two plant cultivars. In this study, we used a rapid identification system based on DNA barcoding of the nrDNA-internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. The nrDNA-ITS regions of ITS1, 5.8S nrDNA, and ITS2 from Z. japonica, Z. sinica, Agrostis stolonifera, and Poa pratensis were DNA barcoded to classify these grasses according to their molecular identities. The nrDNA-ITS sequences of these species were found at 686 bp, 687 bp, 683 bp, and 681 bp, respectively. The size of ITS1 ranged from 248 to 249 bp, while ITS2 ranged from 270 to 274 bp. The 5.8S coding region ranged from 163 164bp. Between Z. japonica and Z. sinica , nineteen (2.8%) nucleotide sites were variable, and the G+C content of the ITS region ranged from 55.4 to 63.3%. Substitutions and insert/deletion (indel) sites in the nrDNA-ITS sequence of Z. japonica and Z. sinica were converted to cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers, and applied to the Zoysia grasses sampled 본 연구는 산림청 국립산림품종관리센터 산림생명 자원개발사업, 농림축산식품부 농림수산식품기술 기획평가원 농림축산식품부사업(과제번호: 31502 5-3), 교육부 한국연구재단(과제번호: 2009-0094 059)과 기초연구사업(과제번호: 2016R1A6A1A0 3012862), 농촌진흥청 차세대 바이오그린21사업 (과제번호: PJ011244)의 지원을 받아 연구되었음. HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY 35(3):344-360, 2017 URL: http://www.kjhst.org

Rapid metabolic discrimination between Zoysia japonica and Zoysia sinica based on multivariate analysis of FT-IR spectroscopy

This study aims to establish a system for the rapid discrimination of Zoysia species using metabolite fingerprinting of FT-IR spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis. Whole cell extracts from leaves of 19 identified Zoysia japonica, 6 identified Zoysia sinica, and 38 different unidentified Zoysia species were subjected to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). PCA (principle component analysis) and PLS-DA (partial least square discriminant analysis) from FT-IR spectral data successfully divided the 25 identified turf grasses into two groups, representing good agreement with species identification using molecular markers. PC (principal component) loading values show that the region of the FT-IR spectra are important for the discrimination of Zoysia species. A dendrogram based on hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) from the PCA and PLS-DA data of turf grasses showed that turf grass samples were divided into Zoysia japonica and Zoysia sinica in a species-dependent manner. PCA and PLS-DA from FT-IR spectral data of Zoysia species identified and unidentified by molecular markers successfully divided the 49 turf grasses into Z. japonica and Z. sinica. In particular, PLS-DA and the HCA dendrogram could mostly discriminate the 47 Z. japonica grasses into two groups depending on their origins (mountainous areas and island area). Considering these results, we suggest that FT-IR fingerprinting combined with multivariate analysis could be applied to discriminate between Zoysia species as well as their geographical origins of various Zoysia species.

Molecular cloning and characterization of β-1,3-glucanase gene from Zoysia japonica steud

This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Rhizoctonia leaf blight (large patch) has become a serious problem in Korean lawn grass, which is extremely hard to treat and develops mostly from the roots of lawn grass to wither it away. Rhizoctonia leaf blight (large patch) is caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG2-2 (IV). To develop zoysia japonica with strong disease tolerance against this pathogenic bacterium, β-1,3-glucanase was cloned from zoysia japonica, which is one of the PR-Proteins known to play a critical role in plant defense reaction. β-1,3-glucanase is known to be generated within the cells when plant tissues have a hypersensitive reaction due to virus or bacterium infection and secreted outside the cells to play mainly the function of resistance against pathogenic bacteria in the space between the cells. This study utilized the commonly preserved part in the sequence of corn, wheat, barley, and rice which had been researched for their disease tolerance among the β-1,3-glucanase monocotyledonous plants. Based on the part, degenerate PCR was performed to find out the sequence and full-length cDNA was cloned. E.coli overexpression was conducted in this study to mass purify target protein and implement in vitro activation measurement and antibacterial test. In addition, to interpret the functions of ZjGlu1 gene, each gene-incorporating plant transformation vectors were produced to make lawn grass transformant. Based on ZjGlu1 protein, antibacterial activity test was conducted on 9 strains. As a result, R. cerealis, F. culmorum, R.solani AG-1 (1B), and T. atroviride were found to have antibacterial activity. The gene-specific expression amount in each organ showed no huge difference in the organs based upon the transformant and against 18s gene expression amount.

Rapid Agrobacterium-mediated genetic rice transformation method using liquid media

본 연구는 종자로부터 유도된 캘러스를 아그로박테리움을 이용해 감염하여 고체배지에서 배양하는 기존의 방법과 달리, 형질전환에 소모되는 노동력과 시간, 비용을 단축하고자 감염과 공동배양, 균제거와 캘러스 선발까지 액체배양을 시도하였다. 성숙 종자로부터 유도된 캘러스를 바로 아그로박테리움으로 감염함으로써 조직배양으로 인한 체세포 변이의 발생을 최소화하고 감염부터 그 후 캘러스선발까지 총 4단계의 시간과 비용을 최소화하였으며, 감염된 캘러스로부터 재분화 시킴으로써 형질전환 식물체를 얻는 방법을 새롭게 수립하였다. 배양과정 중 감염과 공동배양 기간을 3일로 단축시킴으로써 캘러스의 스트레스를 최소화 하였고, PCR 분석을 통해 원하는 목표 유전자가 형질전환체에 안정적으로 도입이 되는 것도 확인할 수 있었다. 이러한 결과를 종합해 볼 때, 본 실험을 통해 얻어진 새로운 액체배양 방법은 우수한 농업적 형질을 가진 벼 품종 개발시 효율적으로 이용할 수 있을 것으로 생각된다. 【Rice is one of the most important cereal crops as a model plant for functional genomics of monocotyledons and usually transformed using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. However, the transformations process using previous method is still time consuming and uneconomical, low efficiency. In this study, we established a new method by modifying the general Agrobacterium protocol especially in the infection and co-cultivation, Agrobacterium elimination, infected callis selection steps using liquid media. We directly inoculated Agrobacterium containing a ZjLsL gene under the control of constitutive promoter into the 1- to 3-week-old rice calli derived from mature seeds. After 3 days of co-cultivation, the infected calli were transferred onto liquid media of Agrobacterium elimination and callis selection for 3 days. The calli were transferred to callis growth solid media for 14 days and then the calli transferred to shoot induction and root induction media. Putative transformants were initially selected on the medium containing phosphinothricin, and the PAT protein verified by PAT strip test. This method in this study would lead to reduction of substantial labor and time to generate transgenic plants.】