Doug-Hwan Choi

Genotypic variation of cadmium accumulation and distribution in rice

An effective way to reduce the risk of cadmium (Cd) entering the food chain is to use low Cd-accumulation rice cultivars, particularly in Asia. The fundamental requirement for breeding low grain Cd-accumulation cultivars is to know the genotypic variation in Cd accumulation and the physiological processes and genetic basis governing the Cd accumulation in rice grain. In this experiment, genotypic variation in Cd accumulation and distribution among rice organs was studied using thirty-five rice varieties. They were grown with irrigation water containing 2 ppm Cd throughout rice growing season under field condition in 2007. At harvest, plants were sampled and analyzed for Cd concentration and accumulation in each rice organ. Significant variation of Cd concentration and accumulation in rice organs were found among thirty-five rice cultivars, revealing more than 8-fold varietal differences in grain Cd concentration and shoot Cd accumulation. Cd concentration and accumulation in grain were significantly different among cultivar groups, showing the highest in indica and the lowest in temperate japonica. Tongil-type and tropical japonica rice showed a Cd concentration intermediate to that of temperate japonica and indica rice. The higher Cd accumulation in grain of indica rice was attributable to the greater ability of Cd uptake. The greater ability of root-shoot translocation in tropical japonica and shoot-grain redistribution in tongil-type resulted in the significantly higher grain Cd concentration in these cultivar groups than in temperate japonica. For over 35 cultivars tested, grain Cd concentration revealed a significant positive correlation with root Cd concentration and shoot Cd concentration and accumulation while no significant correlation with root-shoot translocation factor and shoot-grain redistribution ratio. However, correlation analyses within each cultivar group showed that grain Cd concentration was significantly correlated with root-shoot translocation factor in indica, with root Cd concentration in tongil-type, with shoot Cd concentration and accumulation in tropical japonica, and with shoot Cd accumulation and shoot-grain redistribution ratio in temperate japonica. These results indicate that genotypic variation in grain Cd accumulation, in general, is controlled by all the three physiological processes but the major physiological process governing its genotypic variation within cultivar group is different depending on cultivar groups.

Absorption, translocation, and remobilization of cadmium supplied at different growth stages of rice

Cadmium (Cd) is absorbed by rice root and transferred into the other rice organs including grain. A solution-culture experiment was conducted to investigate the absorption and distribution of Cd supplied at different growth stages of rice. Two rice cultivars, a japonica ‘Chucheong’ and a tongil-type ‘Milyang23’ that exhibit high and low ability of Cd absorption by root and accumulation in grain were grown in culture solution and subjected to 2 ppm CdCl2 treatment for 2 weeks at four different growth stages: before panicle initiation stage (BPI), after panicle initiation stage (API), early ripening stage (ER), and mid-ripening stage (MR). Cd concentration and accumulation in rice organs were measured at harvest. The two rice cultivars accumulated two to three times greater amounts of Cd in grain in the two Cd treatments before heading (BPI and API treatments) than in the Cd treatment after heading (ER and MR treatment). The higher grain Cd accumulation in BPI and API treatments was not attributed to the higher Cd uptake but to the higher translocation from root to shoot and the higher redistribution from shoot to grain than ER and MR treatments These results imply that the remobilization of Cd through phloem during leaf senescence is the major process for Cd accumulation in rice grain rather than direct transport of absorbed Cd through the xylem-phloem transfer to grain. ‘Milyang23’ absorbed significantly smaller amount of Cd than ‘Chucheong’. However, ‘Milyang23’ accumulated more than a three times larger amount of Cd in grain compared to ‘Chucheong’ as the former exhibited the higher root-shoot translocation and shoot-grain remobilization as well. It indicates that the greater Cd translocation from root to shoot and subsequent higher Cd remobilization from shoot to grain, not the higher absorption ability, have led to the higher Cd accumulation and concentration in grain of ‘Milyang23’.

Phenology and Seed Yield Performance of Determinate Soybean Cultivars Grown at Elevated Temperatures in a Temperate Region

Increased temperature means and fluctuations associated with climate change are predicted to exert profound effects on the seed yield of soybean. We conducted an experiment to evaluate the impacts of global warming on the phenology and yield of two determinate soybean cultivars in a temperate region (37.27°N, 126.99°E; Suwon, South Korea). These two soybean cultivars, Sinpaldalkong [maturity group (MG) IV] and Daewonkong (MG VI), were cultured on various sowing dates within a four-year period, under no water-stress conditions. Soybeans were kept in greenhouses controlled at the current ambient temperature (AT), AT+1.5°C, AT+3.0°C, and AT+5.0°C throughout the growth periods. Growth periods (VE–R7) were significantly prolonged by the elevated temperatures, especially the R1–R5 period. Cultivars exhibited no significant differences in seed yield at the AT+1.5°C and AT+3.0°C treatments, compared to AT, while a significant yield reduction was observed at the AT+5.0°C treatment. Yield reductions resulted from limited seed number, which was due to an overall low numbers of pods and seeds per pod. Heat stress conditions induced a decrease in pod number to a greater degree than in seed number per pod. Individual seed weight exhibited no significant variation among temperature elevation treatments; thus, seed weight likely had negligible impacts on overall seed yield. A boundary line analysis (using quantile regression) estimated optimum temperatures for seed number at 26.4 to 26.8°C (VE–R5) for both cultivars; the optimum temperatures (R5–R7) for single seed weight were estimated at 25.2°C for the Sinpaldalkong smaller-seeded cultivar, and at 22.3°C for the Daewonkong larger-seeded cultivar. The optimum growing season (VE–R7) temperatures for seed yield, which were estimated by combining the two boundary lines for seed number and seed weight, were 26.4 and 25.0°C for the Sinpaldalkong and Daewonkong cultivars, respectively. Considering the current soybean growing season temperature, which ranges from 21.7 (in the north) to 24.6°C (in the south) in South Korea, and the temperature response of potential soybean yields, further warming of less than approximately 1°C would not become a critical limiting factor for soybean production in South Korea.

Rice grain-filling characteristics under elevated air temperature in a temperate region

Future climate change accompanied by global warming is expected to change rice growth environments and causes detrimental effects on yield formation processes, leading to reduction of rice yield and quality in many regions. This study was performed to evaluate the grain-filling responses to elevated air temperature above ambient during the grain-filling period after heading in a temperate region (37.27 °N, 126.99 °E; Suwon, South Korea). Six rice cultivars differing in maturity were grown under ambient air temperature conditions before being transferred at the initial heading stage to the plastic houses which were temperature controlled to the targets of ambient temperature (AT), AT + 1.5 °C, AT + 3.0 °C, and AT + 5.0°C.Grain-filling duration and maximum grain weight were estimated by fitting the time course change of grain weight to a logistic function. Grain-filling duration was not statistically different among temperature elevation treatments in all the tested varieties, while maximum grain weight was decreased with the increase in air temperature above ambient during the grain-filling stage. These results imply that the decreased grain-filling duration would not be the major factor for the grain weight decrease under higher temperatures than the current ambient temperature, whereas it would be attributed to the reduced supply of assimilates to the grain.

Modelling the Effects of Temperature and Photoperiod on Phenology and Leaf Appearance in Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum production would benefit from crop growth simulations, which would support decision-making in crop management. Chrysanthemum is a typical short day plant of which floral initiation and development is sensitive to photoperiod. We developed a model to predict phenological development and leaf appearance of chrysanthemum (cv. Baekseon) using daylength (including civil twilight period), air temperature, and management options like light interruption and ethylene treatment as predictor variables. Chrysanthemum development stage (DVS) was divided into juvenile (DVS=1.0), juvenile to budding (DVS=1.33), and budding to flowering (DVS=2.0) phases for which different strategies and variables were used to predict the development toward the end of each phenophase. The juvenile phase was assumed to be completed at a certain leaf number which was estimated as 15.5 and increased by ethylene application to the mother plant before cutting and the transplanted plant after cutting. After juvenile phase, development rate (DVR) before budding and flowering were calculated from temperature and day length response functions, and budding and flowering were completed when the integrated DVR reached 1.33 and 2.0, respectively. In addition the model assumed that leaf appearance terminates just before budding. This model predicted budding date, flowering date, and leaf appearance with acceptable accuracy and precision not only for the calibration data set but also for the validation data set which are independent of the calibration data set.

Lead accumulation and distribution in different rice cultivars

This experiment was conducted to investigate the characteristics of lead (Pb) accumulation and distribution among rice organs in 35 rice cultivars of different genotypes. The 35 rice cultivars of four cultivar groups (temperate japonica, tropical japonica, tongil-type, and Indica) were grown with irrigation water containing 10 ppm throughout all growing seasons at the experimental farm of Seoul National University, Korea. Rice plants were sampled and analyzed for Pb accumulation and distribution in each rice organ at harvest. The results showed that Pb concentration, accumulation, and distribution in rice organs except roots were significantly different among 35 rice cultivars. Pb levels in different rice organs followed the order: root > shoot > grain. Grain Pb concentration and accumulation ranged from 0.05 to 0.22 mg kg-1 and from 0.016 to 0.127 mg m-2, respectively. The lowest and highest grain Pb concentration and accumulation were observed in a temperate japonica cultivar ‘Hwajin’ and a tropical japonica cultivar ‘IR71204’, respectively. Grain Pb concentration showed highly significant correlations with the shoot-grain redistribution ratio among 35 cultivars. However, it was not correlated with shoot Pb concentration and accumulation, root Pb concentration, and the root-shoot translocation factor. Significant differences in Pb concentration, accumulation, and distribution in rice organs among four cultivar groups were only found in shoot Pb accumulation. Indica showed the highest Pb accumulation in shoots, while temperate japonica was the lowest. Grain Pb concentration for four cultivar groups was found to be significantly correlated with the shoot-grain redistribution ratio in common.