Sang Gu Kang

Phenotypic and Genotypic Analysis of Rice Lesion Mimic Mutants

Lesion mimic mutant (LMM) plants display spontaneous necrotic lesions on their leaves without any pathogenic infection. Specific rice LMMs designated as spotted leaf (spl) including spl1, spl3, spl4, spl5 and spl6 are genetically known as lesion resembling disease (lrd) mutant. The inheritance patterns in the and progenies of these mutants are controlled by recessive genetic factors. Lesion development in the rice LMMs were controlled by both development stages and environmental factors. The rice LMMs exhibited higher numbers of spots under temperature than those under . Contents of chlorophyll were drastically reduced at 60 days old LMM leaves when the spot formation was severe. The levels of endogenous hydrogen peroxide were highest at 45 days old mutants but reduced at 60 days old. Transcription levels of stress related genes including thioredoxin peroxidase and protein disulfide isomerase were reduced in spotted leaves than those of non spotted leaves. It could be suggested that scavenging system against reactive oxygen species induced by either stresses or innate metabolisms may not work properly in the rice LMMs. As these rice LMMs autonomously expressed clear lesions of lrd phenotype without pathogen infection, it could be useful to understand stresses responses in plants.

Morphological Characteristics of the Rice (Oryza sativa L.) with Red Pigmentation

Seven rice germplasms with red pigmentation within the pericarp were isolated from a large mutant collection. These red pericarp phenotypes resulted from the functions of the Rc, Rd and RdRc genes. Among them, two brown pericarp of the Rc type, four red pericarp of the RdRc type, and one white pericarp of the Rd type were identified. Morphological and agronomic characteristics of those rice germplasms were studied. The Rc type germplasms have the faint red or brown color pericarp and the Rd types produce the white pericarp, whereas the RdRc type germplasms have the dark red pericarp. Most of the important agronomic characteristics including plant stature, tillering ability, spikelet fertility, and total grain yield were lower in the colored rice than those of the wild-type control. All of the studied colored rice germplasms had a tendency of easy seed-shattering in comparison to the control. These characteristics of newly identified germplasms will be useful for identifying the genes responsible for pericarp color phenotype determination.

Allelic Gene Interaction and Anthocyanin Biosynthesis of Purple Pericarp Trait for Yield Improvement in Black Rice

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the major cereal crops for consumption by the world’s population. Recently, various colored rice, such as white, red, brown, green, and black rice, have caught the attention of world consumers. The commercial name ‘black rice’ contains a high amount of anthocyanins in pericarp, which increases nutritional value. Moreover, anthocyanin in black rice possesses biomedical properties, including anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory effects in humans. In genetics, black rice has a dominant PURPLE PERICARP (Prp) trait governed by two genes, Pb and Pp, which are involved in the synthesis of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G). Since the publication of a report by Nagai at 1921, the genetics and physiological studies of black rice driven by Prp traits are still unable to understand the relevant genes and their roles. However, with the increased demand for anthocyanin-rich black rice as a functional food for human health, it has become urgent to develop highyielding anthocyanin-rich varieties of rice. We explored many years in the genetics of purple pericarp trait, anthocyanin biosynthesis in pericarp during seed development, and, consequently, their products in relation to different physiological and agronomic traits. In this review, we summarized the anthocyanin biosynthesis in pericarp, emphasizing the inheritance pattern of the trait and functions of their products on different physiological and agronomic traits, including the yield of black rice.

Efficacy of Disinfectants and Sanitizers of Chlorine Oxide Bubbling Tablets

By using effective sanitizers, early block for transmission of pathogens is the effective way to prevent epidermic outbreaks. Here we developed a chlorine oxide bubbling type of sanitizing tablets and evaluated the disinfectant and sanitization effects. The sanitizers showed 99.999% of sanitization effect for Escherichia coli ATCC 10536 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 strains for 5 min±10 sec on 20±1℃ in clean condition by dilution-neutralization method. It reduced more than 5 log10 cfu/ml of a legal permission standard of colony reduction. When a few used socks and underwear soaked for one hour in the 0.1% of the sanitizing tablets, no microorganisms were grown on CHROMagar plates. However, on CHROMagar plates of the no sanitizing tablets treated control, about 6.5×104 cfu/ml of Staphylococcus sp., Klebsiella sp. and Enterococus sp. were grown. Furthermore, the sanitizing tablets killed approximately 1.5x108 cfu/ml of E. coli BL21 in 5 minutes. Therefore, we concluded that the chlorine based bubbling type of sanitizing tablets satisfied the legal standard for the regulation of food and drug safety for disinfectants and sanitizers to pathogens and daily supplies.