Nuclear Factor Y (NF-Y) is divided into three different types of subunits, A, B, and C. NF-Ys play crucial roles in plants for controlling gene expression associated with various developmental processes and abiotic stresses, but it is mostly unknown the downstream genes regulated by NF-Ys in plant. One of the potato NF-Y genes, StNF-YA7, increased potato's drought tolerance when overexpressed under the control of constitutive CaMV 35S promoter. Therefore, it was of interest what genes are regulated by the increased expression level of StNF-YA7. To investigate the downstream genes of StNF-YA7, the transcriptome sequencing was carried out for four potato lines, including Solanum tuberosum L ‘Superior’ as wild type (WT), empty vector control (VC), and two StNF-YA7 overexpressor lines (designated to StNF-YA7 #19 & #26). The RNA sequencing data was produced by the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 sequencing system. The number of total raw reads obtained from the RNA sequencing was 36.7 million for WT, 36.2 for VC, 29.3 for StNF-YA7 #19, and 29.5 million for StNF-YA7 #26, respectively. The length of total raw reads for each sample was between 5.92 Gb (StNF-YA7 #19) and 7.42 Gb (WT), and after filtering raw quality reads, the total length was between 5.81 Gb (StNF-YA7 #19) and 7.29 Gb (WT). Each filtered clear read set of four transcriptomes was mapped on the potato reference genome, SolTub_3.0, and the percentage of mapped reads ranged from 89.8 % (VC) to 90.3 % (WT). GC contents range between 43.01 % (StNF-YA7 #19) and 42.44 % (StNF-YA7 #26). Q20 quality score ranges between 98.63 % (StNF-YA7 #26) and 98.74 % (VC).

Soyasaponin is a type of glycoside such as steroids, steroidal alkaloids or triterpenes, which enhance the body immunity. In order to efficiently identify genes and markers related to the soyasaponin, we used a 180K Axiom® SoyaSNP array and whole genome resequencing data from the Korean soybean core collection. As a result of conducting GWAS for group A soyasaponin (Aa and Ab derivatives), 16 significant common markers associated with Aa and Ab derivatives were mapped to chromosome 7, and three candidate genes including Glyma.07g254600 were detected. The functional haplotypes for candidate genes showed that Aa and Ab contents were mainly determined by alleles of AX-90322128, the marker of Glyma.07g254600. In addition, 14 novel SNPs variants closely associated with Aa and Ab derivatives were discovered for Glyma.07g254600. Therefore, the results of this study that identified soyasaponin-associated markers and useful genes utilizing various genomic information could provide insight into functional soybean breeding.

The resveratrol-producing rice ( Oryza sativa L.) inbred lines, Iksan 515 (I.515) and Iksan 526 (I.526), developed by the expression of the groundnut ( Arachis hypogaea ) resveratrol synthase 3 ( AhRS3 ) gene in the japonica rice cultivar Dongjin, accumulated both resveratrol and its glucoside, piceid, in seeds. Here, we investigated the effect of the AhRS3 transgene on the expression of endogenous piceid biosynthesis genes ( UGTs ) in the developing seeds of the resveratrol-producing rice inbred lines. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) analysis revealed that I.526 accumulates significantly higher resveratrol and piceid in seeds than those in I.515 seeds and, in I.526 seeds, the biosynthesis of resveratrol and piceid reached peak levels at 41 days after heading (DAH) and 20 DAH, respectively. Furthermore, RNA-seq analysis showed that the expression patterns of UGT genes differed significantly between the 20 DAH seeds of I.526 and those of Dongjin. Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) analyses confirmed the data from RNA-seq analysis in seeds of Dongjin, I.515 and I.526, respectively, at 9 DAH, and in seeds of Dongjin and I.526, respectively, at 20 DAH. A total of 245 UGT s, classified into 31 UGT families, showed differential expression between Dongjin and I.526 seeds at 20 DAH. Of these, 43 UGT s showed more than 2-fold higher expression in I.526 seeds than in Dongjin seeds. In addition, the expression of resveratrol biosynthesis genes ( PAL , C4H and 4CL ) was also differentially expressed between Dongjin and I.526 developing seeds. Collectively, these data suggest that AhRS3 altered the expression pattern of UGT genes, and PAL , C4H and 4CL in developing rice seeds.

서 언원형질체(protoplast)는 완전한 식물세포에서 세포벽이 제거 된 세포로 정상 세포의 특성과 활성을 유지함으로써 세포내

Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most valuable agricultural crops and is grown under a wide spectrum of environmental conditions. However, maize is moderately sensitive to salt stress, and soil salinity is a serious threat to its production worldwide. In this study, we used ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) to generate salt-tolerant silage maize mutants. We screened salt-tolerant lines from 203 M3 mutant populations by evaluating the morphological phenotype after salt stress treatment and selected the 140ES91 line. The 140ES91 mutant showed improved plant growth as well as higher proline content and leaf photosynthetic capacity compared with those of wild-type plants under salt stress conditions. Using whole-genome re-sequencing analysis, 1,103 single nucleotide polymorphisms and 71 insertions or deletions were identified as common variants between KS140 and 140ES91 in comparison with the reference genome B73. Furthermore, the expression patterns of three genes, which are involved in salt stress responses, were increased in the 140ES91 mutant under salt stress. Taken together, the mutant line identified in our study could be used as an improved breeding material for transferring salt tolerance traits in maize varieties.

Salinity is one of the major abiotic stressors that inhibits the growth, yield, and productivity of crop plants. Therefore, it is necessary to develop crops with increased salt tolerance for cultivation in saline soils such as is found in reclaimed land. The objective of this study was to develop a salt-tolerant silage rice line that grows on reclaimed land. In order to develop this salt-tolerant silage rice, we transferred Saltol, a major QTL associated with salt tolerance, from IR64-Saltol, a salt-tolerant indica variety, into Mogyang, a susceptible elite japonica variety. To determine the effect of salt stress, Mogyang and IR64-Saltol cultivars were grown on a medium containing various concentrations of NaCl in in vitro conditions. Shoot length was found to decrease with increasing salt concentrations, and root growth was almost arrested at NaCl concentrations over 50 mM in the Mogyang cultivar. Based on these preliminary results, we screened five salt-tolerant lines showing superior growth under salt stress conditions. Polymerase chain reaction and sequencing results showed that the introgression types of Saltol QTL were derived from the IR64-Saltol cultivar in almost all selected lines. Based on the observed growth and physiological characteristics, the new Saltol introgression lines showed higher salt tolerance compared to the Mogyang parental cultivar. The salt-tolerant lines identified in this study could be used as a genetic resource to improve rice salt tolerance.

Plants adapt to adverse environmental conditions through physiological responses, such as induction of the abscisic acid signaling pathway, stomatal regulation, and root elongation. Altered gene expression is a major molecular response to adverse environmental conditions in plants. Several transcription factors function as master switches to induce the expression of stress-tolerance genes. To find out a master regulator for the cold stress tolerance in rice, we focused on functionally identifying DREB subfamily which plays important roles in cold stress tolerance of plants. Here, we characterized OsDREB1G (LOC_Os02g45450), a functionally unidentified member of the DREB1 subgroup. OsDREB1G is specifically induced under cold stress conditions among several abiotic stresses examined. This gene is dominantly expressed in leaf sheath, blade, node, and root. Transgenic rice overexpressing this gene exhibited strong cold tolerance and growth retardation, like transgenic rice overexpressing other OsDREB1 genes. However, unlike these rice lines, transgenic rice overexpressing OsDREB1G did not exhibit significant increases in drought or salt tolerance. Cold-responsive genes were highly induced in transgenic rice overexpressing DREB1G compared to wild type. In addition, OsDREB1G overexpression directly induced the expression of a reporter gene fused to the promoters of cold-induced genes in rice protoplasts. Therefore, OsDREB1G is a typical CBF/DREB1 transcription factor that specifically functions in the cold stress response. Therefore, OsDREB1G could be useful for developing transgenic rice with enhanced cold-stress tolerance.

A core collection is a subset that represents genetic diversity of the total collection. Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is one of major food and feed crops. It is the world’s most cultivated annual herbaceous legume. Constructing a core collection for soybean could play a pivotal role in conserving and utilizing its genetic variability for research and breeding programs. To construct and evaluate a Korean soybean core collection, genotypic and phenotypic data as well as population structure, were analyzed. The Korean soybean core collection consisted of 430 accessions selected from 2,872 collections based on Affymetrix Axiom® 180k SoyaSNP array data. The core collection represented 99% of genotypic diversity of the total collection. Analysis of population structure clustered the core collection into five subpopulations. Accessions from South Korea and North Korea were distributed across five subpopulations. Analysis of molecular variance indicated that only 2.01% of genetic variation could be explained by geographic origins while 16.18% of genetic variation was accounted for by subpopulations. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) for days to flowering, flower color, pubescent color, and growth habit confirmed that the core collection had the same genetic diversity for tested traits as the total collection. The Korean soybean core collection was constructed based on genotypic information of the 180k SNP data. Size and phenotypic diversity of the core collection accounted for approximately 14.9% and 18.1% of the total collection, respectively. GWAS of core and total collections successfully confirmed loci associated with tested traits. Consequently, the present study showed that the Korean soybean core collection could provide fundamental and practical material and information for both soybean genetic research and breeding programs.

[Introduction] One of a yield component, Seed weight (SW) is a complex and agronomically important trait in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. Previous many studies have identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with seed weight in soybean recombinant inbred lines (RILs) and these QTL are documented in Soybase (Grant et al. 2010). Since linkage analysis is based on progeny isolated from two parents, linkage analysis of the bi-parental population can’t find a fixed QTL in two parents (Yan et al. 2017). To solve this problem, GWAS using a population of various resources can be a powerful tool. In this study, we performed to identify major and minor candidate QTLs through GWAS on seed weight in 430 accessions with genetic diversity.

We have developed a multi-layer pipeline that uses transcriptomic data to identify candidate genes associated with complex pathways in plants. We used this multi-layer approach, incorporating microarray, RNA sequencing, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and protein-protein interaction analyses, to identify 14 genes associated with drought tolerance in potato. We generated transgenic potato lines that over-express bZIP28, one of the genes selected by our pipeline, to confirm the involvement of that gene in drought tolerance. The protein interactions of the products of the screened genes were assessed using yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation analyses. Overall, this study demonstrated the utility of our multi-layer approach for deciphering complex biosynthetic pathways using transcriptomic data.

[Introduction] Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is the most widely grown grain legume in the world. It provides an important source of protein and oil for humans and animals. The purpose of this study is (1) to provide transcriptome information with genome and metabolite information of Korean soybean core collection obtained from previous research through transcript analysis in 50 accessions, and (2) to analyze patterns of expression genes through transcript analysis at immature seed of 10 and 30 days after flowering, which is the seed development stage in soybean growth.

Chuloh Cho, Kyung Hwa Kim, Man-Soo Choi, Jaebuhm Chun, Mi-Suk Seo, Namhee Jeong, Mina Jin, Beom-Young Son, and Dool-Yi Kim. Korean J. Breed. Sci. 2019;51:318-25. https://doi.org/10.9787/KJBS.2019.51.4.318

ABSTRACT Soybean sprouts have good digestibility, high isoflavone content compared with soybean seeds, and large amounts of aspartic acid, which is effective in eliminating hangovers. However, the region between the cotyledon and hypocotyl in soybean sprouts appears purple, the product value of soyb...