‘Betahealth,’ a new high β-glucan covered barley cultivar, was developed from a cross between ‘Betaone’ and ‘Dahyang’ at the National Institute of Crop and Food Science, Rural Development Administration, Korea, in 2023. ‘Betahealth’ was bred to enhance the cultivation stability of the high β-glucan cultivar ‘Betaone’ while maintaining its functional properties. Regional yield trials were conducted at five locations between 2021 and 2023. ‘Betahealth’ is a six-rowed winter barley cultivar with a vernalization type IV growth habit. In the adapted regions, the average heading and maturity dates were April 22 and May 28, respectively. The culm length was 79 cm and the 1,000-grain weight was 32.3 g. ‘Betahealth’ exhibited resistance to Barley yellow mosaic virus and strong lodging tolerance. However, it was susceptible to powdery mildew and cold. Grain quality demonstrated that ‘Betahealth’ had a waxy endosperm with a low amylose content (3.2%) and a high β-glucan content (14.2%), which was higher than those of ‘Hyeyang’ (5.2%) and ‘Betaone’ (12.4%). Additionally, it revealed superior cooking quality with higher water absorption and expansion rates than those of the other cultivars. The estimated glycemic index values of 100% barley and a 20% barley-rice mixture were 41.90 and 42.92, respectively, which were the lowest among the tested cultivars. The average grain yield in the adapted region was 511 kg/10a, which was not significantly different from that of ‘Hyeyang’. Thus, ‘Betahealth’ is expected to be a useful functional barley cultivar due to its high β-glucan content, favorable cooking quality, and stable agronomic performance (Registration No. 10754).

Powdery mildew (PM), caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei, is a destructive fungal disease affecting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), particularly under warm and humid conditions. Developing resistant cultivars through molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS) represents an eco-friendly and sustainable strategy for disease control. However, validated molecular markers for PM resistance in naked barley remain limited. In this study, quantitative trait locus-sequencing (QTL-seq) was conducted using two independent parental combinations, Nurichal (susceptible) and Jeonju144 (resistant), to identify genomic regions associated with PM resistance in Korean naked barley. A consistent QTL region was detected on chromosome 1 H, within which 40 Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP) markers were developed based on gene-associated sequence variants. Stepwise validation using an F₂ segregating population (n = 244) identified two markers, NPM32 and NPM43, that showed strong and consistent associations with PM resistance. Among them, NPM43 exhibited complete concordance between genotype and phenotype in the evaluated population, indicating its high diagnostic reliability. The associated sequence variant was located within an uncharacterized gene in the barley reference genome. Validation of the KASP marker NPM43 revealed stable performance and a strong association with PM resistance, highlighting its potential utility for MAS in breeding PM-resistant naked barley. This study provides useful genomic resources for marker-based breeding and supports the development of precision breeding strategies for disease resistance in barley.

Introduction:Powdery mildew (PM) caused by Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei is a major fungal disease affecting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). The most effective approach to controlling this disease is the development of resistant cultivars. In this study, we investigated the genomic regions associated with PM resistance by performing quantitative loci sequencing (QTL-seq) twice using the parental lines 'Hopum' (susceptible) and 'Jeonju 182' (resistant) as reference genomes. Methods:This study was conducted from 2022 to 2024 at the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences in Wanju, Republic of Korea. We conducted artificial crossing, genomic DNA extraction, phenotypic evaluation, QTL-seq analysis, and cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) marker development. Candidate gene expression was analyzed using real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR. Results:A total of 2,130 common variants were identified in two regions of chromosome 1H (6,940,595-18,008,713 bp and 19,363,700-20,551,018 bp). Twenty-one non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms among these variants were used to develop CAPS markers, which were validated in an F2 population and malting barley cultivars. The PMC_75 marker, which is annotated as HORVU.MOREX.r3.1HG0005790, showed a strong association with resistance and was highly expressed in 'Jeonju 182.' This marker is associated with a Clathrin Assembly Protein, which is involved in vesicle formation and intracellular trafficking, processes essential for cellular signaling and defense responses. Conclusion:The development of the CAPS marker (PMC_75) provides a valuable tool for marker-assisted selection in breeding PM-resistant malting barley, improving breeding efficiency, and accelerating the development of resistant cultivars.

This study investigated the physicochemical properties of starch from the newly developed β-glucan-rich barley cultivar Betahealth. The cultivar was bred through a three-way cross between Betaone (F1, Shikoku Hadaka 97 × Glacier AC38) and Dahyang, and its potential as a high-β-glucan food supplement was evaluated. Betahealth’s general composition comprised 11.8%, 1.06%, 2.74%, 3.66%, 56.6%, and 12.3% protein, ash, crude fat, amylose, starch, and β-glucan, respectively. The compositional characteristics of the parent cultivars varied among developed cultivars. The average starch granule size decreased in the following order: Dahyang (12.2 μm), Shikoku Hadaka 97 (11.4 μm), Glacier AC38 (8.63 μm), and Betahealth (6.96 μm). Granule size greatly influenced gelatinization properties, with smaller granules showing higher onset, peak, and conclusion temperatures during gelatinization. Gelatinization temperatures significantly differed among samples, except in Betahealth. Amylose content strongly correlated with pasting properties, with Shikoku Hadaka 97 (10.4%) and Betahealth (8.75%) showing lower amylose content than Glacier AC38 (43.4%) and Dahyang (43.8%). Thus, differences in starch granule size, gelatinization properties, and pasting characteristics depended on cultivar, suggesting that these factors are important for selecting cultivars suitable for specific processing applications.

This study was conducted to identify resistant pepper accessions against the destructive disease bacterial wilt (BW) caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. A total of 338 pepper (Capsicum species) germplasms collected from different countries and deposited in the National Agrobiodiversity Genebank, Rural Development Administration (RDA), Republic of Korea, were evaluated. The evaluated accessions comprise samples from five distinct species: Capsicum annuum (213), Capsicum baccatum (47), Capsicum chinense (45), Capsicum frutescens (31), and Capsicum chacoense (2). Disease severity scores were recorded over four consecutive weeks and showed an increase in severity from initial inoculation to the end of the evaluation period. A strong correlation was observed between week 1 and 2, as well as between week 3 and 4. Ten resistant pepper accessions were identified. All selected accessions consistently exhibited low disease scores ranging from 0 to 1 throughout the observation period. These accessions belong to C. chinense (2), C. annuum (6), C. chacoense (1), and C. frutescens (1). Accessions such as IT236738 (C. chinense) and IT283498 (C. chinense) were demonstrated to have high resistance, showing no symptoms over all four weeks. Other accessions belonging to C. annuum (IT247232 and IT236340) and C. chacoense (IT158713) maintained a disease score of 0 (no symptoms) for the first three consecutive weeks; however, they developed symptoms with a score of 1 in the fourth week. Other important characteristics of the resistant materials were evaluated, including carotenoids and fruit characteristics. These accessions have important traits beyond resistance to the destructive pepper disease. They will serve as promising resources for breeding resistant pepper varieties against BW to enhance productivity.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is a globally significant leafy vegetable, valued for both its economic and nutritional contributions. The efficient conservation and use of the lettuce germplasm are crucial for breeding and genetic improvement. This study examined the genetic diversity and population structure of a core collection of the lettuce germplasm using genotyping by sequencing (GBS). A total of 7136 high-quality single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified across nine chromosomes. Population analysis through Bayesian clustering and discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) revealed three distinct genetic clusters. Cluster 2 exhibited the greatest genetic diversity (He = 0.29, I = 0.44), while Cluster 3 had high levels of inbreeding (F = 0.79). Agro-morphological trait evaluation further identified significant differences in leaf length, plant weight, and head height across clusters. These findings provide valuable insights into the genetic and phenotypic diversity of lettuce, facilitating the development of more robust breeding programs. Additionally, the core collection established in this study offers a representative subset of the lettuce germplasm for future genomic research and conservation efforts.

Jin-Cheon Park, Yang-Kil Kim, Chang-Hyun Lee, Seul-Gi Park, On-Sook Hur, Kyong-Ho Kim, Chon-Sik Kang, Jong-Ho Park, Mi-Ja Lee, and Young-Mi Yoon. Korean J. Breed. Sci. 2023;55:179-86. https://doi.org/10.9787/KJBS.2023.55.2.179

Background Anthracnose is a fungal disease caused by Colletotrichum spp. that has a significant impact on worldwide pepper production. Colletotrichum scovillei is the most common pathogenic anthracnose-causing species in the Republic of Korea. Results The resistances of 197 pepper ( Capsicum chinense ) accessions deposited in Korea’s National Agrobiodiversity Center were evaluated for their response against the virulent pathogens Colletotrichum acutatum isolate ‘KSCa-1’ and C. scovillei isolate ‘Hana’) in the field and in vitro methods for three consecutive years (2018 to 2020). The severity of the disease was recorded and compared between inoculation methods. Six phenotypically resistant pepper accessions were selected based on three years of disease data. All of the selected resistant pepper accessions outperformed the control resistant pepper in terms of resistance (PI 594,137). A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was carried out to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with anthracnose resistance. An association analysis was performed using 53,518 SNPs and the disease score of the 2020 field and in vitro experiment results. Both field and in vitro experiments revealed 25 and 32 significantly associated SNPs, respectively. These SNPs were found on all chromosomes except Ch06 and Ch07 in the field experiment, whereas in the in vitro experiment they were found on all chromosomes except Ch04 and Ch11. Conclusion In this study, six resistant C. chinense accessions were selected. Additionally, in this study, significantly associated SNPs were found in a gene that codes for a protein kinase receptor, such as serine/threonine-protein kinase, and other genes that are known to be involved in disease resistance. This may strengthen the role of these genes in the development of anthracnose resistance in Capsicum spp. As a result, the SNPs discovered to be strongly linked in this study can be used to identify a potential marker for selecting pepper material resistant to anthracnose, which will assist in the development of resistant varieties.

Chang-Hyun Lee, Yang-Kil Kim, Kyong-Ho Kim, On-Sook Hur, Tae-il Park, Jin-Cheon Park, Seul-Gi Park, Chon-Sik Kang, Chang-Hyun Choi, Jong-Ho Park, and Young-Mi Yoon. Korean J. Breed. Sci. 2023;55:156-62. https://doi.org/10.9787/KJBS.2023.55.2.156

Pepper (Capsicum spp.; Family: Solanaceae; 2n = 24) is an important crop cultivated worldwide for the consumption of its fresh and dried processed fruits. Pepper fruits are used as raw materials in a wide variety of industrial processes. As a multipurpose vegetable crop, there is a need to increase the yield. However, yield productivity of pepper is severely constrained by infectious plant pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and oomycetes. The pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) is currently one of the most damaging pathogens associated with yield losses in pepper production worldwide. In addition to impacts on pepper productivity, PMMoV has been detected in domestic and aquatic water resources, as well as in the excreta of animals, including humans. Therefore, PMMoV has been suggested as a potential indicator of domestic water quality. These findings present additional concerns and trigger the need to control the infectious pathogen in crop production. This review provides an overview of the distribution, economic impacts, management, and genome sequence variation of some isolates of PMMoV. We also describe genetic resources available for crop breeding against PMMoV.

In this study, 54 soybean germplasms of different seed coat colors originated from America, China, Japan, and Korea were cultivated in Korea and analyzed for the contents of total oil, total protein, total phenolic, five fatty acids, and five isoflavones, and antioxidant activities using three assays. The soybeans showed significant variations (p < 0.05) of metabolite contents and antioxidant activities. Origin and seed coat color exhibited a slight or insignificant effect on total protein and total oil contents. In contrast, origin and seed coat color significantly affected the concentration of individual and total isoflavones, and total phenolics, with few exceptions. Whereas fatty acids were significantly affected by origin, seed coat color provided better information regarding the variations in antioxidant capacities. Together, multivariate and correlation analyses revealed important associations between biosynthetically-related metabolites. In general, origin and seed coat color differently influenced the concentration of different classes of metabolites and antioxidant activities.

서 언 식물 유전자원(Plant germplasm)은 종자(씨앗)을 포함하여, 뿌리, 잎, 줄기 등과 같이 식물생장이 가능한 영양체를 아우르는 생물자원을 의미하며, 유전적, 형태적 다양성 확보, 활용가치가 높은 유용자원 발굴, 식량자원의 가치 증대, 생태계 유지와 보전에 의 기여 등으로 인류에게 있어

Soybean (Glycine max) is a native field crop in Northeast Asia. The National Agrobiodiversity Center (NAC) in Korea has conserved approximately 26,000 soybean germplasm and distributed them to researchers and growers. The phenotype traits of soybean were investigated during periodic multiplication. However, it is time-consuming to collect sufficient data, especially on the width and height of seeds. During the last decade, the development of phenomics efficiently assisted the analysis of high-throughput phenotyping seed morphology. This study collected and analyzed seed morphological traits of 589 germplasm (53,909 seeds) from diverse origins using a digital camera and a computer-based seed phenotyping program. Measured traits included size and shape, 100-seed weight, height, width, perimeter, area, aspect ratio (AR), solidity, circularity, and roundness. The diversity of soybean germplasm seeds was analyzed based on 8-seed morphological traits and 100-seed weight, as determined by image phenotyping and direct weighting, respectively. The data obtained from 589 soybean germplasm were divided into five clusters by k-means clustering. Orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were performed to compare clusters. The major differences between clusters were in the order of area, perimeter, 100-seed weight, width, and height. Based on cultivar origins, the seed size of US origin was the largest, followed by Korea and China. We classified size, shape, and color according to the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) guidelines. In particular, we postulated that shape could be distinguished based on the AR and roundness values as secondary parameters. High-throughput phenotyping could make a decisive contribution to resolving the phenotyping bottleneck. In addition, rapid and accurate analysis of a large number of seed phenotypes will assist breeders and enhance agricultural competitiveness.

On-Sook Hur, Hae-Ryun Kwak, Na-Young Ro, Yumi Choi, Sukyeong Lee, Aejin Hwang, Bichsaem Kim, Seong-Hoon Kim, and Bum-Soo Hahn. Korean J. Breed. Sci. 2022;54:1-7. https://doi.org/10.9787/KJBS.2022.54.1.1

One of the most serious pepper diseases is Phytophthora blight, which is caused by Phytophthora capsici. It is crucial to assess the resistance of pepper genetic resources to Phytophthora blight, understand the genetic resistances, and develop markers for selecting resistant pepper materials in breeding programs. In this study, the resistance of 342 pepper accessions to P. capsici was evaluated. The disease severity score method was used to evaluate the phenotypic responses of pepper accessions inoculated with the KCP7 isolate. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) linked to P. capsici (isolate KCP7) resistance. The pepper population was genotyped using the genotype-by-sequencing (GBS) method, and 45,481 SNPs were obtained. A GWAS analysis was performed using resistance evaluation data and SNP markers. Significantly associated SNPs for P. capsici resistance at 4 weeks after inoculation of the GWAS pepper population were selected. These SNPs for Phytophthora blight resistance were found on all chromosomes except Chr.05, Chr.09, and Chr.11. One of the SNPs found on Chr.02 was converted into a high-resolution melting (HRM) marker, and another marker (QTL5-1) from the previous study was applied to pepper accessions and breeding lines for validation and comparison. This SNP marker was selected because the resistance phenotype and the HRM marker genotype matched well. The selected SNP was named Chr02-1126 and was located at 112 Mb on Chr.02. The Chr02-1126 marker predicted P. capsici resistance with 78.5% accuracy, while the QTL5-1 marker predicted resistance with 80.2% accuracy. Along with the marker for major quantitative traits loci (QTLs) on Chr.05, this Chr02-1126 marker could be used to accurately predict Phytophthora blight resistance in pepper genetic resources. Therefore, this study will assist in the selection of resistant pepper plants in order to breed new phytophthora blight-resistant varieties.

Anthracnose (Colletotrichum spp.), is one of the major yield losing fungal disease in both pre- and post-harvest stage of pepper (Capsicum spp.) production worldwide. Among the Colletotrichum spp., C. acutatum has strong pathogenicity, which infects both immature and mature pepper fruit leads to severe economic losses in pepper production. Inheritance of anthracnose disease resistance was evaluated with 3738 pepper genetic resources which was collected from different countries and conserved at Korean genebank. The resistance analysis against pepper anthracnose (C. acutatum) was performed on detached mature green and red fruits under laboratory conditions by spray (non-wounding) and microinjection (wounding) inoculation methods. In the primary screening, about 261 accessions were appeared to be resistant against C. acutatum in spray inoculation. The resistant accessions were further evaluated with microinjection (wounding) inoculation method using the fungal (C. acutatum) isolate of pepper anthracnose. There were highly significant differences in the disease severity and distribution of disease rating scale, considering all the sources has significant genetic variation. Finally, the anthracnose resistant pepper accessions have been validated with cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) and high-resolution melting (HRM) markers in which, the CAPS and HRM marker analysis showed four types of genotypes such as resistant (R), susceptible (S), heterozygous (H) and Unidentified type (UT) or not detection. The Capsicum accessions showing high level of resistance to the pathogen could be used as source material in breeding programs for resistance to anthracnose disease.